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Buying a trailer

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brokenarrow
Join Date: Jan 2004
Posts: 1288 Wisconsin
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2004-10-06          97810


I am in the market for a trailer. (SOON) Any sugestions on what I should look for and what I should stay away from?
How about where to start looking for one?
Purpose for this new item and uses: Number one will be it has to handle my tc40 with fel. I would like plenty of extra capacity (not push the limits on weight). TWO; moving furniture and house hold belongings. (# 2 is the first use! LOL) Was looking to rent a trailer again for I need to haul a half a house full of furniture to my other house. A thought crossed my mind. Why not just get it over with and buy a darn trailer that will last me a life time and if I ever need warrenty work later I can haul my tractor at my leisure?
Any help would be appreciated
Thanks




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AV8R
Join Date: Oct 2003
Posts: 882 North Central Wisconsin
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2004-10-06          97812


If I had it to do over again, I wouldn't buy any trailer under 10K GVW. (look for six or eight lug spindles) Personally, I would buy it as a gooseneck too, but that's not for everyone.

I digress-- Look for brakes on all four wheels, don't waste your money on two brakes; decent deck material, green treated; decent lighting, I prefer the sealed lights, look at the wiring (try to avoid scotch clips); 2-5/8" ball is better but 2" is okay; look for decent paint quality, most don't use primer but some do.

Most of all, don't just buy the cheapest without shopping around. You will get what you paid for. (The lesson I learned the hard way.) ....


Link:   My trailer

 

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funchy
Join Date: May 2004
Posts: 128 north eastern corner of Maryland
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2004-10-06          97813


av8r- forgive me if I am being nosy, but how much did your trailer cost? Yours is nice!

I am looking for something for my bx23, and your trailer looks perfect. My problem is that in my area not many places sell this sort of trailer... and the one place that does has a starting price of $1100 - 1500 for a very basic one. ....


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plots1
Join Date: Jul 2003
Posts: 563 mo
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2004-10-06          97814


I just bought a 12000 lb GVW, 4 wheel brake trailer with a 2 and five eights ball with ramps for $3100 , It's BIG TEX brand real nice unit. wish I would of went with the 20 footer instead of the 18 so I could of got my cutter on with tractor. paint on it could be better but it very heavy duty.goose neck would of also been nice but the price is a bit steeper also. ....


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AV8R
Join Date: Oct 2003
Posts: 882 North Central Wisconsin
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2004-10-06          97815


Funchy: Mine is a 1997 model, 7000gvw. I paid about $1500 for it. It has served me well, but a few shortcommings: Really cheap wiring/lights, only 3500# axles, untreated decking. But as I posted, I got what I paid for. ....


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yooperpete
Join Date: Jan 2004
Posts: 1413 Northern Michigan
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2004-10-07          97828


I have a Stigers 18' triple axle with beaver tail. It doesn't have fenders and uses mobile home transport type tires and rims.(ie the rim locks into the wheel with wedges) Mine is made in Kentucky. I paid about $3,200.00 for it. It has treated wood boards and not very fancy paint. My other trailers are made by one generic company but with different tradenames. They are all part of forestriver.com. They make everything and are located in Indiana. Suggest looking in one of the car/truck/rv & camper newspapers. They usually have all sorts of new and used trailers. ....


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Murf
Join Date: Dec 1999
Posts: 7249 Toronto Area, Ontario, Canada
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2004-10-07          97835


If you have enough truck, the easiest way to do it is too get a 10k or 12k pound capacity trailer and when you need it for moving put a used truck body on and strap it down.

I have done this many times when I've been volunteered to help someone move. My trailer (see my pic. # 19) is a deck over the wheels style with a beavertail at the back, like Yopoper's. The flat portion of the deck is 18' long and I have a 18' used truck body from a 5 ton rental truck, it cost me $500 at the truck wreckers and it was in very good shape.

It is way over-kill for the 'Bota, but I also have a 5 ton truck with a foldup crane on it, so I got a 9 ton triaxle so when I go to play I can have a total of 42' of deck space. I can put the tractor on the float with the box-blade on it, then put the rear blade, rake, mower and anything else I might possibly need on the big trucks deck and take everything in a single trip.

