enclosed trailers
 

A NOTE TO PEOPLE LOOKING AT THE CHEAP TRAILERS FROM GA. LOOK AT THEM REAL GOOD BECAUSE SOME OF THEM ARE JUNKS AND SCREWED UP MESSES THAT WHERE JUST THROWED TOGETHER . PNLS ARE BOWED , NOT LEVEL AND THE FRAMES ARE NOT THAT STRONG LOOKING AT ALL. BEWARE IF IT'S CHEAP PRICED THEN QUESS WHAT IT'S A CHEAP BILT TRL.

Back to the old saying!!!! "You get what you pay for"

As a dealer for a couple of those Georgia manufacturers it never ceases to amaze me as to how many people think they are buying a Cadillac at a Kia price. These trailers are meant to fit the low budget racer and weekend user. That being said, they are far from junk. I have sold hundereds of these trailers and have had far less problems out of them than I had when I was selling a "premium" brand. The frames are 6" I-beam (that is doubled over the wheel wells) with crossmembers and sideposts on 16" centers. On 28' trailers the frame is doubled from front to back. All trailers have triple tube tongues. I have no doubt that there are a few bad apples out there and I hate that someone on this forum may have gotten one of them. Everyone should get what they pay for regardless how much or how little they may have spent. If anyone would like honest answers to your trailer questions, I can be contacted at [email protected] or 800-326-3038.

Re: enclosed trailers
 

Lets not be mean to Ga.lol
I've seen plenty of bowed panels on high dollar trailers too.
Are you a mechanical engineer? I'm sure the trailers are strong enough for their weight rating.
I agree some trailers look better than others even when they're the same model, but it's so true that you get what you pay for. An inexpensive trailer may not be what you need for your application, but just what someone else needs / can afford..

Agree with many of the above statemants but note there is no fit all trailer.
Would you pull your car with a trailer meant for lawn service?
If your trailer has a 1-7/8 ball, load it with pine straw. If it's a 2-5/16 or gooseneck, load 'er up!

Dave

they just dont make them like they used to,unless you pay more for it !!!!! :lol:

I live near what most call trailer capital USA in Elkhart IN, I've took a look around a lot of places over there, I wouldnt own a few big name trailers at all, you look at 25-30 they have sitting there half of them are nice half of them look like crap ! I purchased a no name trailer years back, to this date the best trailer I had purchased.

I can agree with you about getting what you paid for. I have been looking at buying a trailer from a local builder in my area, it is more money but, the quality is 2nd to none. They buiild them the old fashion way, 1 at a time. I want an empty trailer so I can wire and plumb it myself. It will go back to them for insulation and to have the walls inside put in. Getting to deal direct is the way to go.

not just that but i called them and the funny thing was there was no 24 footer's for 3800 as advertised daily but they had one's for 4300 lol I think the Ad's are a scam too just to try to real you in Ill bet Nobody ever got one for the price on the Ad

I have personally dealt with some of the trailer manufacturers in GA, because some of my customers bought into the "great trailer for a cheap price". One of them was a VHB trailer, which means it has no exterior screws. By the time he got it back to Oklahoma, 3 of the side panels had fallen off because the trailer wasn't prepped properly for the 3m tape.

At first, we thought the company was going to stand behind their product and make things right. My customer and I both talked to them and they were going to ship the skins and pay for my shop to do the work. 2 weeks later the skins came in damaged, which were signed off damaged on the load slip. Next thing you know they are crawfishin' on the deal and said that was all they were wiling to do. Never sent anymore skins, and wouldn't pay for the repairs.

Customer said not to worry about it, that he was going to go the legal route. That's all we ever heard about it.




There are also a lot of "big name" trailer companies that have been bought out. After the buy-out, they have been cheapened up, kept at the same price, and are basically being sold on a popular name because that all most of the general public buys off of.

[email protected]

Recommendations..?
 

Ok then... all you trailer experts... I am looking for a worthy enclosed hauler for my dirt modified weekend warrior to the local race tracks. I don't need anything fancy, but the highways out here where I live are HORRIBLE with bumps and potholes and very rough bumps. It is going to get dirty and scratched up and abused in some people's eyes, but I just want a durable and secure enclosed to keep the theives and weather off my stuff while I am away from it. So what brand should I look for, and at what kind of price for a 26 to 28 footer?

