Car hauler vs landscape utility

[Slowpoke Slim]

We've had both a landscape utility trailer and both enclosed and flat bed car trailers. The benefit of the lighter utility trailer is it's easier to tow with a lighter tow vehicle. The downsides are, that rear tailgate ramp is a huge wind deflector that will kill power and mpg of your tow vehicle at highway speeds. I was shocked at the difference it made when I towed ours behind my wife's 6 cyl Toyota 4Runner. Really only noticed it at 60+ mph on the interstate. Hardly any difference when pulled behind my old big block Dodge powerwagon, but it was a huge drain on power to that Toy 6 cyl.

The rear ramp tailgate is handy for loading and unloading atv's, quads, and riding mowers. The rest of the time, it seemed to be in the way (at least to me), and you had to put a ratchet strap from the ramp to the frame on both sides when going down the road or the rattling of the tailgate was irritating. Those trailer types are lightly constructed, light frames and axles, and usually not equipped with trailer brakes on the lightest ones. The ones I've seen that have been in service a long time seem to have plenty of frame repairs/rewelds. The upper railing is part of the frame's support, and a cracked upright will cause a bunch more flex in the trailer frame (causing other issues). I classify these types of trailers as strictly "lightest duty", for the guy that maybe halls one or two sheets of plywood a year, and has a small riding tractor with maybe a bagger and a push mower to haul around.

Our 18' car trailer is built like a brick outhouse. It's framed like a backhoe trailer, 83" wide full wood flat deck, weighs 1900 lbs with a 8K gw, has ramps that slide in the ramp boxes at the rear of trailer, no side rails, but a heavy front rail. This trailer gets the most use, as it is the most versatile. It actually pulls better behind wife's 4Runner than the smaller utility trailer does. My Ford superduty doesn't even know it's hitched to the back unless I've got something heavy on it. I think the only trailer that would be more versatile is a true "deck over" trailer, so there are no fenders sticking above the deck on the sides. This has been inconvenient when hauling pallets or equipment. I would go flat bed instead of dovetail unless you absolutely NEED the dovetail for a low clearance vehicle. Wastes deck space for hauling things other than cars/wheeled equipment. If I ever replace my 18' car trailer, it will be for a 20-24' deck over.

 

[civilian]

Good info, thanks. So your bagger blower sits out wider than the mower deck? How much would you guess it adds to the overall width? I don't have a bagger. I have the dimensions of my mower from the manual, but I need to go measure it sometime soon.

Based on the manual cover for a GCK60-26BX, used on dad's BX2230 bagger: Looks like chute is widest item on his and looks about width of deflector plate on mower deck. However, my blower, (custom designed) has the blower sitting straight back from discharge chute so the blower edge is 4 - 5" wider. (not available to measure this extra width.) Hope this helps. Jon

 

[Ford850]

I've been casually thinking of a trailer purchase and considered a dump, landscape, utility, and car hauler. I've noticed in this thread and others, the most useful trailer is a car hauler. Even Diamondpilot's favorite trailer, which he called a landscape trailer, is what I would call a car hauler (flat deck, no sides, slide in ramps, 7k).

 

[PA452]

This is why I like the sound of the PJ trailers. Their utilities apparently have removable sides, best of both worlds. At least I hope so. Yet to see one in person, one dealer told me they bolt in, another told me the rails just sit in their own stake pockets and someday will be a rattling nuisance.

 

[AxleHub]

I'm surely not a stranger to open trailers of smaller sizes. . But the time has come I believe to go to a smaller tandem wheel trailer to haul my Massey SCUT. I'm wondering about a couple terms used regarding trailers.

1. I know what a dovetail looks like but I don't understand how they work. If you use slide out and fasten ramps. . How does a dovetail benefit anything? Why is a dovetail any different tan a flat bed with slide out and attach ramps?


2. What is the difference between a flat bed and a follower?

3. Something of interest to me is a tilt trailer that has a pot or two fixed in the front. Is there a name for it and what are it's disadvantages compared to a flatbed with ramps?

