Newbie to Trailers... Looking but no idea what for

[Hay Dude]

That's yesteryear. The new electric Fords will tow a 1.3 million-pound train.
It's true, I seen the commercial.

And the Ecoboost has more bottom end than my 6.7L Cummins.
Probably pull me backwards in a tug of war....

 

[JohnnyMX]

Those flat deck look nice from PJ Trailer. I am not sure if I'm better off getting the right trailer now for as many needs as possible or getting one for my immediate need. One of the projects I have is collecting pallets to reclaim the wood for redoing the inside of my garage/barn. If I make a trip out and there are 20 pallets, I'd like to grab as many as I can in one trip so this project doesnt' take forever. A 20' flat deck may be a touch overkill in that scenario. My other immediate need is to haul walk behind tiller, and smaller mowers as I help my mother move. Some furniture, grills, smaller stuff at first. If I were to buy a 20' trailer, it would be one that I know will haul any of my heavier equipment, cars, tractor with implements etc. I think my budget is around 2K max. I may not be ready for towing all the other stuff especially at the current prices. It would have been nice to be able to take the tractor to my mom's house and make light work of a few jobs.

Are there any better brands of utility trailers out there that tend to be known high quality or if they are known to be garbage and should be avoided.

 

[Gee Ray]

Be careful hauling pallets. They are heavy. You will see the guys that collect pallets for resale and their trucks are often over loaded.

 

[Cataclysm]

This Lamar 16' dump does it all.
View attachment 700069

That is a NICE trailer! I have 2 Lamar equipment trailers. They both are well built!

 

[dodge man]

With a budget of 2k you will be looking at something smaller, probably single axle.

 

[RichM752]

That is a NICE trailer! I have 2 Lamar equipment trailers. They both are well built!

Thanks. Thats's my new set of sideboards. Pretty spiffy. I had the 10' 2x12's in the barn. Needed a 12footer for the 6' pieces on the ends. Almost fell over at the lumber yard. $47 smackers.

 

[sresites]

I can only give opinions of my experiences with quality control over the last two years.

My Diamond C trailer was a great concept but quality control in construction was terrible. Feedback was that they’re hand built. In a year and a half I just had to get rid of it before another lemon dropped.

Trailer two. I ordered an H&H Speedloader last November. Finally am driving back to Iowa to pick it up next week. I’ve got an H&H 16’ car hauler bought back in 2008 used. Wonderful quality of build. Last year I rented an older Speedloader and loved it. Quality control at its best. 14k 22’.

I ordered a 16k 26’ Speedloader. Relative picked it up for me and took pics. It looks like it was fabricated in someone’s garage without jigs, used a 20 year old stick welder and paint prep as bad as you can imagine.

More details to follow in a separate thread.

 

[CoyPatton]

I would look for something like this. I believe (but am not positive) that in your state there is some legal reason you want to keep your trailer GVWR 9999lbs or below. I would get the 20’. You could haul your mower and RTV at the same time. Most people that buy small trailers wind up buying a bigger one later. You could haul a vehicle on one of these, most any compact tractor, long building materials, long gates, fence panels, etc.

View attachment 700003

Many states have weight limits to keep the operator under commercial licensing requirements. Typically this is total weight including towing vehicle, trailer, and total load (including everything in the tow vehicle and towed trailer). Pros and cons to this process from the individual, but short term it is the law if your state had it in place. You need to know the laws as they apply to you in what every state you may be pulling a trailer.
Also learn what is required for securing your load! Your total weight not your license rated weight will be a big factor on what rules you are judged by during a traffic stop. In an accident, following DOT guidelines is your best protection.

 

[ljjhouser]

Many states have weight limits to keep the operator under commercial licensing requirements. Typically this is total weight including towing vehicle, trailer, and total load (including everything in the tow vehicle and towed trailer). Pros and cons to this process from the individual, but short term it is the law if your state had it in place. You need to know the laws as they apply to you in what every state you may be pulling a trailer.
Also learn what is required for securing your load! Your total weight not your license rated weight will be a big factor on what rules you are judged by during a traffic stop. In an accident, following DOT guidelines is your best protection.

This post is worth reading twice. I have a 14k tilt Ezloader Doolittle equipment trailer trailer. I tow it with my tractor loaded and I am usually very close to the GCVR. Often, I stop by a Cat scale to make sure I am not over GVWR. I am not concerned about being stopped and caught. HOWEVER, I would really be concerned if involved in an accident and got a ticket for overweight. I doubt if the insurance would pay at that point.
Things you may want to consider on a new trailer:

A Setback Jack - Not placed at the Y just behind the coupler. It is back 3 or 4' mounted on the trailer frame. Can get with top crank or side crank.

LED Lighting - Or, you can add led markers and tail lights like Optronics Glow lights.

EZ Lube Axles - grease bearings without removing tires.

If you get tandem (7K or 14K), some states require brakes on all four, not just 2 wheels. Missouri requires all four.

Hinged ramps or removable slide under ramps.

Height adjustable coupler or welded on frame coupler.

A tilt bed trailer is handy, but it can double the weight of the trailer and can cost almost twice as much. My 14K is well built but is essentially two frames and weighs 3700 pounds. Grately increases you vehicle tow weight load.