Well I can tell you that I have a Featherlite Horse trailer that rides smooth and pulls really nice behind my truck. It is a gooseneck. Also you want ot make sure that the trailer you pick has tortion axles. They will ride smoother thru the bumps.

Ok, thanks Dirka, that's a start, now I got another question for you...?
I have heard argument both ways on this... some say the gooseneck is the smoothest easiest-on-your-truck-and-driving pull ever... some say (especially the horse trailer pullers) that the goosenock will jerk your head and neck around back and forth on bumpy roads like you are on a roller coaster ride...?
I have been leaning towards a goosneck for the manueverability and mobility and extra deck space up top, but it is hard to find a goose in 26' to 28' to 30' anywhere within half a continent from me...?
I have a single axle Dodge 2500 Ram V10 with the 8800 GVW tow package, so the truck can pull it, but the 32' tag I use to have overpowered the handling on these rough roads... even with equalizer and stabilizer... scared the shyt out of me...! If I get a 32' goose will I find a WORLD of difference from the tag? Thanks, Jim

To be honest I have pulled gooseneck and bumper pull trailers and the smoothest was the gooseneck. The reason why it is smoother is that it hooks up right above the axle so it doesnt put anymore stress on the suspension. The bumper pull trailers are hooked all the way in the back and stresses out the suspension more. I dont know if you have noticed looking at trucks with the diff trailers the ones with the bumper pulls are pretty much slammed on the rrearend unless they have overweight springs on them. I pulled my horse trailer thru Oklahoma on I-40. That is the roughest interstate that I have ever driving on with potholes everywhere and the times I was in the left hand lane it was still smoother and didnt whip me around inside the cab. Now with a bumper pull it would have prolly been all over the road due to the holes becuase as the trailer goes up it is also pulling the backend of the truck up and when it goes back down it pushes the back of the truck down too.

Also as the trailer sways it doesnt really affect the truck either. With hauling horses they will move around and with my goosneck I hardly felt them move. Only when they were really moving around when we were stopped did I feel the truck move. I saw the trailer swaying as I was going down the round and like I said it didnt effect the truck that much.

Also, my horse trailer is around 40' long from the front of the nose to the back of the trailer. Also Yes you will notice a big difference between a bumper pull and a gooseneck as far as handling of your truck. I pull with a 2005 F350 Crewcab Dually Diesel jusst for the fact that it is more stable for hauling horses. There are ALOT of people that haul horses with single rear rears to and they pull a gooseneck with no issues either.

Where do you live?? I can help find a place close to you if you want.

Trailer
 

I have all three styles, fifth, goose & tag. Tag is scary sometimes. Goose is a pain in the @ss to hook up but tows fantastic. Now if you want to back up and in 30 seconds be pulling away, go fifth wheel hitch. I personally have the B&W Turnover Ball system for goose and bought the B&W Companion hitch for the fifth wheel and it is the best towing ever. I pulled through the bad roads in Texas and barely knew the trailer was there. Keep in mind that with length you lose 8 feet of floor space for it being a goose or fifth. You have upper storage, but be careful of needed floor space.

Ok Dirka... I am down in Carlsbad (southeast) New Mexico desert where there are huge stretches of absolutely nothing but cattle ranches and oilfield patches. NM176 to my IMCA dirt track in Eunice, NM is a two lane cow trail that somebody thought would be fun to paint black and call it a highway. When you come upon a water hauler or oil transporter the only thing you can do is close your eyes and hope for the best as you hang your right side trailer tires off the tore up roadway edge into the sand berm. Then if the very common 50 mph wind is blowing across you... well, you better be on real good terms with God!
I have the heavy overload spring package and gas shocks added to my truck, and it rides like a cement truck! I know what you say about the bouncing on the back, and sometimes that makes it even worse for loss of control. I almost turned over my new 32' Pace Daytona Special a couple times because of all the above factors. I finally sold it and went back to my smaller Big Tex open trailer with a small tool box on the front of it, and the rest of my gear in the truck bed... but it is such a pain loading and unloading every weekend! I want my enclosed trailer back...
Well, the State is finally starting to widen and rebuild a 30+ mile stretch of that horrible NM176, and they have about five miles of it done already. I also want a good enclosed that I can pull over the Guadalupe Mountains El Paso Gap south down 62-180 to El Paso TX Speedway, and Southern NM Speedway in Las Cruces. That mountain pull and cross winds require dropping down into second gear on any truck to get over the biggest peaks.

