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Building a trailer II
EW, I have never seen the stickers you refer to, and there are a lot of Big Tex trailers around here.
I got this from their website: Big Tex produces trailers from three separate manufacturing facilities, one of which is located in the East Texas city of Mt. Pleasant and the other two located in the West Texas Midland-Odessa area.
I'm not here to promote Big Tex, I've seen others that I thought were better built. But they do sell a lot, and the point I was making is that for the money, it is seldom possible for a man to build his own for what he can buy one for. All because of the power of mass purchasing.
Mark
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Building a trailer II
Thanks for all the info guys- I don't know if I will try this or not.
Mobilus- I have run the numbers twice now with diffent materials and options- buying from Northern tool, I think I would come in at 20% -30% higher than I would if I bought a trailer just right down the street. Everything adds up where it's suppose to be until you get to the axels, brakes and wheels.
I do have one other option- I could have the trailer company do the frame, axels, wheels and lights- (just enough to make it road worthy) and than I could finish it up. If I took that route I would probably avoid everything this board was about. I hope everybody could forgive me.
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Building a trailer II
Mobilus these were in Mississippi at a dealer I was looking at. The sals person gave he speil about being made in America and I about choked when plain as day there was white sticker about 2" x 3/4" "Made in Mexico". She thought it was mislabled but we checke several at sure enough...
They are pretty decent quality for the money.
Chris, we're not here to deter you from building it. And nobody's gonna even care if you do. We were just sittin' 'round the fire and you brought it up and asked for opinions. No harm done, bud.
And Northern Tool used to be the cheap way to go--25 years ago when it was called Northern Hydraulics. Not cheap anymore. In fact they are higher on nearly all the stuff I need. And even more when you add shipping. I've even bought LED traler light sfrom TSC that were cheaper than what I found on eBay and Northern. So look for deals if that's what you're after.
BTW, when I upgraded my 7500lb car hauler to 10,000lb. axles, tires, wheels, springs, etc. it ran me over $1600 and I did the work myself and bought them from a buddy who owns a trailer supply house (retail and wholesale) the price I got was "jobber" which is in between retail and wholesale. I sold that trailer for $1200 and paid $800 originally so I took a $1200 loss. This time around I bought a 12,000GVW for $3200.
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Building a trailer II
Speeking of trailers... I have a question which I'm sure will get a wide range of answers- what size vehicle/ engine for towing a CUT- hypothetically let's say a tractor that comes in at 3000#s, and a 16 foot trailer. Could a Dodge Dakota with a 4.7L V8 pull this set up? (This is the same powerplant that a lot of 1500's have.)
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Building a trailer II
CAREFULLY. The problem is not getting the load started, it is getting it stopped. Trailer brakes!!!!!
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Building a trailer II
Chris the easy answer is: check your Owner's Manual for trailer towing specs. The big thing that will limit your towing ability is the hitch: will it be a "bumper pull"--literally a hitch ball on the bumper or will you be using a reciever hitch? In either case "can" and "should" are the $6M question. Other variables to towing are 4x4 vs 2wd, regular cab versus extended, long box vs short box, axle(s) gear ratio, how many passengers, the gear or "stuff" you carry around with you, etc., etc. Basically for smaller vehicles and even up to some 3/4 tonners, the truck is rated for pulling up to a certain amount of weight. SO the less you and the truck weigh the more you can tow. Regardless of how you "stack" it, that's the limit---if you have a truck that's laden to the gills with stuff and passengers--add up all that and subtract that from the rate towing capacity---that is the weight you can tow safely. Anything above that and you could have poor fuel economy/performance, braking as Hardwood suggested, and unnecessary wear and tear to other vehicle components like the frame flexing; steering parts wearing out; drivetrain issues--trans, engine, axle; tire wear due to heat; springs going flat too soon, etc.
That's why I'm a proponent of buying "one size bigger than you need". That way you have a margin of safety, power, and durability--which to me is peace of mind when you strat towing big, heavy stuff.
But I'm jis' sayin'
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Building a trailer II
My suggestion would be to just purchase a new trailer. You will skirt any liability issues if you are ever in an accident and it may be cheaper in the long run. You could do some add ons like a tool box, spare tire carrier and more "D" rings, etc.
With electric brakes and on level ground you may be able to get by with the Dakota if it is occasional use and/or short distances. You will need to be real careful about weight distribution, not getting too much nor too little tongue weight on it. Myself, I wouldn't go less than a 1/2 ton for the simple reason of having more weight and a wider stance.
I've had my 3/4 ton in some scary situations pulling about the weight you are describing. I've had people turning out in front of me and cut me off and had a tire blow.
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For short local moves there's a couple of other options most people never think of.....
First, if the moves are short and very seldom, a tilt & load tow truck is a great option, especially for things like trips to the dealer for service. Load it up and hand the driver the keys in an envelope with your name & number written on it. No need to do anything but speak to the dealer on the phone, no trip required if you don't want to or don't have the time.
The other option is to just drive the tractor there. I road my machine back and forth to my airport all the time, it's about a half hour drive one way. I started doing it because I had 2 stops to make along the way to do 5 minute jobs at friends places, then realized I wasn't really saving any time by trailering it. By the time I hook up to the float, pull it out into the yard and load, chain the machine up, drive to the airport and unload, it still took a half hour!
Best of luck.
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