What's new
CK5
Register an account today to become a member! Once signed in, you'll be able to participate on this site by adding your own topics and posts, as well as connect with other members.

New Trailer choices ** Picked up today 9-20***

MTBLAZER89

MTBLAZER89

3/4 ton status
 Premium
GMOTM Winner
Joined
Aug 14, 2001
Posts
8,162
Reaction score
2,739
Location
Kalispell, MT
I am going to be picking up a trailer this saturday. Kind of up in the air on what to get. I know I need a 10k trailer in the 16-20 ft range. I have found a few priced between 2800 and 3100 depending on the brand. I have also found a deckover for 3550.

I know right now my truck is ~84 sidewall to sidewall which means I will be driving over the fenders, and having to make the mods to the fenders and possibly add a little bit of meteal to the deck so i don't hang off.

Pros and cons of the deckover??

I know they are taller, but my tow rig is lifted so that actually may be a little better to keep in level while towing. I'm not sure.

Any tips/advice/comments would be great.
 
Last edited:
i have a 83" wide fender setup on a 16-17ft deck length 10k trailer. take it from me.

BUY 1 TIME. :doah: i got a trailer to short and wished i got deck over for moving cars/trucks. pita big time.

if i had it to do over again take the vehicle you will be hauling the most with you. put it on the trailer and see what you have. then flip up the ramps if thay flip up to store. see if thay clear the back bumper.

then if anything much wider than stock go deck over in my opinion. just 200% faster load and unload times with lots more room for not getting it centered.

also wished i had slide under long ramps. so when done thay just slide under the deck for storage and nice and long for some lower hight vehicles.

like carpenters say measure 2 times cut 1 time.

buying trailer measure and test fit 2 times buy 1 time.

i will say i love my torsion axles for ride and keeping the deck as low as it is. if you can get deck over with torsion axles i would go for it. and brakes on both axles is better. dont skimp on the tounge jack also. those little gray 3000lb ones dont cut it. i have a 10k rated semi trailer style jack. when fully loaded it will lift trailer from truck no problem.

if at all possible adjustable trailer coupler unit. so you can fine tune the trailer coupler hight with out getting the weaker truck side severe drop hitches like 6" and 8" if you truck is up there a bit. mine has it and loved it.

you might also want to look in to a air bag kit for the back of your tow rig . i have installed lots of them and the people say why did i live with out it for so long. thay offer bolt on kits these days with little to no drill units just bolt and go.

as for brake controler prodigy is the big ticket for plug in and go. no farting around to find a o.k. setting and living with it.
 
i DONT LIKE deckovers...my trailer is already scary enough with a tall truck on it..i can imagin have another a tall rig 2 feet farther in the air...plus they are heavy...a deckover was almost 1k more than mine i dont reget my decision at all...just my .02
 
That deckover shows 225/75r15s for tires. Those are too small and questionable for load capacity. I would recommend 16" wheels on a hauler. Also, the first one looks like 4" frame and 6" tongue. That kinda seems like cutting corners on the build. My 10k is 6"tongue and 6" perimeter frame. Also a x2 on the brakes for both axles. Finally, I wish I had gotten a deckover in hte first place. My trailer was great for my M-37, but it's too narrow for my K20. Now I'm gonna have to modify it to make it work.
 
Ok I ordered the trailer today.

Specs
10400 GVWR
18x7 treated deck
83" between the fenders.
Dual brakes
5" Channel throughout. 3" angle crossmembers. No angle iron in the construction.
7k tongue jack
slide in 5' ramps
D-rings and stake pockets.

Its basiclly the same construction as the Great Northern trailers. I am getting it direct from the manufacturer.

$2850 plus tax. :D
 
not bad at all mine is a down to earth i got it for 2450 but they are a lil cheaper than most and not as nice...what are your plans for widening,ect
 
I was thinking of doing it the way you did yours. Did you gusset underneath those plates? Either buy some 4" flat bar and do it that way with some gussets or some pieces of channel to add on to the existing channel. The channel would be stronger, but more $$$ and that area really won't be holding much weight. The guy building it said he wouldn't fully weld the fenders as I mentioned I would be making them removeable so I'll figure them out after I get it.

I could have had the guy building do all this for me some extra $$$ but I am looking at a Cummins for my V3500 so I need the extra coin.
 
Sounds like you already ordered it, but will go ahead and post up my thoughts.

I considered deckovers, but decided against them. More expensive, heavier, and didn't like the higher overall height (higher COG, and something overlooked is a lot more wind resistance when towing down the highway).

My Blazer is wider than the wheelwells, so I drive over the fenders. Buddy's is the same way. I had some old sections of wood 4x4's I simply stacked up to the same height, screwed them together, and bolted them to the fenders. Super cheap and easy to do, and loading the Blazer does not require any extra effort or time either. The one thing I would like to do is make the fenders removable so I have the option to load it without the fender ramps....mainly if I ever break something or the truck will not run it would be way easier to load (basically requires 4wd, unless you wanted to hit it with some momemtum....which I don't).
 
6.2Blazer said:
Sounds like you already ordered it, but will go ahead and post up my thoughts.

I considered deckovers, but decided against them. More expensive, heavier, and didn't like the higher overall height (higher COG, and something overlooked is a lot more wind resistance when towing down the highway).

My Blazer is wider than the wheelwells, so I drive over the fenders. Buddy's is the same way. I had some old sections of wood 4x4's I simply stacked up to the same height, screwed them together, and bolted them to the fenders. Super cheap and easy to do, and loading the Blazer does not require any extra effort or time either. The one thing I would like to do is make the fenders removable so I have the option to load it without the fender ramps....mainly if I ever break something or the truck will not run it would be way easier to load (basically requires 4wd, unless you wanted to hit it with some momemtum....which I don't).
Click to expand...

