Trailer Advice Needed

[Gene Arnold]

My wife and I have decided that the time is getting close when we should move back to Grand Island, Nebraska to be near our family in our “dotage” (I’m 72 and my wife is 70). Hate the thought of losing the mountains and the great climate, but we like the people back there so we’ll adjust (been here about 18 years).



Rather than spending the big bucks on a mover, I’m seriously considering buying a new enclosed car trailer, making two or three trips with it, and when I’m finished with the move sell it. As you can see in my signature, I pull a big Airstream so I am OK with large trailers.



What advice do you guys have for me? Any hidden pitfalls that I need to know? I looked at some locally built Interstate Loadrunner car trailers this week. They look pretty nice and certainly would be adequate for what I have in mind. I don’t know how hard it might be to resell it after I use it. I had considered a snowmobile trailer until I saw the smaller wheels and tires and the low GVWR. Also, I think a car trailer would sell easier than a snowmobile trailer in central Nebraska.



Our move is probably going to occur within the next 18 months so I’m not under pressure to buy anything quickly. I’ll appreciate any response from you guys.



Gene

 

[EricBu12]

I'd call around in that area and see if the market for that type of trailer is good to sell privately. That type of trailer sounds reasonable and to recoup some of the cost of the trailer seems good. just make sure you are able to sell it when you want to.

 

[HBarlow]

My advice is simple. Buy a quality trailer built by one of the old and trusted trailer manufacturers. It will cost a little more but will probably be easier to sell. The industry is full of knock-off copies now by names nobody ever heard of five years ago and which look as good as the old high quality trailers but aren't.



Harvey

 

[KevinLewis]

My father did sort of the same thing. He had a Trophy business to buy in TX and move to CA. He drove to TX and bought a little enclosed trailer and filled it with stuff. Once Back home in CA he sold it for $200 more than he paid for it. I dont know if the market conditions would allow you to make money but I cant belive you would lose more than paying a moving company.

 

[Okie-Go]

I would think a heavy duty gooseneck would sell pretty easily up there. Would have to be one good enough for a farmer or rancher to use I would think. I pulled one to Minot, ND. not long ago.

 

[Gene Arnold]

Harvey,



What are some of the "tried and true" brands?



Gene

 

[HBarlow]

Gene,



I am not real knowledgeable but the brands that come to mind immediately are the older and better known ones such as Wells Cargo, Haul Mark, Pace American, and Featherlite. There are probably a couple more. Last time I looked those brands had excellent, detailed websites with all the info you could want including downloadable brochures.



The problem with many of the copy cat brands is they use lighter steel, smaller frame members, cheaper thinner wall frame and covering materials, less fasteners, Communist Chinese running gear and tires, and other cheaper methods and materials but sell them for similar prices.



A friend bought one several years ago from a start up "no-name" Tennessee company. He was real proud of it and bragged on it when he bought it and was thinking about becoming a dealer. I saw it a few months later and due to the weak frame when he carried a car in it the frame bent or flexed and the interior wall material sagged and separated from the frame. It looked like what it was . . . a cheap piece of crap.



It's usually the same old story . . . you get what you pay for but that is trickier to accomplish sometimes now than it used to be. It requires research to figure out what is one of the old, tested and proven brands and what are the features that make them good and reliable. Then you also have to consider that many of the quality manufacturers offer cheaper lines in order to compete against the el cheapo brands. Sometimes you have to pay more and buy the higher line model to get the real quality.



Harvey

 

[69RoadRunner]

Wouldn't it be simpler to rent the largest Uhaul trailer each time?

 

[HGreen]

Going from an Airstream to a box will feel like you put a sail on your truck and the wind was blowing from the front. I know, I've been there, and you will notice the difference. I don't beleive Uhaul has any real large trailers, if so, not on the East Coats. Good Luck with the move.

 

[Gene Arnold]

Thanks for the input.



Roadrunner: I don't think U-haul has the really large cargo trailer I'm talking about. A few months ago I imagined that we could aggressively cull our stuff before moving, but that was before I started discussing things seriously with my better half. Wow, my idea and hers are a lot different. Since, as you know, "If mama ain't happy, ain't nobody happy," I plan to move whatever she wants to take. Eighteen years ago the cost for United to move our stuff from Grand Island to Boise was around $4500. I'm sure that it would be more than double that nowadays.



I'm pretty sure, at our ages, this will be our last move (before that really last move to Glory!) so it is important to keep things that have meaning to her. Due to my mobile upbringing (I lived in nearly twenty different homes in my first seventeen years) I don't form strong attachments for most things. My wife lived in only one house before we married so she tends to value things differently.



Gene

 

[69RoadRunner]

I see your point. I didn't know that Uhaul's biggest trailer wasn't very big.



Since you're not going to own it for long, look into a used trailer. Don't take the depreciation hit. You'll probably be able to sell it at the same price you paid for it.

