Do you own a trailer....

[sandrandave]

or if not what is your dream trailer?

We re in the market for a trailer, we would use it mainly for the purpose of house renos. So we would need it to store tools, taking crap to the dump, gardening stuff, loading stuff on eg doors etc.

We are after something bigger than the 6x4, with higer sides than normal, but you can get about a hundred million other things for trailers too! eg toolmans trailer, tilt, brakes, etc etc.

What do you like about your trailer or what do you want in a trailer?

sandra
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[bennylaird]

Basic geometry ok for a trip to the tip. Mine is a 7 x 5 and all I need do to empty it at the recycling pit is undo it, push it to the edge and lift. Everything slides out nice. Has a drop down wheel at the front. Can't remember what they are called. Worth it's weight in Huon pine lol.

Jockey wheel!

[rod1949]

I've just built one for near enough the same reasons you have stated. The details are via this link.

http://www.woodworkforums.ubeaut.com.au/showthread.php?t=21592&highlight=trailer

[Gaza]

My dream trailer, hey its beat backing the thing and easy to unload.

[Grunt]

I actually have the best trailer. It's my next door neighbours and I can borrow it anytime I want.

[scooter]

Swing up jockey wheel with spring release is the go, quick & easy.

Decent lights, not festoon globed rubbish.

Couple of thoughts.


Cheers................Sean

[JDub]

Swing up jockey wheel with spring release is the go, quick & easy.



Yep, agree that they are a must....... sooooo much easier

IMO I would go for a 7x5 or similar, they are a good medium size and pretty useful for most jobs. 6x4 is too small, cant even fit a cubic metre of mulch etc in them...

[Wildman]

I am getting one made at the moment, my main criteria is that the internal dimensions take a full 8x4 sheet of plasterboard, ply, melamine etc. Most of the 8x4's are 8x4 external, not internal dimensions. I dont want an 8x5 as my driveway is too narrow and it looks far too wide behind my VW Golf. I would have liked a tandem but settled on a single axle with brakes so I can tow to 1300KG rather than the unbraked 750KG. I just have to be careful how I load it to keep weight off the towball. I would also not consider one without a jockey wheel.

I saw a nice one on ebay (still current I think) that tilted from near the axle and could touch the ground, would make unloading mulch etc easy but may not be as strong.

Cheers
Ben

[sandrandave]

Thanks for the tips,

So far we have decided on the single axle with brakes. Just the size is the question. Seems the 4 or 5 foot is the way to go.... will tell hubby re the size of plareboard etc. And how to modify/make a box thingy for the tools.

I can't believe that you can buy a trailer without a jockey wheel.... how bizzaar!

Sandra

[Pulpo]

Having recently rebuilt a crappy 2nd hand trailer I could fill many pages.

My ideal trailer would be
7*5
have hydraulic tipper ability
with electric brakes
single axle,
15 inch [or match car tyres],
8 leaf springs,
electric brakes,
rubber block [treg hitch],
Removeable cage.
light globes [not festoons]
plenty of tie down areas.
2mm floor flat sheet

Approx cost $5000.

Go for cable brakes over hydraulic if not electric.

Not that I own the above trailer but would like to.

Good luck with your purchase.

Quality pays, I have had parts made by very well known trailer manufacturers that were dreadful, that were too well priced.

Pulpo

[seanr]

I bought an 8x5 2 yrs ago . Bloody great . Brand new wasnt much more than second hand , spare wheel ,jockey wheel ,extra depth, heavy duty springs, single axle as i need to move it by hand often , 12 months lic . All up cost $1350

[soundman]

Go at least 1260mm internal width.
Having drop down front & rear gates is great. less than eight foot then isn't a problem. drop your sheets of ply or whatever & then two ratchet tiedowns over the ends. great.
I have one trailer with electric brakes & they are a beautifull thing as long as you get a good dynamic controller, energex specify the tenconcha, but I've heard good reports about the hayman reece.
Be carefull about weight, particularly if you have a smaller car.
A heavy floor or a heavy canopy can rob you of masses of payload.
Welded sheet steel canopies are easy to manufacture but heavy as hell.
A small light trailer is a beautifull thing. I have a 4'6" x 5'6" that weighs about 150kg and I use it all the time carting stacked sheets of ply and big speaker boxes.
Get a long draw bar, much better to pull and reverse.
Make sure the builder gets his geometry right.