That's all the same things that were going through my mind when I was buying. We even have the same BS wood ramps to protect the fenders. It would be a bitch to get a dead truck on my trailer, though. I'm looking at whether it would be easier to make fenders removeable or cut out the inboard side of the fenders.:dunno: It kinda depends on how the fenders are mounted, I guess.
 
6.2Blazer said:
Sounds like you already ordered it, but will go ahead and post up my thoughts.

I considered deckovers, but decided against them. More expensive, heavier, and didn't like the higher overall height (higher COG, and something overlooked is a lot more wind resistance when towing down the highway).

My Blazer is wider than the wheelwells, so I drive over the fenders. Buddy's is the same way. I had some old sections of wood 4x4's I simply stacked up to the same height, screwed them together, and bolted them to the fenders. Super cheap and easy to do, and loading the Blazer does not require any extra effort or time either. The one thing I would like to do is make the fenders removable so I have the option to load it without the fender ramps....mainly if I ever break something or the truck will not run it would be way easier to load (basically requires 4wd, unless you wanted to hit it with some momemtum....which I don't).
Click to expand...

Yeah those were the main reasons I didn't go with a deckover. Being almost a foot taller than the other plus a lifted truck and the winds can get pretty bad up here.

I will rig up something to make the fenders flod out of the way or QD's to just remove them. Right now I will fit on the deck ok, but I am planning on the LTB 40's and IIRC they are 14" wide so I may do like twoslow did with the add on to the deck.
 
A good example of possible issues getting a wounded truck loaded.....well, in this case unloaded. I broke a front axle shaft and the steering on the trail. Getting it loaded wasn't too bad, but when I tried to unload it was raining (steel deck gets slick) and when the front tires tried to back over the ramps it spun and slid the back sideways (aired down 38's, lockers front and rear so true 3wd). With no steering couldn't correct it, and even with steering it would of been interesting trying to power off the trailer.

As far as the deck widening, I don't see any real reason this needs done. Even if the tires stick out 1-2" on each side they are not going to slip off the side of the trailer. If it does slide off then you have other issues. On my truck the tires hang over 2" each side, but the tires are 15.5" wide so there is still over 13" of tire planted on the trailer deck, and properly strapped down it's not going to move side to side any.
 
6.2Blazer said:
As far as the deck widening, I don't see any real reason this needs done. Even if the tires stick out 1-2" on each side they are not going to slip off the side of the trailer. If it does slide off then you have other issues. On my truck the tires hang over 2" each side, but the tires are 15.5" wide so there is still over 13" of tire planted on the trailer deck, and properly strapped down it's not going to move side to side any.
Click to expand...


in va,md or penn if you are caught with your tires hanging over the edges of the trailer you will be pulled and the dot will fine you its against the law here hense the reason i did it...its also against the law here to drive around with no fenders on the trailer hense what i did...i do agree with you on the tire haning off though and how much is on your fine its just against the law here

i didnt do the wood beside the fenders for 2 reasons

1.if i wanted to tow a car for someone it would an issue (tow my roomates camero out to the strip every now and then)

2.if my tires were muddy or it was raining there is no way id be able to make it over them and if i did i would be a scary experiance...i cant imagine doing it at night (when i end up loading most of the time) in the rain..the other day it was raining and my truck wouldnt even get on the trailer in 2wd actually ate the paint off the ramps :doah:
 
6.2Blazer said:
and properly strapped down it's not going to move side to side any.
Click to expand...

this is one big thing your gonna want to figure out as soon as you get your trailer im about to get rig of the straps and chain to the frame only right now here is how im running

002-21.jpg


i run a strap to the axle in the back and a strap across the hitch to keep the bounce down now im gonna chain to the frame only...
 
I dig the fender Mod. I havn't seen that b4. If I did that i bet id slice my sidewalls open. haha.

I strap down to my b52 bumper and a dring in my rear bumper. If I get my own trailer someday I think Id add a saftey strap/chain to each axle.
 
twoslo4five0 said:
in va,md or penn if you are caught with your tires hanging over the edges of the trailer you will be pulled and the dot will fine you its against the law here hense the reason i did it...its also against the law here to drive around with no fenders on the trailer hense what i did...i do agree with you on the tire haning off though and how much is on your fine its just against the law here

i didnt do the wood beside the fenders for 2 reasons

1.if i wanted to tow a car for someone it would an issue (tow my roomates camero out to the strip every now and then)

2.if my tires were muddy or it was raining there is no way id be able to make it over them and if i did i would be a scary experiance...i cant imagine doing it at night (when i end up loading most of the time) in the rain..the other day it was raining and my truck wouldnt even get on the trailer in 2wd actually ate the paint off the ramps :doah:
Click to expand...

If it's against the law in your state, than I completely understand. I also guess on mine it has the stake pockets with a strap that runs the length of the trailer on the outside of the stake pockets...so even though the tires are wider than the deck they really aren't wider than the stake pockets...and with a standard 83" wide car hauler trailer a K5 with standard axles (not Rockwells) would have to be really wide for it to be obviously noticable.

I've loaded the Blazer on my trailer (wood fender ramps) in the pouring rain, with the tires packed with mud, and in snow/ice and it's never been an issue. But as you said there is no way I could do it in 2wd.

I can also remove the wood ramps in about 5 minutes, 2 bolts per side and pick them up off the trailer.

Again, not saying this is the ultimate idea by any means (in fact, I think it's slightly hillbilly) but it does work.....for me at least.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Latest Posts

Top Bottom