Good luck Larry

 

[Hotpot]

I have two trailers; one is a 5x8 1500 lb rated single axle. The other is a 7000lb rated twin axle 18 footer and what I’ve learned is that the bigger the trailer the bigger the pain in the ass. More tires to maintain/buy, more bearing, harder to park, hard to move, more ware on the tow vehicle, more gas towing empty, can’t make it through the drive through , harder to store, takes more paint and metal to repair, more lights needed. My 5x8 is affectionately called “my little buddy”. I usually move the trailer to the truck, rather than the truck to the trailer and easy on and off. Not sure I’m on board with the thinking buy the biggest trailer you can. I personally like the smallest trailer that will safely do the job. Just some of my thoughts on the subject.

 

[Looking4new]

Keep in mind that whatever trailer you get should NOT be made of aluminum. You list your home state as New York and they use a lot of salt, calcium chloride and magnesium chloride on the roads and they will cause aluminum to corrode. Powder coated steel is better for your application and pound the POR15 to it as soon as you get it.

 

[bdog]

Those flat deck look nice from PJ Trailer. I am not sure if I'm better off getting the right trailer now for as many needs as possible or getting one for my immediate need. One of the projects I have is collecting pallets to reclaim the wood for redoing the inside of my garage/barn. If I make a trip out and there are 20 pallets, I'd like to grab as many as I can in one trip so this project doesnt' take forever. A 20' flat deck may be a touch overkill in that scenario. My other immediate need is to haul walk behind tiller, and smaller mowers as I help my mother move. Some furniture, grills, smaller stuff at first. If I were to buy a 20' trailer, it would be one that I know will haul any of my heavier equipment, cars, tractor with implements etc. I think my budget is around 2K max. I may not be ready for towing all the other stuff especially at the current prices. It would have been nice to be able to take the tractor to my mom's house and make light work of a few jobs.

Are there any better brands of utility trailers out there that tend to be known high quality or if they are known to be garbage and should be avoided.

Within reason it is hard to have a trailer too large. A 40’ gooseneck would be a hassle maneuvering around but a 20’ is no big deal. Really short trailers are very difficult to back up. I guess everything has its purpose but to me small trailers can’t haul much more than a bed of a pickup. If I am going to buy and maintain a trailer I want it to be capable of hauling whatever I need. I can’t think of many scenarios where a 20’ trailer would be too big for much of anything.

Trailer brands are a lot like pickup brands. Ask three different people and you will get three different answers on which one is best and which ones are garbage. Most big name trailer brands are pretty decent and you really do get what you pay for. Yes the prices across the board are higher now due to material costs but it is still a very competitive business and if you see two similar appearing trailers and one is a lot cheaper than the other really study what you are getting as the cheaper one is likely cutting corners somewhere. Maybe it is a cheaper jack and coupler, maybe cheaper tires, maybe brakes only on one axle, maybe lighter material for the frame, cheaper paint, whatever.

 

[two_bit_score]

Those flat deck look nice from PJ Trailer. I am not sure if I'm better off getting the right trailer now for as many needs as possible or getting one for my immediate need. One of the projects I have is collecting pallets to reclaim the wood for redoing the inside of my garage/barn. If I make a trip out and there are 20 pallets, I'd like to grab as many as I can in one trip so this project doesnt' take forever. A 20' flat deck may be a touch overkill in that scenario. My other immediate need is to haul walk behind tiller, and smaller mowers as I help my mother move. Some furniture, grills, smaller stuff at first. If I were to buy a 20' trailer, it would be one that I know will haul any of my heavier equipment, cars, tractor with implements etc. I think my budget is around 2K max. I may not be ready for towing all the other stuff especially at the current prices. It would have been nice to be able to take the tractor to my mom's house and make light work of a few jobs.

Are there any better brands of utility trailers out there that tend to be known high quality or if they are known to be garbage and should be avoided.

You will probably not get a trailer you want for $2,000 max but take a look at the Diamond C LPX trailers. I love my 22’ gooseneck. Very well built.

LPX - Diamond C Trailers

Our model LPX low profile extreme duty equipment trailer has attitude, style and strength. Now features our exclusive Engineered Beam Technology.

www.diamondc.com

 

[Hay Dude]

IMO, they are all built about the same. Note: Diamond C does have it’s one piece neck cut from one piece of steel which is reason for greater cost. They make a nice trailer.
With the rest, I think the difference comes with prep and paint effort. Given equal care, steel quality and running gear, It’s the best prepped/painted trailers, that last the longest.

 

[JohnnyMX]

I ended up getting a 6x12" single axle utility trailer. Given how the prices are at the moment I figure I need to be able to "extend" my truck bed more than I need to be able to tow the MX around. I'll pay for them to come get it if I have issues given decent trailers seemed 6-8K region.

I got one from Home Depot because they had them and I needed something to help my mother move and cleanout the house. The drop sides sold me on this one vs a TSC trailer so I can load a pallet. I also have never driven with a trailer so I guess if I do anything dumb it will be with this one. It still should be able to move my zero turn and the RTV just fine.