trailer recomendations!

[Dale1995]

Hey there guys, I have a JD 2320 tractor (1660 lbs)with a 200cx loader, 53" bucket (647 lbs), 5 foot box blade (465lbs)and a 62D Drive over mower deck(422lbs). I have just acquired a piece of property about 4 acres to which I have to do some work on before I can build a new home there. I will have to transport my tractor and attachments to this site on a regular basis, and since I live about 7 miles from this new site its not feasable to drive everything over there everytime I want to go do some work on that property. So I guess I need to buy a trailer....but what should I get? There are many types out there and price is a major issue. Any thoughts about types of trailer and brands would be a big help, how much capacity do I need?

 

[Diamondpilot]

For what you have to tow a 16' standard landscape type trailer would suit you just fine. Most are 76" wide between the fenders. You will need a 1/2 ton truck with a V8 and sense you are going to a unaproved property 4x4 will probably be a must.

Something with dual axles and a good set of 5' or longer ramps. Make sure you get brakes on at least one axle but both would be more desirable. As for brands watch out for the really cheap ones. I like trailers with full wrap around tongues. That means the steel that makes up the tongue extends to the axle area. Many trailers only extend the tongue steel back a few feet under the deck and are easily damaged by tweaking the trailer.

Chris

 

[LBrown59]

Hey there guys, I have a JD 2320 tractor (1660 lbs)with a 200cx loader, 53" bucket (647 lbs), 5 foot box blade (465lbs)and a 62D Drive over mower deck(422lbs). I have just acquired a piece of property about 4 acres to which I have to do some work on before I can build a new home there. I will have to transport my tractor and attachments to this site on a regular basis, and since I live about 7 miles from this new site its not feasable to drive everything over there everytime I want to go do some work on that property. So I guess I need to buy a trailer....but what should I get? There are many types out there and price is a major issue. Any thoughts about types of trailer and brands would be a big help, how much capacity do I need? [/quote]



I'm looking for a 7000 pound 18' trailer and a 1 ton SRW pick up to tow it with for my BX23 and BX1500s.

 

[radioman]

7k trailer is what you need. 10-12 is nice but not necessary for distance you are doing but you won't have to upgrade in future. IF you get the landscape trailer and since your JD is a bit heavier then my kubota, you might have to add extra bars to support the mesh on gate. Mine flexes a little when my bucket is full of stone driving down so I plan on adding more support to be safe.

 

[KeithInSpace]

Concur with min of 16' x 7' with 7,000# capacity. What tow vehicle do you have? Personally, my truck is rated to 9,000#, so instead of leaving capacity "on the table", I got a 10k# trailer. Once you go from a landscape (railed) trailer to a flat-deck (no rails) trailer, the cost difference was within my pain threshold.

And Mr. Diamondpilot is right...lots of the 'landscape trailers' I've seen only have brakes on one axle.

And don't skimp on the controller! I see these "time based" and mechanical controllers and think, "Do they still sell this junk?" Get yourself a nice Tekonsha Prodigy or P3, both available for well under $200. I run the P3 and LOVE it. Very natural braking and informative display.

And while we're talking, I also LOVE having a weight distributing hitch. I use it both for my 20' trailer (2,200# trailer currently loaded with ~4,500# of #57 stone) and my 19' travel trailer (~5,500# wet). What a world of difference it makes...makes the trailer feel more like a part of my truck than this odd thing stuck out the back door.

Good luck with your decision.

 

[Baucom]

16', 7000#, equipment trailer (no rails), with ramps. It'll give you somewhere right around 5000# of payload on the trailer and sufficient space to balance your load, without sacrificing too much payload to additional trailer length. Unless you're only hauling lawn mowers, anything over 16' benefits from stepping up to 5200# axles.

When I was looking at trailers, I checked out a really nice Gator Made 16' 7000# with ramps, no rails, and tandem brake axles. I forget the price, it was in 2007, but I believe it was around 15-1600 with 2 brake axles. Something along those lines would be ideal. Since you don't mention your tow vehicle, I'll suggest tandem brake axles (good idea regardless of your tow vehicle).

 

[taborekle]

Wow, lots of recommendations for 7000 lb car hauler trailers.

While I can't argue with the safty factor of a 7000 lb trailer, the cost of it would be hugh.

I purchased about 4 months ago a small 8ftX12ft Mustang flat bed trailer that is rated for about 2500 lbs. IMHO it can carry more then that, as its a dual axle (ea 2000lb rated). No trailer brakes.

