noticable difference 7'wide vs 8.5' wide?

[Groo]

I looking at a 7' wide or 8.5' wide enclosed cargo trailer.

will I notice a difference between the 2 towing appart from rearward visability?

 

[ultrarunner]

I tow a 7' and my neighbor across the street tows a 8.5'

Can't really tell any difference on the open highway... maybe a little more resistance going down the road.

He's got mirrors that extend and it does make for a wide rig, whereas, I've got factory mirrors on my older Silverado and can see down both sides of my 7' wide.

Had a couple of close calls turning around and backing on some narrow back roads... also my storage area is too narrow for an 8.5 and still be able to open the side door...

Can you haul your load in both sized trailers?

 

[nmu98]

I had a 3 place 8.5' United Enclosed snowmobile trailer. That thing was high and wide and it was a pain to back up and pull. The front was pointed but it still bucked the wind. I sold it and went for a 7' wide 3 place inline trailer. It was much longer and it seemed to cut through the wind. Being longer it was easy to back up and easy to see around. There would be no doubt I would go for a longer 7'er if I could make it work for the situation I was in.

 

[GreatWhitehunter]

I have a 8.5 gn deckover and really don't notice much difference in the hauling. I does however look wide compared to my SRW truck. I think it would look better behind dual rear wheels. I have extending mirrors so that helps.

Matt

 

[Groo]

Can you haul your load in both sized trailers?

I would like to be able to move my Corvair once or twice. its specs says its just under 70" wide, so the 75" opening I see listed for 7' trailers should do it, but more room would be nice, just not sure its worth more hassle every other time I want to use the trailer just to make it easy that 1 or 2 times.

as I'm going to use it for moving from one corner of the state to the far corner, more space in any direction would be usable, and may be just that little bit extra that keeps me from making an extra trip. a 7x16 is the minimum to fit the corvair, and I don't want to go longer than 20' + a V.

 

[ultrarunner]

Cars can be tough to load by yourself when you have little margin for error...

I use my 7.5' to move cars and equipment... I have larger show cars that I've never tried because I'm not comfortable with only a few inches on each side and then I might not be able to open the doors.

If it was a one time cross country trip... that would be different...

Best thing is to try loading and then decide if it will work for you.

Don't forget to post a picture!

 

[amolaver]

loading cars in a 7' can be a little tricky. if your corvair has only 5" total of extra width, 2.5"/side - that is going to be REALLY tight. odds are you'll manage to prang it given enough load/unload cycles. with such little clearance, you'll just about have to get a winch to load/unload. there just won't be enough room to get out of the car once it's in the trailer, even through the window.

not that its a major concern (probably), but resale value on a 7' is generally much less than 8.5'.

as far as towing goes, the wider stance will probably sway less, although trailer's propensity for this trait seems to vary between mfr's. so one mfr's 7' might sway less than another's 8.5', so tough to generalize. also, anti-sway systems like reese's dual cam or the old school friction device should take care of it.

ahm

 

[nmu98]

loading cars in a 7' can be a little tricky. if your corvair has only 5" total of extra width, 2.5"/side - that is going to be REALLY tight. odds are you'll manage to prang it given enough load/unload cycles. with such little clearance, you'll just about have to get a winch to load/unload. there just won't be enough room to get out of the car once it's in the trailer, even through the window.

not that its a major concern (probably), but resale value on a 7' is generally much less than 8.5'.

as far as towing goes, the wider stance will probably sway less, although trailer's propensity for this trait seems to vary between mfr's. so one mfr's 7' might sway less than another's 8.5', so tough to generalize. also, anti-sway systems like reese's dual cam or the old school friction device should take care of it.

ahm

??????
Most 7' trailers have the wheels outside the "box" and most 8.5' wide trailers are "deck over" With a 7'er your center of gravity is lower and sway should be less.........

 

[Groo]

The 8.5" version I was looking at have inner fender boxes, so wheel width and floor height would be the same either way. I would use a pully to help pull it up. The Corvair is very light. when It died on me once, I pushed it by hand up on a 6" curb to get it away from traffic. I'm a big guy. there is no way I'd be getting in and out of it in any sollid sided trailer.

I have been giving the 2.5" a side clearance some thought. I'm thinking just rocking around might cause some dents. The 75" is the door opening, inside should be a bit wider.

something to think about.