A good friend and I have owned and used this one for the past five years now and love it.I have no trouble loading my Tri-5 lowered 4" in the back. Tom (Tired Old Man)
I would say a 18ft with a dove tail and a winch they ride good and are wide enough to open doors so u can get out of the car even when its lowered.
I bought my second Feather Lite, they ain't cheap, put pull like you have nothing attached to the truck , when empty. Good quality, alum. still shines like new. I have ramps, they store underneath and it came with removable fenders, 2 spring clamps on each, I wouldn't be without removable fenders. A winch would be nice and a small tongue tool box to store, straps, etc. etc. They make a very nice trailer.
Extra wide , dropped axle,7000 pound,full floor,removable fenders would be nice,Had mine for 25 years ,hand whinch ,long ramps. My wife would love for me to get rid of it to keep me from haulin shit in but it aint leaving,had allot of some really low cars sometimes just have to find a good place to load and unload em
I have a 24 ft with diamond plate runners and a drop center that's planked. If I'm loading a bare cab/body on it will slide on the steel. If I want to carry a motor I put it in the center, it can't slide off in there. As for tie-down rings I have either 28 or 30 of them on the trailer. I have them down both sides of the runners and 4 on each end. Overkill? Maybe but when you're hauling many different things you never know where you might need a tie-down ring. The picture with a load has 2 flatties in the center ahead of the car body. From the time I picked them up to the time I got home was 9 days and 4700 mi. so yes things ride great with no problen down in the center. I had LED lights for tail and brake but as they go out I'm replacing them with regular lights. I had one light only last 2 years, 15-20,000 mi. The reason I replacing is because they are not always available in Timbuktu and regualr bulbs can be bought anywhere. If you're on the road a lot this to me makes a real difference.
uhaul now has swing away fenders on the drivers side of there trailers... someone else has to make a trailer that does that.. or if not meander on down to the uhaul yard and take a peak at their fenders...
Mr. In the state of Georgia its not illegal to tow a boat.. we do require you to have it on a trailer.. hell ya lost your water skier about a mile back...
As a retired trailer mfg.---I can offer you some advice. First you state you want an open type rig, so I'll go on that therory. 1. With the national economy as it is, its a buyers world right now, including trailers. 2. Always start with enough axle capacity, know the weight of your trailer PLUS load, & deduct that weight from axle(s) carrying capacity, this will save you from grief down the road on hubs & bearing problems. 3. If you build a tilt bed, remember you are actually building 2 in 1 trailers, & total wt. will be about 1/3 more than a conventional single frame trailer. 4. When ordering axles, make sure you get brakes on all 4 hubs, whether electric or hyd. actuated. 5. Weld center of tandem hanger 60% distance from FRONT of trailer structure, NOT the ball. 6. For good towing & backup, make ball coupler 42-45 inches on tongue from FRONT of trailer structure. 7. Use .180 thickness on tongue. ( 3X6 rectangular) with 2-5/16 ball 8. Use .120 thickness on outside rail structure & tilt frame (2X4 rectangular) 9. Cross structure on bottom frame ( 2X3 X .120wall) 10. Cross structure on tilt frame ( 1 1/2 X 3 X .120 wall) 11. Cover tilt bed with 3/4-10 raised expanded metal sheets 12. Highly recommend H.Duty electric winch mounted on tilt bed. 13. Don't forget to make a spare tire mount, usually on tongue or (?) 14. Also tires to be rated same as axle capacity Have fun!!!---& good luck---------Don
So....this is a trailer to move your cars and stuff once? I guess you don't need to get too fancy, then.... (I got to use my trailer today to help a friend trade his old car for an older truck. Worked great, the truck is low and the exhaust hangs down about 4" off the ground in themiddle of the truck, and my trailer is so cheezy and flexible that it didn't scrape when driving the truck on or off it!)
