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Buying a Trailer, Need Advice, Love or Hate Yours?

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OK, I have about $2000 to spend on a car trailer. This will only occasionally be used to haul my K5 to and from the trails, but mostly will be used for a business that I'm going way out on a limb and starting where it will be necessary to count on a good solid trailer almost daily. It will be hauling mostly your average run of the mill cars, but a variety of things and it has to be heavy enough to haul a full size truck.

I know this has been discussed here before, but the search didn't turn up the discussions I recall. I remember people posting pictures of their own trailers, what they liked and didn't like, etc.

There are so many to choose from and mine will eventually have a winch on it to drag old cars up onto the trailer with flat or missing tires, etc. This will be a used and abused trailer.

I plan to tow primarily with my '77 K5 that's lifted 4" with 33" tires, and I may even take the lift off to make it more stable for towing. For long roadtrips I may use our '92 G20 van to tow as it'll be much more comfortable and if a long roadtrip is necessary the whole family will probably go.

I know there are a million styles out there, and as much as I like the tilt bed models, I'm afraid they won't serve daily duty as well, and keep in mind I'll be old car hunting and may have to retrieve cars from all sorts of locations.

I'm in Winston-Salem, NC, and if anyone knows a good local builder/seller please let me know!

Anyone???
 
the trailer gvw is the trailer plus load not the load only. a 1 ton 4x4 is about 5500 - 6000 lbs by its self. and get it long not almost like i did. cant flip ramps up to holes for bars with a lb truck on it. and if possible look to see if its going to be a pain to put a winch on it. you will most likly want one on it for the few dead vehicles.

i have a 10k equipment trailer and it is 2800 by it self. so i have a load ability of 7200 lbs. and most 5 lug car trailers are 600-7000 max. also make sure it has both axles with brakes it helps a lot.
 
Definately a winch if you are using it for vehicles. I only have electric brakes on one of the axles. I wish I would have paid extra for brakes on the second axle. Also when I purchased mine I did not put the tie down straps on it cause they were pretty pricey, now I wish I had. Mine is the 8.5'X20' utility trailer with loading ramps that store underneath the rear of the trailer. So mine has wood flooring instead of metal but now my wood floor is warping due to all that crapy rain we just had. :mad: I would take some pics for you but the wife has the camera right now.
 
sweetk30 said:
the trailer gvw is the trailer plus load not the load only. a 1 ton 4x4 is about 5500 - 6000 lbs by its self. and get it long not almost like i did. cant flip ramps up to holes for bars with a lb truck on it. and if possible look to see if its going to be a pain to put a winch on it. you will most likly want one on it for the few dead vehicles.

i have a 10k equipment trailer and it is 2800 by it self. so i have a load ability of 7200 lbs. and most 5 lug car trailers are 600-7000 max. also make sure it has both axles with brakes it helps a lot.
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Yeah, I think I'll have to have the 10,000 GVW, but am I going to be able to get this for $2,000? Or am I going overboard? Should I just beat the heck out of the lesser GVW trailer until I can see if I can afford a bigger one? From what I've seen, used trailers keep their resale value nearly up to what they cost new so I don't think I'd be out much if I started small and then later went up to the 10,000 GVW... :confused:
 
mxfireman said:
Definately a winch if you are using it for vehicles. I only have electric brakes on one of the axles. I wish I would have paid extra for brakes on the second axle. Also when I purchased mine I did not put the tie down straps on it cause they were pretty pricey, now I wish I had. Mine is the 8.5'X20' utility trailer with loading ramps that store underneath the rear of the trailer. So mine has wood flooring instead of metal but now my wood floor is warping due to all that crapy rain we just had. :mad: I would take some pics for you but the wife has the camera right now.
Click to expand...

Cool Man, if you have pictures you can email them to [email protected] and I don't have any limit on my inbox...

