Buying trailer advice..

[brin]

I will be looking at a replacement trailer for the one I posted about not long ago that was stolen from my property..still makes me mad !

Anyway I have been looking and found the ad below and will be looking at it tomorrow AM...I am posting a copy of the ad below..does this sound like a good deal ? He is asking $400.00 ..Thanks..
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This a nice 5x10 lawn style trailer. It has the short sides and the wire mesh floor. It has the tilt function which makes it easy to load and unload. It has full size tires on it 235/75/15 which makes it pull great behind a truck. It's in good shape lights work and it has a Jack. It's pretty light weight you can move it around the yard by hand

 

[schmism]

i hate the mesh floor versions. although many people just toss in a piece of pressure treated plywood ontop of the mesh.

if your looking for a small utility trailer i see nothing wrong with that.

 

[Steve C]

I will be looking at a replacement trailer for the one I posted about not long ago that was stolen from my property..still makes me mad !

Anyway I have been looking and found the ad below and will be looking at it tomorrow AM...I am posting a copy of the ad below..does this sound like a good deal ? He is asking $400.00 ..Thanks..
____

This a nice 5x10 lawn style trailer. It has the short sides and the wire mesh floor. It has the tilt function which makes it easy to load and unload. It has full size tires on it 235/75/15 which makes it pull great behind a truck. It's in good shape lights work and it has a Jack. It's pretty light weight you can move it around the yard by hand

It sounds like one that is sold by TSC stores. Handy size but not real heavy duty. $300-$400 sounds like a fair price if it is a-1 condition.....and if it fits your needs. I would want to know what the GVW rating is for the trailer. Up here in the frozen northland, many steel trailers are prone to corrosion because of the salt that is used on the roads. I have had steel snowmobile trailers almost completely dissapear in front of my eyes, without being stolen!

My new snowmobile trailers are aluminum as are almost all new snowmobile trailers.

 

[brin]

I just bough a 5x8 utility trailer...I think I got lucky ? See what you guys think...I put an a Trailer Wanted ad on Craig's List...first time I ever used it and got a call from a fella who said he had a 5x8 utility trailer...heavy duty in great shape that he no longer needed and he saw my ad and called..he wanted $350.00 for it ..I drove over today - about 20 miles and it is really heavy duty ..Pressure treated wood floor ..15 inch wheels and tires, jack and all lights work..the fenders really impressed me..they are really steel like the old cars used to have..Take a look at the picture and let me know if you fellas think I did OK..It really pulled nice coming home...it replaces the 6x12 trailer that was stolen from my property...I'm still not over that..LOL

 

[Diamondpilot]

Hard to tell in that little picture but I think you did ok if that size works for you. Looks like it uses standard 15" truck rims so I would figure out the lug pattern and head to the junk yard and get a $25 spare tire and wheel. The one other thing is when I order trailers for customers I spec the tongue jack be set back 2' so that you can open a tail gate or hatch on a suv.

Chris

 

[careyo63]

Good Deal Brin for our area the price was more than fair for what small utility trailers are going for.That style of tail gate is nice, and comes in handy loading things,VIA. Handtruck or Roll dolly etc..I will pay the gas mileage, prob hear that it's a Big Air Drag. Also believe I would invest in a HD. lock on this one.Sure enough they would prob. try it again.

Carey

 

[KeithInSpace]

Looks nearly identical to the 5' x 10' 3,500# capacity trailer that I used (and loved) for 6 years before circumstances dictated an upgrade. I bought mine new for $850 and didn't have a moment's trouble with it. Over time, I swapped out all the "bulb" fixtures for LEDs...a very nice upgrade.

My parents now own that trailer. I sold (gave) it to them for $200. They installed some of the "Gorilla Lift" things for the rear gate...work PERFECT as that gate can be just a smidge heavy (it isn't split as is the case with 6' wide trailers).

I didn't mind the cheese-grater rear gate until I started loading my BX. I fortified it with some 2 x 12 and extra angle iron (affixed with AWFUL welds by yours-truly). Works fine for hand-trucks, but you'll probably end up popping a weld or two. No biggie.

Looks like a pretty good buy!

 

[brin]

Hey guys - thanks for the response..makes me feel better that I got a good deal....

Chris..I like this size trailer since it can go behind my pick up and my tractor for use on the farm and you are right the jack is too close for me to let the lift gate down but I can live with that..

Carey...You are right about the prices for these 5x8 Trailers here in NE Georgia..I mean, TSC, Lowes and even some of the trailer manufacturers want $850 to $900 for one and they have the little spindley 12 inch wheels and tires and all wire mesh...no wood floor and that is why I jumped on this deal. I will take your advice and get a good tongue lock and park it in a place not visible from the road.

Keith...Mine is 2,000 # capacity and like you it reminds me of my 6x12 that was stolen since it too had the real solid steel fenders and large truck tires and wheels..Where did you get the LEDs to swap out for the bulbs..is that easy to do...?

Thanks again guys.

