It looks like the center of weight would be way high and tippy. Does anyone have any info on one, thinking about buying it ?
Looks like a poorly designed homemade job. Also has mobile home axles which some states have laws against using on anything but mobile homes. I personally would pass on it.
Doesn't look like the center of gravity has been compromised much at all. If you are not sure how it will handle, throw a car on it and drag it around the block, no like, no sale. Looks like 5000lb axles, deck has been designed for a big 4x4 to drive over the wheel fenders.
Dont buy it. Mobile Home Axles are a no-no. The drive-over fenders are home made, lots of rock-crawler guys do similar style driveover ramps/fenders so they don't have to remove their wide tires to fit on the trailer. I picked up a bare 16" dovetail car hauler for $600. Needed a little work on the floors, fenders, wiring, lights, but was a good deal with good tires. I put 1/8" Diamond Plate steel floors, new fenders, new wiring & lights, some paint, etc. Good pulling trailer for under $1k. Search Craigslist in your city and neighboring cities, sometimes car haulers come up for sale CHEAP...and I mean ready to haul for under $500, but you have to act fast on those. Good luck.
So if your front axle is on one side of the hump, and your rear axle is on the other side of the hump, where does that put your rocker panels as the car you're towing goes bouncing down the highway? -Brad
I had one very simalar about 15 years ago it was scary to tow any thing very tall I would pass on it.
I must be missing something about mobile home axles, i built a trailer for utility and to haul my tractor, that was almost 20 years ago i used mobile home axles ,no problems and a shitload of miles since built, what is supposed to be wrong with them??
A few thoughts: 1. A well designed rampover trailer isn't tippy at all. That's pretty much the standard configuration for open trailers for dirt late model racing, and I've towed many a mile with one of those. BUT - that one doesn't necessarily look well designed. 2. If you buy it, it had better be cheap as dirt so you can put real trailer axles on it. 3. A low car won't work, because as noted, it would high-center on the rocker panels. Basically, if it's much over "free," I'd pass.
Advice from retired trailer manufacturer,------Nothing wrong with mobile home axles, they are rated at 6000 lbs each, if there is no backing plates for electric brakes, just use them for a utility type trailer as an idler axle. Also when using MH axles make sure you always check the lug nuts where they grip the rims, sometimes they loosen up & tire & rim will depart. Regardless of trailer, if you want perfect towing, measure BED LENGTH X 60%, this will give you exact center of AXLE, in case of tandem, it will give you exact center of both AXLES, in case of triple axles, it will give you center of MIDDLE axle,----ETC. Now thats done, measure from FRONT of BED to ball coupler 42 inches, using a V type draw bars or single straight tongue, 42" gives excellent towing PLUS backing up. Don't forget, at least 3/8 safety chains!! Your welcome!!!---------Don
The whole mobile home axle debate could go on forever. Many guys have ran them for years on home built trailers with no problems. I did a little research whenI was looking to build a trailer. Basically many states outlaw them, tires can be a pain to locate, they are supposedly built for limited use therefore are unsafe for frequent use. I really wouldn't have a problem running them, but I found a good deal on CL on a trailer that needed some TLC. If I were looking to buy a trailer that had MH axles it would definately affect how much money I would be willing to pay.
i say stay away not because of how its constructed, per say, just that if you were to put something behind those axles it would cause one hell of a scary ride for you when you got up to speed. any time you get the weight behind the axles like that it changes the geometry of the truck/trailer and causes the arse end to wanna walk away and take you with it. not to mention the stress and strain on the receiver and hitch. stay faaaaar away!
I would imagine that a mobile home would get a heck of a lot more use than a car trailer. So, in saying that, I don't follow your logic.
the only problem with m-h axels is the m-h tires. they are the week link they will not hold air if you go over 40 mph. use the axels but put on better tires. i have built many trailers with m-h axles. i don't know about that trailer from the pic can't see that much. but it looks like a heavy trailer not some flexy flayer like i see being sold at car shows.
i pulled a similar trailer once with a Suburban (both borrowed) to move an Olds from Virginia Beach to NY the 6 hour plus drive was scary it had a lot of play and "swing" it seemed to feel better at higher speeds, but that was that particular trailer best thing to do as suggested above is take it for a test spin.
