Fleetneck trailer review

[WantedWolf]

while looking for a flatdeck trailer I couldnt find much "owner provided info" on Diamond C Fleetneck Flatdecks so I wanted to add my experience to the forum. hopefully helping others make better decisions than I made.

We are moving apx 1400kms and needed a trailer for the move and for future farm uses. With trucks, tractors, hay and logs in mind we looked into the 25+5 10000# tandem dual gooseneck models. Norbert was a second runner up but was eliminated because the rub rail was 1.5 or 2 inch tubing so you couldnt hook straps anywhere on it. Loadmax also makes a good trailer. In hindsight I should have looked deeper at a Gatormade they look great but I dont know of a dealer in my area.

We ended up purchasing a 25+5 fleetneck with tandem 12k# dually axels with electric brakes , pop up dove tail and folding ramps. Sway control tube. The 22# I beams pierce the deck (low profile 33 inch deck height) Checker plate dove, ramps and wheel well plates. dual bulldog 12k# spring loaded drop leg jacks and bulldog 30k# load leveling coupler. GVW 25900k#. Ordered new from Texas confused:8 week wait) and all wraped in a Storm grey 2 part acyrilic industrial paint. Time will tell but this seems to be a very rugged built trailer. However IMO the paint will never last the factory did a poor paint job to begin with and then (I assume) the dealer offloaded the trailer with forks padded with sandpaper, scraping patches 4x 20+ inches long in four places(pics). They said theyd touch it up and did touch up 2 of the 4 scratches poorly. Oh well its an excuse to paint it camo with endura right! I was very unimpressed by theyre steel finishing standards, the coupler(pic) has a poorly made weld that resulted in a point as sharp as a nail (I need to fix before I ruin my first tarp) There is mig wire "tails" all over the trailer and one stake pocket was dented. The rear beams at the dovetail were left as raw torch cuts and might also do some damage . An after thought while turning in my tiny yard was wow they sure cut thru the dirt well. Another thing the trailer has an amazing wiring system top quality componants and they dont even protect it with grommets (pic). I had called the manufacturer as I got no reply on a prior email, my wife and I never spoke to a person and were hung up on 5 times. I did receive a contact from the warrenty dept after writing a very angry letter, they assured me that the dealer would take care of it. Now I did not push hard enough for complete satisfaction but the dealer did not repaint all the damage and although I asked the rough cuts were also never fixed. I waited patently for a long time to get this trailer and it should have been top quaility as I paid top dollar and I felt like I should be the first to damage it.

I realize about buyer beware and there were things I would change to avoid regrets on this purchase. compared to $180k live in horse trailers i guess my little flat deck wasnt enough for the dealer to really want me happy. (not even a free spare.) So I find my joy in that I wont be buying my 4 horse trailer from them next spring. All in all it should serve many years and id recomend anyone to look closly at the fleetnecks just look even closer at your dealer. If your in the AB area and want the dealers name message me.

Happy new year

 

[WantedWolf]

I guess I should post some of the good pics too

 

[Diamondpilot]

It looks good from afar but like you said the fit and finish leave a lot to be desired. I am a trailer dealer here in Indiana, Boat Trailers, but the same standards still apply. To be honest I would not have accepted the trailer and made them take it back but that is just me.

If you do not get a timely response contact the Better Business Bureau, that will get the attention of someone on the top level.

Chris

 

[JESSE1]

I've had my Fleetneck 28' dual tandem for 10 years now. It has 12,000# axles and is a dovetail like yours. It's been a very rugged trailer and pulls excellent. Only real problem was the paint. It was painted with a low quality paint and it faded out quickly. In the summer of '07 I removed the floor and had the trailer sandblasted inside and out. Then I primed and painted the whole trailer.
Before I bought the trailer I compared several brands. The Fleetneck looked the best built and finished out. I think the quality control is not what it needs to be but otherwise the Fleetneck has been a good trailer.

 

[WantedWolf]

Hi jesse

I noticed from a previous post you have a fleetneck I really like you headache plate was it an extra item?


Yeah Diamondpilot I do regret taking it of the lot but I think I will mention again to Diamond C that there quality control team needs retraining.

 

[JESSE1]

I don't remember adding it as an option so I think it was standard at the time.

Before I decided on Fleetneck, I looked at Big Tex and a few other trailer manufacturers in the area. To me, Fleetneck had the best looking and most substantially built trailer. Since I live about 40 miles from the plant, I was able to check on the trailer's progress a few times while it was built. Like I said, my only complaint has been the quality of the paint. The trailer looked good when new but the finish weathered quickly.

 

[ltdueck]

Hi

I just found out about this site yesterday ,,, i like it a lot.

First of all , please let me say that I AM NOT on this web site to try to sell anybody anything!

That having been said ,,, here goes.

I am a former employee of PJ Trailers.
I am now the owner of a large volume trailer dealership.
IN my opinion one of the better trailers available today.
I have seen too many trailers in my life time , but , they will probably be the death of me.

