I have a homemade 4'x8' utility trailer that was abandoned on our property (had a tree growing through the a-frame). Doesn't have springs, basically just a Dodge pickup truck axle with a trailer frame welded to it. I salvaged it. Turned it into a useful farm trailer that I use to haul trash, mulch, yard debris, and occasionally to take an ATV or mower for service. It works great for those tasks, but the lack of springs makes it pretty useless for towing anything other than yard materials or something with it's own suspension.
It's time for an upgrade. The wife and I are beginning our transition from the home we've lived in for 25 years to our cabin in the woods, about 85 miles away. We need a bigger trailer (with a spring suspension!) that will handle the following:
1) Secondary street trips to a dump about 15 miles from our current suburban household.
2) Moving furniture and other household goods over the next year to our retirement place.
3) Landscaping duty at our rural property: Hauling a couple of cubic yards of mulch from the county dump to the cabin (about 18 miles). Maybe topsoil and gravel trips as well.
4) Ocasionally transporting equipment and materials (z-turn mower, ATV, building materials)
5) I'm sure, someday, my Yanmar will break in a way that I can't fix, or I'll trade it for another compact tractor, and may need to transport it somewhere.
My current tow vehicles are:
2007 Lincoln Navigator (7,000lb tow rating)
2001 Ford Explorer Sport Trac (5,400 lb tow rating)
I may buy an used HD pickup down the road, but for now, those are my towing rides.
With the exception of issue #5, I could probably get away with a single axle 5x10 to 6x12 single axle utility trailer. However, as we've gotten older, we're finding that one of the most taxing things we do is unload and spread mulch and dirt from the trailer. So, I find myself thinking about the smallest dual axle dump trailer made by Big Tex, which is 5x10, with a pair of 3500lb axles, single ram, electric brakes, 7000 GVWR and a 5120lb payload rating.
Thing is, it costs twice as much as a nice dual axle utility trailer, and I wonder if I'll regret the extra investment over a utility trailer.
Any thoughts on dump vs. utility greatly appreciated.
It's time for an upgrade. The wife and I are beginning our transition from the home we've lived in for 25 years to our cabin in the woods, about 85 miles away. We need a bigger trailer (with a spring suspension!) that will handle the following:
1) Secondary street trips to a dump about 15 miles from our current suburban household.
2) Moving furniture and other household goods over the next year to our retirement place.
3) Landscaping duty at our rural property: Hauling a couple of cubic yards of mulch from the county dump to the cabin (about 18 miles). Maybe topsoil and gravel trips as well.
4) Ocasionally transporting equipment and materials (z-turn mower, ATV, building materials)
5) I'm sure, someday, my Yanmar will break in a way that I can't fix, or I'll trade it for another compact tractor, and may need to transport it somewhere.
My current tow vehicles are:
2007 Lincoln Navigator (7,000lb tow rating)
2001 Ford Explorer Sport Trac (5,400 lb tow rating)
I may buy an used HD pickup down the road, but for now, those are my towing rides.
With the exception of issue #5, I could probably get away with a single axle 5x10 to 6x12 single axle utility trailer. However, as we've gotten older, we're finding that one of the most taxing things we do is unload and spread mulch and dirt from the trailer. So, I find myself thinking about the smallest dual axle dump trailer made by Big Tex, which is 5x10, with a pair of 3500lb axles, single ram, electric brakes, 7000 GVWR and a 5120lb payload rating.
Thing is, it costs twice as much as a nice dual axle utility trailer, and I wonder if I'll regret the extra investment over a utility trailer.
Any thoughts on dump vs. utility greatly appreciated.