Enclosed Trailer Shopping

#1

If this has already been covered in another thread let me know. Life is hard with ADD.

I have looking for enclosed trailers in the $5k-$7k range since the deal for the open traile fell through. I have been looking at racingjunk and craigslist and there are lots of choices.

How important is brand? I have been looking at used Pace, Haulmark, and Wells Cargo nothing over 7 yrs old. Is it worth looking at new nonpremium/off brands? If so what are some good ones availible in the southeast? What are the brands to run away from

How important is 8ft wide vrs 8.5ft wide? 24ft seems to be the sweet spot but is 20ft ok? Im definately looking at 5k axles. What to look for in interior finish?

Any other words of wisdom?

#2

Before buying my Pace 24’, I started a similar thread asking questions on BF.C. There’s some good commentary there, so I’ll link directly to the thread:

http://forums.bimmerforums.com/forum/showthread.php?t=1498650

Personally, I would spend extra to go with a known good brand such as the ones you mention.

#3

You want 8.5 ft wide.

This goes for anyone pulling a trailer, a big thing people pay not attention to is bearings. When you’re pulling it load (unloaded too), stop and touch each of the wheel hubs. If you can’t hold your hand on it because it’s so warm, you have a bearing issue. I do it everytime I fill the truck with gas. They are easy to work on, but not on the side of the road after you smoked one. Also remember having the axle nut too loose is better than too tight.

#4

You get what you pay for in trailers. I have had many, and towed more, and the cheap trailers are built cheap for a reason. I have seen them wear out tires quickly, the screws start to pop out that hold the inside panels, and they do not age well. Go for a Pace, Haulmark, Featerlite, etc.

#5

wanna buy mine? http://forums.bimmerforums.com/forum/showthread.php?t=1721026

#6

look on racingjunk.com. i picked up my 09 28’ Haulmark Race Trailer for 7k last year.

#7

http://inventory.leonardtrailers.com/inventory.aspx?category=Enclosed%20Car%20Trailer

#8

[quote=“barkerdm” post=63797]You want 8.5 ft wide.

This goes for anyone pulling a trailer, a big thing people pay not attention to is bearings. When you’re pulling it load (unloaded too), stop and touch each of the wheel hubs. If you can’t hold your hand on it because it’s so warm, you have a bearing issue. I do it everytime I fill the truck with gas. They are easy to work on, but not on the side of the road after you smoked one. Also remember having the axle nut too loose is better than too tight.[/quote]

Nice tip. I hadn’t thought to do that. I killed bearings on my first two hauls with my new/used trailer. I then replaced the bearings and haven’t had issues since. I figure they were probably installed too tight. This also reminds me. If my tires have a max PSI rating of 50 psi and I have dual 3500 lb axles hauling my SpecE30, what kind of tire pressure should I run in the tires? I’m about to put a new set of tires on the trailer, and my original set of cheap no names that came on the trailer did not wear every well/evenly.

#9

I run 45psi on my open trailer and have pretty even tire wear. But regardless of what I do a set of tires only lasts one season.

#10

I don’t think I can touch the axles with the electric brakes on them. If I turned the brake controller down enough that they aren’t doing all the work then I wouldn’t be able to make an emergency stop. I’m thinking of upgrading to a brake controller with accelerometers but I’m not sure how well they work. Mine just turns on when I apply the brakes and ramps up to the percentage I have it set at which is usually 55 with it loaded.

#11

I’ve heard to always run trailer tires at 50 psi.

#12

You’re not touching the drum when checking bad bearings, just the hub. When the bearings go bad it’s so hot you can’t keep your hand on it. Unless you just went down a mountain heat from the brakes isn’t going to factor in much.

Through away that ‘timing controller’! Yes they are simple and rarely fail, but I feel they are unsafe. My family used to sell towing equipment for 30 years and would never sell those controller. Problem is when you are in a panic stop situation they just ramp-up. Truck stopping faster than trailer causes jack-knifes and bad things. Spend the money and buy a motion sensor controller, whether it’s the old school swinging pendulum style or the new accelerometers. If you have a 97 or newer Ford, 99 or newer GM, or Toyota truck, they are literally plug and play. Dodges too, just can’t remember when they started copying Ford. Check-out etrailer.com.

#13

Unless you tow quite a bit, your axles might not be straight with one another.

I run 45psi too when the max cold is 50. Just check them every so often. Lug nuts too.

#14

Depends on the load rating and max cold pressure of the type of tire you are using. For example, my “load range D” tires have a max PSI of 65, and I usually run them at 60 cold.

#15

Does anyone know anything about ProLine trailers? They are sold out of Indiana and Boones Mill VA