4. What are the disadvantages of a galvanized trailer?


I'd love to be able to stay with a single axle in a 3500# size so no licensing in WI., but even in aluminum with 14 foot length and 77 inch wide it seems my payload weight might begetting close to Max and while in all my years of pulling trailers I've never had a blowout . . . The tandem does offer some comfort for an occasional highway haul of 150 miles each direction.

 

[civilian]

I'm surely not a stranger to open trailers of smaller sizes. . But the time has come I believe to go to a smaller tandem wheel trailer to haul my Massey SCUT. I'm wondering about a couple terms used regarding trailers.


I'd love to be able to stay with a single axle in a 3500# size so no licensing in WI., but even in aluminum with 14 foot length and 77 inch wide it seems my payload weight might begetting close to Max and while in all my years of pulling trailers I've never had a blowout . . . The tandem does offer some comfort for an occasional highway haul of 150 miles each direction.

Sure Trac I think makes a single axle 5000 lb trailer. Not sure of the length, though.

Here's one steel sided. http://kelleyscustomtrailers.com/unit/sure-trac-7x12-steel-side/ (Kelley's Custom Trailers is a dealer in northern Michigan)

But, beware of the powder coat paint if you are using the trailer in the winter in Wisconsin. Jon

 

[aczlan]

I'm wondering about a couple terms used regarding trailers.

1. I know what a dovetail looks like but I don't understand how they work. If you use slide out and fasten ramps. . How does a dovetail benefit anything? Why is a dovetail any different tan a flat bed with slide out and attach ramps?

A dovetail makes it like your ramps were longer, so a trailer with 3 foot ramps and a 3 foot dovetail is about the same to drive onto as a trailer with six foot ramps would be.

2. What is the difference between a flat bed and a follower?

I assume you mean between a flatbed and a deck over. A flatbed trailer will usually have open sides but the fenders will stick up taller than the deck ( making it so you cannot load pallets or other things from the side where the wheelwells are). A deck over has the deck level with the top of the fenders.

3. Something of interest to me is a tilt trailer that has a pot or two fixed in the front. Is there a name for it and what are it's disadvantages compared to a flatbed with ramps?

I assume you mean the trailers that have 3 to 6 feet of non-moving deck in front of their tilt deck. The advantage there is you could set implements there and not have to tie them down before you pull the tractor on and get it tied down. If you had a full tilt trailer, any implements that you want put up on the front would have to be completely strapped down before you could tilt the deck down to load or unload the trailer.

4. What are the disadvantages of a galvanized trailer? .

Nasty fumes when you have to weld on it. Otherwise they are very good and are usually more expensive to purchase. If you look, most U-Haul, Budget, etc car haulers are galvanized.

Aaron Z

 

[PA452]

Sure Trac I think makes a single axle 5000 lb trailer. Not sure of the length, though.

Here's one steel sided. http://kelleyscustomtrailers.com/unit/sure-trac-7x12-steel-side/ (Kelley's Custom Trailers is a dealer in northern Michigan)

But, beware of the powder coat paint if you are using the trailer in the winter in Wisconsin. Jon

This worries me. I've heard good and bad things about powder coat, but I pretty much got the point based on what I've read that I'd prefer conventional paint. Really liking the features of the PJ trailer though. I may buy a 77"x16' tandem utility this week.

 

[sdef]

I have a 16', 7k# utility trailer and a 10.4k# equipment trailer, as my tractor hauling needs are greater than yours. The utility trailer has a good quality, moderate duty tailgate that easily supports my 1500 pound UTV's tires without any bending of the steel gate mesh. But I would not want to drive anything much heavier on it. If I were to do this I would lay down a couple 2 x 12 planks over the top of the tailgate when used as a ramp or purchase purpose built ramps to lay over the tail gate for loading heavy wheeled objects.

 

[kenr74]

I have the Big Tex 60CH-14. Wish it was the Big Tex 60CH-16 though. Good trailer for hauling my little Yanmar.

It is a good midweight trailer that hauls enough weight without being too much for a mid size truck to drag around.