Dove tail option help

[Slippy]

I have a 1/2 ton pick up rated to pull 10, 300 lbs. I use leveling bars. I am looking to upgrade my 18ft straight bed 12,000lb trailer to a deckover so I can haul equipment that will not fit between the wheel wells and to haul 4x5 bales of hay.

With my current tailer, it is ofter tricky to positon the equipment that will fit on it so as to not get too much tounge weight. There is not that much room left after I put the equipment on to move it back and forth, but seems to be enough.

Here is my question: would I be better off with a 16 or 18 foot trailer with a fixed 4 ft dove tail, or go with a 16 ft tailer and 5 ft dove tail with center lift dove tail? To be clear about what I mean by center lift, it is the type where the ramps fold up all the way to form a wedge on the dove tail that makes the tire tracks under the ramps on the dove tail level with the trailer. Then you pop up a steel bed in between that make the entire dove tail leve with the flat bed of the trailer. This gives you essentially a 21ft flat bed trailer after loading anything that need to be driven on, or before if you are loading from the side, such as for hay. See link:

Dove Tail options

I have a dump truck I can hook up for the real heavy loads, but for stuff 8-9k and smaller I would like to use the more economical 1/2 ton truck. Like loading hay.

Really though, I am interested to know wheather the pop up dove tail is worth the extra money and is that functional. What I thought was it would give me more room to adjust the load to keep my tounge weight in the correct place. There is not that much difference in the cost of a 16 to 18ft fixed 4ft dove tail. Also, the 16ft with 5ft pop up dove tail is only about $300 more than the 18ft w/ 4th dove tail fixed.

Anyone have any experience with these trailers, thoughts, ideas.
Thanks.

 

[John Deere 3520]

personaly Ive never seen a center lift dovetail.. we have a 20ft deck over with a 4ft dovetail i belive and it works good for us. the adjustable one seems a good idea, it seems like that would work best for you with hauling hay if you only have a 1/2ton and dont want a huge trailer.

 

[coobie]

I have a 1/2 ton pick up rated to pull 10, 300 lbs. I use leveling bars. I am looking to upgrade my 18ft straight bed 12,000lb trailer to a deckover so I can haul equipment that will not fit between the wheel wells and to haul 4x5 bales of hay.

With my current tailer, it is ofter tricky to positon the equipment that will fit on it so as to not get too much tounge weight. There is not that much room left after I put the equipment on to move it back and forth, but seems to be enough.

Here is my question: would I be better off with a 16 or 18 foot trailer with a fixed 4 ft dove tail, or go with a 16 ft tailer and 5 ft dove tail with center lift dove tail? To be clear about what I mean by center lift, it is the type where the ramps fold up all the way to form a wedge on the dove tail that makes the tire tracks under the ramps on the dove tail level with the trailer. Then you pop up a steel bed in between that make the entire dove tail leve with the flat bed of the trailer. This gives you essentially a 21ft flat bed trailer after loading anything that need to be driven on, or before if you are loading from the side, such as for hay. See link:

Dove Tail options

I have a dump truck I can hook up for the real heavy loads, but for stuff 8-9k and smaller I would like to use the more economical 1/2 ton truck. Like loading hay.

Really though, I am interested to know wheather the pop up dove tail is worth the extra money and is that functional. What I thought was it would give me more room to adjust the load to keep my tounge weight in the correct place. There is not that much difference in the cost of a 16 to 18ft fixed 4ft dove tail. Also, the 16ft with 5ft pop up dove tail is only about $300 more than the 18ft w/ 4th dove tail fixed.

Anyone have any experience with these trailers, thoughts, ideas.
Thanks.

Slippy,I have a(20ft) PJ trailer with a dovetail.IMHO it is easier to load equipment verses the straight style trailers.coobie

 

[Slippy]

When you say 20 ft with 4ft dove tail, is that a total of 24ft trailer? Are your dove tails fixed with the ramps stored in a vertical position? Do you have situations where you need that extra 4ft and can't use it effectively because it is sloped?

