EDIT: New Pics Just Added!!! Getting New Trailer - Any Congrats or Advice Welcome

[350350]

Finally, after 15 years of pining for my own trailer and always bumming my buddys' trailer(s), I put down a load of cash on a new trailer a week ago and it is being custom built for me and should be finished next week!

I will use it for a pickup truck, since I have the K5 and a G20 Van so neither is real useful for hauling things... I buy and sell old cars occasionally too so roadtrips to pick up cars will be in the works, but the biggest use I see for the trailer will be hauling the K5 to the trails so that I don't have to worry about tearing it up and not having a ride home. I've always driven my trail truck to the trails and luckily have only gotten stranded once, but now I won't have to worry about it!

So I probably went overboard, although I Love Overkill, and bought a 9000# GVW trailer with dual 4500# axles, 4 wheel brakes, a 16' wooden bed with a 2' dovetail, black with chrome wheels and slideout ramps that slide into the back of the trailer. For now I'll be pulling it with the G20 Van, which I just finished prepping with a trailer brake controller and the 7-pin 'new' connector.

I bought a hitch lock set for when it's sitting, but am thinking of buying one of those wheel locks too that goes through the wheel and also locks a lugnut. I'll have it insured for what I've spent on it, but still I don't want some assclown making off with my trailer.

I've towed a lot of trailers but don't have a lot of experience towing with this much weight. Being a new trailer with new tires and new heavy tires on the van it should tow real nice, although the springs on the back of the van are a little weak after carrying around a high-top conversion van for 170,000 miles.

So that's my story and I'm stickin' to it!!! Pictures to come as soon as I bring it home!

EDIT: I just brought it home tonight! I Love It! It's exactly what I wanted and I'm really excited... My tie down straps are ordered so as soon as they get here I'll haul round the old Oldsmobile just for fun!!!

 

[sweetk30]

best thing i did with my trailer was this

 

[grimjaw]

how wide is the deck?

Edit: Very nice trailer! gratz!

 

[88sub4x4]

Congrats!

 

[350350]

how wide is the deck?

It's wider than my K5 with 33's on it! Part of the trailer's use will be hauling the K5, so I made sure it was big enough...

 

[350350]

best thing i did with my trailer was this

That's the next big ticket item for me too... I want to mount the winch on some kind of receiver type setup so that I can put it on the trailer and the front or the back or the truck.

 

[sweetk30]

ya its only 6k winch on trailer . so i didnt bother with multi mount. i need much bigger for my trucks.

 

[350350]

ya its only 6k winch on trailer . so i didnt bother with multi mount. i need much bigger for my trucks.

Do you find the 6K winch adequate for your trailer use? I want to be able to pull a car with 4 flat tires up onto the trailer if I need to! I have a buddy with a 10K winch on his trailer and he can pull anything up on it, out of the mud, etc.

 

[sweetk30]

i have pulled my 6500lb 1ton 4x4 up on with it. and that was with 205/55/16 babby tires on it. seems to work o.k. for me. threw in a pic of the trailer. and also the truck.

 

[350350]

i have pulled my 6500lb 1ton 4x4 up on with it. and that was with 205/55/16 babby tires on it. seems to work o.k. for me. threw in a pic of the trailer. and also the truck.

How do you like the fold-up ramps? Can you adjust them in and out? I was torn between them and the slide-in ramps but decided on the dovetail with the slide-in ramps because I have a buddy with that setup and I've hauled cars with him for years that way.

However, another buddy has the ramps like yours and he likes them because they support the end of the trailer while loading. Do they really stabilize the tow rig that much when loading?

Does your truck fit on the trailer with enough room to adjust the load position correctly?

 

[sweetk30]

whell as thay say measure 2 times cut one time. i should have measured 2 times and purchesed 1 time. the flip ups slide left and right. also have big helper springs. and yes help suport trailer good. but i have to take them off when long bed trucks are on it as i didnt get trailer correct length. but ohwell.


i have let my friend barrow this 10k trailer before and he went over 50o miles with it and half of it was with 10.5k machine on it for his machineshop. never skiped a beat. only found out after it came off just how heavy it was.

 

[350350]

whell as thay say measure 2 times cut one time. i should have measured 2 times and purchesed 1 time. the flip ups slide left and right. also have big helper springs. and yes help suport trailer good. but i have to take them off when long bed trucks are on it as i didnt get trailer correct length. but ohwell.


i have let my friend barrow this 10k trailer before and he went over 50o miles with it and half of it was with 10.5k machine on it for his machineshop. never skiped a beat. only found out after it came off just how heavy it was.

I had an old used trailer for a brief time a couple of years ago and had to sell it when hard times hit. It got the job done, but it was way too short and didn't have suspension. It had mobile home axles under it though, so there was no weight limit!!! But I hauled a full-size van with it and the front tires were smashed against the front of the trailer and the rear wheels barely, just barely made it onto the rear of the trailer and all that made it was the tread contact patch, so there was a good 4' or more of van sticking off the end of the trailer. It handled like a herd of elephants and I couldn't go over 40 without losing control.

This new trailer is long and wide enough to haul our Chevy G20 Conversion Van and have room to position it for good weight distribution... I am so excited to haul something now! As soon as my straps and tie-downs get here (any day now) I'm going to load up the K5 and see how it tows.

I'm going home for Thanksgiving and it's about a 16 hour drive. I'm taking the trailer to bring back my Malibu which is currently sitting in my Grandmother's garage. So I'll be towing 16 hours, some of which will be through mountains, and I should know by then how well it tows for sure!

Donations are being taken for a winch that I can make mounts to fit the truck front and rear as well as the front of the trailer for those 'not-so-running' cars that I'll need to winch onto the trailer. It never ends...

 

[sweetk30]

looks good but MOVE THE SPARE funny spot for it.

 

[vtblazer]

another buddy has the ramps like yours and he likes them because they support the end of the trailer while loading. Do they really stabilize the tow rig that much when loading?

Seems to me that the ramps would help out alot with rear support.

I've got a 16 footer with slide in ramps and there's times that I need to put a couple jacks under the back of the trailer, otherwise I lift the rear wheels of the tow rig. Can be kinda scary on inclines if you don't.

Good decision on the dove tail!
Wish I'd gone with one. Must help with loading/unloading.

 

[bigjbear]

Looks good, ever wonder why kids like to play on trailers and in the beds of trucks? Let us know how towing with the van goes.

 

[350350]

Looks good, ever wonder why kids like to play on trailers and in the beds of trucks? Let us know how towing with the van goes.

My Son spent about an hour on the trailer while I was working outside, he was running his Hot Wheels down the bed, which was sitting slightly downhill, and they got some real speed!!!

 

[350350]

looks good but MOVE THE SPARE funny spot for it.

Yeah, I've got to find a better place to mount that spare... The first thing I thought when I saw that was, WTF??? That thing is going to get in the damn way every time you're trying to tie down that corner of the car! I may just carry it in the van because if we're lucky we'll be getting a new Family Van and the old one will become a dedicated work/tow vehicle and be hooked to the trailer most of the time.