Thoughts on a peculiar request

Hi All,
I need to pick up about 6,000 pounds of tools and shop equipment in Louisville, Kentucky and bring them home to Biloxi, Mississippi. I have a car hauler trailer and a large goose-neck equipment trailer, however, I need an enclosed trailer, 20 foot or so that can hold about 6K of cargo. All the folks I know that have enclosed trailers are of the utility type and do not come close to 6K of a load. Uhaul's biggest holds about 2400 lbs (their rating).

So, I am looking to find someone that would rent one for a week that would be close to my starting point of Biloxi, MS., Mobile, Alabama, etc. Anyone willing or have any ideas? I can have my attorney draw up something or yours. I have a newer 1 ton dual wheeled diesel truck with an electric brake controller that would be the tow vehicle. A goose-neck would be preferred, a bumper pull would work too though. It will be about 1500 miles round-trip, so good tires, wheel bearings, brakes, etc. is mandatory.

Thank you,
George

I'd rent a van truck or at least check into it.
DWF

Have you considered a rental truck? ? Drive to Ky. and rent a truck one way back south. Drive a smaller vehicle north and put it on a trailer behind the rental truck or bring someone along to drive it back. Just another option, maybe? ?

Yup, rent a truck,but you will find it is cheaper to rent it round trip.

I have considered that, however, I have some other aspects of the trip that makes renting a truck a poor option.

Could you break the load up and make 2 trips with lighter duty trailer(s)? Maybe take a friend/associate along with a second trailer; not ideal, but...

Is there no way to palletize/containerize the items and strap it down and tarp the load on your flatbead?

(quoted from post at 17:29:39 01/04/17) Hi All,
I need to pick up about 6,000 pounds of tools and shop equipment in Louisville, Kentucky and bring them home to Biloxi, Mississippi. I have a car hauler trailer and a large goose-neck equipment trailer, however, I need an enclosed trailer, 20 foot or so that can hold about 6K of cargo. All the folks I know that have enclosed trailers are of the utility type and do not come close to 6K of a load. Uhaul's biggest holds about 2400 lbs (their rating).

So, I am looking to find someone that would rent one for a week that would be close to my starting point of Biloxi, MS., Mobile, Alabama, etc. Anyone willing or have any ideas? I can have my attorney draw up something or yours. I have a newer 1 ton dual wheeled diesel truck with an electric brake controller that would be the tow vehicle. A goose-neck would be preferred, a bumper pull would work too though. It will be about 1500 miles round-trip, so good tires, wheel bearings, brakes, etc. is mandatory.

Thank you,
George

Click to expand...

Why does it have to be enclosed? Put the tools and equipment on your open trailers and be done with it. They make tarps.

No offense intended here but I think you're going to find it difficult if not impossible to find someone who will let a complete stranger drive off with their trailer. Legal documents aren't worth the paper they're printed on; all you have to do is lie and disappear. Not saying you would, but that's all you would need to do. If you damage/wreck the trailer, all you have to do is shrug your shoulders and say, "So sue me," or "It was like that." It becomes a he-said-she-said court battle that would quickly exceed the value of the trailer in lawyer fees, so few people would actually pursue it. Again, not saying that's what you would do, but that's all you'd have to do.

You can also end up with the short end of the stick. The trailer you borrow may look good but if the wheel bearings haven't been packed in a decade, or the tires are old, it could leave you on the side of the road, or worse.

As an alternative, I suggest checking your local craigslist and BUY a used trailer suited to the purpose. Use the trailer for the trip, then turn around and sell it for what you paid for it. Even if you sell the trailer at a slight loss it will still be less than renting something, and if you play your cards right you might even come out ahead on the deal.

Well you can rent a box truck. Or find a box truck box for sale and buy it and strap it onto your trailer ?

Some job boxes are weather proof and most are fairly easy to weather proof with plastic and tarps. Are you sure you can't box up the small tools and plastic wrap/tarp the larger equipment to haul them with your own truck and open trailer?

Are the tools and equipment on pallets ready for pickup? If there is someone responsible at the pickup point that can do the loading, you could hire a trucking firm move it all in a single one-way trip for somewhere around $4 per loaded mile or less. 750 miles times $4 per mile would be $3000. Making one 1500 mile round trip with a truck and trailer will likely cost close to $2 per mile by the time you add up your time, meals, lodging, fuel, truck and trailer wear, etc.

A friend got into a similiar situation. He was a few hundred miles from home on a motorcycle trip and the engine broke. He priced renting truck and it wasn't cheap. He bought a truck and hauled his motorcycle home and sold the truck for what he paid for it.