For an open trailer I think Hnstray has just about convinced me http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dolw2smrbN4 Damned slick.
not sure if its been said or not but be sure your trailers fenders are low that whay when the car(s) are on it you can open the door(s) that way you dont have to climb out the windows
One guy touched on this earlier, but I'll bring it up again. In most cases, aluminum trailers are much better than steel ones. They last longer, look better, and tow easier because of the reduced weight. I have a 7000 lb Featherlight open trailer that I bought about 10 years ago. Granted, I am not a heavy trailer user, but this thing has worked for everything from my 1650 lb T tub to a 1 ton Ford van. Whoever said add an electric winch is absolutely correct. Makes things a lot easier. Also, whoever said to bring along a big wood block to put under the winch so you can load low cars is also correct. My trailer has the removable fenders, and I can tell you that, with them removed, I can open the doors on my (O/T) '67 Corvette with no problems. As to durability, I have a neighbor who bought a white steel trailer two years after I bought my Featherlight. My trailer is still silver; his is turning orange rapidly. Admittedly this is in Minnesota, but I think you get my drift. Also, try to find a used aluminum trailer for sale. I can truthfully say that I have never come across one. Seen lots of rusty steel trailers beside the road, though.
when i redo my trailer im going to make the fenders removeable like the featherlites.i would also say get the metal floor..ive reboarded mine twice.the winch is a great idea,,if you haul stuff thats not rolling or is missing parts the metal floor will be a blissing.trailer brakes are a must...and get as big a axle weight wise as you can..dove tail is good too..
I like that sleeper cab up front! Easy to babysit your stuff on the road and at the swap meet, too, I'm sure. What does that cab weigh? That might be an idea for a gooseneck car hauler I have in mind for the future.
The Sloan trailer is very nice, for a tilt rig. I looked into selling those about ten years ago, when I was in the trailer business. You'll like that, I'm very sure.
Sorry I don't know what it weighs, it's all aluminum. Four of us put it on the trailer.The trailer isn't a lightweight as it tips the scales at 3700#. The sleeper really saves a lot on motel bills also. I've used it for 4 western parts hunting trips since I finished it in the spring of 07. I stay either in truck stops or Walmart parking lots. I have about $500 into the sleeper and have used it probably over 30 nights. Another nice thing was I only saw 0-1 mpg difference with this rig, then my 16' trailer
just got back from Georgia;my buddy bought a new 24 foot enclosed car hauler with 2 foot v nose..$3500 out the door.i would suggest adding the torsion axles and the snowmobile front nose without the extra door in the nose.this includes the extended tongue and costs $400 more.Now you have a 24 foot trailer with 5 extra feet in the front.The long nose has to cut the wind much better.and the extra 5 foot of space is amazing.We sprung for the 7000# torsion axles,which includes 6 stud wheels and radial trailer tires.It will be a great portable guarge this winter.
tilt, or if tilt is too expensive, get something with a huge tilt-up ramp. It could be made of angle iron with expanded metal. Maybe think about a tool box in the front as a deflector for rocks and storage for tires or gas. If the fenders block you from opening the door you could always get a winch to winch the car on (this is really nice for picking up non running projects)
A draw back to the tilt up ramp is that it prevents any overhang off the rear. See post #37 if I had a tilt up ramp I couldn't have gotten everything on the trailer. Later in the trip I also had a 27 T roadster body sitting cowl down plus a couple of cowls only. A rock guard is a good idea. My sleeper serves as a rock guard, storage and sleeping quarters
D&D Trailers 609-771-0001. Dough has built 6 for me in the past 30 years. All of his car haulers have removeable fenders and slide out ramps. spend the extra for the 18' it comes in handy for hauning parts.
I use my trailer plenty, and only once was it to a show (drag car)! I've got an 18 foot dovetail with steel deck and removable left fender. I don't like the side load ramps but deal with it. I have hand winched dead cars on with a come-along, I have a cheapy winch now. I'd love to add a receiver and a real winch. I'd also like a locking box on the front for the straps, tools, winch and extra wire and bulbs. I got it for under 2K used and it has saved me 4 times that, easy.
Personally I wouldn't haul much of a trailer with that Gravedigger, why so many trailers? That's averaging a new one every 5 years.
Just put some Buddy Bearings on my trailer, 20' dovetail. I also carry one of those little ramps to facilitate changing a flat. Used it twice and it makes for quick, safe tire changing. The toughest thing you need to do is THROW AWAY any tie downs that have abrasion on the straps.
