Lets talk small utility trailers,78 inches wide x 14 feet long.

Diamondpilot · Mar 13, 2015

schmism said:
how can you list a gvwr less than the gawr on a single axle trailer that you know will have 10% tongue weight...

They derated it to 2990# because in his state and most others any trailer with a GVWR of 3000# or more require brakes and a brake away kit capable of holding the trailer for 15 minutes.

By the way, the price he was quoted for brakes was fair. It would have included the brakes, brake away, battery, additional wiring, and an additional 500# of legal payload. By not doing so at the time of manufacturing he will always have a trailer limited by the posted GVWR even if he adds brakes unless he can get the manufacturer to re issue the data plate or he titles it as "Home Made" then setting the GVWR to 3500#.

Chris

schmism · Mar 13, 2015

Diamondpilot said:
They derated it to 2990# because in his state and most others any trailer with a GVWR of 3000# or more require brakes and a brake away kit capable of holding the trailer for 15 minutes.

Ah....

to bad... a trailer of that build quality I would have put a 5200lb under it and been happy with 4500lbs payload. 500lb tongue weight is still reasonable for most SUV's

Markcuda · Mar 13, 2015

Roger, the wife called the DMV today, I can't get a small plate for the trailer.
I think I'm going to weld a bracket above the left tail light for the license plate.

leonardo · Mar 14, 2015

hello markcuda. just some food for thought. i purchased a liberty 14' x 6' tandem axle with brakes and wooden sides to haul firewood from family farm to my house. it is a 150 mile round trip. from input on tractorbynet i decided to have the wheels balanced. picked up trailer, drove it home approx 15 miles. immediately took 4 wheels and tires to monroe muffler for balancing. monroe calls me, says we balanced but three of the rims are bent, wtf! technician says " i never had to put so much metal on a wheel before to get it to balance". i'm a little upset, why didn't they call me and tell me this before they did the work? took 4 mounted tires back to dealer and they replaced all 4 with different brand tires and rims they had in stock, after calling monroe to verify no abuse on my part. have not balanced the new set yet, that's on the books for prior to first use this spring. dealer says not liberty's fault cause all rims now made in china hmmmm. be aware of my experience. otherwise liberty is a nice stout trailer and has served me well.

thirdroc17 · Mar 14, 2015

1400 pounds sounds about right for a trailer that size. After pulling my 6x12 enclosed without brakes for a few years, I'm getting brakes on the new open utility and paying a fortune to have brakes added to the enclosed. We all load to legal capacity and then some, and with an extra couple of tons back there pushing when some idiot pulls in front of you because they don't want to get stuck behind a trailer.... well, I'll never go without trailer brakes again.

That all said, looks like a nice trailer you have there. I'm sure you'll have many years of trailering fun with it, just leave lots of room ahead for the idiots.....

RandyT · Mar 14, 2015

Markcuda said:
Ya, I know, it will not get over loaded by me.
A John Deere X534 occasionally, and hopefully two quads.
I wanted a brake, but they wanted 275 bucks, I said "pound sand"

The first time you come up to an intersection with loose sand or gravel at the stop sign with a tow vehicle with 4 wheel antilock brakes you will be wishing you spend the $275. Nothing like the feeling of slowing down coming to a stop and having the truck brakes say OH I am slipping and turn loose, and with 2000+ pushing you will stop on the other side of the intersection. Been there and done that. Went from a 6x12 with no brakes to a 7x14 tandem with brakes on both axles about 3 weeks after the above mentioned situation.

Markcuda · Mar 14, 2015

leonardo, thank you very much for the information on the wheels.
My intentions were to get the three tires balanced.
All three look good but it was only 110 miles pulling the trailer.
I've been welding things on the trailer for two Saturdays now, I will post some
pictures of all the goodies:cool2:

94BULLITT · Mar 14, 2015

Markcuda said:
Roger, the wife called the DMV today, I can't get a small plate for the trailer.
I think I'm going to weld a bracket above the left tail light for the license plate.

View attachment 416433

That stinks you can't get a small plate. The tag will work good on the tail light or on the fender.