Trailer purchase guidence?

[Hoodoo Man]

Hi All
I know a few people on the forum are in the market for a trailer. Im a total newbie to this area and am hoping to be able to get one before the Rausch trip. so what do you all recommend? used is obviously the cheaper way to go but what are the critical things to look at and what are some good search terms for craigslist? Any advice is greatly appreciated.

thanks
jeff

[ZAEDOCK]

The obvious items are the wear items - tires / brakes / bearings / coupler.

Any used trailer you buy should be gone through with equal attention. In addition to those above, check deck integrity, lighting, frame.

Used trailers pop up on NEOW pretty often. I would rather buy from a fellow 4 wheeler who IMO, would probably maintain his equipment better than the average guy. That said though, never assume anything.

[nostaw]

My best advice is to buy a new trailer, or if you buy used try to get one that is lightly used. The $ I sunk into getting my trailer up to speed would have paid for a new one (when combined with the $ I bought for) and saved me a lot of work. As Joe said, the wear items are the big ones which can cost $ which add up.

If you buy used avoid hydraulic surge brakes or trailers with brakes on only one axle.

w.r.t. trailer type... The twin ramps / steel deck type vs. the full wood deck... both have their advantages. Depends on what you want to do with it besides car hauling.

I expect you're going to want a 7k GTW trailer -- that is the combined weight of the trailer + load. This means it will have 2x 3500 lb axles (probably Dexter "Ez-Lube" type), 15" wheels, electric drum brakes... Check the load rating on the tires. If you buy new you may want to get a high load range tire as an upgrade option -- gives you a tougher tire. The new trailers I saw had load range C, you may want to ask about an upgrade to load range D.

I would highly recommend getting some kind of weight distributing hitch (I would opt for one which has anti-sway features). The WK and the XK share suspensions and the weight distributing hitch will substantially improve the towing experience (after towing to/from Moab I'm positive on this). On some forums people talk about using air bags to support the rear suspension... I personally think that is a sub-standard solution and you should avoid it.

For electric brakes you'll need an electric brake controller, which you'll have to install in the WK. You can check online at wkjeeps.com (I think they cover XKs too) where the have lots of info on the factory configuration available. The factory trailer packages for the WK/XK included a wire from the receiver connector to the driver's foot-well for an electric brake connection you can use. You need to connect to the +/- 12v (best to go through the firewall to the battery), but the long / painful wire connection is already in place (probably).

Plan to get a tool box for the trailer... You'll want it to store straps / tie downs, wheel chocks, spare trailer parts, etc...

etrailer.com is a great source for parts... I bought the weight distributing hitch, brake controller, and misc parts for my trailer there and was very happy with their service.

Welch Welding in Lowell deals in trailers and they're pretty good. I also dealt with Ron's Toy Shop in Manchester NH and had good experiences.

Give me a call if you have specific questions I can answer.

JW

[ZAEDOCK]

The best advice is the one given twice.

[nhdcoye]

I got my brand new 7K Lbs dual axle, with electric brakes and spare tire for $2400 cash from
MPV Trailer Sales; 39 Rockingham Rd, Londonderry, NH 03053
(603) 437-5189
I had to work with them for the second axle brake and spare tire but in the end it was well lworth it.
Let him know your from Baystate and tha tDave sent you so you can ask for the same deal....
They are located about a mile off Rt 93 at exit 5 heading towards Derry.

I bought my brake controller from Ron's Toy shop along with the tie down straps.
I found the Kia adequate without the weight distributing hitch, for Rausch trips

[midniteryder]

The best advice is the one given twice.

[Kurt]

Also check out The Trailer Place in NH.
Recommended by many wheelers. Ended up getting my new one there last spring.
Nice guy, good prices.

[Frank]

I wouldnt worry about if its new or used. Make sure everything works and its rated for what you need to carry. I find , no mater what kind of brakes you have dont matter! Its that they work well when you need them to. Some dont like surge brakes for what ever reason, To me its the most logical. Ive towed over a million miles with every kind of Tractor Trailer , I find it more important to know when you need them (brakes,lights,tires) They will work. That said , the rest of what goes with hauling another vehicle is up to you to perform to the best of your ability and common sense ! Your ty down equipment , and how this is done is the biggest saftey issue. Thats the part where you come in. You have the final say in what and how as you will be in front of it ! FjR68

[DOUG]

On some forums people talk about using air bags to support the rear suspension... I personally think that is a sub-standard solution and you should avoid it.



