ATV Trailer needed, what do you think of this?

[Matt93eg]

Hey everyone,

I have been searching for quite some time and going through specs on the various ATV trailers out there, I have already read through most all the various forum threads out there on this subject.

The goal is I have lots of firewood I need to gather from the woods and get to my new wood shed I just built. I will be navigating ATV trails and all and dealing with rough ground and hills. My ATV is a 2000 Honda Rancher 350 4x4, outside rear fender to outside rear fender is roughly 44 1/2 inches. I need to keep the trailer as close to that as I can. Basically I have pretty much narrowed it down to the Polar 1400 mesh trailer with the single axle. Its already 51 inches wide overall. The Tandem is more than that so its out of the picture. Northern tool currently has the 1400 mesh single axle in stock and on sale for $430.00. Comes with the 5 year warranty but who knows how warranty work would really turn out if I needed it. I was about to just go ahead and go bite the bullet and go pick one up when I decided I had not checked craigslist or facebook for anything that might be out there. Turns out there is a guy about 30 mins from me building ATV trailers. The tires sit inside to keep the stance narrower. The specs on this trailer is 4ft x 6ft cargo space but the inboard fenders rob some of that. Overall dimensions are 73 3/4"L x 51"W x 17"H. Total length with tongue and hitch is 101 3/4". A bit log but only 9" over the polar 1400.
It has 22” x 11” x 8” low pressure tires on it. Axle info says 1 ½” square steel tubing with high speed wheel bearings and hubs. Constructed of: .095 x 1” steel tubing with 1” angle upper rails and expanded steel bed. I think everything could be good with it except it just looks kinda flimsy. Wanted yalls opinion on it. He has them listed for $699.00 plus tax. Here are some pictures. Oh for weight rating he just says the tires are rated at 680 pounds combined and could get more weight capacity with different tires and apparently the trailer itself weighs 186 pounds. What do yall think of it? The axle seems it would be beefy and tires ok but the rest just looks real small. But what do I know.

 

[EatenByLimestone]

How much ground clearance will that have once it’s loaded up? It looks pretty low now. Low trailers may be fine for yard work, but once you start pulling through what I picture as rough terrain you’ll be digging it in all over the place. The approach angles for the wheels suggest fairly low dips will ground it out when empty. There’s a reason your quad has its wheels pushed all the way to the corners with little overhang.

Approach and departure angles - Wikipedia

en.m.wikipedia.org

680lbs max - 180lbs trailer- tires (guessing another 80lbs) is about 400lbs of load capacity. That picture is showing way more than 400lbs of wood in the trailer.

That all might be fine, I’d just want to make sure your expectations match what the trailer will do.

Here are a couple pics of Bantam trailers made for Jeeps in WWII. They show what the Army felt it needed needed for off road trailers rated for 1/4 ton or 500lbs. It’s a fine line raising center of gravity for the load and ground clearance. Width of the axle factors into this too as you don’t want your load tugging you sideways down a hill.

 

[Newbie78]

Nope.

Relying on expanded metal for the floor of a bush trailer to carry heavy loads and be impervious to damage from above and below is utterly ridiculous. That wouldn't last me 10 minutes before I damaged it. Well, maybe a week..

not to mention the dust and stuff coming right through your cargo.

nope.

perhaps it would be serviceable with a plywood or board bottom. Lose the expanded metal. Add a little structure for torsional rigidity at the tongue and it might be pretty good.

overall, it appears pretty light duty to me, but there's definitely potential there..

oh, and lose the ball-hitch setup. All you need is a pin hitch. A slightly loose-fitting pin so there's some side-to-side rolling allowed.

 

[zrock]

i have had no issues with my expanded mesh trailer and have had it for 10 years.. Make sure that he has welded the mesh to every cross member on the trailer, mine from factory had missed a few x members and they started to twist so i twisted them back and welded them.. If you go with the custom trailer i would have the guy put a small lift in it to give you more ground clearance. Also look up off road trailer hitches and build yourself one they make a huge difference, no matter how bad the terrain i do not feel it on my machine as the trailer or machine can twist in any direction and it will not effect the trailer or machine. I built mine out of some old joints out of a can am front a arm and some 3/4 or 1" threaded bar.. with a standard trailer hitch in a off road situation you only have so much movement before you run out and it will start pushing the machine around.

 

[Matt93eg]

Thank you all for the opinions and insight. I thought it looked low as well. I have some ditch crossings and all and it looks like it would bottom on that easily. I think he may have a good thing going with the 1 1/2" axle and all but the rest looks iffy. The top rails are just L shaped angle metal. Only .095" thick so seems it would be pretty flimsy and all, seems it would atleast need to be square tubing.

