Anyone try to buy a trailer lately?

[Hay Dude]

Took me 6 months to get my 26' 16k speedloader built. I rented a couple of these trailers to get an impression on strength and quality of build. Very nice. But - from the pics I've seen of my trailer, quality may have gone out the window. Welds look like someone's first attempt at laying a bead. Paint prepping seems non-existent. Judge for yourself.

Older trailer
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2021 Welds
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2021 Paint
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Good help harder to come by than ever. I think it’s build em quick & dirty and get em out the door.

 

[mwemaxxowner]

Patients grasshopper... Not sure if this will give you hope or not but I ordered a B2601 June 1st, 2020 and took delivery November 14th 2020... ALMOST 6 months. Mine was definitely worth the wait and I think you will find yours to be as well!

This is the only tractor I have for now.

 

[stuckmotor]

When I went to Lowes today, there was a flat bead loaded three or four high with small trailers waiting for a forklift. There were only two on the ground.

 

[Old Sod]

Yes, I bought a 14,000 lb PJ Model CJ tilt a couple years ago. PJ had a pretty good reputation at one time. I ordered it in August, and it was promised "in a couple months". Yeah right... It was delivered to the dealer the next February. I was surprised it took so long. So Lead time is nothing new I guess.
I ordered it with the standard spring-loaded drop-leg jack, and it came with all rusty gears inside...no lubrication at all. Seems to me PJ could at least afford some grease on an $11,000 dollar trailer. After I got some grease on the gears, it seemed to crank ok, but the thing tends to rust at the bottom easily and is very hard to operate. I don't trust it, and I plan on having a power jack installed.
Also I had ordered it with the winch plate, and when they installed it they drilled through one of the cross-members below, destroying it in the process. And I wanted that cross-member to be there to give the winch some extra strength. They made it right by having the dealer weld another member alongside, but it was a pain in the rear to deal with.
The thing also was shipped to me with a dented fender and an inoperable coupler. It's clear the trailer was not inspected before shipment, or if it was, and shipped in this condition anyway, that's even worse.
But what really made me mad was that I didn't even get a "we're sorry it happened" or any form of apology from PJ. That's real arrogance.
I'll never deal with PJ again, and I recommend that others don't either.

 

[QRTRHRS]

I just bought a 18' 10K Gatormade GT-XT yesterday. Found a small local dealer with one left from February. It was $800 cheaper than picking one up at Gatormade's factory in Somerset, KY. And saved me almost 2 hours of drive.

But most dealers around here real low on inventory, and even taking deposits on trailers they advertise as "arriving soon."

I too bought a Gatermade GT-XT 16' back in February after striking out with the dealers close by. Low or no inventories. Long lead times, etc. Gatermade is about an hour away for me and had what I wanted so that's what I went with. Satisfied so far.

 

[northcreek2624]

Trailer mania is everywhere I guess. I sold a small utility trailer for an elderly lady who paid $500 for it several years ago and I got $950 for it and had other buyers wanting to buy.However I listed a Dexter axle with wheels and springs on CL thinking someone might want to build a trailer and that is not the case.

 

[MHarryE]

I live on Minnesota’s Iron Range. You can’t get your steel here because 70% of the job applicants at the mines fail the drug tests. Workers who can are working unlimited overtime and retiring early with the money. But the US is small potatoes for iron production. China and Australia are the biggies, but Australia exports ore to - countries hobbled with COVID. And if not for iron, component parts, maybe brakes, tires, might come from COVIDE spiking country. As for wood, plants here in timber country shut down due to low demand and cannot reopen due to lack of work force - once again drug test among other things. Heck, back in the 70’s workers at the equipment plant where I was an engineer came to work staggering drunk, and sat in their car drinking at noon. Somebody put a stop to that and we’re screwed. Community surveys we must do every 3 years (I’m now a hospital board director) come back 90% say our worst problem is alcohol and drugs. So you don’t get your steel because the mines will no longer let drunks drive trucks.

As for WI cheese, my nephew is a dairy farmer supplying fluid milk to WI for cheese. After last year’s fiasco, it’s recovered very well; however, the Chinese are buying so much soybeans as part of the tariff resolution we are now buying soybeans from Brazil to feed our livestock. Tw weeks ago I paid $50 per ton more for fertilizer because corn belt farmers are using more to take advantage of the huge corn and bean price increases. So now we get great milk prices but profits are eaten up paying the corn farmers. The corn farmers - watch YouTube where they are stocking up on shiny new equipment. Surviving on part by my John Deere holdings, I lived today’s stock jump as they are realizing record profits on every machine sold.

 

[can do]

View attachment 699437

This is the only tractor I have for now.

Ah! That is the future Hydrogen power, AWESOME!!!! You are gifted to have the foresight & it's a autonomous vehicle , Pure genius!!!!!!

 

[Cubstah]

Buddy of mine looking at a basic 14,000lb flatbed trailer. Said Appalachian is 12-14 weeks out and Kaufman is 25 weeks out!
Sheesh, we could have a complete collapse of the economy or other life changing events happen in that much of a waiting period.

Trailers are in short supply, like many other things. I’m in the Upstate area of SC and had to go to Commerce, GA to get a Big Tex deck over gooseneck. The only reason I could get it was the buyer changed his mind. My local dealer said he takes whatever Big Tex will deliver, and the folks in GA said the same. I have a trailer manufacturer 2 miles from me but they couldn’t start making me one until sometime in July.

 

[grsthegreat]

i just checked craigslist spokane. they have lots of trailers for sale, but the prices seem higher.