Did I purchase the right trailer?

[SamWalton]

I have been looking around for sometime and thought I knew what kind of trailer to buy, but after loading the B26 on the new trailer I was unsure I made the right choice. My B26 weighs a little over 4000 lbs. The trailer is rated for 7000 and weighs about 1900 it self. My problem is depending on the position I park the B26 on the trailer it appears to put a lot of stress on the supporting lumber and getting the tires to rest on the steal beams below could be a trick. Am I over reacting of should I have purchased a 7000 lbs car carrier?

 

[RollTideRam]

I think you are all right on your trailer. You could have a few more braces added for peace of mind. Nice tractor even if it is the wrong color. JC
Do you get many Wal-Mart jokes?

 

[MrJimi]

What are the main side frame rails made with? It looks like angle I would suggest a minimum of 4" channel side rails and that may be on the light side.
I hope your dealer will let you upgrade to a stronger trailer without any problems. The side rails help the main rails for better support kinda like a bridge effect
keep us posted

 

[radman1]

IMHO, I think it is a little too light in construction. I would call that a landscape-type trailer. Your tractor weighs 4000 lbs, but with the backhoe on, there is a lot of weight on the front and rear tires. That weight is sitting on either wood between 2 peices of angle iron which are probably 24" or more on certer, or sitting on the 2" angle iron itself. Lot of weight for an angle iron. Those trailers can take the weight but better if spread over a wider area. I prefer 3" channel iron cross braces for equipment trailers. Preferably 16" or less on center. 24" OC would be ok for your loads.

I have taken recently purchased trailers back and upgraded. You could also weld in more angle iron cross braces.

 

[QRTRHRS]

Adding more steel to the trailer is going to add yet more weight. Will you still have peace of mind if you modify?

I agree about going back to the dealer to see what kind of remedy you can work out. Better to get it resolved and move on.

 

[SamWalton]

I do get the Wal-Mart jokes frequently but that is ok. I call my dealer to try to get an upgrade to a 7000 lbs car carrier with ramps I is constructed heaver. I hope to do an exchange since they wanted to use this trailer for their roofing work.

 

[plowking]

I haul a 1533 M/F on my P/J 16 foot 7000 gvw landscape trailer, my floor won't bend or sag unless when I tighten it down with binders. I was thinking of adding a steel plate or more boards to doulble the thickness on the deck. My GC2310 wouldn't sag even when tightened down. If you loaded it backwards would that help line tires up with the steel braces below? Another thought is, if you put the backhoe down and chain it to deck that would give another place to disperse the weight of tractor. plowking

 

[plowking]

I looked at your pictures again. Do you have brakes on one axle? Sometimes better to have brakes on both axles depending on gvw of trailer. plowking

 

[George2615]

The trailer you have looks to be a landscape or light construction type trailer (usually about 76" between fenders, car haulers are about 82" between). The trailer you have will do the job but not leave much room for hauling any additional attachments. According to your previous post it looks like you may be able to trade up. If not then you can beef up your boards by bolting on steel or aluminum plate. The plate should at least cover the span between crossbraces. Additional crossbraces could also be added. I also saw your pics and hope you're able to trade up to a higher capacity trailer with brakes on both axles.

 

[SamWalton]

My trailer dealer will trade up no problem. I will bring the old one back tomorrow. The trailer I am concerned about is constructed as follows: Frame: 4x3x1/4, Top rail: 3x2x3/16, Cross members: 3x2x3/16, Tongue: 5" Channel, Uprights: 3x2x3/16, Tongue Brace: 3" Channel. This is a nice trailer but when I pull facing front, my rear tires land on the center of the only large span cross support between the two axles. Top Hat Trailers


I think I am going to order the Deluxe Car Hauler 7000 Series found at the following link Top Hat Trailers The trailer is constructed as follows: Frame: 5" Channel, Front Bump Rail: 2" Square Tube, Cross members: 3x2x3/16, Tongue: 5" Channel Wrap, Tongue Brace: 3" Channel, Floor To Fender Height: 10" I was going to add the following options: Spare Tire & Wheel, Surge Brake 7K, Diamond Plate Tear Drop Fenders (Radius), 7000# Drop Leg Jack. For and additional $300 I could upgrade it to a 9500# GVWR. This option would add two 5200# Axles, 2 5/16" Bulldog Coupler, 225/15 Tires, 7000# Drop Leg Jack and 3" Channel Cross members.

