what brands of cargo trailer is best? - Diesel Forum

dannyleo · 03-16-2008, 05:38 PM

Looking for a 20-26 foot that I can put my Mini-Cooper in along with some other stuff and that I can still pull with my 2004 F-250 Super Duty 6.0. 3.73 gears will limit me to 12,000 lbs overall I believe. Take off 2,500 for the Mini-Cooper, that leaves me with @ 9,500 for the trailer and other stuff. How much do these trailers normally weigh? Is a tow trailer lighter than a goose-neck? I have a hitch now and would prefer to stay that way. Leaves room for one more motorcycle in the bed. But if a gooseneck gives me more, I'd consider it. So is Haulmark, Wells Cargo, etc all about the same?

parkers30 · 03-16-2008, 07:58 PM

I know our 24' 10,500 rated Interstate is 3500lb empty. It is a tight squeeze for too much besides our Prius, but tows nicely behind my truck.

pball · 03-16-2008, 08:02 PM

I tow cargo trailers for several manufactors in our area. By far the best finish and warranty I have seen has been Wells Cargo. Just my opinion. i have seen them take care of trailers that other companies would have laughed off. they are really worth looking into. Cost may be a little higher then some others, but I truly believe you get what you pay for, especially if you are hauling around your car and motorcycle.

G BURDICK · 03-16-2008, 08:28 PM

A friend of mine has a 22' haulmark that he totes his cobra around in. It is a nice trailer, I would seriously consider one.

u2slow · 03-16-2008, 08:40 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dannyleo

Looking for a 20-26 foot that I can put my Mini-Cooper in along with some other stuff and that I can still pull with my 2004 F-250 Super Duty 6.0. 3.73 gears will limit me to 12,000 lbs overall I believe. Take off 2,500 for the Mini-Cooper, that leaves me with @ 9,500 for the trailer and other stuff. How much do these trailers normally weigh? Is a tow trailer lighter than a goose-neck? I have a hitch now and would prefer to stay that way. Leaves room for one more motorcycle in the bed. But if a gooseneck gives me more, I'd consider it. So is Haulmark, Wells Cargo, etc all about the same?

My bro got a Snake River 14K# equipment trailer last year for his mini excavator. That's about the max you can go with 16" 10/E tires.

I doubt any authorities are checking your axle ratio or your tongue weight

. Find out what gets checked in the areas you're traveling. Around here its GAWR (A=axle) and tire capacities on the truck and trailer... the rest doesn't really matter.

Torque37 · 03-16-2008, 10:55 PM

Forest River

chappy824 · 12-22-2009, 07:39 AM

I have seen just about every make of cargo trailer and the best quality for the price has been Cargo King Cobra. I have owned 3 of them over the years and they pull excellent and hold up better than the rest. Here is a link to a dealer that sells them. http://www.williamstrailerdeals.com And here is the link to the factories website http://www.cargokingcobra.com Hope this was helpful.

**SmokeyWren** · 12-22-2009, 10:24 AM

Well, there's no doubt that "you get what you pay for". So it depends on what you need. Pace American makes a good trailer on the lower end of the price scale, and they also make a good medium-priced trailer. I prefer the more expensive trailers, such as my Car-Mate. LED lights, torq-flex axles/suspension, tows like a dream at 74 MPH on the interstate.

My Car-Mate is only 7'x14" with a 6' interior height, so it's not really a "car" mate. It's more of a motorcycle trailer or a darned good cargo trailer. But mine is on the small end of the ones they make - they also make the longer trailers that really are intended to haul cars.

The problem with almost all trailers is that they come standard with not enough tire weight capacity to give you a big fudge factor. So my first chore was to relpace all the tires and wheels on the Car-Mate. It came with ST205/75R15C tires, which are barely enough weight capacity for the 7,000 pound GVWR of the trailer. I replaced the tires with ST225/75R15E, so I don't expect any trailer tire problems down the road.

Mine is almost 5 years old, so here's the current version of mine: Car Mate Trailers 2010 CM714CC-HD Cargo Trailers

They make custom enclosed car haulers from 16' to 34' long, with either tag or gooseneck hitch. Here's their tag 26' car hauler: Car Mate Trailers 2010 CM826EGL Cargo Trailers

Here's mine unloaded and hooked up ready to load. Reese trunion dual-cam weight-distributing hitch in case I load it to more than 5,000 pounds gross.

fastzr1 · 12-22-2009, 01:01 PM

I had a 28' Pace Trailer that I used to haul my Corvette race car. I bought an upgraded GT package Pace and it was a nice trailer. I sold it last year once I got out of the race car business. I towed that trailer up and down the east coast while racing and across the US when I moved to AZ and then back to NC when I was moved back. Better resale value on Pace compared to some of the other brands. I would buy another Pace if I was in the market.
Here she is.

Blk88GT · 12-22-2009, 09:44 PM

I looked at a number of trailers when I bought mine. Most were built by blind school children. In fact, King Cobra was the worst I saw. I ended up with an H+H. They're now out of business, but there are deals to be had.

The only brands I would consider upgrading to would be a Haulmark Edge or a Featherlite.