blownalky3... why is a goose any harder to hitch up than a tag? On a tag it is a pain rigging up the equalizer and sway all the time. It seems to me a fifth hitch would be cumbersome and take up a lot of your bed space, unless I get a removable hitch setup. I understand about the space shift, but I will mostly haul my short open wheel modified race car and only need about another 10' of garage area, so the loft will serve to store parts and supplies to leave the garage area more open. I haven't seen any smaller race trailers with a 5th setup...? Most of them are goose.
Ok, so goose it is, now what brand is the heaviest duty?
Jim

Ok I can answer part of that question about goosenecks and fifth wheels trailers.

They are pretty much the sam ething. Except that the gooseneck goes over the ball like a bumper hitch is. The fifth wheel slides into and locks in a lil "wheel" type fitting. So ity is easier to hook up and disconnect. They are the same other than that. I believe you can even get an adaptor for a fifth wheel for a gooseneck trailer.

I will do some shopping around in lower NM for trailers.

Styles
 

Dirka is correct. I want to hook up my goose I back up to hopefully the right spot. Get out and lower the trailer either by elictric or manual to down on the ball. Hook up chains etc and go. Fifth just back up, it couples and you put a clip through the locking bar and lift the legs and go. My companion hitch is the kind that comes in and out if you want in about 3 min. Same ride per se just way faster to hook and go with the 5th set up. The 5th has a little cusion to it as well that the goose does not. It is able to rock a bit side to side without moving the truck.

Re: Styles
 

You know I have gotten really good at hooking my gooseneck up. If I position myself just right when I am backing up and can see the ball and the hitch and line then up. So all I would have ot do is lower the trailer, hook the chains, and hook up the lights and go. The fastest I have done it was about 3 mins total.

Here is a site for a farm and ranch place that sell trailers. It is in Roswell I dont know if that is too far for you or not. I do know that featherlite has enclosed car haulers that range from 20'-45'. I say give them a call and see what they are asking for the size that you want. It wont hurt.


http://www.roswelllivestock.com/trailers.htm

Thanks guys... I appreciate the info. I was aware of a lot of this info already, but thought I would ask other user's experienced opinions for further reference. Since the original post was opend up as a "caution/beware" topic, I figured I could get some good feedback on what to steer clear of. I didn't mean to hijack this thread or steer in a different direction...

I am strongly leaning towards getting a different primary transportation vehicle for everyday use, and leaving my truck hitched up to whichever new enclosed trailer I wind up with, so I can just fire up and go.

I am familiar with Roswell Livestock just up the road about an hour, but I don't think they stock any enclosed race trailers, only horse and hay haulers. I am not sure I can afford a Featherlite this time around, even though I beleive it is the best of the best...

I watch this RJ site and eBay for all the listings, and what I have seen lately are prices "too-good-to-be-true", so I am really leary and hesitant.
I know the price of steel and labor has not gone down, so how are they selling these enclosed trailers in GA so cheap?

So, now I have heard the argument both ways about quality control and design, and still unsure about who to seek out and who not to. I really loved my Pace American Daytona Special, and wish I had it back, but it was way too much trailer for me... at least in a bumper-pull tag-along.

I will keep watch on this thread to see if anyone else throws in their two-cents on cautions and bewares... thanks, Jim

Now I believe Hallmark is another good trailer company too. I choose Featherlite due to their horse trailers being better than others.

You say that the Featherlite dealer in Roswell has horse/stock trailers on the lots they should have at least booklets on enclosed trailers too in the office. If you went that route you might have to wait for them to get the trailer in and that wouldnt be bad either.

I agree Dirka... I will check into that. Thanks, Jim

Oh just in case I forgot to tell you this but.......


Welcome to the site and don't be a stranger to the forums. Lots of good info here.