I see a lot of them on the road, most look pretty cheesie and the hitch set ups are all over the board.

The hitch set up is probably the biggest mystery to me.

Trailer brakes is another mystery.

Distances: on the average 350 to 450 round trip.

As for trailers, of course a 50ft hitop Featherlite with living quarters

Isn't that what everyone needs to haul there stuff in

Ok, back to the real world. Looking at trailers, look for one with 3500 lb axles minimum. That will give you 7000lb carrying (minus the trailer weight +/- 1500lbs). So with this you can haul a 5500 vehicle(approx). This should cover you for the most part. Full deck/open deck is optional. Depends on what you haul and if you want a full floor to haul loose items. 4wheel brakes is a good upgrade, especially if you max it out on weight(like your truck).

I would choose a trailer that has the 2 5/16" ball hitch. There are a large number with only 2", but I would shy away from them(my opinion only).

As for wheels, choose your own poison there, white spoke, aluminum, whatever you feel like cleaning or taking care of.

Ramps, this is another big choice in who builds what. The open trailers I owned had the ramps installed under the deck/ramp , slid out, slid in with no carrying around. I like this way. Others mounted on the side of trailer or such and you had to carry them around to the rear of the trailer each time.

There are some builders who make the fenders removable so you can open your car door. I measured my door height and got a trailer that was high enough that the door cleared the fender. If not, install a plank to raise the vehicle up to clear. Loose fenders will only rattle and come loose all the time, or get run over because you left it on the ground .

Just some of my findings in the years I have played with this stuff.

Some features and why:
1. 2 3500 torsion axles borrowed from a horse trailer. No springs to deal with. All four wheels operate independently.

2.Diamond plate steel floor. Don't have to worry about replacing a wood floor every few years. Aluminum was available at extra cost

3. 2' beavertail for easy loading. Cutout in center of beavertail to clear low hanging exhaust.

4. Slide in ramps, I went with ramps that go in the side vs the rear. I have to carry them, but the 2" extra ground clearance I gained in the rear is helpful when getting in/out of gas stations, etc with steep drives. The ramps need to be as long as possible. My two combined are the width of the trailer, they meet in the middle when stowed.

4: Welded on heavy duty tie down rings and stake pockets. Let's me carry heavy items, and I can also install side boards for a load of mulch, etc.

5. Low profile tires (215/70/15) so the fenders can be mounted low for door clearance. Also used the small Ford bolt pattern for the wheels. That way I can use a front tire from my race car for a spare if needed.

6. Electric brakes on one axle, wish I had done both axles.

7. Hammer Blow coupler. None stonger. Posistive ball capture. Most complers just have a little stamped metal clip that keeps it on the ball. These totally surround the ball, can't come off. Take a look here: http://www.hammerblow.com/bumppull.html

8. All lights are the sealed modular type like used on 18 wheelers. You can get a replacement at Wal-Mart or any truck stop. Held in place by rubber gasket, pop in place with no tools.

9. Two foot extra tongue length. Was going to mount a tool box, but mounted a rack for a pit bike instead.

10: Other: winch mount up front, reflective tape, sides and rear, full length side steps.

My only real regret is the color. Was going to do basic black, but the guy who built it was proud of it. Talked my into matching the color of my truck at that time. '92 Ford Wild Strawberry. Looked great for the first couple of years, but 6 summers in the Alabama sun has really faded the paint (he used industrial type paint. It's sort of pink/purple now.

You can take a look at it here:
http://home.earthlink.net/~racrcole/_uimages/front1.jpg
http://home.earthlink.net/~racrcole/_uimages/rear1.jpg
http://home.earthlink.net/~racrcole/_uimages/side1.jpg

Any questions just ask.

Later,

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Originally posted by roaddog:
79 Super Cab 4x4 ?? lbs ( I'll bet Smokey Wren knows)

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Sorry, I don't know, but I'll guess over 6,000 pounds unloaded, and with a toolbox full of tools and other "normal" stuff you need to count on 7,000 pounds.

quote:

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E150 reg length 5300 lbs ? ( Smokey again )

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Again, I don't know, but probably less than the pickup with the same payload.

quote:

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The hitch set up is probably the biggest mystery to me.

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If your Quigley didn't come with a receiver hitch, then you need a good class 4 receiver that is rated for a minimum of 1,000 pounds hitch weight and 10,000 pounds trailer weight when hooked up with a weight-distributing hitch.