Best of luck. ....


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RodgerF
Join Date: Jul 2004
Posts: 13 N.VA.
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2004-10-07          97839


I just bought a new car trailer to haul my TC 30 and various junk, err hobby cars around with. I bought a Tow Rite 18' with 2 3500lbs axles and 2 wheel brakes.
The trailer has a 16 foot flat deck with 2 foot beaver tail, treated deck and decent paint.

I just towed my tractor about 250 miles to my property in PA and it did a great job. I think in your case though I would want a bigger trailer. Both in lenght and weight rating. With a tractor and a couple of implements you can run out of both rather quickly. Even in my case a 20', 10,000lbs trailer would not have been overkill.

Rodger
....


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lucerne
Join Date: Sep 2003
Posts: 192 Lucerne Maine
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2004-10-07          97855


Brokenarrow, my trailer just went up foresale. Look at my pictures. It is a 6 ton gooseneck. I special ordered it for the JD 110 tlb. I ordered it with 3 extra feet length from axle to headboard because of the loader being on and the weight of the backhoe I can drive on untill the bucket hits the headboard and it's just right with the toungue weight. Also ordered the D ring tie downs where I wanted them so I could tie down pulling from the front and the rear at a slight angle. It's this years model and tows very nice, with a gooseneck you can jacknife it around when backing to turn. Also the 4x4 GMC diesel is forsale. email me if you are interested or want pictures ....


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brokenarrow
Join Date: Jan 2004
Posts: 1288 Wisconsin
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2004-10-07          97891


My truck is still in the shop from last fridays accident.
(Chick blew a flashing red, was hit and spun around smashing into my front end while I watched from the other side of the flashing red light)
I still finaggeld to buy a trailer today! I will give you more info on it tomarrow when I actually get it home (had to leave it at work where a guy I work with was nice enough to pick it up for me a mile from work) This guy I bought it from was on his way back to korea (military man)
Just moved his wife here from Washington. Anyway its a 2003, has brand new tires on it, great wood deck electric brakes (will ask and post questions about them tomarrow)
This trailer I guess sat for 3 weeks. I call today and he says that a buyer is coming at noon and if they dont buy it I should call after 1pm and he would sell it to me. Being the underhanded jerk I am!!! I went to the place he was at and watched. At 12:15 when there still was no other buyer there, I went up to him and made him an offer he could not refuse. ($50 more than he was asking!) Stupid??? All I can say is that the darn paint on the wheel wells is not even chipped off, not a scratch on the whole thing. After pricing new ones and seeing what a grand would get you in a trailer, I broke down and gave him $1800. Now all my aggrivation is gone and I will not have to rack my head looking for one before next weekened when I really need it.
Thanks guys for your advice and tomarrow I will post info on it and maybe even a picture by the end of the weekend.
Tom ....


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AV8R
Join Date: Oct 2003
Posts: 882 North Central Wisconsin
TractorPoint Premium Member -- 5 Tractors = Very Frequent Poster  View my Photos  Pics

2004-10-07          97896


Once you have it, you will wonder how you managed without it! Mine has given me more use than I ever thought. ....


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brokenarrow
Join Date: Jan 2004
Posts: 1288 Wisconsin
TractorPoint Premium Member -- 5 Tractors = Very Frequent Poster