A buddy of mine had a dove tail trailer with a wood bed, and he immediately coated it with Thompson's Water Seal and it lasted forever before he had to replace the flooring. I'd say something like 8 years. I think he sealed it 2 or 3 more times, but for the cost it was well worth the length of life it added to the floor...
 
ya I am behind the curve on that one. I Should have put Thompsons on it when I first bought it and a couple times a year. One more thing with the utility style trailer. Like I said earlier mine is 8.5X20. from inside rail to inside rail mine measures 89". My K5 measures 84" outside wheel to ouside wheel. Just be sure it's wide enough for what you plan on towing. I was just lucky.
 
if d.o.t. get there hand on you then big tickets for over gvw. and the parts are smaller for axles. and my equipment trailer was 3800 bucks new and its vary hd. my 6500 lbs truck is hardly nothing for squat on it . and also if possible get the torsion axles its smoother ride and about 1 foot lower to the ground for the deck. thats what i have.

and the 1 ton dana 60 frt is wide . i have to remove my 38x15.50x16.5 tires and put on puppy tires to clear the fenders. thay are just factory rims with scap tires that hold air.
 
my trailer has a 10k jack in the dead middle of the deck at the frt . and when i wanted to mount the winch i had to put it on the deck side and lost about 6" of space for the car bumpers and stuff. but most of the time i hall big tall stuff. and its no fancy trailer winch . its a ramsey 6k that i got like new with roller fairlead for 400 from my friend. whent to welding shop and got 30 ft of 2/0 cable and ran it down frame and got the big quick conector that thay use for pro jump statr hookups and made a quick coupler for 12v at bumper. so when i need the winch i just plug it in.
 
well sorry but the first one is there now. but in night vision some colors and fonts dont show up great at all and others dont show at all. i found if i leave the post responce stuff alone and just type it all shows.
 
Depending on what wood you use for the deck it can last a very long time. Our red oak wood deck lasted 15 years before I has to resurface it. It got abused quite a bit hauling the cemetery backhoe. It's 18' with a pair of 5k lb axles.

trailer2.jpg
 
OK, went trailer shopping today. I looked at a lot of them, but I think I'll end up ordering one from this guy in a couple of weeks when the income tax return comes. Here's what I'm getting:

:grin: 9,000 Pound GVW.
:grin: Brakes on both axles.
:grin: 18' length with 2' Dovetail.
:grin: Black with Chrome wheels, but I was surprised at the colors available...
:grin: Treated Wooden Deck.
:grin: Slide-out integrated loading ramps.
:grin: Grand total of $2,400 and change.

I thought that was a lot of trailer for the money. I tried to negotiate him down even $100 but he said he sells them so close to his cost that he just doesn't negotiate. That way he sells a lot and makes only a little on each one. He said he sells at least 10 trailers a DAY! Whatever, still a good deal as far as I can tell.
 
that sounds killer dude. if any thing ask for a great deal on a trailer brake controler. dont forget to get the hd staps and all that stuff. best place i found was any tow truck supply place. i orderd some straps that are 3300lbs each. plus i got the add on twistlock-mini j hooks for the long strap end. thay help out big time with the tie down time. thay go into just about any hole and make it a breeze. try www.awdirect.com vary big tow supply house. and will sell to any one. the part # is nt-16 for the straps. and #ca-11 for the twistlock-mini j hook add on. just some ideas for ya. and thay have winch parts and new winches also lots of other goodys.
 
I had a friend at work build me one a few years ago, though it's only a single axle for hauling my bike, canoes and crap like that.

I specified that I wanted six lug hubs/wheels so I could use my Chevy wheels on the trailer as well as spares and that has really worked out great!!!
 
I just got this home last night, its a 9000 lb with a 7200 lb capacity, 18 ft no dove tail ( I really dont know what good they do) brakes on both axles, 5 ft ramps and my blazer sqeezes between the fenders. I paid 2300 for it in NC.


2883Mar27_09.JPG

http://www.nctrailers.com/pages/trailers.cfm?CatID=7

Here is a link to place i got it.
 
I just got this home last night, its a 9000 lb with a 7200 lb capacity, 18 ft no dove tail ( I really dont know what good they do) brakes on both axles, 5 ft ramps and my blazer sqeezes between the fenders. I paid 2300 for it in NC.
Click to expand...

Now that's nice!!!:waytogo: :waytogo: :waytogo:
 
sapper said:
I just got this home last night, its a 9000 lb with a 7200 lb capacity, 18 ft no dove tail ( I really dont know what good they do) brakes on both axles, 5 ft ramps and my blazer sqeezes between the fenders. I paid 2300 for it in NC.


2883Mar27_09.JPG

http://www.nctrailers.com/pages/trailers.cfm?CatID=7

Here is a link to place i got it.
Click to expand...

North Carolina Trailer in Thomasville??? That's where I'm getting mine!!!
 
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