Meet the support fleet
Meet Ball Caddy
THE TRAILER THAT MAKES SURE THE BALLS GET HOME
Ball Caddy is not the most glamorous member of the Ball Pit fleet. It does not set lap times, make turbo noises or attract much attention in the paddock. But when one of the other Balls cannot move under its own power, Ball Caddy suddenly becomes everyone’s favorite vehicle.
It is an 18-foot open car hauler, a recovery system, a rolling toolbox and a small trackside utility station. More than anything, it is peace of mind. I bought it after learning that getting a car to the track is only half of the transportation problem. You also need a plan for getting it home after something breaks.
Ball Caddy carries the Balls that are not supposed to drive themselves to the track.
The Failure That Changed the Plan
The decision started with The First Ball. I lost a hub during a track event and had a major on-track incident. Once the immediate problem was over, another question became very real: if the car cannot drive, how exactly am I getting it home?
Until then, driving a track car to and from events had felt convenient. After the hub failure, it felt like a gamble. A trailer would not prevent the next mechanical problem, but it would make the ending much more manageable.
That mattered because the answer could not simply be “buy the biggest trailer available.” At the time, I was towing with a Jeep Grand Cherokee rated for 6,500 pounds. Meat Ball did not exist yet, so every choice had to fit inside the Jeep’s limits.
An 18-foot trailer was about the minimum practical length for The First Ball. I chose a treated wood deck because it was lighter than a comparable steel deck, and weight mattered. My search was narrow: big enough for the car, light enough for the Jeep and simple enough that I was not adding another complicated project to the garage.
I bought the trailer on August 19, 2024.
Ball Caddy joined the fleet after a hub failure made driving the track car home feel like a bad contingency plan.
Why It Is Called Ball Caddy
The naming process was not especially complicated. A caddy moves things. Ball Caddy moves Balls.
That is the whole story.
It is a supporting character by design, but the rest of the fleet is much easier to use because it exists. Golf Ball, Cheese Ball and the other track cars can travel without pretending they are reliable street transportation. If one breaks, Ball Caddy does not care. It just carries the problem home.
Simple Was the Right Starting Point
Ball Caddy is an 18-foot tandem-axle Lacoste car hauler built on a 2-by-5-inch C-channel frame. It has two 3,500-pound axles, electric brakes on the rear axle, a 2-inch Bulldog coupler, a 3,000-pound jack, four D-rings, rub rails, stake pockets, stored five-foot ramps, diamond-plate fenders and ST205/75R15 six-ply trailer tires.
The original setup was intentionally basic. A simple open trailer meant fewer systems to maintain, less weight for the Jeep and fewer ways for the trailer itself to ruin a weekend.
That simplicity has held up well. Ball Caddy has required one formal service, completed by DFW North Trailers on August 2, 2025. I had a flat tire during the first weekend I owned it, but otherwise it has been almost flawless. The current tires are getting worn, so replacement is approaching.
The lesson from that first-weekend flat was immediate: a spare tire holder and an actual spare are not optional track-day accessories. They are the difference between an inconvenience and being stranded.
The original setup was chosen around the Jeep’s towing limit: enough trailer for the car without unnecessary weight.
Turning a Trailer Into Trackside Support
The trailer began as transportation, but it gradually became part of the pit setup.
I added a tongue box, a second storage box for tie-down equipment and a fuel-jug holder. The left fender was dropped so I could open the car door and climb out without having to perform an awkward paddock escape. Race Ramps replaced the wooden planks I had used to reduce the loading angle.
The dropped fender may be one of the least exciting upgrades I have ever purchased, but it makes a huge difference every single time I load or unload a car. Race Ramps are the same kind of upgrade: not glamorous, but far easier and more consistent than carrying random pieces of lumber.
In May 2026, I added a Badland ZXR 5000 winch with steel cable. By July, I had upgraded the winch battery so it could also power an inverter and onboard air. That changed Ball Caddy from a trailer with storage into a useful little trackside support system.
