Enclosed Trailer Thread,

[OCD Solutions]

Any updates?

Not really an update but I spent the better part of today working on mine. I gutted it to help my brother-in-law move and figured I'd do some maintenance on it. It was covered in mold and mildew and the rear frame support was rusting out really bad from the salt.

Turns out, the rear frame was much worse than I had thought and others with enclosed trailers need to pay attention because this trailer was bought new less than 3 years ago. I had to cut out one piece of structural steel and can hopefully salvage the other piece. Not how I wanted to spend my day...

 

[dta]

Was this just from loading wet skis?

 

[OCD Solutions]

Loading and washing out all the sand. I keep the tongue in the air and always wash out blow out the sand to the back of the ski. The joints were all sealed from new but it looks like it just trapped all the salt in there and made it worse.

I picked up a piece of reinforced galvanized steel to bolt in and an aluminum skid plate to span over it. Should have it finished tomorrow so I can get back to working on more important things.

 

[OCD Solutions]

Got a reinforced steel subframe bolted in this morning and custom cut a door sill to bridge the gap and seal the area. Still not ideal but it is better than what was there and it shouldn't rust. If it keeps going the way it is, I'll have to strip the entire back end off the trailer in a couple years and replace all of it properly. Not sure if installing this aluminum sill from new would have prevented this from happening in the first place or contributed and hid it until it was catastrophic.

My next enclosed trailer will have an aluminum frame.

 

[Waveblaster785]

Recently picked this up from a friend, hoping to keep it.

 

[Big Kahuna]

Got a reinforced steel subframe bolted in this morning and custom cut a door sill to bridge the gap and seal the area. Still not ideal but it is better than what was there and it shouldn't rust. If it keeps going the way it is, I'll have to strip the entire back end off the trailer in a couple years and replace all of it properly. Not sure if installing this aluminum sill from new would have prevented this from happening in the first place or contributed and hid it until it was catastrophic.

My next enclosed trailer will have an aluminum

Slide the rear of the skis out the back to flush. Or flush with them still on the dolly before loading. Also keep a big towel back there. Dry up any water.

 

[OCD Solutions]

The ski's have never been flushed in the trailer. And other than 2 trips to Daytona and a couple times at Jax beach, it hasn't left the driveway. I think I jammed a bunch of sand and salt up into it and just never rinsed it out properly after events like Daytona.

I wash and flush the skis in the driveway and then store them in the trailer. They usually have a decent chance to dry out in the garage before I put them away.

 

[98gti]

I'm looking for some advice, I am in the process of starting an auto transport buisness, I hope to have it running at least part time by this summer, but we'll see. I will be purchasing a 2 car enclosed trailer. I was hoping to get a bumper pull, I just prefer they way they turn over the gooseneck, I feel they follow better when making turns. I need something with at least 35' of floor space. My question is what trailers are you guys using and are you happy with them. I found a few trailers from manufaturers in GA, but the more I dig the more horror stories I read. I even have been reading bad stuff about the quality of the more well known brands. Are they all pretty much the same, are you just paying for a name more than anything? I realize the trailers in this thread are much smaller, but the build quality should be the same. Any input is appreciated.

 

[OCD Solutions]

Just like anything else, each manufacturer will have different grades of products for different jobs. Most commercial trailers will be up to the task.

I like Haulmark or Featherlite myself but check out Big Tex out of McDonough, GA.
http://www.bigtextrailerworld.com/stores/mcdonough.php

EDIT: Can't believe I forgot to mention my all time favorite trailer manufacturer; Triton. One of the most expensive but I have yet to see one I didn't like.

 

[98gti]

Thanks man, they have a nice selection, I didnt see one as large as I need available in the bumper pull. That Big Tex dealer seems to be selling for other manufacturers too, I noticed Lark, and Diamond Cargo. Those prices are in line with the other off brand companies I have been looking at, around $7000 for just a plain jane 34-36 footer. I dont expect a off brand for 7k to last as long or be as durable as a haul mark or big tex but it does need to be safe and last at least several years until I can upgrade. Im hoping I can get some feedback on these off brand trailers. I guess I just may have to drive to GA myself and check them out in person before pulling the trigger.

 

[OCD Solutions]

Big Texas trailers have been featured on the TV series Shipping Wars for the last two seasons so they must be fairly decent or maybe just a good sponsor willing to buy prime advertising... Either way, they appear to be doing the job.

Trailer price ranges are crazy. The Hallmark I purchased is considered an entry level trailer and it shows. It was cheap enough and seems to be doing the job we require of it but I already know, I would gladly part with twice as much money on the next one to get a better built trailer. As mentioned above, the next one will be a full aluminum frame.

 

[98gti]

I didnt mean anything bad towards Big Tex, they are great trailers, I was talking about the off brand that they have teamed up with. It looks like I got more homework to do. And you are right, prices are all over the place. These off brand trailer dealers all seem so shady, all these sellers bad mouth the other but the deeper you dig alot of them are conneted somehow, or have changed their names to avoid the bad rep. These sellers on ebay have good feedback but their history is selling stuff that has nothing to do with trailers, and they all come from these little crappy towns within 30 minutes of each other. I guess as the old saying goes "you get what you pay for" I may have to just start out with my 2 car open trailer until I can afford something better.

 

[RSKI]

@OCD Solutions

Have you found any with a full aluminum frame yet? The best quality trailers in my area are H&H and Interstate. Not sure if they are full aluminum frame, but I know the H&H is fully under coated with a Line-X or Rhino lining type of material. I'm in the market for one as well, so I'm curious of your findings.

 

[kurtwolff]

My old boss is a dealer here in NC for Rance Trailers, their Renegade line is full aluminum and is amazingly built. He has a 12' model that I have personally put thousands of miles on with zero complaints. They are pricey, but super nice.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[OCD Solutions]

Can't believe I forgot to mention Triton trailers in my previous post. Hands down, my favorite trailer builder.

 

[DirtKurt]

Take a look at ATC http://www.aluminumtrailer.com/?gclid=CLu7i7GojbwCFREaOgodJxMA4w They make aluminum and steel enclosed trailers. We run and maintain 5 enclosed trailers daily for 8 months of the year. The ATC will most likely be our next purchase.

 

[OCD Solutions]

Thanks for the link, I'll have to see if there's a local dealer. They all appear so similar there may not actually be a wrong answer in this particular class of trailer.

I'm moving soon so I'm going to try to leverage my moving allowance to cover a trailer upgrade.

 

[RSKI]

I like the all aluminum options you guys mentioned. What do these cost? I'm looking at $3200 to $3500 for an h&h with steel frame but very nicely under-coated. I've decided on the h&h unless I can get a triton or similar for close to $4,000.

 

[OCD Solutions]

I couldn't find much pricing info online so I'm going to hit up a couple trailer places this week. There are a ton of trailers manufactured right in this area so my pricing may be lower than others find. I know they are alot cheaper here than what I am used to up north anyways.

I have a sneaking suspicion that they are closer to $6k for an all aluminum 6x12 TA where I paid something like $2500 for my current 6x12 SA.

The closest dealer for those ATC trailers is just a couple miles from where we just had the Daytona Freeride.

 

[Jr.]

Boyer, Here it the trailer I was telling you about in Daytona
Www.aluminumtrailergroup.com.