car trailer advice

[nm9stheham]

If you can weld, it is not all that hard to weld up a frame and put a couple of heavy duty chipper trailer axles (like Asplundh uses) under it from the scrapyard that come with electric brakes and springs . The axles need to be cut and extended a couple feet for car trailer width. If you get the steel from the scrapyard too, you can do this for $500-600. The 2 tricks are to provide some sort of bracing on the sides and some rigidity on the diagonals to prevent twisting. The intermediate laterals can be pretty light. Overall, you can end up with a ligth trailer for occasional use, and you can source all of the axle parts new ofr repairs. I have no clue for the PA process for titling a home-built traier though.

I'll add my vote for the Tekonsha electric brake controllers; the dual adjustments are there for both angle (sets when the brakes attack) and for gain (the braking intensity). This compensates for the hardness of towing vehicle braking, and for up/down slope of the road (more braking downhill). It also has a 1/2 to 3/4 second brake application delay that avoids transient trailer braking that can jerk on the hitch. I've had 3 of these and they all worked great out of the box.

 

[67Dart273]

If you can weld, it is not all that hard to weld up a frame .

The reality of the matter is you cannot buy a nice USED trailer for what it would cost to buy new steel. I realize I'm comparing used trailer to new steel, but that is what it is.

But if you ARE a glutten for punishment, sometimes you can find junked out mobile home "rolling frames." The trick there, of course, is to find one cheap enough.

 

[aracer01]

Yes, the 'beaver tail' does help loading the car, however, we had problems with low clearance/speed bumps/tall curbs where it would "bottom out". :banghead:

My liscence plate under the taillight is folded from the mild driveway slopes, it should be up on the fender. No bottom out problems.

 

[ramenth]

The reality of the matter is you cannot buy a nice USED trailer for what it would cost to buy new steel. I realize I'm comparing used trailer to new steel, but that is what it is.

But if you ARE a glutten for punishment, sometimes you can find junked out mobile home "rolling frames." The trick there, of course, is to find one cheap enough.

And if the state will let you. That's a no-no here in NY. Same as split rims.

I thought about building a trailer once. Figured I'd buy instead, simply because by the time I added up the metal for it and figured in my time invested... Well, like I've said before, I can replace the money, I can't replace the time.

For anyone who's interested, this is what I bought:

View attachment trailer.jpg

pulls easy, deck longer than anything I'll put on it, spec'd out heavier than I really needed because I don't want to break s***. Throw some sides in the stake pockets and it's a big-*** utility trailer, too.

When I went looking for a trailer used, everyone around here wanted $1500-$2000 for a ratted out race car hauler that needed another $2000 just to get it serviceable.

 

[j-miller]

Just curious on what kind of open trailer are looking to get rod7515? Steel or the nicer aluminum?

 

[Downtime!]

I used a U-Haul car hauler to tow the Scamp from Texas to Ohio back in May, and it pulled better than anything I've ever towed. 75 mph, dead straight down the road, no issues at all. Never wiggled even once. I'd love to find one they are selling and add a few touches to it (winch, for sure), but the guy said they basically never come up for sale. Too bad.

 

[ramenth]

I used a U-Haul car hauler to tow the Scamp from Texas to Ohio back in May, and it pulled better than anything I've ever towed. 75 mph, dead straight down the road, no issues at all. Never wiggled even once. I'd love to find one they are selling and add a few touches to it (winch, for sure), but the guy said they basically never come up for sale. Too bad.

I asked that once, too, having dragged a lot of them around. Basically, they never get rid of them since there's no need to "update," unlike the trucks. The only way the get rid of 'em is if their wrecked and then their just some much aluminum scrap.

The surge brakes would have to be taken care of, though. They need a lock out to make 'em back easier than shoving against the surge and locking the brakes, especially trying to shove one up an inclined driveway.

 

[rod7515]

As I stated earlier I am looking for one that will only be used 2 - 3 times a year. Because of this I am going to save the money and buy a steel trailer. I found one Thursday that the seller was asking $1500 for. Its 78" wide between fenders and 16' long steel runner. Of course theres the trailer tongue that probably makes it a total of 20' long. Standard lights. 4' ramps. It has a slight dove tail rear of about 2'. It has 14" tires that all need replaced, and brakes on all wheels but dont know if any of them work. It will also need painted. Its a 94 Hazelwood and the axles are rated 3500 lb each. trailer over all is in good shape. I made an offer of $1000 and he is going to call me Monday.
Thanks
Rodney

 

[Downtime!]

We have a guy here locally that makes new 16' open trailers and sells them for a little over $1000. Thinking about getting one and making my mods to it. Open "Pit" style center, 18" wide diamond plate tread sections, adding a small winch, adding the front tire nets/winches that the U-Haul trailers use. Add some slide in ramps and ti would be good to go.

The only real issue I have with that is that after dragging the car 3000 miles round trip, I found myself wishing for an enclosed trailer, just for peace of mind. Nothing like waking up at 3:00 AM in Nashville and seeing 5 or 6 people "gathered" around the car. A quick "check" of the trucks alarm system sent them on their way, but I didn't get any sleep the rest of the night.

 

[GGs66GT]

I bought these back in 2002 . The white one is a 6x14 Landscape trailer.

The car trailer is a Diamond T with a wood deck and a dove tail , electric brakes on all 4 wheels , L.E.D. lights .
I added a removable boat winch and steps to the rear of the fenders along with a vertical license plate bracket with clearance lights at the top.

The chassis on the trailer is a '56 Chevy long bed.

The best thing one can do for any vehicle is to keep it out of the weather and my trailer lives in its own garage.

 

[dartnabout]

All good advice here.

I have a problem with people borrowing "my stuff" thats ok... but! It upsets me when I go to use my trailer and the last person knocked a light off or worse yet tore the trailer plug off. My buddy always says I have a problem saying no so he handed me a dollar and said....now I am a co-owner of the trailer and don't lend it out without my permission. And he never says yes. As for him... He has his own trailer and anytime he borrows something of mine it comes back in the same or better shape.

 

[rod7515]

Brought the trailer home last night with out any issues. We settled on $1000 knowing I would have to replace all 4 tires and didn't know what brake work may be needed. It will need a breakaway system for sure as only the container is there. I will try to get pics up later this week.
Thanks to all for your advice.
Rod