In the near futures (sometime this year I hope) I will be selling my house (anyone want to move to Charleston and buy my house) and moving to Seattle. I plan ot purchase a car trailer to tow the woodie across country. I have started looking around at different styles and sizes. I am leaning towards a 18' drop trailer (4" dropped axles) to get lowered cars on it easier.. the one I am looking at has electric brakes and two 3500 # axles, wood deck.... and a removable fender on the drivers side.. $2200 I am towing it with a 04 chevy standard cab.. 5.3L auto with factory heavy duty (basically 3/4ton) suspension and tow package. I know the truck can handle it as I used heavier trailers to take my wagon to Ohio and pick up my woodie in PA.. there seem to be a lot of options like length (16 or 18') deck heights (standard or dropped) plus tilt decks.. So whats the difference really between a 16 or 18' trailer (as related to tow characteristics).. What should I look for and what should I stay away from
Mine is a 16 from a big place in Texas. That company makes the 16 with a narrower deck. Check your specs. Lastly if you go too low on the tail, you can get hung up on a big swale at the end of a hilly driveway, etc.
i have a 16 foot deck with a 4" drop tail. had no problems putting a 1960 caddy on it. front tires where at the end of the trailer and back hung off a bit. too long of a trailer becomes a h***le when it is empty and storeing it.
make the trailer as hard to use as possible, so you won't be tempted to haul when you should be driving. I have an old 16' angle iron/wood lightweight tandem axle trailer, it sits kind of low, cheezy homemade ramps, old cast iron manual boat winch on it, brakes on one axle, and it does all I need. the removeable fender would be nice but I seem to manage without it. make sure it's as wide as possible between the fenders though. there's a tradeoff between height of the trailer bed, and height of the fenders relative to the trailer bed....I dont know what the best compromise is but just be aware of it. a half ton with that little motor wants as light of a trailer as possible. my wife has the first version of that truck (99), I know.
The nice thing about a longer trailer is you can center the weight of the load over the trailer axles. That is, you don't have to drive the car all the way to the front of the trailer to get it on. Keeps alot of weight off the hitch so you balance your load just right. 18 ft. is much better than 16 ft. for this reason. Alot of U-Haul trailers are 14 ft. and the reason is they are made to pull behind their own big trucks and they don't want them to get too long. Ever see those little U-Haul trailers behind some dude's pickup with the hitch almost dragging the ground? They are too short to balance the load.
Something you may consider, and since I have one, and use it in the winter, and that is a covered wagon.... Sure does make for a nice spare garage as well as hauling. HellRaiser
I like the 18' myself. I think it tows better then the 16'. Get brakes on both axles. Most states require them anyway. A winch stand on the front is nice too. As was said, the drop or beavertail rear can get hung up on some driveways. I don't have the droptail just because of that.
18ft with a dovetail..,..and get a steel or aluminum bed and you won't have to redeck the damn thing every7 years like i do mine needs it again..
I recntly sold a 14' double axle w/3500lb axles- it was built by a local guy (building em for 15 yrs); I pulled 4-6000lb with a 4.0 ranger/auto- I replaced it w/20ft (16 + 4 ft dovetail) 2 6000lb axles and it pulls the same- precisely the same. Both track straight- loaded or unloaded and will pull to 75mph smoothly w/o "walking" or beating you to death. I have pulled alot of trailers and I think it depends mainly on the hitch and axles being set up squarely. Mine was ordered as a "utility" trailer, and I built wooden sides so I can haul mulch, sheetrock, plywood and cars too. (that way the Mrs doesn't realize that I really need a new trailer for bigger cars). BTW I am 4 hrs from charleston- if you come to western NC you can go see the guy- he has about 50 trailers at any time and will custom build at a good price He let me take a few trailers out for a drive to see which one was best for me. Then I ordered the 20- he was busy and said it'd be a least 7 days before it was ready. (which I thought was pretty good) In case you are wondering I pd 1000 for the 14 ft in 2000, and 2450 for the 20ft about 2 months ago. I might be able to post a pic but I haven't seen the trailer for about 1.5 mos- my buddy borrowed it and its at his house.
i have an 18' straight deck with long ramps, 2-5000lb axles and hydraulic (surge) brakes. I've been using it for 22 years and it works great. If you are only going to haul a 3500lb vehicle, a shorter, lighter trailer will work well and be a bit more maneuverable. Having a dropped tail makes loading easier for vehicles but cuts the trailer's useful size for other things where a flat deck and sideboards can be handy. Brakes are a necessity for any trailer this size. My 99 Chev w/5.3 works great up to 7500 lbs (and has often) so your truck shouldn't be an issue.
