What do you have for a Trailer?

[Bill D 1,920]

I'm wondering what people on here use for general hauling?   Looking at 5 x 8 utility trailers with solid sides.  The most reasonable and easy trailer for me to purchase locally is the Big Tex 30SV  Solid side utility trailer.  Not my ideal, but should be fine.  My ideal trailer is a Best Trailer,  typically found in the Home Depot rental fleet, but shipping from California would cost more than the trailer.  Thoughts.  Thanks.

Edited Thursday at 05:30 PM by Bill D

[ebinmaine 67,466]

My first thought is:

How many tractors will you want to haul in this trailer?

 

[SylvanLakeWH 25,555]

Mine is 5x8. Rear drop gate. Works great for one tractor and some attachments...

 

Try not to focus on the two ruggedly handsome dudes ... they're just eye candy. 

 

 

[ML3 1,201]

5x10. Bought it 20 some years ago. Did a refurbish on it this summer. New paint, lights & wiring, replaced wheel hubs. If I remember believe I paid $895 for it new at county fair.  Definitely got my $$ worth out of it all these years. 

[953 nut 55,217]

6 hours ago, Bill D said:

Home Depot rental fleet

How much do they rent one for?

How often will you be using it?

Do you have a good out of the way place to store it when not in use?

How much is insurance and annual registration if you own a trailer?

It may be advantageous to rent the trailer when you need it rather than owning it. Figure out the number of times you will actually use it, add up the cost of a pair of tires every five years or so and the other costs of ownership the compare it to renting. 

[Achto 27,570]

Built my own 6.5' x 12' with ramps that store under the rear and plenty of tie downs. The strips of angle iron indicated by the arrows were installed to support the counter sunk tie downs in the middle of the trailer. Can fit 4 tractors on it.

 

 

[Lane Ranger 10,968]

I have a 5 X 8 all aluminum trailer that I bought ten years ago.  It has served me well and minimal maintenance.

 

For hauling Wheel Horses though a 6 foot wide trailer would be a good choice.  I can get three of the old round hoods on mine when traveling to the Big Show in Pennsylvania or to Florida Flywheelers in Florida every year but a little wide from 60 inches would be a better fitting option!

 

All my side rails are removable and the folding tailgate would have been another option to consider! 

 

 

[Ed Kennell 38,168]

I use a 6.5'X14' that I can get all my buckets or 4 tractors on.

[Mike'sHorseBarn 2,998]

I have a 7x16 car hauler because it was cheap at the time and ugly lol I can get 6 horses on there comfortably. My dream is a 24' enclosed trailer, but that's just a dream.

 

@Achto the trailer you built is really nice! DOT in PA would never let you title that here these days..........

[varosd 1,185]

“Did have” is appropriate 

post hurricane 

 

it been awhile since I’ve been on RS

alas, we moved back to NC a few years ago from South central PA , I sold the herd

 

[Achto 27,570]

3 hours ago, Mike'sHorseBarn said:

DOT in PA would never let you title that here these days.

 

Fortunately WI DOT does not require a title or plates on any trailer that is rated under 3500lbs. 

[ebinmaine 67,466]

3 hours ago, Mike'sHorseBarn said:

DOT in PA would never let you title that here these days..........

 

Because it's homemade?

[ri702bill 8,318]

3 hours ago, Mike'sHorseBarn said:

I have a 7x16 car hauler because it was cheap at the time and ugly lol I can get 6 horses on there comfortably. My dream is a 24' enclosed trailer, but that's just a dream.

 

@Achto the trailer you built is really nice! DOT in PA would never let you title that here these days..........

 

Here in RI, it's all about the title. No title, NO registration. Seventy years here and 2 things are a given - the is No such thing as a "free" boat or a "free" trailer....

I posted a long while back the horror show of attempting to register a homemade trailer here.....

[SylvanLakeWH 25,555]

One, only?, smart idea Michigan came up with is lifetime plate and registration for trailers... 

