Like Bird I've had great luck with Dexter. I buy parts from both Dallas Axle and Redneck.
I'd recommend buying a complete trailer if it's a first time deal. However, if you're familiar with trailers and know what you want then chances are most likely to get exactly what you want you need to build it yourself.
I don't shop Northern for anything I wouldn't buy at Harbor Freight. I've found when it comes to quality items they're just as high if not higher than regular sources.
1. You can never have too many tie downs. You can buy tie downs at TSC or Northern or online. I prefer the shackle kind but to each it's own.
2. You can never have too much trailer brakes. You don't have to replace your axles to add brakes. They come as hubs and backing plates and are a simple install.
3. Your trailer can never be too adaptable. So I recommend having stake pockets along with the tie downs. That way if you need to haul loose bulk you can. But if you don't want to have solid sides then having stake pockets enables you to remove them.
4. Go for the biggest GVW you can find and handle. If you go seven thousand pound axles then you'll have eight lug wheels. That means your truck spare if you're towing with single axle one ton or three quarter ton will fit as a spare on your trailer in a pinch. (unless you have an older GM two wheel drive, some of them come with too small a center hole, not a problem on the four wheel drives)
Fifty two hundred and six thousand pound axles use a six lug wheel. Any four wheel drive six lug wheel will work in a pinch. So some half tons and some mini trucks will match up good.
You can get the thirty five hundred pound hubs in a lug pattern to match your tow vehicle if it's a five lug. This is true of the older GM five on fives and Ford-Jeep five on five and a halves too.
Empty I recommend a hundred pound tongue weight. If the trailer is going to catch a lot of wind, say like with a landscape tail gate, that needs to accomodated. Otherwise at speed you're going to get the wobbles. Wobbles are great for the circulatory system, all three of them, they'll make your heart race, you'll wet your pants, and if they're severe enough, number two too. /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif
If you're on slick surfaces a lot then consider only putting brakes on one axle. I like the front but a lot of folks prefer the rear. What this does is keep one set of wheels tracking if the brakes lock up. When both axles lock up in a panic stop you can add the back end of your trailer to the list of things you're kissing goodbye at that moment in time as it goes by.
Trailers are wonderful. But sometimes I think we need to put a little more into picking them. It's a little like picking a spouse. The right one is a true blessing.
It is true you can buy a trailer for what it would cost you to build one. But only if you're not comparing apples to apples.
You'll have three times the trailer if you build one for fifteen hundred dollars versus buying a new one for fifteen hundred dollars.
