what trailer to buy??

[DISPATCH]

i need a trailer for my wheelin truck but i am also going to use it for other cars, tucks, and items. i am looking for a deck over trailer so it is easy to load and unload full size trucks. but i don't know if i should get a gooseneck or not i think i should when looking at the weight that i am dealing with. 7000# truck plus trailer. what are the pros and cons of gooseneck vs. tag. what are good companies to look at? what should i look out for when looking for a trailer? ex. channel vs. I-beam. what gvw do you suggest. what kind of weight can i actually pull off a stock hitch? any help would be great!!



thanks in advance

drew

 

[ndurbin]

Go with a gooseneck. In my experiences a gooseneck well handle what you want better than the same trailer that is a tag. A 14-20,000lbs. 20-25' deck would probably be plenty big enough for what you need. Never a bad idea to go alittle heavier than you plan for the added safety.



Things to look at are the axles, tires, brakes, hitch, landing gear, and the wiring. Make sure the axles and tires are rated enough to carry the weight. Electric brakes are the most common out there and their generally OK. Electric over hydraulic brakes are also OK, it just takes the electric pump 1-3 sec. to activate the hydraulic part so it's not ideal for quick shutdowns or sudden hard braking. Air brakes and hydraulic brake systems are out there but aren't popular. And you'd have to have an air compressor or hydrualic pump to run them. Make sure the whole hitch system is beefy and the actual hitch is adjustable so you can fine tune the leveling of the trailer. Make sure the landing gear has enough cap. to handle the load if you have to unhitch the trailer. On the wiring alot of companies well just use the plastic taps or other cheap ways instead of sodering the wires together.



Nathan

 

[y-knot]

I could write a small book on the advantages and disadvantages of all the different trailers both tag and gooseneck in design. There are many considerations that play into the logic of which trailer would be best for your situation, the most important one being how much you are will or able to spend?? Only you can answer that, and that alone will determine what style,type, length and quality of trailer you can buy. Generally, the heavier trailers tow better in the gooseneck configuration, they are easier to maneuver and they allow for a larger payload. But, they are also the more expensive trailers, generally you will pay 3-4 thousand dollars more for the gooseneck version of the same trailer. Price dictates design, quality of parts and manufacture, length and capacity, in trailers you do get what you pay for. And if you ever see two trailers that appear to be similar with the exception of price, that lower price is achieved by lower quality in parts and manufacturing standards. It is like anything else, how much can you afford?

 

[QRTRHRS]

drew, do a seach in this forum on trailers. There is a ton of info here. I don't know what your license status is (CDL?) or your states requirements are. You need to know all that plus your insurance companies position going into this.