 

A rare glimmer of intelligence in the otherwise deep morass of State regulatory madness... 

[Achto 27,570]

56 minutes ago, ebinmaine said:

Because it's homemade?

 

More than likely. You can get larger home made trailers titled & register in WI but there are hoops to jump through, receipts to go through, and a state patrol inspection required.

 

One funny thing with Wisconsin's unregistered trailers. They are legal for WI interstate roads, there for they are legal to travel through every other state as well as long as they are hooked to a vehicle with WI plates. BUT NOT IN CANADA  !! Learned that lesson the spensive way. 

Edited Wednesday at 07:05 PM by Achto

[ri702bill 8,318]

21 minutes ago, Achto said:

but there are hoops to jump through, receipts to go through, and a state patrol inspection required.

That was the issue I posted. There was a crackdown on poorly constructed, non-roadworthy homemade trailers a while back, most were used to transport work skiffs back & forth to the Bay.

 

I do like the idea of self-storing ramps, are the "locked" in place??

[Achto 27,570]

17 minutes ago, ri702bill said:

I do like the idea of self-storing ramps, are the "locked" in place??

 

The front is held in the rack with some tabs and there is a hinged door on the rear that holds them from sliding out..

[Ed Kennell 38,168]

1 hour ago, ri702bill said:

horror show of attempting to register a homemade trailer

A costly horror show here in the PeeAaa.     Around $500 bucks to get one inspected, titled, and registered.

I have bought $200 trailers just to get the title, the serial ID plate,and the tag.   oops 

[SylvanLakeWH 25,555]

 

 

1 hour ago, Ed Kennell said:

I have bought $200 trailers just to get the title, the serial ID plate,and the tag.   oops 

 

[cleat 5,935]

I bought an all aluminum 5.5'x11' trailer to replace my home made 4'x8' trailer.

Wheel Horses fit on better.

Rear gate comes apart if you don't want it sticking up in the wind when hauling empty.

 

[adsm08 2,050]

4 hours ago, ebinmaine said:

 

Because it's homemade?

 

Yup. PennDOT is horrible with most things. To get a home-made trailer titled is nearly impossible.

 

It's kind of like getting a CCW permit in NYC or DC, technically possible, but for all the paperwork and trouble it might as well be illegal.

[Handy Don 12,217]

7 minutes ago, adsm08 said:

but for all the paperwork and trouble it might as well be illegal.

Darn, this fellow is catching on! 

 

NY allows unlicensed trailering of things like air compressors, work light generators, cement mixers, and log splitters--in other words nothing that carries something else.

 

I’ve been going through the “lost title” merry-go-round on an old aluminum boat/canoe trailer for my guideboat. In 2025 it’ll be long enough off the road per the ancient CA registration of its original owner that NYS will let me treat it a a free gift and finally get a title/registration. All so that I can spend $46.50 a year.

In simpler news, I did renew the registration on my 5x8 utility today online (all NYS trailers have calendar year registration periods). Easy peasy.

[adsm08 2,050]

5 minutes ago, Handy Don said:

 

 

NY allows unlicensed trailering of things like air compressors, work light generators, cement mixers, and log splitters--in other words nothing that carries something else.

 

 

 

Yeah, we can do that too.

[squonk 41,099]

19 minutes ago, Handy Don said:

Darn, this fellow is catching on! 

 

NY allows unlicensed trailering of things like air compressors, work light generators, cement mixers, and log splitters--in other words nothing that carries something else.

 

 

I love to see "Well Enjoyed" cement mixers bee-bopping down the Thruway at 70+MPH!  

[ebinmaine 67,466]

45 minutes ago, adsm08 said:

To get a home-made trailer titled is nearly impossible.

 

I'm not sure if Massachusetts allows it at all. 

Here in Maine. Easy. 

Older vehicles too.  

I don't know the year cutoff. Maybe 2000?

Anything earlier doesn't need a title.