Recommendations for trailer to haul the Jeep

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The Church of Cutting Brakes of Atlas-Front Digs
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I'm looking to finally get a trailer to haul the jeep. I have an older diesel F250 so it can handle the weight. I'm looking at 10K rated, tandem axle flatbed trailers. There's a shit load of trailer brands around here and it's tough to know what is good and what is not, i assume all trailers are not created equal. I'd consider used or new, would like to stay around $4K. Does anyone have advice for purchasing a car hauler? Need decent ground clearance so I don't want to tilted down back end kind. What to look for on a used trailer?

Brands I've seen: Iron Eagle, Summit, Trailers Plus, Big Tex, Bulldog...
 
I have a tandem axle, rated at 7K, hauls my LJ easily, the 7K usually has brakes on one axle only, the 10K will have them on both. If you purchase new they can add brakes to the second axle for a reasonable price. Its mainly all about your budget and storage options. Be sure to get a spare tire. Mine has wood decking, I looked at metal and thought I wanted it but just try to lay on it during a hot day while loading the jeep....yikes!! If you think you need a 16' deck, double check, I purchased a 14' and wished I went 16' or even 18', the added length makes the tie down easier.
Good luck.
 
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Check with your DMV first. I believe you want that trailer to be rated at 9,999 or less. Once you hit 10K you need a commercial endorsement on your drivers license.
 
I'm looking to finally get a trailer to haul the jeep. I have an older diesel F250 so it can handle the weight. I'm looking at 10K rated, tandem axle flatbed trailers. There's a shit load of trailer brands around here and it's tough to know what is good and what is not, i assume all trailers are not created equal. I'd consider used or new, would like to stay around $4K. Does anyone have advice for purchasing a car hauler? Need decent ground clearance so I don't want to tilted down back end kind. What to look for on a used trailer?

Brands I've seen: Iron Eagle, Summit, Trailers Plus, Big Tex, Bulldog...

Go down to Tenino and talk to Top Notch Trailer. They will build you any trailer you want and for less money than the other trailers will cost. I had them build me a 14' trailer with the back 3' dovetailed so I can drive on and off without having to use the ramps.

I'll find you some pictures of it if you want. The reason I went with a shorter trailer is so people don't try to borrow it all the time. Borrowed trailers seem to always come back broken. They are also the company that built my gooseneck trailer that I had my camper mounted on.
 
Check with your DMV first. I believe you want that trailer to be rated at 9,999 or less. Once you hit 10K you need a commercial endorsement on your drivers license.

WA doesn't have a Non-CDL Class A license like some states.
 
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OOPS Rochester not Tenino.

http://topnotchtrailers.com/
 
I recommend new. They aren't real expensive and they don't seem to depreciate much. Used "deals" are rare. And often need work. New decking, are any welds broken? Often what looks like a deal is not.

All my trailers are Mirage. I bet I have 100K trouble free miles on them.
 
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I recommend used if you can find a good deal (be patient). I would think you should be able to find a wood decked 16' 7K flatbed for around $2K. You might find one that needs the deck replaced but that's pretty easy to do, big thing is to make sure it's not rusted out. They are pretty simple things, not much risk going used if you look it over good.

Avoid a dovetail. They make it easy to drive on/off if that's what you're after but otherwise you'll be dragging the end a lot, especially with a longer trailer.. 16' is plenty long for your Jeep, anything longer is wasted space unless you have other stuff you plan on hauling. The longer it is the more room you need to maneuver it, park it, etc.
 
I seen to recall some of the longest Bix Tex car haulers can (barely) fit two TJs/YJs. I think the 22 foot non-dovetail models can, as long as the cars can overhang both ends. Measure it out first if that's what you want.

