Big update. A buddy and I spent the whole day driving around the state yesterday. We visited a few large trailer dealers and talked on the phone to a few more. After playing with manual and power tiles on these "split deck" equipment trailers, I decided that manual tilt was the better choice for me. It's about the same speed as the power tilt, I don't have to worry about having a battery charged, and the tongue isn't filled up with boxes of pumps and batteries (so I have room for a tongue box full of straps and such).
We stopped at a dealer that had a 14k# GVWR trailer (I don't remember the brand and I tossed their brochures. They carried Bri-Mar, Big Tex, Corn Pro, etc.), but it was longer than I wanted and it had a hydraulic damping cylinder but the locking valve was on the cylinder itself. So to lock it in the "up" position you had to crawl to the middle of the trailer (under the tilted deck) and crank the valve down. Every other trailer I looked at had a valve at the side of the trailer. It was also way overbuilt. While that's normally a good thing, it meant that it weighed so much empty that it could actually haul a lot less than any of the other trailers we looked at.
The one we originally thought I'd be buying yesterday was this 14k# PJ T6, so we went to DR Trailer next:
20' x 6" Channel Equipment Tilt | Flatbed, Dump, Utility, and Enclosed Cargo Trailers for Sale in Milan Michigan
This was a nice trailer. I liked the design of the tilt lock mechanism. It had standard rub rails over the stake pockets. I compared that trailer to the 10k# GVWR T5 and to their 10k# full-tilt option. The only issue I had with this trailer was the small details. The reflective stickers going down the length of the frame were all peeling off. The dealer sticker was on at a crazy angle, this trailer had been used to haul another to the dealership so there were a couple of surface rust spots on the top of the frame where that trailer had been strapped down, and the deck material was not very nice. Lots of splits, gaps, etc. Nothing major, but a bit annoying. We called a couple other PJ dealers for prices and their price blew them out of the water.
So I was about ready to ignore the cosmetic flaws, go back, and tow it home when my friend found a good-sized Load Trail dealer about a half hour away. I decided that it would be good due-diligence to see what they had.
They had a Load Trail TD14, which is basically identical to the PJ T6 but without standard rub rails. It does have some D-rings on it instead. They also used a two-cylinder damping system, though it had a bit of "slop" in it. If you closed the valve while the deck was up, then stepped on the high-end, the deck would sag so that the tail was a few inches off the ground. The system probably needed bled. The lock mechanism for the deck wasn't as nice as the PJ, but it functioned just fine.
That dealer also had a Lamar trailer that was absolutely identical to the Load Trail, except it had rub rails (and the D-rings) and the "knife edge" didn't come down to as fine a point. Instead, there was about a 3/4" lip on the end. It had been on the lot since October so even though it retailed for a couple hundred more, he was willing to give it to me for a bit less than what he wanted for the Load Trail.
http://static.parastorage.com/media/0338ee_98564084d5a94c2eb64ae0ddbcacdfd2.gif_256
Then we spotted the new Load Trail TL10. It's a low-profile tilt-deck trailer. The deck is six inches lower than the standard trailers, which I think will make it more pleasant to load and tow. It is a few inches wider between the fenders, which will be nice when it is used for cars. On the low-profile trailers, the stake pockets are in a raised rail that goes all the way around the deck and there are some standard D-rings. One nice thing is that the jack is much farther into the front of the tongue. That means you don't need that long crank to operate it and you can easily get to the jack foot. These trailers all have a quick-retract jack-foot that is really cool (way less cranking the jack), but you have to be able to reach a pin that is near the ground on the jack leg. We hooked the TL10 up to my truck and took it for a short tow to see what it was like. It tows nice. Empty, I didn't really know it was there. The only issue is that it's so low all you see in your side mirrors from most angles are the fenders. I looked at numbers for the TL10 and the TL14 (the 14k# version) and decided I had to have the TL14. Here's a link:
*NEW* Low-Profile Tandem Axle Tilt Deck 14,000 Lb 6" Channel Frame Load Trail Trailer Manufacturing
When the dealer and I were talking numbers, he originally said the TL14 would be $100 less than the TD14 I was looking at. When he looked it up, he saw he was mistaken and it was supposed to be $100 more, but said he'd give it to me for the lower price. I immediately accepted and it's on order. Unfortunately, I have to wait a looooong time for it to come so I had to postpone a couple of tows I already had planned. But I think it's worth the wait to get the right trailer.
I want to thank everybody for all the help. I've already ordered a 3PH trailer mover so I can get the thing into its (tight) parking spot when it finally shows up.