What trailer brands should I be looking for??

[newhorseguy]

My wife and I purchased a 6+ acre horse place this fall. We moved out of a townhouse so I'm in the position of needing to buy just about every thing new.

I'm looking for some advise on a trailer. I've been thinking a 14 ft, 7000 GVW, tandem axle trailer, drop deck and 2 ft duck tail would fit my needs
.
The trailer will be used for hay (square bales not rounds), pulling my JD 2305 w/ FEL, snow blower and 54"mmm deck, fencing, gates etc. I also want the ability to but a car on it (small BMW sedan, about 3400lbs). I don't envision needing to trailer more then a 4 to 6 times a year.

The John Deere dealer I purchased my tractor thru carries Felling Trailers out of Sauk Center, MN.

Does anyone have any experence with Felling trailers? What other brands should I be looking at?

The trailer I'm thinking about is a 14 ft, drop deck trailer w/ 2 ft duck tail. Does this configuration make sense given my plans?

I currently have a 2000 1/2 ton Chevy w/ 5.3l engine, but I'm planning on purchasing a new truck in 2009. I'll either get another 1/2 ton like I have now or something like a 1/2 ton chev w/ the MAX trailer package.

Any thought would be appreciated.
Thanks.

 

[BarryinMN]

Felling is about 75 mi from me. Top quality equipment. My opinion is your trailer is too small. 18-20' is better for hauling the stuff not considered yet. Building materials, landscaping, somebody elses car, etc...

Add in a tool box for dry tiedown stuff storage and a spare tire.

 

[ScottOkla]

I bought a 16' Big Tex. I should have got an 18', but other than that, it was a very smart choice (IMO).

I would look at Big Tex, but you may not have a dealer nearby. Mine gave me a LOT for the money a few years ago.

 

[davkir]

With the rotary cutter on the tractor, it just about fills my 18' trailer and still gives me a little room to balance the tongue weight.
It also works well for hay bales without having to stack them too high.

 

[Diamondpilot]

14' is too short, you will need a 16'-18' trailer. I personally don't care for dove tail types, I like flat decks but that is a personal preference. Much easier to carry other thing like lumber and such. Have the dealer bring a trailer to you place, like a test drive, and put it behind your rig. Put your tractor on the trailer and see how it fits. You need wiggle room to balance the load. You want 10-15% of the weight on the tong of the trailer so balance your tractor to see.

As for brand get what you like and the dealer who you trust. Look for quality items like wires in conduit, good lighting, nice electrical connections, under coated or painted, plenty of tie downs, tires that match the load rating, ect.

Chris

 

[unreconstructed]

I have a Big Tex--not touting the brand over any other, but will pipe in on your trailer length--I think the 14 ' is going to be way to short for you at some point, if not now. I would go 18 foot or 20 feet. Your 1/2 ton should be OK with that and a 2305.

 

[jeffster]

I have a heavy duty 12' dump trailer, and I totally agree with everyone else, you really should look at a longer trailer. I bought mine to help out a family member, otherwise I definitely would have went with a longer trailer. I don't need to haul the tractor much, hence I prefer the dump trailer (which has heavy duty ramps if I do need to load the tractor), but as you can see in the picture, 12' just barely makes it, and 14' wouldn't really give you much more room. Granted your tractor is smaller, but still...

 

[ALMike]

As others have suggested - I would suggest looking at larger trailers. I have a 5 acre horse farm, you'd be surprised how many horses you can wind up with if you aren't careful! I started with a 16 ft. 2 axle trailer, really just big enough to haul my tractor w/front loader and bushog attached. I can only fit 100 bales of hay on my 16 ft trailer. So, I wound up upgrading to a 25 ft gooseneck, that I can put 220 bales on, haul my tractor and accessories with ease, etc. While the 25 footer was triple the price of the 16 ft utility, I really feel it is a better value.
On the truck side, when you upgrade I would suggest you seriously consider a 3/4 ton over the 1/2 ton. They typically wind up pricing out the same, the ride on 3/4 ton and 1 ton trucks is much better than it used to be, and you are much better equipped for towing purposes.

 

[newhorseguy]

thanks for all the reply guys. Based on what I'm hearing I think something like a 10,000 gvw 18 ft or 20ft will make more sense. The tool box and spare tire are good ideas as well.

ALMike - re your more horses then planned comment. Amen to that! My wife is already got her eye on a few new pony's.....

 

[GreatWhitehunter]

Jeffster, Question for you. Is that a 3000 series in your pic? If it is I have the same setup and can fit the loader in the dump box. Are you sure your trailer isn't 10 ft? I went and measured mine and it's 12 ft inside the box. Just curious.

