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Need help buying a trailer.

Leper

Leper

1/2 ton status
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Dallas Baby!!!!
Not the actual purchase, but what it should be. I drive a 91 K5 that is heavier than most with an Exo cage winch 1 tons and lots of spares and recovery stuff. So figure 6K in weight. That, plus the weight of a trailer would push my needs past the 3500# mark for dual axles. I would like to know what your suggestions are for a trailer.


Type of questions I would like answers to include:
Wood or steel Deck
Dovetail or not
Length
Axle size/weight limit/number of lugs/brakes on one or two axles
Width

I have looked locally and I am not finding a trailer I like used, so I am thinking new. I am a cheap bastard. I have a line on a new trailer for what I think is a good price. It is an 18' wood deck, with 5400# axles with brakes on both axles. It is not a dovetail. New it is less than $2200.00

As I understand it, the dovetails are more for cars than lifted trucks. I am asking for all useful opinions. Have an option that I am forgetting, please speak up. I have only pulled 1 trailer in the last 25 years. Pulled a bunch when I was a kid.
TIA
Leper
 
If you have a truck to tow with and a little extra money then go with a gooseneck. I have a 20' deckover 7 ton gooseneck for my truck. Pulls like a dream! I paid 3K for mine that was used and a year old when I bought it. Oh and go with the dovetail. You will kick yourself if you don't.
 
Leper said:
Type of questions I would like answers to include:
Wood or steel Deck
Dovetail or not
Length
Axle size/weight limit/number of lugs/brakes on one or two axles
Width
Leper
Click to expand...

I prefer steel. It will never rot or bow (if proper steel is used).

Dove tail without a doubt. Sooner or later you'll glad you did. Especially when you have to load a car that sits fairly low to the ground.

At least 18'. If I would have had the extra money I would have went 20'.

I would use 7500# axles. No worries then.

I wouldn't go any narrower than 82". That is the max you can run in my state.
 
If you go with a deck over, then get the dovetail. But for a regular car trailer I don't believe in them because they tend to drag the tail offroad and sometimes even coming out of steep driveways. The 18" trailer with heavy axles for $2200 sounds like a really good deal. Make sure you add a winch to the front of it eventually to help load dead vehicles.
 
I check craigslist almost daily.

I want to stay bumper-pull so that I can use the trailer with any truck.

I am selling my Burban and my Matco Megacart to get to the $2200.00 mark. 3K is out of the question.

What is a deck over?
 
Deck over just means that the deck sits up high over the tires so it can be full width instead of them building it between and around the tires.

If you want a bumper pull, buy a heavy equipment trailer (a car hauler with 5,400 lb axles) and no dovetail. Keeping the weight low is nice on a bumper pull and you can put metal skirts on the deck to accomodate the width of your fullsize much cheaper than the manufacturer will do it.
 
I have been looking at a 20' bumper with a 2' beaver tail (22 total lenght). The trailer would handle 10k lbs. Is was not deck over though. It did have removable fenders to allow wider vehicles. This is a new H&H with a wood deck and metal beaver. Wood doesn't scare me my friend has a trailer that is 12 years old and the wood is good. The price for the trailer new? $1350
 
get the longest trailer you can. this will allow you to fine tune your tongue weight. it also will not limit what you can haul. I have an 18' deckover. it's just long enough for my shortbed. I drive up on it, fold up the ramp, and back up against them. a couple more feet would be nice. I would only get out of the truck once.

I have loaded a longbed and a fullsize van on it. both had to go on backwards to fit. a car hauler is nice since it's low but they are narrow between the fenders. removeable fenders are helpful but taking them off and putting them back are work.

If you are hauling an offroad toy that is wide then a deckover with a dovetail is the way to go. driving over fenders is fine when the rig can drive. it's a whole other thing when you are trying to load a dead vehicle. The whole point of owning a trailer is to make your life easier. get something you can drive up on, hop out, and strap down.

I like an open center. most people will argue with me, but there advantages. you save weight. you can work on the truck when it's on the trailer. on mine it's easier to hook up the straps. instead of kneeling on the trailer under my truck I step into the center from the back and can stand up.

I hauled a mitsubishi eclipse this past weekend. if I had a solid center I could have never hooked up the front straps because it sat so low.

check your state and local laws. in PA anything over 10K GVW requires a CDL to pull unless you have a combination tag. Hope that helped some.
 
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