Looking for a trailer

[jetsam]

Hi guys:

I'm looking for a trailer to scrounge wood with (and maybe haul stuff out of the woods with occasionally). I'm not having much luck finding anything that's both reasonably priced and also not stolen on Craigslist. I'm definitely not going to build one because I'm in New York and they have insane laws about everything, including that. (Though if you tie a sheep dipping vat to the homemade trailer with a piece of string, improbably, all the restrictions go away, so I guess they have that going for them.)

Thus discouraged, I'm considering buying new.

It has to be at least 4x8 so I can haul plywood in it. It has to be street legal and able to do 55-60. (I can add lights/wiring and make removable sides for it if needed.) It needs to be pretty light (its wood scrounge tow vehicle is good for about 1000 lbs).

What do you guys have? What do you like? If I can't find anything suitable used, what's a nice cheap, light wood hauler?

Thanks!

(Edit: I feel stupid even asking this since everything I've ever bought from Harbor Freight was worse than garbage, but has anyone ever seen one of these? I am unclear as to whether the DMV would give me eternal suffering over trying to register one of those or not.)

 

[Babaganoosh]

I'd go 5 by 10 since it makes plywood or sheet rock easier to haul plus you get a little extra wood in there..even 5 by 8 if you find one. Just keep hitting craigslist. It took me 2 months to find one.

 

[trailblaster]

I picked up a tractor supply 5x8 trailer for 500 on sale. I added flooring and siding with pt plywood dry tech and then added barn doors to tailgate so I can haul a single snowmobile instead of using by big trailer. I also added two coats of paint(they rust easy if you don't add paint) and undercoating. Total cost was around $650 and it weighs 500# but can haul 1500#.

 

[gzecc]

The island is always short on items. Look at the black flatbed in huntington on CL for 750?. Could add fenders, fix it up some. offer 600! Has a title.

 

[thinkxingu]

I've owned an 8X8 snowmobile trailer since 1995. Grease up the bearings every couple years and have replaced the floor only once. Light enough to walk around by hand and strong enough to scrounge wood (2,000 lbs. capacity).

I'd check surrounding states and be willing to drive to get one.

The other thing you might look at is buying a junk pop-up trailer and deconstructing it. That would be heavier, though.

Sent from my XT1528 using Tapatalk

 

[Jags]

No input on a light duty trailer, but just a note...
You will be utterly amazed at how quickly firewood will add up to a 1000# load. If that is the limit of your tow vehicle, be cautious. It never "looks like very much". Just a note from a dude that has hauled his fair share of firewood.

 

[DickRussell]

I also bought the TSC 5x8 trailer at the $500 sale price last Thanksgiving. It's made by Carry-On. It has the "expanded metal" (mesh) floor and rear ramp. That ramp attachment is flawed in two ways. First, it isn't removable, as the two-piece barrel-pin hinges both face inward, welded to the frame that way. At some point, that trailer will get used to haul 10 or 12' lumber or something that wants to overhang the rear a couple of feet, and the ramp is in the way. Second, most folks lay a sheet of PT plywood (1/2 or 3/4") on the floor to keep the mesh from taking a beating. But the hinges are welded on such that the ramp will lay flat on the bed without plywood over it, and adding that plywood would make the ramp bind at the rear edge of the plywood if laid down for running without load, to minimize aerodynamic drag and noise.

When I looked into this, I found numerous videos on custom mods to this trailer. Following their lead, I had a welder cut the hinges off the frame and reattach them using trimmed pieces of angle iron, raised 3/4", and with one hinge flipped 180 degrees. He also had to raise the tabs on the side railing frame that take the pins that hold the ramp in the vertical position. Now I can get the ramp off if needed to haul long stuff, and I can lay the ramp down flat over the plywood when trailering empty or with stuff over the ramp.

 

[byQ]

Thinking outside the box - consider an old 2-horse trailer. Unintentionally, they work well for firewood because they have dual tires & they have high sides. Usually they are enclosed which would work but maybe a little more work to load. Ever had a flat on a fully loaded trailer? Dual tires will at least keep you going until you can get the flat fixed.

If I needed a trailer I might consider an older 2-horse trailer. I would probably cut the top off and remove the divide in the center of the trailer. I've seen them in $500-$900 range. They are built stronger than the average single axle trailer in that price range. I guess because people love their horses.

 

[Jags]

It sounds like a two horse trailer will be right at the weight capacity for the tow vehicle (at 1000# according to the OP).

 

[greg13]

Check some places that rent trailers in your area, you may find one of their older units for sale. I picked up a Felling FT3 (3000#) for $400. a few years ago.

 

[D8Chumley]

I was going to suggest a military M101 like I got, but it weighs 1340 lbs empty. It is a rugged trailer and can haul 2500 lbs on the road, and is tough enough to go off road. I got mine for $500ish with a PA title and it has a manual dump feature that's nice. PA DOT are pricks about getting titles for these so it took me about a year to find one already titled