Its the 2nd picture down on this page:

::: Cargo Trailer Sales Inc - Mustang Trailers :::

I like the trailer for a couple of reasons. 1st is that its deck over wheels, which means that I get additional side space. I also like the post hole cups that run down the sides and back. It's fairly low so I don't have to climb very high to get a tractor up or off it. Lots of places for tie down straps on the trailer. I liked the idea of removable ramps rather then towing a air dam in the form of a back ramp down the road.

A 1600 lb tractor with 1200 lbs of accessories is about 2800 lbs. Slightly more then the trailer is technically rated for. On the other side of it though is the fact that you're just taking the trailer 7 miles.

I recently took my trailer from Southern Maryland to upstate NY to help a friend pick up a ebay bought tractor, and JD 755. The trailer did a fine job bringing it back. It is a 1700 lb tractor with a FEL and MMM deck.

I think I paid about $1800 for the trailer. The ramps that come with it are totally inadaquate for it. I had to purchase a seperate pair of 6ft 3000 lb rated ramps.

Hope that helps,

Larry

 

[Baucom]

Larry--Being from SC, I don't know what the market is like in MD, or in ME, but I do know that my 7k 6.5x16 landscape trailer with a gate was $1325 in 2007 and 16' 7k equipment trailers with ramps were around 15-1600 at that time. All of these trailers had brakes and were less expensive than your trailer, and they come with adequate ramps and extra carrying capacity to haul the tractor plus implements while remaining safe, legal, & underweight. However, that little trailer you've got looks like it would be really nice for hauling mowers, atvs, utvs, and BX sized machines. It also looks like a nice second, small, trailer for people with a 20'+, 10K+ equipment trailer that want something smaller for those times when they're not moving a heavy piece of equipment. I like it, and the deckover is nice, but it's also in the price range larger trailers more suited to hauling a tractor.

 

[Diamondpilot]

Baucom hit the nail on the head. I can buy and sell 16' 7K dual axle trailers all day long for under $1,800. Back when I bought mine in 2004 I paid $865 brand new but it had no brakes and used tires. Its 18' x 82" wide and came with a spare tire and mount and 5' ramps. I replace the tires just last year and put brakes on one axle myself shortly after getting it. It can carry 5,750# and is a well built trailer. Here is a pic.

Call these folks. I would not get a mesh gate, too much trouble in my opinion. I like ramps for situations like loading cars and trucks plus you would not be able to haul long lumber like my picture below.

http://www.gatormade.com/

Here is the 16' trailer http://www.gatormade.com/trailers/trailerpages/16ftdualaxelutil.php

Chris

 

[taborekle]

Just a followup to those posts. That's fab pricing. Can't beat it. Around here you're paying thousands more.

Larry

 

[wvpolekat]

Just a followup to those posts. That's fab pricing. Can't beat it. Around here you're paying thousands more.

Larry

You can pay those prices plus the cost of 2 tanks of gas. 2 tanks of gas would get you into WV, TN, KY, NC easily where you can get prices like those.

So, add $200 for gas and snacks and you can get prices like that.

 

[KeithInSpace]

That's fab pricing.

? The last place I expected to get a good deal on a trailer was where I actually made my purchase. I picked up my Leonard 20' x 8' dovetail 10,000# trailer for $2,400.

I'm sure your trailer's great for your needs, but funny thing about the weights...looks to me like the trailer weighs more than half of the total capacity of the trailer. It'd work pretty good for an ATV, but it wouldn't do much for me around my house. My picking up anything less than 2 tons worth of ANYTHING (stone, mulch, wood, concrete, whatever) isn't worth the trip.

I will HAPPILY say that my trailer is a freakin' monster...WAY more trailer than I need now or, perhaps, will ever need...sometimes a smidge too big...but at least I can haul whatever I want, whenever I want. I could load my wife's Volvo XC90 on there if I wanted. Of course, I look like a real goober carrying, like, a dryer. Or 2 long boxes from IKEA you can't even see over the stakesides. I carried my son's PowerWheel home on it once...folks probably thought it was a joke or something...may as well have been a MatchBox car on that huge freakin' trailer.

Of course, I'm happy as a clam when I drive my ~3,000# BX2230 on there, FEL and BH installed, along with my BoxBlade...toss some chains over everything and I'm loaded up in 5 minutes. No muss, no fuss. And VERY safe.

If you paid $1,800, I'd call my trailer a STEAL. And it's not a "fab" unit. Factory-built in North Carolina.

Just look around. You may be surprised that there's a good price lurking around somewhere.


