16' Utility trailer gate or ramps which is better?

[denverdave66]

Awhile back I posted on here about which trailer to buy for my Jeep Cherokee, well, I found a really good deal on a 86 Chevy 4x4 so I bought it to haul wood and use to pull a trailer. Now trying to decide which trailer to buy. I know I want a 16' utility trailer with brakes on one axle. I will be mainly be using the trailer for hauling my John Deere 1026 but I also may use it to haul other things like wood, furniture etc I am sure after I get a trailer I will have lots of uses for it. Which is better the gate or the ramps or which one does most people prefer.

 

[joshuabardwell]

In my opinion, if you are getting a utility trailer, you shouldn't be hauling anything heavy enough that a gate won't handle it, so get the gate, not the ramps. I say that because I recently attempted to haul my approx. 4000 lb tractor on my 7000 lb GVWR utility trailer, and it was not up to the task. The cross-members on the trailer are just not made to take the concentrated load of a vehicle, which puts all of its weight on a small contact patch, instead of spreading it out over the entire trailer. My trailer gate is rated to hold up to 2000 lbs, which is plenty for any sort of vehicle that I would want to carry on the trailer.

Let me also recommend getting one with brakes on both axles. The cost is minimal if they are factory-installed; they are required in some states (maybe not yours); and it's just generally never bad to have more braking on a trailer compared to less.

 

[Diamondpilot]

I like slide in ramps. Gate gets in the way with long stuff and causes wind resistance. Same with stand up ramps. Only way I would ever consider a gate is if I was unloading 5 times a day like a commercial mower.

Chris

 

[radioman]

If it only a one series JD tractor and firewood and other stuff- I'd get the gate IMHO. I have the gate and it makes it easier to load anything since I can roll my hand dolly up ramps anywhere, my cheapo tractor, garbage, my BX, unloading mulch with my BX is nice with a gate so I can angle anywhere on trailer. The only mod I made to gate was add couple more cross members on the gate to prevent gate mesh from bending and I did that with a small hobart 120volt welder. If you pick up a trailer from the dealer - ask if he can do that for you instead.
When I had to haul long stuff - and it wasnt often- I just pulled the pin to remove the gate completely. I only did that maybe once a year and the convenience to be able to remove gate completely was nice. If I had to do that often, then I would be getting the ramps, but hey its a 16 ft trailer so I dont need to do that often.

 

[s219]

Hmm, well, my 7x16 tandem trailer came with a gate. I have a lot of thoughts on this after 9 months of heavy use.

The gate has worked OK for what I need -- hauling a Kubota B2920 with front loader and generally 300-400 pounds of implements on the rear (about 2500 pounds total). I would not want to load much heavier of a tractor though.

I do like having a gate when I go and pick up a load of gravel/mulch/etc, as it keeps stuff from flying off the trailer into the road behind me. That is a definite plus.

On the downside, the gate has a *lot* of aerodynamic drag once you get past about 50 mph. It's the worst when the trailer is empty and the gate is out there like a sail. It's not nearly as bad with a load.

My gate is one-piece with three hinge pins, and I can just barely get it on/off by myself. A two-piece gate would have made more sense.

Some trailers have angle iron gates, with ribs spaced about 18-24". No way that would support a larger tractor without bending the mesh. My trailer gate uses 1-1/4" square tubing on 12" centers, but it's light gauge (0.063" wall) tubing and probably would not handle a large tractor if a point load was bearing on a single tube. For my small tractor, it does just fine, and it's obvious that the tubing and mesh are working together to make the entire gate act like a structure.

I take care to make sure the gate rests on level ground when loading/unloading, or use 2x4 scraps to block it level. With such a wide gate, it would not take much to bend it out of whack.

For only hauling a tractor, I would get ramps if I had to do it again. For overall usability, I think the gate is a fair choice. It ends up being a compromise and so far it's working OK for me.