Mobilehome axles are designed to move a trailer from the manufacturer to the dealer to the final resting spot, period. That's why they have odd 14.5" tires/wheels that you can not find anywhere. They are NOT designed for utilities and car haulers, period! If you want to cheap out, fine. They suck for road use, and the tires are not for any kind of road use, other than descibed. One reason you will NEVER see these axles on a commercially-built hauler is that, in some states, they are ILLEGAL for anything other than mobile home use. Don't you think your local hauler dealer would have PARTS for these, if they were a "good idea" in the first place? I'd never even pull one down the road, but if I were to have a choice between two otherwise identical trailers, one with and one w/o the MH axles/tires, I would pass on the MH axle-trailer, even if it were a quarter of the price of the other. At least, for that I could replace the MH units with top-quality REAL trailer-brake axles and new wheels and tires, to boot! It all comes down to this - Would you haul a $50K car on a $500 POS that looks like it needs to get towed to the scrap guy?
Phil, Give me a call. I have a guy that is selling a car trailer, exactly the same as the one I drag around. He bought 3 of them for his business, I have 1 and no longer uses the other ones. See you Sunday?
If you want to haul 4x4 trucks to the mud hole buy it,If you want something to haul descent cars on pass on it.Don"t know what your budget is for trailer but U-Haul sells off there car haulers ranging in price from $1000 to $1500.hideaway ramps,brakes on both axles,I picked one up for $1200 pulls good ,drop down fender ,front wheel ratchet straps and plenty of tie down points.this trailer is made to do one thing,haul cars,best car trailer Iever pulled.
14.5 TIRES ARE NO HARDER TO FIND WHERE I LIVE THAN 14 INCH TIRES, THEY ARE 8 PLY SIDEWALLS AND ARE HWY RATED, ALSO THE SAME AXLES ARE USED ON ALL THE MOBILE OFFICE TRAILERS THAT YOU SEE AT ALL THE ROAD PROJECTS, THOSE TRAILERS ARE MOVED OFTEN FROM STATE TO STATE, THEY ARE RATED AT 6K LBS HAVE BRAKES AND BIGGER BEARINGS THAN THE 3500 LB CAR AXLES. but i do agree if the trailers were identical ,i would have the one with regular 5k axles.next time you pass a circus trailer on the road look over and see what axles are under most of them, maybe there are two types of m h axles
Mobile home axles are fine, properly greased and the brakes serviced. Problem areas are the tires, balance, springs, welds, and the driver.
I've seen them used for home built stock car trailers before. Brakes, what are those? Most guys I knew never ran any or added a surge brake on the tongue. Hands down, the scariest trailer I ever saw was made from an old drive-on lube rack, full size, less the post of course. It had no springs, the axles were welded across the bottom side of the ramps. Bob
I worked in the engineering department of Kelsey hayes back in the early / mid 70's. Along with car wheels and brakes, one of our products was Mobile Home axles and brakes. The mobile home brakes and wheel bearings had a design life of something like 5000 miles at the time if i recall correctly. The design engineer who sat next to me was on the phone at least once a week it seemed talking to a lawyer in Mo or WV or wherever explaining that the wheel which fell off the homemade trailer using mobile home axles wasn't our problem because we didn't design or sell the axles for anything but limited use delivering mobile homes. They may be cheap, but what is an accident worth? Alan
I would imagine that a mobile home would get a heck of a lot more use than a car trailer. So, in saying that, I don't follow your logic. thay are from a mobile home not a camper or traval tralor mobile home meaning one that Mobile homes or static caravans (also informally called "caravans" or "trailers") are prefabricated homes built in factories, rather than on site, and then taken to the place where they will be occupied. They are usually transported by tractor-trailers over public roads to sites which are often in rural areas or high-density developments. In some countries they are used for temporary accommodation on campsites. While these houses are usually placed in one location and left there permanently<!-- / message --><!-- sig -->
FWIW I pulled a trailer with the 5000 lbs mobile home axles for 300,000 miles behind a big rig. Travel trlr and RV haulers used them. Changed to 15" wheels and packed bearings often. The older mobile homes had 6 lug drums and wheels. You could go to a mobile home park and buy them from under peoples trailers. You'd have to find an older trailer parkThe 14.5's don't work good for highway use.
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