Do you all think this trailer will move my B26 safely? Also is the 9500# GVWR necessary? I am worried about adding to much weight for my Jeep Liberty. I have the 5K tow package and I know I will be over by 1500 lbs. I only plan on a few short trips and later I will purchase a truck. Thanks for all your advice!

 

[plowking]

I would just question the surge brake. I haven't seen much of them except for on pop up campers. I like the brake controler in vehicle,that way you can adjust the gain. On surge brakes,you might have to get out and put a pin in the surge controller when you back up, so brakes won't go on while backing. plowking

 

[sandman2234]

Due to the short wheelbase length of your tow vehicle, please be careful! I know 5,000 is 5,000 pounds, but when you put a 20 foot tail on a dog, sometimes the tail wags the dog instead of the dog wagging the tail.
David from jax

 

[radman1]

I too would pass on the surge brakes and go electric. 7K jack is probably overkill. For $300 more, I would go the 9500#, especially if you plan on getting a p/u later.

 

[aczlan]

I too would pass on the surge brakes and go electric. 7K jack is probably overkill. For $300 more, I would go the 9500#, especially if you plan on getting a p/u later.

I agree on the surge brakes, electric is safer (IMHO) as you can control them from the cab.

Aaron Z

 

[George2615]

I'll agree on upgrading to 9500# for only $300 more and to go for electric brakes on both axles. Surge brakes can be a problem when backing up.

 

[AlanB]

I would definetely go electric brakes given the choice, and I have both.

 

[SamWalton]

We turned in the trailer for a full credit on a new 18 heavy duty equipment trailer. This trailer came standard with many features so we only added a few options. We removed the 2 dove tail since we will also haul material and could use the full 18 and having it flat at the rear gives us more options on positioning our B26 to balance the load. We also lowered the GVWR from 10400# to 9950# to eliminate the CDL requirement. This basically downgraded the load range of the tires. Other options were 5' Slide-N-Ramps, 8 D-rings, spare tire and LED lights. The standard features were two 5200# axles, 2 -5/6 bulldog coupler, 10,000# drop leg jack, heavy-duty diamond plate double broke w/drop fenders, 4 wheel electric breaks with break-away unit, Stake pockets, spare rack, 6" channel main frame, 3" pipe front bumper rail, cross members are 3"x4.1# channel 16" centers, 6" channel wrap tongue x 48" and a 3" flat channel tongue brace. The estimated weight is 2570 lbs. This leaves 7380 lbs for hauling capacity or with the 4200 lbs B26 with the trailer weight to total 6770 lbs. taking our Jeep liberty over its towing capacity by 1770 lbs. I am more worried about the tongue weight on the Jeep liberty. We will purchase a tuck if we plan on moving the B26 a lot but currently we have a 5 mile drive to the home site. We will store the B26 in a 40 HC sea container after we get some of the preliminary site preparation complete. Top Hat Trailers


Thanks for all your valuable opinions.

 

[plowking]

Nice choice Sam, or is that Sam's choice, sorry about the pun, What is the class or rating of receiver on the Jeep Liberty? Five miles shouldn't be bad if no big hills,otherwise might need a tranny cooler . There are load leveling hitches available but costs could make getting a truck a better option. Unfortunately just owning truck for towing can be an expensive deal, unless truck can have other uses. plowking

 

[radman1]

Only hauling it 5 miles with the Liberty should not be a big issue. Take it easy and you will be fine. Maybe the last trailer you buy, so your decision will last a long time and you made a fine choice. By the way, can I borrow it some time?

 

[SamWalton]

Nice choice Sam, or is that Sam's choice, sorry about the pun, What is the class or rating of receiver on the Jeep Liberty? Five miles shouldn't be bad if no big hills,otherwise might need a tranny cooler . There are load leveling hitches available but costs could make getting a truck a better option. Unfortunately just owning truck for towing can be an expensive deal, unless truck can have other uses. plowking

Our Liberty came from the factory with a class III hitch max tongue weight of 500 lbs, max towing is 5000 lbs. If I can position the B26 as to keep the tongue weight down I think we will be fine.