Certainly some of the longer (28'+) gooseneck models can
 
I have a tandem axle, rated at 7K, hauls my LJ easily, the 7K usually has brakes on one axle only, the 10K will have them on both. If you purchase new they can add brakes to the second axle for a reasonable price. Its mainly all about your budget and storage options. Be sure to get a spare tire. Mine has wood decking, I looked at metal and thought I wanted it but just try to lay on it during a hot day while loading the jeep....yikes!! If you think you need a 16' deck, double check, I purchased a 14' and wished I went 16' or even 18', the added length makes the tie down easier.
Good luck.
No one should ever do 2 things when it comes to car haulers, buy a tandem with brakes only one one axle. That's really dumb, don't do it. The second is 3500 lb axles. They are being used at near their limit every time the rig is towed. They have no extra durability due to being larger. It is very common to take out the bearings on one axle if the trailer is not run level and one axle carries more than its share of the load.

That and most rigs that are towed are in the 4500 lb range. The trailer is usually about 1800 which leaves a small bit for cargo, firewood, extra water, etc. to make camp easier.

Also, anyone considering a car hauler should also consider 12-18" tall sides and a drop down tail gate. Dovetails have their place, rough roads with dips in them is not one of those places. We have had lots of folks regret taking a dovetail into JV and having to unload the rig and pull the trailer out when the dovetail was sitting on dirt with the axles off the ground.

If you want a high utility car hauler, get the sides and tail gate. Add an electric tongue jack and upsize the required battery to run it. Put the tongue jack back near the front of the trailer away from the hitch so you can drop the truck tailgate and not have it hit the tongue jack. Get both wired for 7 pin RV female connectors and get one of these to run between truck and trailer.
https://www.delcity.net/store/7-Way...MI8Jm_p7_96QIVIB-tBh2ekgETEAQYBCABEgJCDfD_BwE

Get the correct socket and mount it on the trailer. When you get done, toss the coiled connector in the tongue box and you don't worry about dragging it, damage, and there is a bit of security if you want to store it away from the trailer. I did mine that way to stop my idiot partner from screwing it up and making me fix it. I put the other female connector on the trailer, bought the coiled double plug version and when he wanted to borrow trailer back, he had to buy his own to screw up.
 
I have 16' with what I would call a modified DT, still need the ramps to get on it, yet it has decent ground clearance. My ramps are way over built, I can load a pick up with a diesel engine and they don't flex or bend. But they are getting heavier each year I get older. Ramps are a pita, if you can have a Trailer that doesn't need them and works for you and your plans, great. But maybe ground clearance for your uses need to be primarily, you'll have to decide. You can have the ramps swing up and secured for towing and storage, and are easy to lower for loading and unloading, but still easily removed for other chores, always options. Definitely 16' is a minimum that I would suggest, 18' being my choice after having this 16' for years. Axle rating is a more involved, you need to calc your intended load, this includes the weight of the trailer, the axles are handing it also plus your load. You have about 10 percent tongue weight to get a little buffer on max weight if your looking at a Trailer that's going to be near max rating, but going up in axle rating is a better way to go. Disc brakes are preferred, a electric actuator with the disc is golden especially if your in area with steep grades, surge brakes suck on long downhill grades. Hot brakes lead to failed seals, then the grease weaps out or oil if they are oil bath, letting bearing run dry. Oil bath hubs are on my to do list for my trailer. Longer read then I planned, but trailers don't get the attention they should and lots of great info here to help you decide on what trailer,,,gregg
 
Thank you all for the responses. I'm going to err on the side of heavy duty so 10k minimum. How do you feel about over wheels vs between wheels?
 
I used (for a few years) a 13’6” trailer that towed nicer than any other trailer I’ve ever used. Its a homemade job my dad built in the 70’s with mobile home axles (breaks on both) that we rebuilt 10 years ago to be that long, it was super short just for a flatfender willys. Now I have a 10K 18’ and would never go to anything shorter or lighter. The only real difference in towing is that I notice the weight difference. Just feels heavier. With it being longer I was able to put a tool box on front and still have extra room. Basically I want a trailer big enough that my tow rig can fit if need be.
Things to look for in a trailer is the tung. Make sure it doesn’t just stop st the edge of the trailer, and has been notched/bent to go all the way back to the front axles. Trailers tend to bend over time when the tung just stops, at least without the rear jack stands things. A weight distribution hitch is a game changer .Sooo much better!!
Some things I plan to do to my trailer this year includes, a dovetail. My trailer sits high , like real high, so if I put a 2-3’ dove on it it’ll sit around the hight on most of my friends trailers. I’m also gonna our an electronic jack on it, because I’m old and hate cranking it. Last thing I’m going to do is replace all the lights to LED’s since I have them and want to.
 
