@ MP&C, Robert, thank you VERY much for the detailed pics of your trailer. A tilt was not really something I was considering. I have had no experience with them and only considered ramps due to lower cost plus as all my trailers have had either ramps or a big ramp door but the ease of loading a tilt is really intriguing to me now.
Thank you.
I know I’m late to the trailer convo, but I would say keep your little open trailer. It is ever so annoying to have to pull out the 30’ trailer to move a lawnmower or a single dirtbike when I can’t lift them into the bed of a truck as easy. Snow blower or any lawn tractor can go on that little trailer with ease. Not sure where you would haul one…. Maybe to help a coworker or something….
As for the idea of building one. I’d bet 8/10 chances you would look at some of our local build trailers and if you crawled under and seen the quality. You might just change your tune and build to your standards.
Iv seen shackles fall off of Big Bubba trailers due to no weld penetration, the “workhorse” company you drive by on the way home I can’t speak to.
What other brands or models of trailers have ya looked at?
Funny you mention build quality Dave. A few weeks ago when my son sprung on me he was looking at purchasing a project within a day or so I had to scramble and was looking locally at a couple of trailer manufacturers and distributors.
I was sickened by three things, price, aesthetics and build quality. For me to come up with a trailer in a very short period of time I was looking at $7k plus and they were NOT what I would call "well built". I walked around a less expensive brand at Wasatch Trailer in Kaysville (imported from Mexico and closer to $5800) and commented to the person showing me around that the welds looked like a freakin' 4-year old laid them down, not to mention the heavy pig weighed approx. 3k pounds.
As for a couple of the more popular car haulers they sold, they were more like heavy equipment trailers and not a sleek or stylish open race trailer that I was searching for. I tried to explain to the person what it was I was looking for and they showed me a PJ trailer and that was the closest they had to what I wanted. I have a few friends that own PJ's and they seem to be nice and well built but still not exactly what I am looking for. I guess I couldn't convey the image of what I wanted as a sleek and stylish race trailer because they kept showing me these heavy *** equipment trailers that were labeled as "car haulers".
Big Bubba's was a joke to talk to as they just make cookie cutter trailers and don't break away from their mold as far as what they offer. I started talking about upgrading to a bit heavier axles and tongue length and I immediately lost their attention. If they didn't have it in stock or one of their production models, they weren't interested. I talked to Big Tex as well as my last 18' open flatbed was a Big Tex and it served me well for the 15 or so years I owned it. I modified it some during a rebuild about 5 years after purchasing it but I hauled a lot of projects on that thing and it was more in line with what I was looking for but they still only put 3500 pound axles under them and the standard 4" channel frame and they wouldn't deviate from their design or were they eager to provide me with "upgrades".
The only one I have seen recently firsthand that I have been impressed with was Diamond C. A client of mine that I've done some differential work for over the past couple of years just bought one and I was impressed with the design and even the build quality. I contacted him and asked a few questions and he pointed me to the dealer in Lehi. I ran down and looked at them and really liked it but the price was pushing $9k by the time I pulled away with it after taxes and licensing and that was with no spare tire.
When I built my utility trailer back in 2015 I swore I'd never build another trailer. First because I didn't think I'd ever need another one and second because I got carried away during the utility trailer build with all of the details and it just kept adding to the construction time as the build kept dragging on.
I am not in a hurry now that my son has come to his senses and has given me time to get my **** in order so I am actually leaning more towards building just because I can't find what I'm looking for to compliment my fleet.
Just doing some quick searches for axles, spring kits, coupler, fenders and a few other necessities and a rough calculation of steel I think I can build one for about 50%-60% of what I've been looking at so far. I have actually been surprised at the cost of trailers as I haven't priced any in a few years. I remember when I sold my Big Tex trailer around 2014/2015 timeframe, new comparable trailers were in the $3k- $3800 range and now you can't touch anything similar for less than about $7k and a little more if you want one that doesn't look like a four-year-old threw it together.
I think this may make a nice winter project if I can get my **** caught up within the next couple of months. Maybe I'll even be able to take on some side jobs to eliminate having to dip into the savings account. That would make the wife happy at least as she doesn't seem to think we need a trailer at all.
Which is never a good thing....
Good thing I'm not in a hurry and have time to think on it and come up with something.