I like my 18 ft. dove tail for moving things around. But for long hauls I really like my 24 ft. ATC enclosed trailer. Tows just as well as the open trailer but keeps everything inside and out of the weather. Besides it makes a great garage in the winter. Brian
ken my father has one of those "tilt" bed ones.. he built it himself..and if I were buying an open trailer I would buy one of those. loading even the LOWEST cars is NO SWEAT... BUT... I think you should go "enclosed" you will sleep easier knowing the woodie is inside all safe and "unseen" and when you get to WASHINGTON you can keep the car in it for awhile.. (in case you don't have garage space right away..) AND... in the end.. it will be ALOT easier to sell, I've been trying to buy one here JUST to use for storage..
I use a Carson 16' 7000Lb GVW elec bks on one axle. 12' flat with a 4' dove tail... I use either my Silverado 1500 w/4.3 or the F350 crew cab. Tows great, easy to load. The wood deck and tie down points are the only things I dislike, but it was inexpensive new @1,950.00 http://www.carsontrailer.com/subs/trailers/car_haulers/standard_car_hauler/standard_car_hauler.html
i have an 18 ft electric tilt bed and use it to haul everything from a bobcat with a backhoe attachment to a 59 chevy wagon to a saleen mustang and many trips hauling all kinds of other cars. longest trip was from fla to canada and back .used an expedition with the rear airbag suspension and it was wonderful. scary at first cause when we loaded the car the hitch was almost on the ground but once we started the car the airbags leveled it out and it pulls fine 75 mph is no problem .definately get dual axle brakes as you never know when you might need the extra brakes(trust me i lost the brakes going downhill with a 59 chevy wagon on the trailer behind my chevy truck luckily the trailer brakes slowed me enough that the regular brakes finally cooled off and i could pull over).if you want to load something extremely low check out the TEXAS ROLLBACK TRAILERS lowest thing i know of
I haul with a 20 footer. 16' flat with a 4' drop tail. Straight axles and I still s****e on some driveways. So, I guess a flatbed with drop axles would put the tail at about the same height. 20' is hand as heck for hauling stuff. My he**** fits. I have an Impala on it right now with three feet of space at the front for the spares that go with it. It has romoveable sides that come in real handy at the swap meet. A longer trailer doesn't always fit where you need it but it's harder to get it ****ed sideways also.
spend the little bit extra now and get the bigger axles,sooner or latter it will get filled to the nuts
Ditto on heavier axles. put a 4500# car on an 1800# trailer and 7k# worth of axles/tires is at it's limits. Make sure the coupler matches the weight of the trailer also. I've seen a lot of 5K# couplers on 7K# trailers. 2 5/16" ball is practically mandatory.
Boones ... I have a 16 foot ... metal floor ... My truck and yours are exactly the same ( except I got RED .... I wanted BLACK and yours is BLACK and you wanted RED ) Stay away from the WOOD ... 16 foot long with a dove tail is long enough. The 40 Ford coupe and HRP's 54 wagon pulled great on the 16 foot. I agree with " sawzall " Enclosed is the way to go ... Lots of used trailers on this site ... http://www.racingjunk.com/
I have an 18' Rainbow tilt bed made in Manitoba. 20 inch deck height, 2 5k axles, 4wheel brakes. Uses a floor jack mounted to the frame to tilt. Easy to load and tow-no ramps. I carry 2x8 chunks to put under the tail if the car is low enough to s****e. $3200. Dan
I own an 18 foot flat and sometimes need the length because I play with trucks. Before I bought this trailer I used to borrow a 16 footer frequently. The shorter trailer was easier to back up and easier to manuver in tight quarters. Also I sometimes drag the back of my trailer getting it up my driveway. A shorter trailer might not drag in that same spot. You may not be worried about my driveway, but I drug the back of the trailer dragging it empty up Marion in downtown Seattle too. If you don't need the length shorter does have some advantages. Do you plan to keep the trailer once you've arrived in Washington? I have talked to several people who have been cited for pulling a trailer over 10,000 GVWR without a CDL. Unless you have a CDL you may want to keep your trailer under that rating. Washington seems to be tough but Oregon might be tougher.