 

[wallace]

Let me add my 2 cents, I am a trailer dealer and I am specing out a new trailer for my need also.
My past experiance with selling trailers is stay away from a 4 foot bevertail on a deck over trailer.
First of all if you are looking at fold over level deck ramps remeber that the ramps will only be 4 feet long or should we say as long as the bevertail, which will make a very steep angle to load and unload. (very dangerous)
I would get the 5 foot beavertail especially if you have a TLB tractor to load.
One other thing...I think you are cutting your self short with such a short deck length, having a longer deck will allow you to move the load around more, just keep in mind the longer the deck the more the trailer will weigh.
Pop up beaver tail...some like em so don't.
My opinion is unless you can get a combo ramp, that's a ramp that will lie flat on the deck and or stand up behind you, it is almost waisted space.
In my business I need the room so if the equipment has to be loaded far enough for the ramps to lie on the deck to me that's waisted space.
If you are not hauling multiable units then they should work fine for you.

 

[coobie]

When you say 20 ft with 4ft dove tail, is that a total of 24ft trailer? Are your dove tails fixed with the ramps stored in a vertical position? Do you have situations where you need that extra 4ft and can't use it effectively because it is sloped?

My trailer is 20 ft total with ramps that stay up off the deck,held by chains.

 

[Slippy]

The trailers with the fold up ramps that make a flat platform have 5ft dove tails with 5ft ramps. The fixed dove tails are 4 foot dove tails with 5ft ramps that are stored vertically. So in your experience, which do you think works better, or which way do you think you will go? With a 5ft beaver tail and 5ft ramps that give you 10 foot of slope over a 32" rise, which is not bad, I don't think.

If the ramps lay flat on the deck, you can back the load up on to the ramps if necessary. Of course, you still lose the footage, because you can only back up what you can get on with ramps down. They do make the option of being able to lay the ramps flat or a bar to hold them verticle.

When you say too short, do you mean 16, 18 or both? Are you suggesting 20 ft, with beaver tail?

 

[Diamondpilot]

Remember you will not be able to use the 5' of dove tail for equipment hauling in most cases so if the trailer is 20' overall you really only have 15' of deck. That is the main reason I don't care for a dove tail trailer and prefer flat deck trailers. But to each their own, that's why they make them both ways.

Chris

 

[John Deere 3520]

When you say 20 ft with 4ft dove tail, is that a total of 24ft trailer? Are your dove tails fixed with the ramps stored in a vertical position? Do you have situations where you need that extra 4ft and can't use it effectively because it is sloped?

yea pretty much ours is a 20ft flat deck then 4ft of beavertail or dovetail what ever you want to call it.. I wouldnt buy a trailer with out a dove on it makes loading and unloading alot safer..

 

[BarryinMN]

If you do the math is it really worth it? My old 18' (16'+2') bobcat trailer is 2000 lbs, the deckover replacement is a PJ 21' flat deck + 3' beavertail empty weight 4100 lbs. A popup beavertail adds even more weight & not sure it's enough flat area to make a difference.

The second part is the axle location on a deckover is noticeably further back than a bobcat trailer - you have a lot more deck area but also much easier to weigh down that 1/2 ton till it's bumper is dragging.

One option is a tilt trailer - by design they kick forward the axles to accomodate tilting mechanism. The tare weight again jumps but it may be easier balancing bales.

 

[Slippy]

At the risk of being yelled at, how bout a tri-axle trailer?

I would only intend to use in on over the road hauls.

 

[drivadesl]

I've got a very similar trailer set up, but its a gooseneck with 5' BT, and 22' deck. First off, if youre loading to the max, consider the gooseneck its a world of difference to pull vs. a bumper hitch. A dream really, no sway, and much more control. Though I don't load hay, I would think the center lift, would give you more flat usable space vs. a normal beavertail. I agree with Wallace though, get a 5' BT with the deckover, its quite an angle as it is. Finally, I move equipment and this setup worked just right for me, I can pull my tractor forward, while raising the bucket to give clearance in the back to raise the center deck, flip up the ramps flat, and back up dropping down my bushog right on top of the beavertail. So get as much trailer deck as you can afford, you will end up using it. And the flip up deck works for me.

 

[wkpoor]

Here my take on it. I have a 20+4 tag with ramps that can lay down or stand up. I haul a variety of stuff and never have a problem with center of gravity or tongue load issues. Helps if you have a ton truck. You can leave partial load on the dove if need be. Cars can still be loaded. Simply raise the nose a little with the jack and most will roll right on. For those that don't a few handy blocks is all it takes. Tractors of any type shouldn't an issue at all. The 5' doves are nice but will drag coming in or our of parking lots and the such.

