Just three years ago, James Goad, better known as “Reaper,” from the Street Outlaws television series, suffered a devastating trailer fire that destroyed his entire racing operation. He was able to rebuild and get back to racing, but on May 16, 2023, one of his racing trailers caught fire again; but this time, the outcome was much different, thanks to a proper fire suppression system.

When the first trailer burned, Goad was in the process of having Anvil Trailers build him a new stacker trailer.

“Mike Sumner at Anvil was building the trailer and was talking to Stacy [Goad],” Goad explained to us. “Mike said he would like to get the name out for race trailers and that he’d like to build one for me if I could help out with promoting the trailer business.

“My first stacker was the first one he built, and during that process, I lost both cars in the first fire,” Goad told us. “I called and told him, ‘Sell it. I’m out.’ Tim said he was finishing the trailer, period. We got to talking and thinking it was surprising no one made a fire system for trailers. Mike got with a fire suppression guy to find out what they could do.”

The resulting fire suppression system from Typhoon Fire Suppression went into the new trailer, and Goad had a second trailer equipped with a similar system.

“You think the worst thing that will happen to a race car is you’ll crash it, and you can usually salvage a lot of the parts,” Goad said. “But that fire was a $500,000 loss for me, and I could have prevented all of that with a $10,000-$15,000 fire suppression system.

“The stacker was the first trailer and I said I have to have it in the other trailer,” Goad explained. “I use one of my fire suppression-equipped trailers for everything I do now, whether it’s race cars or my classics.”

The fire on the 16th of May happened to his single car enclosed trailer, and it had his newest “No Prep Kings” ride inside.

“Who would have thought a lug wrench could short a winch, which started winding the winch and snapped the back straps on the car. It shoved a cooler into the lug wrench and made sure it kept shorting out.”

Thankfully, the trailer was retrofitted with a 30-lb fire suppression system.

“I’m deeply attached to ‘Reaper,’ but nothing like I am to this car,” Goad told us. “My brothers and I built everything on it, and this could have taken everything out. The system shut the fire down and it didn’t even burn the front of the car.”

Perhaps even more notable was the fact that the trailer’s normal location could have caused additional property damage should it have burned to the ground.

“My trailer is usually parked next to my house, right by my bedroom and near my garage/shop,” Goad explained. “It would have been a $500,000 loss, not to mention the house and possibly my family.”

When the smoke cleared, Goad assessed the situation in the trailer.

“It needs a counter top, a new winch, and new wiring to the winch. It went out so fast there isn’t even smoke damage in the trailer. You talk fire system and a lot of people know about the little balls you hang in there, but I didn’t realize what this fire system was capable of until the other night. I had no idea. There isn’t $500 worth of damage in the trailer.”

Additionally, Goad noted that the clean-up is best done with leaf blowers and compressed air, followed by some water and Dawn dish soap.

“It’s a lot of work to clean it up, but a lot less than building a new car. I can’t believe anyone would put their car in a trailer without a fire system in it. I just need to have the system recharged and a cabinet door replaced. This thing is worth 10 times what it would cost. Now people have seen it work, and now I’ll be at at the ‘No Prep Kings’ events this season because of it…otherwise, I would have retired.”

Goad is just one of many racers who has experienced a trailer fire, and Mike Sumner at Anvil Trailers explained the main reason why they happen.

“The number one cause of trailer fires is blowouts on tires,” Sumner told us. “The tire comes apart and eventually the rim can hit the ground and cause sparks that set the plywood floor on fire. At 60-70 miles per hour, it doesn’t take long for it to happen. Usually, you don’t know it’s on fire until it’s too late.”

An onboard fire suppression system can certainly be a safeguard against that and any other fire that may start inside the trailer, but Sumner says the response from clients is often that they carry insurance for such issues.

“It’s $8,000 for a bumper-pull trailer and $16,000 for a stacker,” Sumner noted. “Some people feel it’s too much, but it’s a good investment. You don’t need it until you need it. It gives you a peace of mind.”

Sumner spent about six months developing his prototype fire suppression system, taking advantage of one of his employee’s certification as a fire suppression system expert working with paint booths and restaurants. He now offers them on new trailer builds or can retrofit existing trailers.

Insurance may pay for the replacement of the property, but here are some additional things to consider.  long it With the time it takes to have a chassis built and to replace the parts on the car and in the trailer, having a fire suppression system in place could get racers back on track much sooner, just as it did for Goad. Additionally, insurance can’t replace the sentimental value that may be attached to your vehicles and belongings inside.