Matt T.

 

[skipmarcy]

My wife and I purchased a 6+ acre horse place this fall. We moved out of a townhouse so I'm in the position of needing to buy just about every thing new.

I'm looking for some advise on a trailer. I've been thinking a 14 ft, 7000 GVW, tandem axle trailer, drop deck and 2 ft duck tail would fit my needs
.
The trailer will be used for hay (square bales not rounds), pulling my JD 2305 w/ FEL, snow blower and 54"mmm deck, fencing, gates etc. I also want the ability to but a car on it (small BMW sedan, about 3400lbs). I don't envision needing to trailer more then a 4 to 6 times a year.

The John Deere dealer I purchased my tractor thru carries Felling Trailers out of Sauk Center, MN.

Does anyone have any experence with Felling trailers? What other brands should I be looking at?

The trailer I'm thinking about is a 14 ft, drop deck trailer w/ 2 ft duck tail. Does this configuration make sense given my plans?

I currently have a 2000 1/2 ton Chevy w/ 5.3l engine, but I'm planning on purchasing a new truck in 2009. I'll either get another 1/2 ton like I have now or something like a 1/2 ton chev w/ the MAX trailer package.

Any thought would be appreciated.
Thanks.

I shopped around 3 years ago for a dump trailer and compared several different brands, I bought the Anderson and have been extremely happy with it. I would assume their deck trailers are of equal quality. My trailer has more metal in critical areas, excellent wiring with a good junction box, grease fittings where others didn't have etc. I have towed this trailer well over 15k miles (7k in one month!), many times overloaded slightly and all has been OK with it, even the Chinese tires that came on it. I had my doubts about those tires but I guess I've just been lucky with them.

As everyone else here states - go longer than you think you need with a deck trailer, you will need it without a doubt just to balance different loads.

 

[jeffster]

Matt, yep it is a 3520 and it is a 12' x 6.5' Load-Trail dump trailer. I probably could fit the loader in if I rolled the bucket under and rubbed the 3 point up against the doors. That picture was taken the day I brought it home, so I didn't experiment too much as the dealer loaded it for me. I am moving the tractor from my grandparents down to my place in a couple of weeks so I'll try it out.

Thanks!
-Jeff

 

[rimshot]

As everyone else here states - go longer than you think you need with a deck trailer, you will need it without a doubt just to balance different loads.

=================

I agree with that but beware of your weight ratings. GVWR includes the weight of the trailer as well as the payload (combined weight of what is loaded aboard).

In my case, I drive an 07 F-150 with 4WD 17" tires 3.55 axle rating and small v8 engine. I may not pull anything with a GVWR of over 7700lbs.

For all practical purposes, you should consider a 3/4 ton truck for the next vehicle especially when you start exceeding 16 ' in length. Refer to your owners manual for your specs YMMV

If my memory is correct, a 16' equipment trailer is almost 2000 lbs. There could be more involved here than just your state's Motor Vehicle code and safety. It would'nt hurt to check with your insurer.




rim

 

[montanaman]

thanks for all the reply guys. Based on what I'm hearing I think something like a 10,000 gvw 18 ft or 20ft will make more sense. The tool box and spare tire are good ideas as well.

ALMike - re your more horses then planned comment. Amen to that! My wife is already got her eye on a few new pony's.....

The 10,000lb is the way to go! Build weight won't be that much more and it should cost the same to register, but you are getting better parts even if you don't ever go above 7,000lbs. I think ALL ST trailer tires now are made in China and subject to random explosions, so why not just have more to start with?? I've owned two 7,000lb trailers and thought they were nice because I had a 14,000lb gooseneck but there were still cases that I needed to go over 7,000lbs but didn't want to tow the gooseneck because there was no room for it where I was going!

Price of 10,000lb vs 7,000lb shouldn't be that much different.

 

[MrJimi]

I have a Crosley and I love it 25' deck over 14K

 

[jeffster]

Matt, yep it is a 3520 and it is a 12' x 6.5' Load-Trail dump trailer. I probably could fit the loader in if I rolled the bucket under and rubbed the 3 point up against the doors. That picture was taken the day I brought it home, so I didn't experiment too much as the dealer loaded it for me. I am moving the tractor from my grandparents down to my place in a couple of weeks so I'll try it out.

Thanks!
-Jeff

BTW, I moved the tractor down to my place this weekend and indeed it does fit just fine with the bucket rolled under. Still though, 12' is way too short as the 3pt only has a few inches between the arms and the rear gate. I am picking up my iMatch and box blade tomorrow and I won't be able to load it with any implements attached.