The setup now gives me a way to recover a disabled car, inflate tires and run basic electrical equipment without depending entirely on whatever happens to be available in the paddock.
A winch battery, inverter, onboard air and dedicated storage turned a basic car hauler into a small mobile pit station.
The Winch Is the Upgrade That Matters Most
I have already used the winch several times. Each time, it was better than trying to recruit a group of tired friends to push a disabled car up the ramps.
That is the real test of trailer equipment. Plenty of upgrades sound useful while you are shopping. The best ones prove their value when the car is broken, everyone is hot and the track day is already running late.
At Circuit of The Americas, Golf Ball developed a mechanical issue a long way from home. I was able to repair the car at the track, so the winch was not needed. Ball Caddy still mattered: once the repair was complete, the car could be loaded normally and brought back to North Texas. That weekend reinforced the broader value of arriving with a trailer, tools and a recovery plan—even when the winch stays unused.
Golf Ball was repaired at COTA and loaded normally, but traveling with Ball Caddy still meant the car had a dependable way home.
What Fits—and What I Would Change
An 18-foot open trailer works. It carries the cars it was purchased to carry and remains straightforward to tow, store and maintain.
If I were making the decision again, however, I would buy a 20-foot trailer.
The missing two feet do not sound significant until the car is loaded and I want room for something else, such as a pit scooter or additional equipment. Ball Caddy has enough deck for the main job, but not much margin. Track weekends have a way of creating more gear, not less.
I would also add E-track to make the tie-down system more flexible.
The next major step may be selling Ball Caddy and moving to a 20-foot V-nose enclosed trailer. Meat Ball can tow substantially more than the Jeep could, so the original weight constraint is no longer the entire decision. An enclosed trailer would add protected storage, improve organization and potentially create an air-conditioned place to sleep instead of using the cab of Meat Ball.
That would be more comfortable, but it would also be heavier, more expensive and more complicated. Ball Caddy remains a good reminder that the simple solution can be the right solution for a long time.
Meat Ball removed the towing constraint that originally shaped Ball Caddy, opening the possibility of a larger enclosed trailer later.
What Ball Caddy Taught Me
The biggest lesson is not about a particular axle rating, tool box or winch. It is that track-day planning should include failure.
Race cars break. Even street cars used on track can break. A responsible plan is not built around assuming nothing will go wrong; it is built around making the bad outcome recoverable.
Ball Caddy has also taught me that practical upgrades often provide more value than impressive ones. A dropped fender, a spare tire, proper ramps, organized tie-downs and a winch do not make a good social-media modification list. They make track days easier.
Most of the time, Ball Caddy waits quietly in the paddock. That is exactly what I want. But every time I arrive at a track—especially one far from home—I know that even if I cannot fix the car there, I can still get it home.
That peace of mind is Ball Caddy’s real job.
BALL CADDY AT A GLANCE
Type: 18-foot open car hauler
Frame: 2-by-5-inch C-channel
Axles: Tandem 3,500-pound axles
Brakes: Electric brakes on the rear axle
Deck: Treated pine
Coupler: 2-inch Bulldog
Jack: 3,000-pound
Tie-down points: Four D-rings, rub rails and stake pockets
Ramps: Stored five-foot ramps plus Race Ramps for loading assistance
Tires: ST205/75R15, six-ply
Key additions: Tongue box, trailer box, fuel-jug holder, dropped left fender, Badland ZXR 5000 winch, upgraded battery, inverter and onboard air
Purchased: August 19, 2024
First formal service: August 2, 2025
Keep Exploring
Meet Meat Ball — the tow vehicle that gave the Ball Pit fleet more trailer capacity.
Meet Golf Ball — the race car Ball Caddy brought home after a mechanical issue at COTA.
Meet The First Ball — the car whose hub failure started the trailer story.
Meet the Balls — explore the complete Ball Pit fleet.
Watch the Ball Caddy delivery reel.
Build details current as of August 2026.
Plan for the ending, too
Getting home is part of track preparation.
Ball Caddy turns a broken car from a crisis into a problem that can be loaded, carried home and fixed with friends.