 

[steved]

If I were to do this for a "resale"... I'd buy a good 10k to 14k utility trailer (like an 18 or 20 footer) and enclose it with plywood. You'd have a lower initial cost of the trailer and there is always a good market for those types of used trailers.

And the four-foot height wouldn't affect the mileage much.

steved

 

[Grizzly]

If it were me, I'd check around for the best price for a moving company if you value your time as much as I do. Personally I wouldn't want to spend that much time making trips back and forth. Besides, if the moving company damages something, they pay for it. There are too many things that can happen to a trailer or your truck, which is 12 years old now (almost). I know, I done it twice moving my daughter to and from Oregon.



If you do get a trailer, I'd get a used open 18' Big Tex, tandem axle with good LT tires and tarp and strap your load down.

 

[tgordon]

Gene, my wife and I just moved from Willimaston, MI to Colby, WI and it is about a 10 hr drive. She had several classmates who hired moving companies and none of them had good luck. I just barrowed snowmobile trailers from friends and the only thing I hated was stopping to pay the tolls, and dealing with the traffic south of Chicago. Somebody here in Colby has a couple of 5th wheel enclosed trailers for sale used and I am guessing they are heavy ones since they are tri-axles with vents for generators. If money would have allowed I would have purchased one of those rather than making the trips, but a friend made one with me and that was fun. Good luck getting everything packed, memories included and I hope you have a safe trip.



troy

 

[JPope]

Seeing as you retruning to an area where family is, check out or have them check out what type trailers are sold there that meet your needs for hauling.

Perhaps there is some regional selectivity in brands, types, materials trailer is made of, that might influence how quick you might sell.



Example might be that local ranchers, farmers, prefer a stock trailer (with plywood/plastic to seal for moving more delicate things and then discarded), versus an enclosed fancier type trailer that has to sit around on a lot waiting for that special buyer to come along.

 

[Buffalo]

If you are still physically able to do the loading/unloading of the move, then I would recommend purchasing an enclosed trailer & doing it yourself.



In 1976, I moved my personal belongings & my business (partial denture framework, dental lab) from Detroit, MI. to Phoenix, AZ. I checked into moving companies but, found them to be very expensive since I had a lot of weight in the lab equipment (60 gal. Kellogg/American compressor, cast iron/firebrick furnaces/kilns, etc. ).



I ended up buying a new Ford E-150, long wheelbase van & a Wells Cargo UT-12' enclosed trailer with what looked like golfcart tires, on it. I should have bought an E-250 or E-350 van. By the time I got to Phoenix, 3 of the 8-ply tires had seperated & Ford replaced them at no cost to me. The little trailer tires carried most of the really heavy stuff & did a great job.



When I got to Phoenix, I was able to store the trailer til I found a building for my business & when I finally unloaded everything, I sold the van & trailer. The inside of the trailer was painted plywood & was scratched up & discolored a bit from the loading & unloading. I repainted the inside, for next to nothing, & it looked brand new. Sold the trailer to a band & they were very happy. When all was said & done, I actually made $300/400 on the sale of the vehicles over what I had paid for them. That was during a time when vehicle prices were going up, though.



I have a friend that had a trailer built but, under-estimated the weight he was going to put in the trailer. In the space of a few miles, he bent the springs & front axle. He went with the light weight, 3500 lb. axles with a gross vehicle weight of 7000 lbs. No where near what he really needed. He has unloaded much of the heavy stuff but, the axle is still bent & he had the front springs replaced. Moral of the story is, buy HEAVY-DUTY & get more than what you need. My friend in NOW looking for a 'proper' trailer.



I can't imagine that you will have much trouble getting rid of that trailer. There seems to always be a need for good enclosed trailers.



Joe F. (Buffalo)

 

[Gene Arnold]

Thanks everyone for your responses! As I indicated, I'm not ready to make the move yet but all your opinions will be of help when the time comes.



I'll let you know what I decide to do.



Gene

 

[boatpuller]

My father in law just did this same thing last year, he took his time and purchased a clean used enclosed Car trailer, as long as you have the time to wait for the right trailer that's the way to do it so you don't eat the depreciation. He actually sold the trailer for $200 more than he purchased it for 8 months earlier.

 

[JimB1]

Try H&H Trailer Company - Our Cargo Trailers and Flatbed Trailers Are Perfect For Hauling Anything. I've similiar plans and researched this a lot. This mfg is head & shoulders above the rest and in Iowa.

 

[Gonzo 1066]

Quality question

I have owned both Pace and Wells cargo trailers. I consider both of them to be a much lower quality than Featherlight or Hilsboro's Endura trailers. My Pace trailers ALWAYS got loosey and flexed a lot when there were some miles on them ( I use my trailers commercially) and the side aluminum showed bowing after a few years. My Hilsboro Endura (Extruded aluminum planks) has well over 250,000 miles on it and is still as strong and straight as the day I bought it. One of the BEST investment I ever made.