Been there ..(and learned) trailers

In the market for tandem car hauler trailer for hauling tractor. Looking for your experiences , pos and neg and what to look for and look out for. Requirements: To be used behind 1500 Suburban or 3/4 t pickup. Tractors will never be over 5000lb and my two are 4000 and 3800. (Naturally only one at a time) To and from shows , pulls etc. Also to be used for general cargo , antique implements , and maybe occasional wood haul. Am veering towards 18' and 7000 gvw , wood deck , two axle elect brakes. Price range $2000-$2500 new or very unused. Money is tight and this is just a hobby trailer , nothing I plan to make a living with or haul commercially with. Advice on things like frame construction mtls , type axles , low profile straight deck as apposed to higher deck w/beaver tail , lights , and general construction errors or "cheaps" to look out for. Thanks in advance for your opinions and experiences. Randy

What ever trailer you choose, make sure you use weight equalizer hitch and double sway bars. For trailer construction, look for the floor crossmembers on 16" centers. Some trailers are 20" or 24" apart. When hauling tractors, the tire load might be between the crossmembers and the floor boards have to carry more load. My trailer is powder coated, not just paint. It normally will last longer.If you buy new, does it have new trailer rated tires, or used or even car type tires? New trailers are required to have brakes on both axles. If you buy used, look for brakes on both.

led lights with at least 3 on each side plus rear lights
brakes both axles
battery and breakaway switch for brakes
ramps not swing up tailgate
new trailer tires not used car tires
treated wood deck
tie down points, more the better
set up for equaliser hitch with swaybar
2 5/16 hitch, prefer BULLDOG
box for chain and strap storage is nice
lo profile
side rail for hauling wood (my preference is without)
swinging crane on side by wheels is a nice add some time
2x6 block of wood or synthetic wood bolted to a chain and the frame by the jack to be used under the jack and then wound around the frame when moving
good luck
Ron

Evilboweivel has covered it very well. But here's several more based on my experience:

- 3rd (center) drop down ramp if you're gonna trailer a narrow front tractor.

- DOT (red/white) reflective tape full length on the sides and across rear of trailer.

- Spare wheel and tire. I have never used mine - but it gives my wife peace of mind when we travel to shows, etc.

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Incidentally LED trailer lights are the ONLY way to go. It'll cost $100+ to replace conventional lighting with LEDs. But if you use your trailer very much you'll discover the reliability and brightness of LEDs is $$$ well spent!

A 5,000# tractor will overload a 7,000# rated trailer. Don't forget that the weight of the trailer itself is already being carried on those axles. It will be less expensive to buy a trailer with a 12,000# or even a 14,000# rating now than it will be to try and trade up later. The 18' length will be adequate, but adding a couple more feet will make the trailer more versatile and won't add much to the price.

Too much trailer is a whole lot better than too little.

definately want a deckover wheight rating depends on your state here in pa you need a cdl for any trailer over 10,000lbs thats why i got a 18foot deckover with 2 foot beaver tail plus everything else the others have mentioned its rated at 9,990lbs bought it new in the spring for $4,995 thought about used but its really hard to tell if previouse owner abused it unless its an extreme case lol unless you know the trailer and how it was used i recomend buying new could end up spending way more in the long run

Go to econolinetrailers.com Check out the tilt bed trailers. I have on eand they are fabulous.

Gordo

my father just bought a kaufman gooseneck trailer 28ft deck and 4 ft beavertail rated at 18000# figuring on putting two tractors on it at a time or buying and selling some hay possibly we are replacing a 12000# trailer that we are going to try to sell localy. you can check out kaufman trailers online they seem reasonable and they deliver to your house they delivered the trailer to mass from the carolinas fro $500 we couldnt drive down and back for that just had to have a fork list to unload the trailer weighed 5800#

You don't really need an equalizer hitch on a 3/4 ton if you load the trailer properly. I would second getting a trailer with 6 or 7000 lbs. axles over 3500 lb. axles. I have 7000 lb. rubber torsion axles on my Bobcat trailer and love them. Like independent suspension and no maintenance for the suspension unlike with springs. One thing that hasn't been mentioned is trailer construction. I welded my trailer myself but it came out of a jig at a trailer shop. It is built out of rectangular tubing and not channel iron. It is a little heavier but does not flex like channel does. I carried a 12,000 lb. JD 355D crawler on it no problem. I was probably a little overloaded but only moved the crawler a couple times. I put a seperate (square)drop leg jack on it and a pintle hitch. I like it better than the original ball hitch and the jacks that bolt onto the ball type couplers are total junk. I doubt you'd find even a good new 7000 lb. trailer for $2500 though. Maybe though. Dave

led lights are good but the have there things to .they dont melt snow off , heared and seen storys of not seeing them till your right there . they dont get warm enough to dry out the conections and rot out .