I went ahead and pulled the trigger on a Polar 1400 yesterday . Single axle as the dual is just way to wide. Northern tool has it on sale 40$ off at 430.00. I found a promo code for an additional 20 off so I got it for 410 plus tax. I picked it up yesterday, had other things to do but got it all out of the box yesterday evening and it seems very strongly made. I plan to throw a piece of plywood down in the bottom to help protect the mesh but the mesh is much thicker than I am used to seeing and it's got lots of welds on it. We will see how it holds up. I have high hopes. I have a lot of wood, mainly oak to haul up so it will be getting a workout.

 

[EatenByLimestone]

Let us know how it works!

 

[sirlight]

I have the Polar 1500 and it works great for firewood. Since it is plastic, not need to worry about rust or dents. Very maneuverable. The 1500 holds almost as much as 1400. No matter what one you choose, I would recommend adding a bolt on ball hitch.

 

[Matt93eg]

Hopefully it will hold up. I'll be able to park it in garage with ATV so at least it won't be sitting in the elements.

Good to hear on the 1500. Yep I actually went today and bought a coupler to use with my 2" ball. Seems a solid connection would be better plus the pin was smaller than the hole the ball goes into so I could see it wallering that hole out over time. Trailer is hooked up to the ATV. Fitted an old plastic milk crate I had to the front rack and have my gas and bar oil in there. 390XP is strapped to the back rack along with my little tool box so after work tomorrow of nothing happens will be the maiden voyage.

 

[zrock]

you want to build one of these hitches.. makes a world of difference. The section going into the square tube is threaded rod so this hitch can go a full circle and never bind.. If you go to your local shops they usually have a old A arm you could gut apart to get the bushing end. I had most of the stull laying around so all i had to buy was the threaded rod..

 

[Matt93eg]

Zrock that is very neat. I am going to have to look into that.

With that said, I got out 4 loads of red oak out today. Trailer did fine so far. 22" bar on the 390 looks a tad weird but she rips. Normally run a 28 but this 22 helping me keep it out of the dirt a bit easier.

 

[xman23]

I am not a fan of those mesh floors put in many trailers. I'm sure it won't hold up to much abuse. And how do you haul dirt and gravel. The ground clearance may be an issue, The balloon are great for the woods. I have them on a much smaller Ohio steel with a plastic body,

 

[zrock]

I am not a fan of those mesh floors put in many trailers. I'm sure it won't hold up to much abuse. And how do you haul dirt and gravel. The ground clearance may be an issue, The balloon are great for the woods. I have them on a much smaller Ohio steel with a plastic body,

not sure about for a work trailer but i love my mesh floor in my atv hauling trailer.. Once i fixed the factory weld job it has been great and holding up well. I have had wood deck trailers and really hated them, unless you put a coating on them they were slippery and rot

 

[Matt93eg]

I agree I usually don't like mesh, the trailer in my original post, the mesh on it and everything looks really flimsy. The polar trailer I bought so far I am surprised. The mesh is thicker than most I have seen and its welded in all the areas it should be. I don't throw wood in, I lay it in, really should put a piece of plywood in the bottom just to help protect it. But as far as gravel and dirt hauling it wouldn't be hard on the polar to put wood floor and sides on it.

 

[mcdougy]

I made my on trailer to use for firewood hauling. I used the OEM rims and tires off my atv. I put the trailer deck above the tire. It's a dump trailer as well. The challenge was to make an axle that would fit the Honda bolt pattern. I just made my own live axle. Works great. The trailer tires following the atv tires is key for me, especially when pulling loads thru the snow.

 

[Osage]

I am not a fan of those mesh floors put in many trailers. I'm sure it won't hold up to much abuse. And how do you haul dirt and gravel. The ground clearance may be an issue, The balloon are great for the woods. I have them on a much smaller Ohio steel with a plastic body,

I have a 4x5 Carry On trailer with a mesh floor. I just cut a piece of 3/4" plywood to put on the floor.

 

[duramaxman05]

Here is one of mine. 4x6. Has a boat axle and used to have those little skinny tires on it. I put wide lawnmower tires on golf cart rims. Makes going across a soft yard easy now. I also have a factory built 4x6 with 2000lb axle and suspension and 15in tires I pull with out pioneer. Works good running down the road with it.

 

[Osage]

Here is one of mine. 4x6. Has a boat axle and used to have those little skinny tires on it. I put wide lawnmower tires on golf cart rims. Makes going across a soft yard easy now. I also have a factory built 4x6 with 2000lb axle and suspension and 15in tires I pull with out pioneer. Works good running down the road with it.

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You'd save some trips if you would fill that trailer up.