Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunter's Campfire Car hauling trailer suggestions

I've started looking around at a new trailer. Something like the car haulers are made. Any suggestions, pictures or such? I think the tandem 3500 lb. axle setup would be fine for me.
Thanks
Jim

Jim, I dragged this one home about a month ago. I bought a 30 year old Bobcat, and needed an excuse to get a decent trailer. 18 x 83. 5200lb axles. 225/75/15 "D" range 6 lug wheels/tires. 10000lb gross. It tows well. I have put about 500 miles on it so far. It has been a good purchase. It's a Top Hat brand if that matters. I went and looked, and the hoops are D range, not C.

Big Tex is hard to beat. PJ is good too. Get as wide as you can, 18 to 20 feet is a good length. I had a Big Tex 18’x76” and hauled a few cars on it, used it for years. Sold it in ‘19. Will be looking for another one soon, and will be after a 20 footer, probably a Big Tex 10CH-20.

Of course, what you are towing with matters, trailers get heavier as they get more capable, and no need to buy a trailer that can haul more than the truck will unless your think you will be buying a more capable truck in the near future.

Stay away from unknown brands unless you look them over really well. I picked up a little 6x12 utility trailer last year, and discovered after a bit that the safety chains, while up to spec as far as chain and hook strength, were merely spot welded in place. Had they been called upon to keep a loaded trailer attached to the truck, they would have failed, and the trailer would travel wherever it happened to go, the safety chains, left hanging from the truck hitch. I remedied the problem, but you should not have to on a new trailer. Trailer was a B/R brand, by the way. Bought it from an outfit over in Licking here in MO.

Get a flat bed that can haul cars, not just a car hauler trailer.

Bruce

I like metal floors to a point. They can get slick at times, but usually never need replacing.

I really like torflex suspension. I've got a single axle 3500# I built & it tows like a dream,, empty or at near capacity. An x boss had a 10,000# tandem w/torflex & it performed the same. It is nearly 30 years old now & goin strong.

The Rolex IMO? A tilt bed Alumatrailer w/torflex suspension. $$$$. Built for life & never needing a paint job.

I borrowed an open center car hauler once that I really liked but that's all it was good for. Not like you could use it to haul dirt, gravel, or mulch...... But that might be a good thing

3500# axles have very light duty bearings. Always buy larger than what you think you need.

A car hauler

Something like what you have would be great. Thanks for the replies.

I see pickups towing these carrying a bunch of cars.

Neighbor has an older Mustang "drag racer". Turbo charged, roll cage, but still street legal. Bugged me to buy my 16' double axle flat bed, then wound up getting a used car hauler (two steel areas for the trailer bed, open center). Turned out he was glad he did.

Snapped the driveshaft at the races last fall, crawled under there and replaced everything, since the center was open to allow access.

Use my flatbed to haul fire wood (two+ cords with the 30" high racks on), old tractors and whatever I need moved. Big Tex, 10,000 gross. Pulls very well. Original PT wood floor lasted about three years, exposed to the elements. Usually parked under trees out back, so it doesn't get to dry out.

Replaced it with a better grade of 2x6 PT lumber and treat it every fall.

I have a 20’ gooseneck and a 16 footer for hauling. I wish I’d have built a 20 instead of the 16.

Check out Rice Trailers. Excellent quality and value. Recommend getting a 10,000 pound capacity trailer. The 5000 pound axles are much stouter than the 3500 pound, will have brakes on both axles, uses 6 bolt 15" wheels, and the 10k trailer doesn't weigh much more than a 7k.

make sure you get a good wench for it.

I had an 18’ Big Tex with 3500 lb axles that I used and abused for years. Hauled hay, vehicles, moved several time with it etc.
broke the springs once from too many overloaded trips. Tree fell on it and crushed it last year. Bought an 18’ PJ with the 5200 lb axles to replace it. Seems like a higher quality trailer than my BigTex was. I’d have gone with the 7k lb axles but I wanted to be able to pull it with my half ton too.


not much is handier than a flatbed trailer.

I use a 16ft two axle Big Tex to mostly haul firewood and an occasional rig up to Dodge 3500 crew cabs. Only issue was the stock biased ply tires. Life has been great since those were replaced with the heaviest loads coming in at 7,000 lbs.

I've not had issues, but I don't care for the exposed wiring one finds on most trailers. If one has plans for getting off road and out there, it would be wise to rearrange the routing and durability of that system.

Ha I forgot to mention the wiring. Yeah, I rewired mine multiple times.

If you want to spend the money, Aluma trailers are good.

"I think the tandem 3500 lb. axle setup would be fine for me."

A tandem trailer with 3500 lb. axles is a light duty trailer. The frame is made out of very thin metal and rusts easily. You can't get good heavy duty 15 in trailer tires. I bought an 18ft tandem trailer with a wide bed mainly to haul my 4 WD 3/4 ton '80 Chevy truck back and forth to the deer lease. My trailer weighs 1500 lbs. so I should only be hauling 5500 lbs. My Chevy truck weighs 5100 lbs. empty. If my Dodge diesel truck breaks down I won't be able to haul it home on this trailer. I wish I would have bought a trailer like my SIL has. It's the same physical size as my trailer it but has bigger axles/wheels, the frame is made out of heavy galvanized tempered steel and all the wiring is protected.

Big Tex trailers are good, and I agree with others about the 3500 lb. axle trailers. I would go 5k axles at least on a vehicle hauler, and at least 18 ft. if not 20. My Dodge 2500 4wd weighs 8,000 lbs,. and I was in a sweat once when I simply had to move it on a 16 ft. 7,000 lb, trailer. I would expect a Dodge 3500 dual rear wheel to weight at least that much. IMHO, the initial expense of the heavier trailer pays off in wear factors (bearings, etc.) and peace of mind going down the road.

trailers are bringing stupid prices right now. used stuff that was going for 1500 is 2500 now, if i was going to haul a lot i'd go aluminum.