Some very good points made by all. I have a CDL so over 10000# is no problem. I've always been a little "frugal". Perhaps this is not the time or product to be that way with. Thank you all and any posts to come for your ideas. Will let you know what I end up with and maybe will post back on with what I narrow it down to before buying , just in case. Thanks.

I have a 20'deck+5'dovetail, 96" wide deckover gooseneck with 3 spring assist ramps & 8K winch for dragging the dead ones up. It has a 14,000 gvr, 2 axles with single wheels and weighs just under 5000lbs. My previous trailer was a 12000lb bumper pull with pull out ramps that I towed with a 1/2 ton 4WD suburban. I never liked that trailer and now hate it after having the gooseneck. I now tow with a 3/4 ton Dodge with the Cummins. This is my 3rd combination and it's the way to go. With my 1st rig,back when I was young and dumb, I hauled a Farmall M on a 7000 lb trailer,no brakes, behind a 1/2 ton pickup with only a bumper hitch. Don't do that!

Bought the handiest trailer I've ever owned awhile back,its a hydraulic tilt bed works like a mini rollback 18ft deck with cylinder and power pack in front to raise and lower bed 10,000lb gross,7ft wide steel flatbed with removable fenders.Cost $4100

If you're sure you won't need more capacity in the future, I think what you laid out will work fine for you. Don't need equalizer hitch if you use the 3/4 ton pickup (but you do want a 2 5/16 ball and a receiver hitch on the truck). If you load it so the hitch gets enough weight to go down about 2 inches, it should follow and ride just fine. No need to get extra capacity (and $$$) if you don't need it.

(quoted from post at 19:40:36 09/06/10) I have a 20'deck+5'dovetail, 96" wide deckover gooseneck with 3 spring assist ramps & 8K winch for dragging the dead ones up. It has a 14,000 gvr, 2 axles with single wheels and weighs just under 5000lbs. My previous trailer was a 12000lb bumper pull with pull out ramps that I towed with a 1/2 ton 4WD suburban. I never liked that trailer and now hate it after having the gooseneck. I now tow with a 3/4 ton Dodge with the Cummins. This is my 3rd combination and it's the way to go. With my 1st rig,back when I was young and dumb, I hauled a Farmall M on a 7000 lb trailer,no brakes, behind a 1/2 ton pickup with only a bumper hitch. Don't do that!

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Dean, I did the same thing, except my trailer DID have brakes, but that experience is what prompted me to trade up to a 1 ton dually and 14,000# rated deck-over gooseneck. If I could do that all over again, the trailer would be 5 feet longer with 20,000# capacity.

A 7k car hauler should weigh around 2k, so a 5k tractors will max it out. When looking at 7k trailers, watch out for ones built from angle iron. These are not as durable as ones with a channel frame and will not work well for moving tractors. The best price I found for a well-built new 16', 7k car hauler was $2400. Most places are around $3000.

If you plan to carry 5k regularly, look into a 10k car hauler. The price is only a couple hundred dollars more and it will be a much heavier trailer.

I just bought a used 18' 10k car hauler for $1200 over the weekend. It's an old u-haul trailer and it's a little narrow for my needs, but the price was right and the condition was good.

Rectangular tubing is better than channel iron. Dave

What i have is heavy gvw suburban w/ball hitch (inc 2 5/16) My 1/2 mile away son in law has the one ton w/duals and a heavy (20,000 ) pintle hitch beaver tail equipment trailer that we haul with now. He has Ollie super 77 D and three btm plow and I have '50 B and '37 A and two btm plow and two row cult for B. When we take all three , he will have two tractors ( 77 & B w/cult) and his plow. I will have /37 A and my plow ( aprox 4500#) This is the max we will ever load and only once a yaer for one event. MOST of the time I will be taking just the '50 B w/cultivators ( aprox 4300-4400# ) or just the '37 by itself ( 3800# ) Hate to pay the extra $2000 for that 10% of time when the $2400 will handle the other 90% just fine. This would be mainly for just me when no-one else is going where I am or when i am. Not trying to argue with anyone , just trying to paint a clearer picture of what situation I have. Keep the opinions comming as I am absorbing it all and learning a lot. I looked at a pretty well known brand name 10,000# 18 footer today that had cross-members ( c channel) on 2' centers w/wood deck. Seemed kind of light to me for a 10,000# trailer. Only diff I saw over a 7000 was axles?

It can't hurt to be over 18' long. Give you a little more room to move the tractor around and center up the weight a little. My ford pickemup truck is 18' long.

Check the width between the fenders. My 2606 is 84" wide at the rear tires. That won't fit on all trailers. You may be dealing with narrower tractors though.

It's nice to have a little extra capacity in case you want to haul some sand or gravel or something like your mother in law.