Let me say something in defense of some of the manfactures that were mentioned in this thread.

When buying a trailer,,,,keep in mind,,,it is a trailer.

The manufacture and/or the dealer is usually not making enough money on the unit for them to make that Cadillac that you had envishioned.
When i was an employee of PJ Trailers , I was always screaming down the backs of the quality control dept. The response I would get was that too spend more time on the unit will cost too much ,, there fore causeing the prices to go up,,,then they will have built a product that cant be sold in a cheap market.

I still believe that the PJ is one of the top quality trailers out there ,, along with Load Max , Diamond C , Big Tex,,and a few others.

The biggest problem here is that there are too many Crap manufactures in north Texas and in Oklahoma.

Here is an example.

A farmer is looking to buy a 27' trailer.

22' deck plus a 5 ft dovetail with flip over ramps.

he price shops this unit till he finds that when buying one of the name brand trailers at a reputable dealer that is marking the price up high enough to take care of the customer after the sale,,,he can buy it for approx 9 to 10 thousand.

but ,, the farmer is spending his cash money ,, so he is thinking,,,wow,,it sure would be nice if i could save a thousand or 2.

he shops around on the internet and classified ads till he finds that he can drive to north texas or oklahoma and sometimes go directly to the manufacture and pick it up ,, or possibly to an out of town (farm and tractor and feed and used cars and country furniture and fruit stand) and buy the trailer for 500 bucks over dealers cost,,,therefore saving at least 1,000.00 dollars.


he takes the trailer home ,,, now he does not have anyone who will stand behind the product.
he is a nobody to the manufacture or the dealer,,they dont have time to listen to you complain,,,heck,,they didnt make enough money on the unit to waste their time on the aftersale customer service.

i hope that if the slow economy does one thing for us,,i hope it will get rid of some of the fly by night manufactures and the trailer wh0r&s who give the the rest of us a bad reputation.

when buying a trailer ,, please ,, go to a reputable dealer and look it over for yourself.

Again,,,not trying to sell anyhing,,,buy the trailer of your choice from a dealer of your choice,,just do the research,,,get a fair deal,,take care of the dealer so he can take care of you.

Now,,if the dealer is not taking care of you,,,dont hesitate to raise as much **** as you need to,,,,just dont expect to have the best trailer out there if you bought the cheapest thing that you could find.


WOW,,that was supposed to be a qwik reply,,turned out a bit long,,,,,,,,,

 

[WantedWolf]

welcome ltdueck, Im a newer member and it is the most helpfull site ever.

But just to let you know of my individual situation

Of course I kept in mind it was a trailer I knew everything I wanted, that is how I landed at the local diamond c dealer maybe one of the most reputable in my area.

None of the trailers I mentioned need defending I said they were runners up, the dealer I purchased from had sold PJ trailers in the past and had some on lot, they said they decided to stop selling them(dont know why) but they didnt seem to compare. I paid way more than I would have for the PJ in my specs. I could have bought a pretty nice caddy (used of course).

Ive done enough metal fab work to know chamfering every edge on a 30' trailer would be unreal but to pull a piece of mig wire off a weld with pliers you might even have in your hand ???why not??? Leaving it just draws attention to your less than perfect welding.

So I might have paid a little more so I wouldnt have to drive to Texas to pick it up. But If I drove down Im 99% sure I could have brought it home with none of the paint damage from loading/unloading.

Again I do understand it was my poor desicion to take it from the dealers lot, but I did. So I was satisfied to write a (IMO) very fair review of a product I had an experience with. and leave it at that. Dont dwell on regrets But from what ive heard Diamond C needs to look at there Prep, paint and finishing a lot harder to maintain a good name in the industry. they are not fly by night to my understanding.

However about what you said here...
"just dont expect to have the best trailer out there if you bought the cheapest thing that you could find"

I can relate that to my truck (way too much) but for the trailer that just doesnt apply I think I bought the second most expensive trailer I looked at the highest $ was a different beast (15000kaxels). kinda wish I had the winch that came on that one though.

And I dont think you should worry about the long posts. I havent been yelled at yet. ...Gives you a chance to get your point across.

happy holidays, I hope you all can spend it with those you love

 

[jcummins]

Anyone with experience with these pierced beam trailers such as Pro-Trak? The lower height of these trailers seem favorable....but not sure of the construction method. It also seems from a little research, several other manufacturers are getting into this method.

 

[WantedWolf]

The peirced design saved me about 4 inchs on final deck height. This is the best pic I have now on how the Horizontal deck supports "pierce frame" It shows from underneath and inside of frame Ibeams. The channels are welded on the outside of I beam only.
I havent done enough full loaded work to break any welds yet. when I first got it I did ask a friend who I trust for metal advice, if there would be a downside to adding 100lbs of weld to finish the trailer but I guess there is an enginered need for some flex.