Buying My First Trailer

cory151 · Oct 11, 2012

Ive rented trailers in the past and hauled cars from SoCal to the east coast during a move. I figure if I buy my own it'll save me money in the long run and Ill have it whenever I (or a buddy) needs it.

Ive been looking at a few of the Carson Trailers, the Big Tex and the Aztec trailers. Im leaning towards the Big Tex. Anybody have any personal experience with these?

Also how big of a trailer would I need to throw my extended cab short bed F-250 up on it and haul it with my 99 F-350 handshaker? Most of the trailers Ive looked at are double axle 3,500 GVW (7,000lbs). My 6.4 comes in at just over 7,200 lbs without me in it, if I recall. I know they'll haul a car just fine, I just figured it would be nice to be able to haul a diesel pickup if need be too, perhaps length is more the issue.

Thoughts?

fine69 · Oct 11, 2012

One thing you need to consider with a trailer is the GVW not only includes what you are hauling. You also have to include the weight of the trailer. So a 7000lb gvw trailer is useless if you intend to haul a pickup. You would need a 10K at the minimum.

vcassens · Oct 11, 2012

I would go 18foot with a 2 foot dove tail making it a 20 foot trailer with 14,000 pound gvw. As fast as brand I have herd good things about big tex. Also are you looking at a bumper pull or a goose neck?

Sent from a bus 6 feet in the air

Breaking Habits · Oct 11, 2012

No trailer out there pulls as nice as a PJ.. Ill say that

PSDEng · Oct 11, 2012

Jared @ River City Diesel said:
No trailer out there pulls as nice as a PJ.. Ill say that

:whs: I just bought my first one and I love it.

powerstrokin15 · Oct 11, 2012

personally I love my gator made. take a look at them.

Eric@HolderdownPerformance

Dzchey21 · Oct 11, 2012

Just do yourself a favor and buy a trailer with 7000 lb axles you will thank me later. Anything smaller and you are asking allot of the axles and tires. 8 lug ftw

powerstrokin15 · Oct 11, 2012

Dzchey21 said:
Just do yourself a favor and buy a trailer with 7000 lb axles you will thank me later. Anything smaller and you are asking allot of the axles and tires. 8 lug ftw

:whs:

Eric@HolderdownPerformance

Grizzdog · Oct 11, 2012

Jared @ River City Diesel said:
No trailer out there pulls as nice as a PJ.. Ill say that

I own 6 and will be buying 7 and 8 by the end of next week.

Dustball8504 · Oct 11, 2012

Jared @ River City Diesel said:
No trailer out there pulls as nice as a PJ.. Ill say that

That's what I like to hear! Mine should be in next week or the week after

Rmartin-97 · Oct 11, 2012

Gatormade ftw.

Breaking Habits · Oct 11, 2012

Dustball8504 said:
That's what I like to hear! Mine should be in next week or the week after

I think you'll need some sexy intake manifold and exhaust manifolds installed, you wont even know that trailers there

STROKIN N STYLE · Oct 11, 2012

I've had Kaufman and now I pull a pro trak, this is IMO the vest trailer I've ever hooked to. I've been all over the country with my pro trak with no problems

sent from somewhere in the country

Marty · Oct 11, 2012

I own a 24' Kaufman gooseneck. If your tires are in good shape it pulls great.

IMO... 24' is the shortest I would go with a gn, 22' is the shortest I would go with a bumper pull if pulling a pickup truck is in your plans at all.

Just remember, a deck over will not load cars very well. I only haul trucks so a deckover works great for me.

PS, I've put probably 5,000 miles on this trailer since I bought it. Loving it so far.

8200lbs - 11500lbs trucks in these pics...

6.0 p-stroke · Oct 11, 2012

We've got a Tophat, the only thing I don't like about it is that it's a high deck. It pulls great and has never had an issue. I've pulled my buddys PJ, it's longer than mine but it's a low deck, I love it, except the brakes don't seem to work to well, they might just need to be serviced though.

ImageUploadedByTapatalk1349978478.908777.jpg

superstroked · Oct 11, 2012

Mine was built by Pero trailers in McKinney TX. 5400lb axles, brakes on both, bulldog hitch and jack with all LED lighting. Pulls like a champ!

Corb@CorbinShipping · Oct 11, 2012

Keep in mind, if you are a CLASS C licensed driver, and have more than 10 k behind your rig, you are asking for trouble... I spent a few hours talking my way out of a 1800 dollar ticket for NOT LICENSED FOR THE TRUCK CONFIGURATION and PASSING A WEIGH STATION up in NC, 7 miles away from my destination.... Rudy's Diesel Performance... I had a GN flat bed with my 250 on it. I only hit 14 k on the scales, which is still 4 K over my license limit.

Your state might not give a **** about pull behind trailers, however, it is still illegal, and if it comes up, you will not like the fines. To haul over 10 K trailer, you need a CLASS A or CDL.

Unless, you have a bath room in it.... A bathroom signifies that it is an RV, and you are covered by the RV EXEMPTION POLICY. However, a flat bed, with dual 7 k axles, with a GVWR of over 10 K, will not get you there... LOL

Maybe that matters to you, maybe it doesnt, but in the event of an accident, maybe it comes up with the trooper doing the report, etc...

I almost found out the hard way, as it could have been a 5 thousand dollar experience for me that day...