I've built a few trailers for race cars over the years! Having a background in road racing created two issues [ the cars are very low ] 1: getting out from the car [ or opening doors ] 2: front spoiler clearance [ and not wanting to dis-assemble the car to load it on the trailer ] The top of the fenders need to be 8 -9 inches above the deck to open a race car door so with a 205/75 x15 tire [ 27" dia ] plus 3" suspension travel gets the deck 21"-22" from the ground A 22" high deck needs a 4" drop dovetail [ approx 48" long ] AND a tilt deck to load a race car with a low front spoiler [ including using ramps ] I used all three and had slide out ramps with built-in "chocks" on them to limit the angle off the tilt. an open center would be easier if you need to crawl underneath to chain the car at the rear [ chains over axle tubes ] but the car can get damage underneath from rocks. I built the tongue separate from the main trailer then attached it at the pivot points to tilt it [ the tongue weighed a mere 150lbs with 65lbs weight at the coupling ] I also used "springbolts" and "tongue guides" to self latch the tilt so I could simply tilt the trailer by hand [ it's balanced ] pull out the ramps, drive the race car on, and it self latches down like a door locking [ the whole process takes less than 1 minute ] The next feature I built in [ costing an expensive $50-00 ] was caster wheels under the tongue and an extra long brake hose from the tongue to the main chassis. With this I can leave the car on the trailer inside a 20' garage using axle stands for balancing, then I simple pull 2 bolts [ the pivots ] and slide the tongue under the trailer so I can shut the garage door [ out of sight of thieving eyes ] Enclosed is a few pics of my trailer I built at home .It weighs 1430lbs made from steel [ I prefer them lightweight ]
just my .02 here . have had a trailer for 10 years now have towed from fla to canada and back home . 1- i have a tilt bed 18 ft long removable fenders and one of my cars was still to low to load. it is not just the height of the car but the distance from the wheel to the front edge of a low hanging spoiler (saleen mustang frront spoiler sticks out pretty far) . actually had to put air ride front struts to raise the spoiler enough to clear the dovetail 2- winch and snatch block come in very handy. i picked up a 59 ford wagon in tenn buried in the mud behind the guys house . parked the truck on the road dragged out over 100 ft of cable and used it to drag the car with a flat up a small incline and onto the trailer 3- wood can be very slippery also when it gets wet 4- my trailers dovetail is not straight across in the back but actually has a 2' x2' section out of the middle . this comes in very handy on low cars as i don't have to slide between the bottom of the car and the trailer bed but have a nice easy access to tie down the car. 5- there are toolboxes sold to mount on the front portion of the trailer and they are very convienent 6- my trailer has hauled everything from a lowered 1990 saleen mustang to 1959 ford and chevy wagons to bobcat excavators to sod to furniture dune buggy's etc 7- dual axle brakes are required by many states and the first time your coming down a nice long hill and loose your towing vehicles brakes you will appreciate the dual axle brakes as most controllers now seem to have a button you can press to activate the trailer brakes in an emergency. 8- if you plan on towing motorcycles with it a tilt is a pain in the butt. 9- closed trailers are really nice but heavy and as evidenced by the latest report of a vehicle stolen with the trailer can be harder to find as the trailer blends in easier then an open trailer with the car showing. 10- though single axles worked in the past doesn't really mean they are as safe as a dual axle 11- an electric trailer jack can save a lot of cranking extra straps are always a good idea as are blocks of wood such as 4" x 10" , pieces of 2x10 nailed together can help in many ways 12- some pieces of 2" galv pipe can help roll things on the trailer 13- a trailer is not really the place to cut corners as 99.9% of the time you probably wont notice any difference but the one time the s**t hits the fan you will thank yourself for the extra you spent to buy the best you can. 14- the longer the trailer the smoother it will tow as long as you dson't exceed the truck or trailer rating 15- if the trailer starts to sway as your towing don't hit the brakes but speed up a little to you can gain control
You can also hit trailer brakes only. That's the reason to have the controller mounted within easy reach. The only time I've had to hit the brakes to control sway it was ice, sure didn't want to hit the gas then
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