Thank you for all of the responses and all are valid points that I have considered. There is a lot more to the story and I do not typically discuss such on the Interwebs.... Briefly, I am not sure of all what the tools and equipment are. My brother was a mechanic and owned his own shop and he has Lou Gehrig's' disease and lung cancer. My oldest and youngest brother were killed in a plane crash a couple of decades ago and he is the only one left. My mom is in her 80s and has dementia and is from New York state and she has been down living with us for this past year. I need to have them see each other one last time and my brother wants to give me some things and I will treasure them.... My mom also has some other issues and a larger truck would be even harder on her. I can't subject airline passengers to her issues. There are other problems and such, but that is the short of it.

I believe I will take my trailer and many tarps and straps. With my luck I suspect the forecast will be sunny blue bird days and I will have 11 hours of rain......

I do thank y'all for the options and taking your time to reply,
George

My dad took plywood and angle iron put sides on our flatbed and two tarps. Took a load down to florida rained cats and dogs the whole way down. not one thing damaged not even cardboard.

Why not a one way truck rental and move during mid week. Truck rentals go up over weekends.

one last thought: You could build a "side kit" for your trailer. would not have to wrap so many odd size and shape items individually; using a bit of planning and forethought on building it and you will have a dry, sturdy unit to haul in. Would not have to try and tie down a bunch of different items either. Just place them as you would in a box trailer. any large or heavy items can be secured by nailing blocks arouned it.

Sorry about your brother's and mother's problems. It sounds like you have a big load on your shoulders. Are the tools all smaller or is there some taller stuff? Maybe you could put 2x12 side boards on the trailer and stretch a tarp over it. Is security a concern where you need to have the tools in a locked box trailer?

Just a wild idea, but why not buy a 20' shipping container, and load it on your gooseneck? That would make for a very good enclosed trailer. It's heavy, but very secure. Up here they can be bought for under $2000. Which is a lot cheaper than buying another trailer. Not to mention, when you get back home, you have a place to store it all. I've never tried it, but it seems like a practical idea that would work well for your situation.

I understand it is a bunch of Snap-On tools in two or three large chests, Snap-on sandblast pressure pot, Wheel balancer, Oxy-acetylene rigs, shop
press, things like that. At my home, security is not a big concern, however, space is and I am stuck on doing anything about it for
awhile...

I have considered the shipping container on my trailer and may be a good option. I rented one for a good while after hurricane Katrina and
then it ruined a mess of stuff where it would rain inside with any larger temp swings like we frequently have in the winter here.

Thank you all,
George

Are you sure you want to use a container? A 20 FT. container will weigh 5,300 lbs. empty. If your trailer is going to weigh in around 5,200 lbs.and container is 5,300 lbs. that gives you 10,500 lbs. and then the load your going to put in it. Those contains don't cut the air and pull harder than a van body trailer.

2 things:
1) Back before enclosed trailers were the "in" thing, I build an enclosure on my 16' lowboy using 1x4's and 1/4" plywood. I slowly bent the plywood in the front so that it was round-nosed. Used mostly rough-cut sawmill 1x4's as I had many on hand, but used dimensioned 1x4's for the sides. Top was made using 3/4" plywood and a combination of 1/4's and 2x4's. Built the back doors as two loading-ramp type doors where one had to close before the other. Ramps were beefed up using 2x6's and each door hinged to the trailer. Must have made more than 20 round-trips, each one about 380 miles each way. When done, took the enclosure off and parked it next to some Spruce trees. Is HORRIBLY wet here, and the enclosure is still standing, though not strong anymore. Will probably push it in this year. Funny thing is, I went overboard using an air stapler to tack the plywood to the frame, and everyone thought the staples were all that was holding it together. They didn't consider that everything was also very well glued!

2) I can understand how much you want to protect your items. For that long of a trip, I wouldn't trust just tarps. Tarps work well, but I will NOT depend on them for keeping anything dry. If it were me, I would also use 6-mil reinforced poly sheeting - maybe two layers of poly with a tarp holding things down. Use extra strapping/ropes over the poly and tarp to keep the wind from getting up under and blowing things around. If possible, can also screw through short boards and through the poly and tarp to anchor it to the trailer. The screw works by clamping the fabric between the board and the trailer.

Just have some one haul it for you. It might be cheaper and more time worthy in the end. Use a bill of lading and list all items on a packing list, then anything missing is known and therefore covered by the carriers insurance for loss or damage.