16' wood deck here. Gets cars where I need em to be. If I had it to do over, would get a used $2500 20-24' enclosed. Was actually thinking about how I'd word the 16 footer's for-sale ad today.
Have An All Steel 18ft. Handles Great.have An Air Dam And Tool Box Which Come In Handy.also Where To Mount The Spare , Mine Is Under The Floor For Security,
Put a lot of road miles on a straight axle 16 foot steel bed with 2- 3500lbs axles with brakes on the front axle. Were I to do another, it would be an 18' tilt trailer. One advantage of the straight axle is the fenders are closer to the deck hight allowing you to open a car door without hitting the fender. If load angle is an issue, get longer ramps. My ramps were 6 1/2' long. With the tounge jacked up just a bit the ramps and bed were almost straight. Loaded a lot of very low cars and never ran into a clearance problem. I could load things that would s****e on a rollback. What ever you do, get it as wide between the fenders as possible, and have tough fenders. Biggest issue I ever had with my trailer was busting out tail lights. Even with the straight axle and a flat bed, the rear tube of my trailer was reallt s****ed up. Gene
enclosed trailer is nice but does require more power and gas, when i pull the enclosed trailer ( gmc 3500 6.0) fuel drops about 2 mpg vs a open trailer. i agree brakes on all axles a must, but i have seen a bunch of trailers with bad welding to fast on production, the longer the ramps the better. removable fender not need for pre 57 cars but the wide late 50/60s car go to a 102 wide trailer, prefer steel deck to wood, the longer the trailer the better handling it will have, i have a beavertail trailer, almost never s**** it
great advice. some good things to think about. For those worried about me becoming a trailer queen, dont. my cars see plenty of miles. The woodie is a non driver right now so it must be towed.. and I thought the cost to ship it would be about the same as buying a trailer (Steve G will send you another note). Dont need a trailer once I get there as my buddy has one... thought i could sell it for a good price and come out cheaper then shipping it. removalable fenders are a must, I would never be able to get out of the car, most of my doors sit low to the ground. The woodies front end is hammered and even with a dropped trailer maybe a challenge to get the front fenders from dragging. Thought about an enclosed but not sure I have the extra money to go that route.. my buddies has a wood deck version in Seattle and to my knowledge it has done fine up there sitting out in the weather..
Ive got an 18 foot straight trailer no dove tail long ramps and low. The nice thing about mine is it has 2 runners made of steel no wood floor and no solid floor. It is lighter, and the benifit is you can also work on your car from underneath if you need to while its on the trailer. it also makes for tieing it down easy. Did i mention Its Lighter? It was an old Drag Car Trailer made by Dragspecialties here in michigan.
I used to have a tilt trailer and while it was good for loading, I didn't like it for unloading cars that did not run or had no brakes. It was quite unsafe sometimes.
My buddy had a "Friesen" the black on pictured here - 2' Dove Tail 18' er I belive http://www.friesenfab.com/FriesenTrailers.htm It was an Extrememly well built trailer - Powder coated ch***is and Painted Pinstriping Bad Features - Wood Deck (Which has advantages and disadvantages) and brakes only on 1 axle, oh and for some D.A. reason they welded the trailer jack to the trailer instead of bolting it The other thing to be careful of is if you have a drop tail and the trailer ramps are under it - they tend to hit and s**** incline areas easy. Since you don't plan on keeping it - I would look for something used and check out the bearings/tires, haul and sell to get your $ back.
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