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This is the only flatbed style trailer I can find with sides. A lot of them have stake pockets so I could make removable sides. The only one I could find is 4 hour drive away though. $4500 new

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This is the trailer I'm leaning toward getting:

Screenshot_20200613-155626.webp
 
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This is the trailer I'm leaning toward getting:

View attachment 169580
To put that in perspective. My trailer has a 12'-8" deck. The sides are 14" tall down the sides, 20" tall at the front. There is 10" of platform past the front wall. The Tongue Jack is back in front of the platform that the tongue goes under. Tandem 5200 lb axles with brakes on both. It has a recessed tool box in the back that you drive over. It has a 50 gallon water tank between the axles under the deck and a self container water pump that runs off of the trailer battery that runs the electric tongue jack. The tail gate is 4' long, full width that locks with a vertical horse trailer door latch run horizontally. The tail gate raises and lowers with one hand since I built a load helper to balance it out with captured garage door springs, some cable and a pulley or two.

When we go out to the desert for 9-10 days at a time, we load firewood under the rear of the rig all the way back to the tail gate. Camp chairs, spare tire, Co2 tank, folding trash barrel, fake grass mat for the camper exit, box of tinder and girl scout juice, 4 6 gallon gas cans, and some odds and ends go under the rig and are never tied down. Just toss it in there and go.

The tongue box holds spare bits, coily cord connectors, some tools, hitch bits, draw bars for the hitch and some tire changing tools with enough room to store all the tie down straps.

The internal drive over wheel wells have doors that flip down to the inside. In those are spare fluids, spare driveshafts for the rig, belts, coolant, and other odds and ends but hardly full.

By all assessments, it would be considered a very small trailer since the tail gate closes almost against the rear bumper with the front tires against the inside of the front wall. The rig would not fit inside on the deck if the bumper did not go over the front wall.
 
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To put that in perspective. My trailer has a 12'-8" deck. The sides are 14" tall down the sides, 20" tall at the front. There is 10" of platform past the front wall. The Tongue Jack is back in front of the platform that the tongue goes under. Tandem 5200 lb axles with brakes on both. It has a recessed tool box in the back that you drive over. It has a 50 gallon water tank between the axles under the deck and a self container water pump that runs off of the trailer battery that runs the electric tongue jack. The tail gate is 4' long, full width that locks with a vertical horse trailer door latch run horizontally. The tail gate raises and lowers with one hand since I built a load helper to balance it out with captured garage door springs, some cable and a pulley or two.

When we go out to the desert for 9-10 days at a time, we load firewood under the rear of the rig all the way back to the tail gate. Camp chairs, spare tire, Co2 tank, folding trash barrel, fake grass mat for the camper exit, box of tinder and girl scout juice, 4 6 gallon gas cans, and some odds and ends go under the rig and are never tied down. Just toss it in there and go.

The tongue box holds spare bits, coily cord connectors, some tools, hitch bits, draw bars for the hitch and some tire changing tools with enough room to store all the tie down straps.

The internal drive over wheel wells have doors that flip down to the inside. In those are spare fluids, spare driveshafts for the rig, belts, coolant, and other odds and ends but hardly full.

By all assessments, it would be considered a very small trailer since the tail gate closes almost against the rear bumper with the front tires against the inside of the front wall. The rig would not fit inside on the deck if the bumper did not go over the front wall.

hate to ask but would asking for a picture or 2 to be posted be out of line, sounds like a awesome set up!