Share Pics of People Hauling or Towing Something Wrong

[WinterDeere]

Got it about 10 years ago. Won't ever get rid of it, unless it rusts out.

Same. But because I store this outdoors on dirt, it will rust out. Building another carport/garage is way down the priority list, as for some reason I'll never understand, my wife thinks the six garage bays I have should be enough.

Arkansas has permanent trailer tags. So all the trailer costs me is $10 a year in personal property tax.

Tags are no big deal here, I can register for five-year increments, and it's not expensive enough that I even remember the cost. But... we're supposed to have anything with brakes inspected and stickered every year. I try to get around to that, but since my hauling is all pretty local, I probably only average every 2nd year. I can (and do) test the brakes myself, every time I use it, and the damn inspection place charges more for a trailer than they do for my pickup truck!

 

[Dftodd]

Same. But because I store this outdoors on dirt, it will rust out. Building another carport/garage is way down the priority list, as for some reason I'll never understand, my wife thinks the six garage bays I have should be enough.


Tags are no big deal here, I can register for five-year increments, and it's not expensive enough that I even remember the cost. But... we're supposed to have anything with brakes inspected and stickered every year. I try to get around to that, but since my hauling is all pretty local, I probably only average every 2nd year. I can (and do) test the brakes myself, every time I use it, and the damn inspection place charges more for a trailer than they do for my pickup truck!

No inspection here. You should see some of the daisies out there on the roads

 

[civilian]

This is exactly the same system I have. 1/2 ton crew cab with heavy-duty rear springs + 7000 GTWR trailer with 16' closed-side box and ramp. Way easier picking up 12' or 16' lumber in that trailer, than in any pickup, even a "long bed". Plus, I use the trailer for hauling firewood, and mounted a winch on the front for fast retrieval of logs, rather than heaving rounds into a stupid pickup bed. I haul maybe 10 loads of logs per winter, from various sites to my house.

Trailer is also a great way to move your tractor, either for work or repair.

I probably should run a weight-distributing hitch, but so far haven't bothered, as all my heavier hauling is real local.

View attachment 871392

Looks similar to my BNM Trailer Sales from Michigan. Any chance the same manufacturer? Jon

 

[WinterDeere]

Looks similar to my BNM Trailer Sales from Michigan. Any chance the same manufacturer? Jon

That's a Big-Tex Vanguard 70TV. Not sure if BNM is private-labeling Big-Tex, or the other way around, but wouldn't be totally surprised either way.

 

[civilian]

That's a Big-Tex Vanguard 70TV. Not sure if BNM is private-labeling Big-Tex, or the other way around, but wouldn't be totally surprised either way.

I have been to BNM's shop among a farming community. Small shop, started by dad years ago and the boys grew up in the business and have since taken over. Not sure they would have any connections to other manufacturers. Been happy with the two I had/have. The 16ft looking like yours they incorporated items I wanted and increased the weight limit for my needs. Plus they painted it instead of using powder coating like my previous one (that peeled from improper preparation). Jon

 

[WinterDeere]

Never had luck with powder coated anything, for outdoor use. It’s so bad, that I always wondered why trailer and hitch manufacturers boast about it in their advertising.

Paint may not be as durable to initial abrasion, but at least it sticks to the metal. A durable coating is useless, if it’s laying on the ground next to the trailer, after two or three winters.

 

[California]

Never had luck with powder coated anything, for outdoor use. It’s so bad, that I always wondered why trailer and hitch manufacturers boast about it in their advertising.

Paint may not be as durable to initial abrasion, but at least it sticks to the metal. A durable coating is useless, if it’s laying on the ground next to the trailer, after two or three winters.

That was my experience, lots of peeling. I didn't know it was universal.

We repainted the trailer with some old - 20 years from the back of the barn - alkyd enamel. It took a month to dry but now 5 years later none has peeled and it looks great. Like that powder coating should have.

 

[Captain Dirty]

Powder coating applies an electricly charged plastic particle coating to an oppositely charged object reducing the costs of overspray and nusiance of capturing air pollution. Then heat is applied to fuse the particles together into a "durable" coating. I have heard that is is possible to apply the coating "properly", but so doing requires care and expense that many forego. My experience is that the coating is hard but brittle; stone strikes (driving on gravel roads), chain strikes (lashing a load), or other fortuitous events cause a crack or chip that admits water that then begets more chipping and peeling. Sometimes I see a primer, with which the powder did not bind, and sometime I see bare metal.

If Murphy is feeling charitable the powder coat may last for the warranty period. If not, the warranty deniers will argue that stone strikes, etc. are normal wear and tear and thus not covered. As others have noted, alkyd primers adhere well to properly prepared base surfaces and to alkyd enamels. Another retro-grouch observation that the old ways were better.

 

[flyerdan]

Proper prep is everything for powder coating. Most of the adherence problems come from the chemical dip cleaning process, that's less than ideal. The best results we got were from an outfit that would sandblast everything and flash it right before shooting.
Not having any sharp corners helps immensely when building whatever it is - if you can knock the edges off angle iron and other sharp edges it will eliminate the stress points when the coating shrinks due to temp changes.

 

[WinterDeere]

Honestly, I don't really care about the reasoning, only the results. I have never seen a powder coated anything that has held up well. It just doesn't.

Alkyd enamel takes 28 days for 2nd-phase cure, which is something like 75% to 90% full strength. Not as durable, but at least it's still adhering to the metal after several years. Wear points are rarely a rust problem, anyway.