A good tralier will outlast may towing vehicles. I've had my small trailer for over 20 years & I wont part with it. A bloke needs a trailer.

Make sure the wiring is good & heavy not the spindly stuff they usualy use.
Lots of people have commented on how bright my trailer lights are. It's a long way to the back of your trailer.

Don't be stingy on the tyres.

cheers

[savage]

G'Day All,

I have a 6 x 4 TUZA trailer, unbraked, (they make horse floats), jockey,( wheel spare on drawbar(over), toolbox (under, old viet war ammo box) heavy steel, bullet proof even...Ha!Ha!...Made deep box sides and double doors, with a vinyl roof held on with bungie cord, as for tyres I opted for light truck this with the torsion suspension of the horse float axle is a neat and tidy solid unit has carried 1 1/4 tonne no problem but on the road I stay near the legal limits.
savage(Eric):)

[dazzler]

Hi

My thoughts are 7 x 4. Very light guage material for the box section, 450mm sides (normally 300mm I think).

Stud pattern to match the car you drive so you dont have to carry a spare.

New tyres and rims to suit. Most you get are from the wreckers and god knows whats up with them.

Build a ply 8'1" x 4'1" flat top that sits on the trailer for carrying sheet goods.

Slipper leaf springs.

I always laugh at the camping shows where they have camper trailers made of tread (chequer) plate. you really need tread plate mudguards (:rolleyes: )Not!.

I have had two Resort Trailers from Queanbeyan NSW. Both 7 x 4 lightweight and did up two houses and heaps of firewood with no probs whatsoever.

L I G H T W E I G H T ;)


cheers


dazzler

[Iain]

Mine is 11'9" long (interior), covered, 8' high inside, weighs 920kg, electric brakes with a Tekonsha Prodigy proportioning controller in the car, tandem axle, LED lights and clearance lights, big window at front, Huge drop down tailgate, takes anything I want to pick.
Forgot to add, the horses ride in it too :D :D
Cost=about the same as a new Hyundai.

[scooter]

If you go with the aforementioned spring loaded swing down jockey wheel, consider getting it mounted inside the draw bar, I have done this with mine, haven't found a disadvantage (yet) and it lets you not worry when jacknifing the trailer either side.

If you end up going for an 8 x 4, ensure it will fit 2440 x 1220 mm inside, some sheets are still actually 8' x 4', not 2400 x 1200 mm.

HTH..........cheers..............Sean

[journeyman Mick]

After having owned inumerable trailers, some of which were bought 2nd hand and the rest were freebies and having spent a lot of valuable time patching and repairing them my most important consideration would be rust resistance.

I finally built a trailer from scratch in 2000. All from galvanised stock. All the welds were painted liberally (after wire buffing) with a heavy cold Gal primer.. The floor is a full sheet of hardwood exterior ply which was liberally coated with epoxy on the underside and then glued into place with sikaflex. It gets a floodcoat of decking oil about twice a year. The trailer is still as good as the day I built it. Idecided against a gal steel floor as eventually the gal gets scratched enough for it to rust.

Mick

[Pulse]

The point about tyres and wheels is a good one. I overtook 2 semis and the blew a tyre (retread) while carrying a load of tiles. Lucky to get off the road safely. Bent the crap out of the mudguard when it delaminated and the whole trailer wobbles a bit now. Luckily the stud pattern was the same as the car! and luckily I had my socket set on the trailer also since the nuts were a different size than the car spanner.

Luck everywhere really

Pulse

[soundman]

Take a drive on any of our major highways on any weekend you are sure to see a trailer stranded with some sort of wheel/tyre problem.
cheers