I have been looking for a trailer that will suit my needs for a while now. I usually tow pickup trucks and a car here and there. I also tow lots of quads and dirtbikes when we go riding. So, heres my dilemma.
Two quads next to each other do not fit on a standard car trailer. They measure a little over 8' wide (full size quads) when parked next to each other. So, to get the most on a typical car trailer we have to bring them on and spin them sideways.. even then limited to about 4 per trailer.
Now, if I had an 8'6 deck over trailer, I can carry 6-8 machines depending on the trailer length, and it would be a ton easier to load. This same trailer would also hold any pick up I'd want to put on it, and even skid steers/mini excavators that I tow from time to time.
The catch? Local pricing puts a 20 foot, 11k gvw trailer at 5800 dollars, vs. a 20 foot 10k rated car trailer at 3300.
I really want one trailer to do it all, but at double the price the deckover does not seem worth it.
Does anyone know of either a place to find these trailers used, or good pricing on a deckover? I'm not looking for a gooseneck hitch.
Also, local shop thinks I'm crazy wanting the deck over just to haul more quads. Really its for that and machines, cars, trucks, ect.
What about a standard trailer with drive-over or removable fenders? Get two or four in front of the axles, one in the center and a couple on the back. I have seen 18' tilt beds with 4' fixed deck in front for a total length of 22' on the deck.
__________________ THANK YOU to all the heroes in our military and all the heroes at home who wait for their safe return. I am humbled by and grateful for your service and sacrifice.
'95 F250 ext cab long bed, PSD, 5 speed manual, two wheel drive, 3.55 gears, LUK clutch conversion, 450 lb homemade REAR BUMPER, homemade open element AIR FILTER, aluminum bed cap. With me in the cab (285#) and full of fuel weighs 6,580 lbs (steer 3420 drive 3160)
Here is what I did on a old trailer I had. It was 18'utility style(sides), with 2- 5200lb axls, 82 or 83 wide on the inside. I built a a frame with a deck over setup that would slide inside the 82 wide bottom. On the front of the frame I fabbed mounts for floor jack steel wheels. At the 3' from the front I made mounts on both side for a 2k trailer jack to slide on to and pin, at the rear of the subframe I did the same, no jack wheels though. So when you need the deck over, you back the trailer under the front of deck over insert, dolly down front jacks and remove, then back trailer further under till you get the back jacks, remove them and use a boat winch(trailer mounted) in front to pull the insert into place. To hold the insert in place I fabbed points at 4 corners and used ratchet binders to secure it to the trailer. Then you tie your cargo off to the top of insert. I built my insert with tie down rails like a big truck trailer(rub rails). You are basically applying the cabover camper theory to a trailer. The camper part is the bed over wheels deck. Build the deck according to the weight you plan to carry. Then you have the best of both worlds. Low deck cargo height for hauling cars,trucks etc. wider top deck for atvs and cargo over 82 or 83 wide. Just make sure the base trailer has the capacity to carry the deck and planned top deck loads. Plus you have the under side of the top deck to carry ice chest, tools, etc.
So that puts me at a 10k rated car trailer, plus some metal to fab up an upper deck. The Upper deck can be really light since ATV's don't weight much at all.
I'm not a fan of the tilting trailer, after a few years the ones I've seen jam and just don't work well. Plus most of my loads are close to max carrying weight, I'd rather install an electric winch and ramps.
Now, the hydraulic tilt trailers are really nice, but $$$$.
I prefer the pull out/off, carry and place ramps to the tilt trailers myself. Less to go wrong in the time of need IMO. Plus they dont make as much noise going down a rough road. Maybe its just me but tilt trailers make some racket. I mount my ramps between to the front of fenders and behind the tongue on the sides, use a 2" rachtet strap to hold them in place tight so no rattle going down the road. The rear under trailer mounted ramps make alot of noise too.
Good luck
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I am a fan of the 6.9/7.3 IDI, 5.9 CTD
Definetly not a PSD fan
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