I'm paying $100/mon for storing my trailer
That’s why I sold mine and have been flat towing. Got tired of paying but once the second Jeep is ready I’ll buy another.
Let's talk trailers
- Thread starter lowell66dart
- Start date
That’s why I sold mine and have been flat towing. Got tired of paying but once the second Jeep is ready I’ll buy another.
With that beast of a tow pig the weight savings of an aluminum trailer, and the extra cost, is not necessary.
If you want a laugh go on offer up and look at appliance dollies half of them are u haul.
I prefer steel because I can repair and modify them myself. I own a small RV/boat storage facility. I’ve have and had several tenants who stored RVs and boats for decades and they have never been moved. The ones that did just got junked. It amazes me that people will pay over 10 thousand of dollars in storage fees and end up with nothing. Easy money.
I just bought the longer cables. Thx!
Yeah storage was a big factor in waiting for the moment. Running out of room with the growing fleet.
After admiring your build I figure my LJ will be growing a bit LOL.
Also wife is looking at travel trailers. Knowing her she’ll want something with all the luxuries of home thus probably a 5R. Unfortunately my Jeep would stay home..
My vote is for a Tiffin and either flat tow the Jeep or aluminum trailer it.
So while this battle rages at home, we’ll trailer the Jeep and Airbnb or VRBO.
Really appreciate all the advice here as we sort this out.
Aluminum trailers look nice, at least the Featherlites that I've looked at. Over the years I've heard two downsides of aluminum trailers that I’ve wondered about. I've had a couple of guys tell me that aluminum trailers really aren't that much lighter than a comparable steel trailer, and that I shouldn't buy an aluminum trailer thinking it'll be significantly lighter. I also had a commercial guy mention that aluminum trailers are prone to work-hardening/cracking and have a shorter lifespan, but if true, that's probably irrelevant to the occasional user like we are. Just stuff I’ve heard, I'd still like an aluminum trailer if they didn't cost so much.
If it’s only for occasional use renting is the most cost effective for car haulers, RVs and boats. I’ve rented a lake house in Northern Wisconsin next month for my wife and adult kids. It comes with a small fishing boat. I’ve also set up a fishing guide. A week of fun with no set up or clean up.
Isn’t it impossible to adjust your tongue weight with the U-Hauls since you have to pull all the way forward? For those of us with 1/2 tons, this could be an issue depending on your rig’s weight and payload capacity. I would not buy a used, cycled out u-haul. Heavy, abused, and surge brakes. I rented an 18’ hauler this past weekend and it was a pain to pick up, drop off, and buy new straps to match his setup. I also had to make a few adjustments on the deck to get the perfect weight distribution. Trailer and TJ came in at 5,800 lbs. Brakes worked fine but with many marketplace rentals, I got mixed replies to whether their brakes were in working order. One guy replied, “No brakes, your truck has brakes already.” If you find a good rental trailer owner, stick with them and go with them instead of jumping around. You never know what you’ll get. I paid $80/day here in the Houston area. For this reason alone, I’m looking into my own 16’ trailer to have it dialed in perfectly to match my rig.
All the reasons I purchased my own. From my research, buying used is a waste too. You never know how abused the trailers were and if everything works. I found my new 14k equipment trailer for the same price people were asking for used 7k trailers. There are only a few manufactures of trailer axles, so even the cheaper trailers are using good axles. Mine is an off brand made in Tennessee. It has the same double stacked 6" C-channel main supports and 3" C-channel cross braces, spaced every 18", as my brothers PJ Trailer rated the same. Mine even has the same RAM 12k jack. The only difference is that mine is painted where his PJ is powder coated. Can't beat $5,300 delivered for a brand new 14k trailer.
If it's a nose heavy vehicle, load it backwards.
It's people like that who I hate seeing on the road.
I was working in Phoenix years ago and heard a god awful screeching sound and looked up to see a pickup pulling a backhoe screeching through the red light. All four wheels were locked up on the truck and he was going at least 10mph. Luckily he did not hit anyone but I bet he had flat spots on his tires. Just because your truck can pull it doesn’t mean it can stop it.
I worked at Lowes (hardware) years ago, mostly in the outdoor section, and I was amazed at the number of clueless idiots. Mostly guys, some women, would buy a pallet of block weighing 3,000lbs or a bulk bag of sand weighing 2,000lbs and want it loaded onto their S10 or Ranger.
I remember one guy in an S10 telling me "it'll handle it", a 3,000lb load of castle wall block. After a little bit of back-and-forth, I told him to say when. He started yappin that I was going to break his truck before I got the weight off of the fork lift. 
I remember another guy in a late '70s F100 with trailer buying three of those pallets and driving off fully loaded. I bet his front tires were bounding off the ground with every bump.
Here's one I still have a pic of. It's one of those Rubbermaid buildings. We expected a small truck or SUV, then a bug rolls up and puts the top down.
I have an in law who works at rock quarry and they have self service gravel and sand hoppers. Drive under and load yourself. Several times a month some idiot just opens the hopper full force and can’t shut it fast enough and bury their truck or trailer. They keep a firehose handy and blast the excess away. Also broken axels are common. People don’t realize how heavy rock and concrette are. 1/2 ton pickups are rated as if the load is evenly distributed. A yard of sand weighs about 2400# while a 1/2 ton will carry that volume it can’t carry the weight. Even my SuperDuty would struggle with that much weight. While the damage done is not always evident 1K or so of driving and the bearings on the axel will fail because it was slightly bent from the overload.
Question, car hauler vs equipment hauler?
Besides the name and higher weight of the equipment trailer, what’s the difference.
Besides the name and higher weight of the equipment trailer, what’s the difference.
How it's built. A 10k or 14k equipment trailer will be built heavier than a 7k car hauler. That doesn't mean it weighs more. My 14k equipment trailer only weighs 2441 pounds. Most 7k car haulers weight close to that.
The equipment trailers will have heavier duty brakes on both axles, 7k car haulers usually only have brakes on 1 axle. The equipment will typically have adjustable height couplers.
Ramps on equipment trailers are usually permanently mounted where on a car trailer they're removable and store underneath.
I would suggest the 18’, I have a 16’ flatbed for my LJ and it is a little hard to tie down without the tie downs rubbing something else. A longer trailer would help. I have a small lot and storage area so the 16’ was key for me.
deserteagle56
Member
^This. Even owning a TJ, not an LJ, I have both sizes (16 and 18') and its just easier to securely tie down on the 18'. If I load my Toyota on my 16' then the axles are directly over the tie down points. Not good.