 

[Slippy]

That looks like it works real nice. What is the GVW for that trailer? Is that a 3/4 ton van? If so, I would say you have a class IV hitch. I have a class IV hitch plus on my truck. Although it is a 1/2 ton it is a Toyota Tundra and if you go to their web site, it shows how intigrated it is to the frame and how the springs are longated in front to help control sway.

Back to the question though, I am now leaning toward the 20 + 5 pop up. I am going to stick with the bumper pull. That way I don't have to modify my truck and if I do have a heavy load, I can always pull it with my dump truck. But, I think I really like the idea of the 5ft dove with the ramps that I can either fold up on the tail flat or secure in the verticle position.

 

[wkpoor]

That looks like it works real nice. What is the GVW for that trailer? Is that a 3/4 ton van? If so, I would say you have a class IV hitch. I have a class IV hitch plus on my truck. Although it is a 1/2 ton it is a Toyota Tundra and if you go to their web site, it shows how intigrated it is to the frame and how the springs are longated in front to help control sway.

That is a 1 ton van. The trailer is 14K. I bought a titan hitch with 2 1/2 " receiver to put on but its not on yet. Plus I use a 14K/2K ball mount and 17K ball. IMO if you are pulling a bumper pull trailer the Chev van is much better than PU's. They are short from rear frame to axle and the engine sets further back over the front axle giving the van a better balance. If I need to I can pull that tractor almost clear forward on the trailer and not squat the truck too bad. The vans also have full box frames and the hitches are held on by 8 bolts crimped to the frame. The best part is they cost about 1/2 that of a PU. Sway has never been an issue for me.

 

[Harold_J]

Remember you will not be able to use the 5' of dove tail for equipment hauling in most cases so if the trailer is 20' overall you really only have 15' of deck. That is the main reason I don't care for a dove tail trailer and prefer flat deck trailers. But to each their own, that's why they make them both ways.
Chris

...Pop up beaver tail...some like em so don't...

I have a couple of questions. Diamondpilot, how do you load equipment without the dovetail, what kind of ramps? Wallace is saying even a 4' tail is very dangerous but you are able to get by without.

Wallace, what do you think are some of the things people don't like about pop-up tails? I would think they could be a potential weak point if not designed right and could be heavy to pop-up if not equipped with proper springs, but I don't really know. Sure would eliminate the tail dragging when loaded and also give another 5' of nice flat space for lengthy items.

 

[Slippy]

If you look at the link to the web site in this thread, you will see there are three versions to the dove tail. First is fixed. Second is the pop up, which means the frame of the dove tail remains fixed, but when you fold the ramps on to the dove tail, they are designed in a wedge shape to provide a flat extention of the flat bed. Then, in between the two ramps, the metal floor pops up, not the frame of the dove. It then provide a flat surface level with the ramps and the flat bed. It is referrend to in the link as a "Center Lift Dovetail". The third option provides for the entire dove tail to be lifted up, a pin put in, and you have a flat bed for the entire length of the trailer. This is referred to as the "Adjustable Dovetail".
I don't think I would care for the adjustable type as you would be lifting that tail and lowering it. More than what I would want to mess with.

At this point I am leaning toward the pop up. It provides 5ft of dove and 5ft of ramp, which should be good for loading. If I want full 25ft of bed, I have it simply by folding up the ramps and pop up the center. That also alows for additional room should I need to back up the load on the dove to get it just right for balance.

 

[Diamondpilot]

I have a couple of questions. Diamondpilot, how do you load equipment without the dovetail, what kind of ramps? Wallace is saying even a 4' tail is very dangerous but you are able to get by without.

My trailer only sits about 16" off the ground and I have 2 5' long ramps. My dad deals in Corvettes as a hobby and I have hauled 4 or 5 of them for him. I had no problems loading and they are as low to the ground as any car on the market.

Chris

 

[Slippy]

Is it a deckover trailer?

 

[powerstroke444e]

I have a 25' deck over with a 5' dove that is adjustable to flat with 6' ramps that I have to store under the trailer which works good as we are always over length or hauling something odd shaped and with a 33" deck height I rarely have anything I can't get on the trailer, and I would not trade that kind of dove for anything as its very handy.