If you already have a receiver, then crawl under the van and look for the hitch weight ratings stamped into the metal of the receiver. If it's less than 1,000/10,000 WD (weight distributing), then replace the receiver. Don't confuse the WD rating with the WC (weight carrying) rating of 500/5,000.

If you need to add or replace the receiver, then while you're at it, you might as well try to get a class 5 receiver if you can find one that can be bolted onto your Quigley. The Reese Titan V is my choice, but I don't know if they make it for a van.

Don't even think about hooking up without a weight-distributing hitch with sway control. As a minumum, a Reese or DrawTite or Equal-I-Zer with sway bars. Even better is a Pull-rite. And best of all is a Hensley Arrow. Of course, "even better" costs more, and "best of all" costs a lot more.

Any RV or trailer retailer can fix you up with a good weight-distributing hitch. They come in varying capacities, so you should specify one to pull a 10,000-pound trailer.

And the drawbars (sometimes called ball mounts) that slide into the receiver and where the hitch ball is mounted, comes in various "drops" to match the trailer-tongue height to the height of the receiver. Insist on a setup where the floor of your trailer will be almost perfectly level when hooked up and loaded.

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Trailer brakes is another mystery.

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No big deal. But you should never hook up to a trailer that grosses over about 3,500 pounds unless the trailer has functioning brakes.

Your trailer will have a GVWR of 8,000 to 10,000 pounds, and therefore should have electric brakes controlled by a brake controller in the van. Lesser trailers will have surge brakes, but surge brakes won't work with a weight-distributing hitch, so insist that your trailer has electric brakes - if not the even better electric-over-hydraulic brakes. But no surge brakes for you.

Now to the trailer. With your Quigley, the trailer must be a tag trailer - no gooseneck or 5er for you.

Since your heaviest load will be the pickup that could weigh between 6,000 and 7,000 pounds, then you need a trailer with a GVWR of over 8,000 pounds, and probably closer to 10,000 pounds. And just in case you decide to show off that Quigley's power by hauling my SuperDuty PSD Crewcab at about 8,000 pounds, then you probably want the closer to 10,000 pounds GVWR.

Lots of manufacturers make equipment trailers that meet your needs. One that's down the road from me is BigTex, so I'll use them as an example.

Their "car hauler" is too light duty for your needs. It's made for hauling a 3,500 pound car. Not a 6,000 pound pickup. But just for grins, here's the website for the light-duty car hauler.

http://www.bigtextrailers.com/trailers/TrailerSpec.php?trailer=70dm

So instead of a car hauler, you need an equipment hauler up closer to the 10,000-pound GVWR.

Here's the Big Tex:

http://www.bigtextrailers.com/trailers/TrailerSpec.php?trailer=10et

Spec it out as a 20-footer with built-in ramps and that will be really close to what you want. The shorter trailers are available, but that limits what you can haul. My '65 Mustang is only 15' long, but my Sierra Blanca is 22' long! Loading my pickup on your 20' trailer would leave about 2 feet of pickup sticking out over the back of the trailer bed.

When you click on "Click Here for printable datasheet" for that trailer, you'll see that standard equipment includes electric brakes, and the 2 5/16th ball that Freightrain recommended.

While you're on the Big-Tex website, you can surf around and see other trailers that would also probably meet your needs.

After you get your specs in your head, then look for a nearby manufacturer or dealer than sells this type of trailer. Find the manufacturer on the web, and then find "your" trailer.

Or order the BigTex custom-made to your specs, then drive out to their east Texas plant to pick it up. That will be a nice trip for your Quigley.

Well, the first project is to get the van upgraded with some of the necessary stuff. I've been following this site for about 2 months and have a pretty good idea of what lies ahead.

In the mean time I'll start poking around Georgia and Alabama for a builder or a dealer that sells a trailer that meets the evolving specs ( thanks to y'all )

I truly appreciate the time you guys took to write these great replies. When I run into another question, I'll post it here.

Regards

I had the trailer built at Twin River Trailers in Demopolis, Al. It is about 30 mins south of I-20 close to the AL/MS state line.

Don't know if he is still in business as I moved from that area about 6 months after the trailer was built. Dug up the sales order and the info was as of 12-20-95:

Twin River Trailers
Rt. 1 Box 449B
Hwy 80 West
Demopolis, Al 36732
205 289-5013

BTW, in 1995, I paid only $1750 for the trailer, but he did say he under priced it and that he would charge more for any others like it. Prob not too much more though, he is/was a good guy to do business with.

Later,