JW

I ran air bags in my truck when we went out to Moab, more so to level the truck (keeping the headlights on the road and out of the trees LOL) as she was loaded pretty heavy. (GCVW 14K lbs) I did not run them to increase load capacity, they are not reccomended for that.
Truck rode like a dream, riding on air.

I've got a set in the garage awaiting install on the new truck.

The Trailer Place has my vote, having dealt with them for parts and advice.

[Frank]

Weight dist.hitch are the correct way to level your load. Its actualy just helping the tow vehicle carry the load by moving weight from the rear to the front wheels by lifting the rear. I think that a duel axle trailer can be ballanced by shifting the load on the trailer eliminating the dist hitches. I pull with a small truckish thing and the same trailer went to Canada behind a Dodge dulley Diesel and my bronco. It feels exactly the same to me . I had to move the load (Mona) on the trailer to ballance it across the spreader links. You only want somewhere around 200/500 lbs. on the tow vehicle, the rest goes on the duel axles out back. FjR68

[ZAEDOCK]

I like my surge brakes. IMO, they are better especially during panic stops (more inertia, more braking). Just a personal preference though.

Regarding weight dist. hitches, I don't run one, but know that they can be very helpful, especially when the tow rig has a shorter wheelbase and non-HD rear suspension, or the trailer is of considerable weight. My trailer sits perfectly level when mounted on my F150 and only sagged slightly when driving out to Moab. That was due to the extra crap I brought - welder, saws, grinders, spare leaf springs, spare NP231, steel (WAY too much steel *roll eyes*). I went nuts on extra stuff and probably won't be bringing much of it next time. That said, despite the extra crap, my trailer never swayed once or did anything funky.

[nostaw]

The WK / XK wheel base is shorter than most pickups and they have a really soft suspension compared to a pickup which is designed to give a nice ride, rather than carry a heavy load. They rate the WK gross tongue weight at ~700 lbs, but there is a lot of rear suspension squat with a full load even if the trailer is well balanced.

I dislike airbags as a fix to offset tongue weight squat in the WK/XK because I don't think they really improve the suspension load distribution properly... Not saying they don't have a use, just don't think they are a better solution than a weight distributing hitch in this application.

With my fully loaded trailer the rear end of the WK squats ~2+" without the spring bars installed... I tried driving it without the weight distributing bars and found that the trailer felt like it pushed the WK around when steering in corners a bit. When I installed and adjusted the spring bars the trailer rode a lot better -- no sensation of pushing in the corners and it is really smooth in lane changes on the highway. You can feel it when you stop / start, but otherwise you don't know it is there unless you hit bumps.

Electric brakes can be adjusted on the fly to increase / decrease braking due to load or circumstances, and they won't fight you when you reverse, which is why I would recommend them over hydraulic surge. In the best case you get the electric over hydraulic disc system, but they are $$$.

JW

[nhdcoye]

FYI
A short term alternate would be to rent one from Ron's toy shop for the trip(s).

http://www.ronstoyshop.com/trailerrenta ... ?cPath=162

TRAILER RENTAL 80"x18' Car Mate Hydraulic Tilt Trailer
[CM818E-T(12K)-R] $75.00/Day

TRAILER RENTALS now available! 9990# GVWR, 235/80R16 ?E? Range Radial Tires, 2 5/16? coupler, 8,000# tongue jack, 27? deck height, weld on D-rings, hydraulic surge braking system, pressure treated plank deck, power up & down, DOT LED lighting.

Car Mate Flat Bed Hydraulic Tilt

Rates
Daily - $75.00
Weekend (Fri, Sat, Sun) $115.00
Weekly - $300.00
Monthly - $900.00

[schwalby]

For those of you that have bought is it safe to estimate you could do 10 rentals before you have spent the same amount as money as buying or would it be more?

Just thinking this maybe the best option and not buy. How many times are you going to use a car hauler and remember all the maintenance cost to.

[DOUG]

For those of you that have bought is it safe to estimate you could do 10 rentals before you have spent the same amount as money as buying or would it be more?

Just thinking this maybe the best option and not buy. How many times are you going to use a car hauler and remember all the maintenance cost to.

Do the math Duck...10 X $75.00 = $750.00, New trailers are close to $3K, used are anywhere from a couple hundred on up. Paid $1K for mine.

Maintenance is no different than maintaining your Jeep, keep the bearings greased, inspect the tires and brakes once in a while, and make sure the lights work.

The beauty of owning is it's readily available whenever you need it. I plan on towing my Jeep as often as possible.