Hello all,

I’m in the market for a trailer to carry my Jeep and ATVs to off-road sites. I would guess I need at least 18 to 20 feet trailer. I would prefer open trailer mainly because, ho well, the cost! I did come across a used trailer (14 foot) and noticed something strange, it doesn’t have breaks! Now, my question is, does 20 foot trailer also not have breaks? I have rented UHual trailers before but they are only 12 foot long and I can care less about the breaks but 20 foot trailer with Jeep, two ATVs and my buddy’s bikes would be a different story.

Off to the next question, what do you guys think about a closed V-Nose trailer? Meaning, are the interiors washable (I see ply wood on the sides!)? My Jeep is usually covered with mud and it keeps dripping on the way back. How good are the locks on these trailers? If I end up buying a closed trailer I will leave my ATVs in it all the time.

 

The U-Haul trailers you have used did have brakes. They are called surge brakes. When the surge brake device on the trailer senses you slowing down, it applies brakes to the trailer. Not ideal, but a little better than nothing. To haul your Jeep and other you really need good brakes.

You don't really need an enclosed trailer for your load. It's going to get dirty anyway, so why spend the extra money to protect the load?

Trailer locks? A 10 year old with a screwdriver could break into your average trailer.

I purchased an enclosed trailer to haul my classic cars around, also I used it to move my household from Evansville IN to Hortonville WI. (I figured, I could pay a moving company $10,000 to move my stuff, or buy a trailer for $8000 and do it myself. In the end my stuff is moved and I own a trailer!)

Mine is a 28 foot Classic Industries Dominator with upgraded axles (5200 lb axles). With those axles (look for 6 lug wheels) you'll usually get Load Range E tires.

Bearing failure and tire failure are the two enemies of a trailer. Don't underestimate your load, get the best tires you can and service your bearings as often as possible (shot of grease with a grease gun before every trip, clean, inspect and repack bearings once a year).

 

I would go with a 20' trailer, may be more than you need but the price between a 18' and a 20' is not that much. Also I would recommend brakes on both axles, most states its a law to have brakes and some states both axles have to have brakes.

 

What is the average price for 20 foot open and 20 foot closed with V Nose?

 

Remember, the V-nose takes a bit of space away from trailer space. You can't load the Jeep up into the nose. Add a few feet to the trailer to make things equal.

Ebay is a great resource for comparison shopping.

A real heavy duty 22 foot open trailer can be purchsed for about $3000. (REAL NICE TRAILER!)

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/New-0...em300194877313

24 foot V-nose trailer, $5900

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/New-2...em310020260559

20 foot enclosed, $4900

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/8-5X2...em320213496789

 

I've got a 24' enclosed car trailer. I painted the plywood walls with two coats white exterior oil base enamel. I sealed the plywood floor then glued battleship linoleum to it and ran a bead of latex sealer around the edge. When it gets dirty, I just spray it down with purple cleaner, sponge mop the floor and then hose it out.

My trailer has the full length door locks that lock with a padlock and I have a matching set of 4 that open with the same key. It's real peace of mind to have it all buttoned up at night when we're traveling. I store one of the old cars in it during the winter so it's a handy spare garage or storage building.

My trailer is a 1994 Haulmark that I've owned since new. I purchased it with 3500# axles and replaced them in 2000 with 5200# axles to better handle hauling our 4500# antique car and to get the better brakes, wheels and tires. Otherwise, I've had great luck with the trailer and maintenance has been nominal. I did replace the interior lights with high output white LED strips. Also, the exterior lamps were starting to get a little weathered, so I replaced all of them with LED lights last year so I expect little or no maintenance on the lights.

Mine is not a V nose, although it would be nice if it were. The biggest load is the wind resitance and I get exactly the same mileage pulling the trailer empty as I do with a car in it. I use a wind wing on the Excursion or my van when I'm towing the trailer and it helps.

The previous posting recommending brakes on both axles and the one recommending maintaining the bearings and tires is good advice. I had two tire failures with the lighter axles and tires and it's not a pretty sight. It removed the fender from the trailer both times it happened.

I hope some of this helps!

 

Don't forget the wiring as well. I have dealt more with electrical then the two that you have mentioned. Particularly if the brakes are going to be exposed to water holes, mud holes or alot of things that are found out in the boonies while taking your load to the nearest off-road course.

 

Good advice, Tex. My enclosed trailer has all the wiring contained within the body of the trailer, except for the brake wiring and the harness on the tongue. I've made sure that the brake wiring has minimal loops to the axles to lessen the chance of snagging. I've only had it in fields and not on rugged back roads. I'd be afraid of taking it "off road" due to the height of the trailer - it would be hard to keep it out of the trees.

Some years ago, I had a truck tire recap come off right in front of me and I couldn't dodge it and it hit up under the open trailer I had at the time. It managed to snag both the brake and lighting harnesses and I ended up having to repair both.

 

Pretty much all the guys in my area haul their jeeps with open utility trailers.

I have a Big Tex 60SP utility trailer 12' long, Tandem axle with electric brakes on each axle, 6000gvw, spare tire and mount and the trailer was NEW $2300 out the door. I use it for hauling machinery.

Big Tex Trailers
http://www.bigtextrailers.com/tandem_axle.html

I suggest buying a trailer that has a higher GVW than you need. The Big Tex 10PI 20' trailer has 10,000GVW but the trailer itself weighs 2530 lbs thus you have to subtract that from the GVW. So that 10k lb GVW trailer can only be loaded with 7460lbs. I suggest figuring out how much your stuff weighs that you put into the trailer to give you an idea of what size trailer you need.

You will want electric brakes on both axles and trailers larger than 7k lbs gvw usually come standard with brakes on both axles.

Electric brakes are very inexpensive and pretty tough. I recently put a set on my dads boat trailer for him. They cost $230 per axle for everything, of course you have to unplug them before backing into the water. A hydraulic setup would have cost $700+.

I like electric brakes because they are easily adjusted. I have a Tekonsha P3 brake controller to control the brakes.

 

That's why I posted that first 22 foot open trailer.....12K GVW!

 

Didn't look at your link.

He needs to know what his Jeep and stuff weighs to find out what GVW he needs. Off to the CAT scales. He doesn't want to go too much bigger than he needs for obvious reasons.

 

Better to have a little too much trailer than not quite enough trailer.

 

I believe in buying a "little too much trailer" concept too, it doesn't hurt, I got a huge a$$ dully PSD.
Anyway, off to topic, is there any particular make/manufacturer who makes washable-type closed trailers? I want to take it to off road site, wash it the next day and use to move furniture! Basically no plywood anywhere, perhaps too much to ask?

 

As far as enclosed trailers go, get a V nose. Your mileage will be better when towing it

 

Hmm, I've heard that V-noses have problems in crosswinds (i dunno though)

I have a 7x16 enclosed Pace that has been good. I put garage floor paint on the walls and a 2 part epoxy industrial floor paint on the floor. But, I can't really hose it down because the E-track has all kinds of holes in the floor that the water would seep into.

BTW, if you do get a trailer, get E-track. Its makes the trailer much more flexible for different uses.