 

[Soundguy]

if the trailer is heavy enough for a tractor.. i'd use ramps.. gates are mostly for lawn equipment

 

[PoorPlowboy]

if the trailer is heavy enough for a tractor.. i'd use ramps.. gates are mostly for lawn equipment

Yes ramps. I prefer the hinged/flip ramps over the slide in style. They're easier to use on frequent days, and they don't seem to rattle and bang as much on rough roads.

 

[meburdick]

if the trailer is heavy enough for a tractor.. i'd use ramps.. gates are mostly for lawn equipment

+1

Also - if you're planning on hauling wood, you may well want to consider something even larger than a utility trailer. Ihave a 10k equipment trailer with fold-down ramps. It will easily take my tractor, a car / truck, or just about anything else. I've been hauling LARGE loads of firewood logs with my trailer lately and it's been immensely helpful to be able to put two cord of unseasoned wood on the trailer and drag it 40 miles.

Plus - with the fold-down ramps like I have, there's a support underneath them that helps with loading the tractor (reduces strain on the tow vehicle suspension). You could accomplish the same thing by attaching scissor jacks to the rear corners of a trailer, though.

If you're going to be loading a tractor and possibly a road vehicle (you mentioned the Jeep), ramps are the way to go.

 

[denverdave66]

I don't plan on hauling 2 cords of wood, I don't even burn wood. I may go haul some wood if we get an ice storm and haul away some some brush and wood and clean up for people. I mainly will use it to haul my sub compact tractor John Deere 1026 with brush hog or blade and FEL. If the axles are rated at 7,000 pounds I think that would be enough to haul a car if needed to be.

 

[meburdick]

I don't plan on hauling 2 cords of wood, I don't even burn wood. I may go haul some wood if we get an ice storm and haul away some some brush and wood and clean up for people. I mainly will use it to haul my sub compact tractor John Deere 1026 with brush hog or blade and FEL. If the axles are rated at 7,000 pounds I think that would be enough to haul a car if needed to be.

Ok... Your comment about hauling wood could have been taken a couple of different ways, but you're looking on the "smaller scale" end... No worries there.

Keep a couple of things in mind: Each axle on a 7k trailer will probably be 3500 pounds, possibly slightly higher - you'll want to look for the GAWR (gross axle weight rating) to know for sure. The trailer has weight, and you have to deduct that from the GTWR (gross trailer weight rating - think "7k") to know how much cargo you can legally / safely carry. In the case of a 7k trailer, I think you will find it common that the trailer itself weighs somewhere around 1750 lbs. Call it 1800, and plan on 5200 available for cargo.

Anything you put on the trailer, like adding a wooden deck (I did that with a utility trailer I had), is part of the cargo. So, are chains, binders, a spare tire, etc. Nothing by itself seems like much, but it can add up.

The 1026 shouldn't be an issue for you, even with a loader on. Depending on other attachments, like brush hogs, you *may* find that 16' is not really long enough. For example - my tractor measures about 15' from tip to tail with the loader installed, pallet forks on the loader, and a ballast box hanging off of the back. In order for me to load that weight properly and get it placed correctly over the axles, a 16' trailer is too short. I personally needed the extra 2' of length for the trailer so that I could get the main load of the tractor over the center of the axles. Also - you could potentially tie down another attachment or something in front of the machine with a longer trailer and still be ok.

If you're going to be hauling something like a 4x4 Jeep (i.e. Wrangler), know that those things weigh quite a bit. Plan on somewhere around 3750 for a 4x4 Wrangler with a 6 cylinder engine in it. With that sort of weight on the trailer, you'll be quite happy to have "splurged" the extra $100 and gotten brakes on *both* trailer axles. Overall length on something like a Wrangler is in the 13' - 14' department, so a 16' trailer would likely suit it fine.

The one thing that I like about my equipment trailer that I didn't care for on the utility trailers that I had (and on a lot of landscape trailers) is the deck. My equipment trailer has a solid deck and the others were expanded steel (mesh-like). The expanded steel helps keep the weight of the trailer down, which is great for the smaller axles, but it doesn't hold up over the long run to heavy weights like a solid deck does. That's a big part of why I installed a solid floor on my old utility trailer.