EDIT: Just saw a later post by Mr. Baucom...I read "fab" as "fabricated"...one-off buy some steel and axles and put a trailer together...somebody doing it out of their garage and selling them inexpensively...sorry if I misunderstood. Either way, mine was a marked price on a trailer on their dealer lot. Just a matter of looking around.

 

[Baucom]

I was pretty sure by "fab" he meant fabulous pricing.

I found that for any trailer larger than 5x10, the real value was in a 16' 7k landscape or car hauler type trailer. I just wanted something for my lawnmower and/or a pair of 4-wheelers. I thought a 6x12 would be perfect, but when I started pricing them, w/ just a rear gate they were around 900-1000 and with a side gate too the price was nearly 1200. It was only another 200 or so to add a second axle, with brakes, double my capacity, and tack on 4 extra feet of length. To me, that's a bargain.

Also, when buying a trailer, if you're just going to own 1, it helps to remember that you can always haul a small load on a big trailer, but rarely does a big load fit on a small trailer.

 

[KeithInSpace]

...you can always haul a small load on a big trailer, but rarely does a big load fit on a small trailer.

You speak the truth...

 

[LBrown59]

You can pay those prices plus the cost of 2 tanks of gas. 2 tanks of gas would get you into WV, TN, KY, NC easily where you can get prices like those.

*So, add $200 for gas and snacks and you can get prices like that.

Wonder what they would charge to deliver?

 

[Diamondpilot]

Wonder what they would charge to deliver?

About a $1 per mile. Just go it it, much cheaper.

Chris

 

[LBrown59]

I just got back from looking at a used 16' with 2 3500 pound axles no brakes.
Date of manuf. March 2009.
Like new cond.
Is it worth the $900 the guy is asking for it.

Baucom hit the nail on the head. I can buy and sell 16' 7K dual axle trailers all day long for under $1,800. Back when I bought mine in 2004 I paid $865 brand new but it had no brakes and used tires. Its 18' x 82" wide and came with a spare tire and mount and 5' ramps. I replace the tires just last year and put brakes on one axle myself shortly after getting it. It can carry 5,750# and is a well built trailer. Here is a pic.

Call these folks. I would not get a mesh gate, too much trouble in my opinion. I like ramps for situations like loading cars and trucks plus you would not be able to haul long lumber like my picture below.

Gator Made Trailers :: Trailers - Utility Trailers - Gooseneck Trailers - Equipment Trailers - Trailer Parts - Gator Made Trailers, is one of the largest open air trailer manufacturers in the US and the largest in Kentucky for the preceding 11 years.

Here is the 16' trailer Gator Made Trailers :: Trailers - Utility Trailers - Gooseneck Trailers - Equipment Trailers - Trailer Parts - Gator Made Trailers, is one of the largest open air trailer manufacturers in the US and the largest in Kentucky for the preceding 11 years.

Chris

 

[Diamondpilot]

I just got back from looking at a used 16' with 2 3500 pound axles no brakes.
Date of manuf. March 2000.
Like new cond.
Is it worth the $900 the guy is asking for it.

Not without brakes. Figure $400 for the brakes and then you may need new tires or some other work. Now you are pushing the price of a new trailer. Problem is someone will pay $900 because they think its a deal.

Chris

 

[Baucom]

I just got back from looking at a used 16' with 2 3500 pound axles no brakes.
Date of manuf. March 2000.
Like new cond.
Is it worth the $900 the guy is asking for it.

I wouldn't want any 7k trailer w/o at least 1 brake axle. I'm not sure how much it would cost to add brakes, but I'd say a few hundred bucks.

If it still has the original tires on it, then they're at or near the end of their useful life, and 4 new tires won't be cheap.

Bottom line is, it's way too much for a 9 yr old trailer. I'm kinda surprised it's even factory built since it doesn't have any brakes.

 

[dodge man]

I'll add a comment, I have a 16+2 dovetail trailer rated at 7000lbs. It has 16 feet of flat deck and a 2 foot dovetail. When I bought it my 14 year old son laughed at me for buying such a long trailer and my wife thought I was crazy. I bought a 4' brush mower last week and hauled it home with my tractor on the trailer. I had the end loader on as counter ballance on the front end. It pretty much filled up the trailer. The tail wheel was sitting on the very back of the dovetail and the end loader was about 8 inches from the front rail.

In other words, you can fill a trailer up in a hurry, so everyones advice on getting at least a 16 foot trailer with brakes on one axle is pretty good advice.