 

[Diamondpilot]

You can always move the jack back. I did it on my neighbors trailer buy getting a piece of 4"x2" 1/4" thick angle iron about 2' long. I then cut it at the proper angles and welded it back into the A-Frame. It also stiffened it up quite a bit. I then used a 2.5", I think, hole saw to drill the hole and put in the oem tongue jack. Solved that problem. This was all after helping a nephew move and he lowered the tail gate and did $350 damage. Took me all of 30 minutes to put it on and solved that problem for ever.

Chris

 

[KeithInSpace]

Where did you get the LEDs to swap out for the bulbs..is that easy to do...?

I bought them right next to the replacement lights at TSC. I recall that I thought I had a wiring issue, so I bought the two main rear lights as a "set" that included the wiring harness that I ended up not using.

I replaced the side markers by picking up yellow LED markers in the onesy-twosy bins in the same area. Since the lights are grounded through the trailer chassis, I think those only involved a single wire.

In short, it was very easy to do. Probably didn't take 15 minutes in total, which included taking swigs from the obligatory beer(s).

Oddly, I have a chronic problem with blowing trailer light fuses in my truck. Dunno why. The LED lights have a much lower power requirement, so replacing the lights were intended to solve this issue. Which it did. The fringe benefit is that I didn't need to forever change bulbs anymore, either.

My replacement 20' trailer and my travel trailer both have 'conventional' lights and my truck's "fuse fetish" has returned. Money has been unkind over the past 18 months, so I haven't gotten around to replacing all with LEDs on my current trailer crop.

It is certainly on the ledger for the spring, though!!!

 

[Diamondpilot]

I have a feeling the fuse issue is due to a short in the wiring on the truck or trailer, not the type of bulb you are running. The short could also be in the bulb holder/socket.

Its not a fuse problem, its just doing what it is supposed to do.

Chris

 

[Steve C]

I just bough a 5x8 utility trailer...I think I got lucky ? See what you guys think...I put an a Trailer Wanted ad on Craig's List...first time I ever used it and got a call from a fella who said he had a 5x8 utility trailer...heavy duty in great shape that he no longer needed and he saw my ad and called..he wanted $350.00 for it ..I drove over today - about 20 miles and it is really heavy duty ..Pressure treated wood floor ..15 inch wheels and tires, jack and all lights work..the fenders really impressed me..they are really steel like the old cars used to have..Take a look at the picture and let me know if you fellas think I did OK..It really pulled nice coming home...it replaces the 6x12 trailer that was stolen from my property...I'm still not over that..LOL

Yes, I bet you take a good long look at every trailer you see on the road that is similar to the one you used to have.

Looks like a good deal to me. The tires look like ther are pretty close to the fenders however, does the trailer have springs on it? If so you might wan't to pay extra attention to the clearance when loaded.

My 10 foot enclosed trailer had a tongue jack on it that interfered with the tail gate. The tongue isn't long enough to move the jack back and maintain clearance for the handle and nuckles without hitting the front of the trailer.

I bought a jack that swivels up out of the way parallel to the frame rails from Harbor Freight for around $20. I just bolts on with a couple of large "U" bolts.

 

[KeithInSpace]

I have a feeling the fuse issue is due to a short in the wiring on the truck or trailer...

I know. Don't know what to say. I've always had some sort of issue with fuses blowing. Had the running lights go all the time with one trailer, then the brake lights with another. Right now, it is the trialer right turn signal fuse, but mostly with my travel trailer...not so much with my utility trailer.

Just a pain in the rear...electrical gremlins.

I need to work on some stuff on my travel trailer and will mess with the wiring and perhaps replace the main lights before next season.

 

[Diamondpilot]

I know. Don't know what to say. I've always had some sort of issue with fuses blowing. Had the running lights go all the time with one trailer, then the brake lights with another. Right now, it is the trialer right turn signal fuse, but mostly with my travel trailer...not so much with my utility trailer.

Just a pain in the rear...electrical gremlins.

I need to work on some stuff on my travel trailer and will mess with the wiring and perhaps replace the main lights before next season.

I had the same issue with my 05 Dmax. I must have put 30 fuses in that thing. Ended up being a wiring harness that got pinched by the body when it was put on the frame. Just guess this stuff happens when you build 1000's of cars a week. Every once in a while the odd stuff happens.

Chris

 

[KeithInSpace]

...odd stuff happens.

I'm keeping it real. It's a Ford with 72,198 miles on it and THIS is really the only thing that I have to wrestle with? Other than the 4WD switching unit pooping out (fixed under extended warranty), the truck has been flawless and comfortable. If I'm this fortunate with my next truck, I'll have to start playing the lottery.

Whether it "fixes" (or masks) my minor issue or not, I just like the LED lights better. I think they're much brighter. And since they react so fast to your hitting the brakes (they actually 'light up' a few milliseconds before the lights on the back of my truck), they might get a little more attention. A desireable thing to try not and have someone hit your trailer.