2004-10-10          98043


Hi ya-all
Been so buisy I forgt to post the info on the trailer. Any and all comments good and bad are cool,
The trailer is made by "Top Notch Trailers LLC" Out of Washington. here is the poop on it, 16' 10,000# GVW
6" channel frame, 3" channel ramps, 10
tie-down stake pockets, rear stabilizer
legs, 2 5/16 coupler, 2x6 fir deck, DOT
striping, battery and breakaway system.
4 wheel electric brakes.
I looked and looked and could not find a tag on it saying the gvwr. Then I looked at the coupler and it had 10k # on that so I am assuming it it 10k? Did I assume right? It is a 2003 model. They say the following about the trailer ; Dexter axles, tandem axles have four wheel electric brakes. DOT approved trailer tires and rims come complete with warranty also all trailers come fully primed, painted, and pinstriped. Lighting is Peterson, DOT approved. Battery is included for break-away system. 2x6 Douglas Fir decking is standard, but steel decking is available. Hide-away ramps are included on trailers that come stock with ramps.
So what do you think? I have no idea what a new trailer would price out for like this? Any guesses? I suppose I could call them just to see how bad I was took (or not) Like I said I paid $1800, there is only a very little amount of chipping on the fenders which I am taking care of this week! Also the deck boards are stained redwood color and look like brand new! (can you tell I am pumped?) what do ya think? did I do ok or does it sound spendy? Thanks guys for your help and advice.
Tom ....


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DK35vince
Join Date: Feb 2002
Posts: 689 Western,Pa.
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2004-10-10          98045


My only comment is , I hope 16' is big enough for your TC 40.
I find my 18' deck a tight fit for my DK 35, with the loader on and a 6' brush mower the tail wheel for the brush mower sticks 2' over the end of the trailer.
....


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lbrown59
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Posts: 1
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2004-10-11          98062


I am looking for something for my bx23,
funchy
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
I've had my bx 23 for 3 weeks - how long have you had yours?

I would like to have a rollback truck with a dump bed for hauling mine.
What do you have to pull a trailer with?
My trucks are too small to pull a trailer with.
Since I don't have anything to tow with I would have to buy 2 vehicles the trailer and the tower.
Rather than doing that I'd prefer a truck to haul the tractor on.



....


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AV8R
Join Date: Oct 2003
Posts: 882 North Central Wisconsin
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2004-10-11          98068


16' might be a little snug for a TC40, but that is an awesom (!!) deal. I would guess that is a $2500+ trailer.

There should be a ID tag on it somewhere with a VIN and GVW. Look on the inside of the tongue or maybe front rail. ....


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brokenarrow
Join Date: Jan 2004
Posts: 1288 Wisconsin
TractorPoint Premium Member -- 5 Tractors = Very Frequent Poster

2004-10-11          98129


Thanks av And I do hear both of you on the tight fit. Was a little concerened myself but did need a trailer pretty fast. For hauling the tc40, that would be only if I was to need any work on it so its not going to be that bad. the few times I will use it for moving the tractor I will need to plan out my trips and be a bit careful. I will be hauling my 9n ford soon (before the snow fly's) so I will get a taste (on a smaller tractor) on how it will handle.
Thanks again for all your advice guys ....


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yooperpete
Join Date: Jan 2004
Posts: 1413 Northern Michigan
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2004-10-12          98166


I would recommend a trailer over a truck. You can purchase a dump trailer which is somewhat low to the ground and can be used as a dump and a hauler. For hauling, I generally want something low to the ground to keep the center of gravity low and it isn't scary when driving up the ramps. For a dumper, a taller trailer is better. It is easier to dump your load and don't need to drive forward as much to drop the entire load. I have a trailer for each specific purpose to get the best performance. That wasn't the original plan but that is how it worked out. A triple axle for heavy hauling is better than a tandem since you have a bigger footprint to put the majority of weight. That puts lots less tongue weight on the vehicle and allows the use of a smaller vehicle when hauling a heavy load. Turning with a triple axle rips up the driveway more and wears the tires on pavement. I've had my flatbed for nearly ten years and still have the same tires. They're getting ready for replacement soon though. On flatbed trailers, I like my tires outside of the bed making the bedheight lower than when the wheels are underneath. A trailer like Murf's with dual tires underneath the bed is lots heavier duty than mine. That one must have a 15,000 or 20,000 weight limit and usually requires a 1 ton dualie vehicle to haul it at full load. ....


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tractorbrad
Join Date: Jul 2003
Posts: 55 northeast ohio
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2004-10-12          98170


In my search for a trailer I ended up with a 12k 16 foot tilt bed with a long tongue that helps in moving it around. It was a compromise between a dump trailer and longer trailer but it works fairly well so far. ....


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