I need to buy a trailer. I have not settled on Tag (pintle) or Gooseneck, but for this question I am not sure it matters. My truck is set up both ways and has more than enough capacity either way. Basically, I am looking for a 14,000lb flat deck trailer in the 24 - 25 foot range. The trailer will haul a mini-excavator, not yet purchased, but which will be in the 7,500-9,000 pound range. Money is not unlimited of course, but I DO want to buy a quality piece of equipment that I won't have to worry about. Can anyone suggest any manufacturers that would be a good choice for me? Also, if anyone has had a direct experience with a builder to AVOID, I would like to know that too, but in keeping with the Rules here, it should be something that you can speak to directly and experienced/witnessed for yourself.
Belshe Trailers, in southern Oklahoma. They have been building high quality, heavy duty trailers for many, (maybe 30+) years. They are not a real big company, and do not have a very fancy website. However, when it comes to building trailers for hauling backhoes, excavators, skidsteers, etc. there is none better. You can get most of their models in either pintle hitch, or gooseneck arraingement.
Gator makes an excellent trailers and there is a dealer in ohio. 8k lb axels (much bigger brakes) and assisted, lay flat 40" ramps. Strongly suggest you check them out.
Gator is on my short list. PJ is also I'll check out Belshe too. Hadn't heard of them before.
as far as tag trailers go i like eager beavers gooseneck we have an Anderson and an old triple axle no troubles at all same with the beaver. my .02 buy the heaviest capacity trailer you can afford
On this one the GVWR is set in stone. I can't go over 14,600. That's a business decision based on future plans.
Pj makes nice trailers. Heard good about gator and own an elite which isn't bad at all.
We have three Tarasport trailers, all three of different styles. All I can say is they build a quality trailer, very satisfied. http://www.tarasport.com/
I have a 30,800 lb Bame that I am very happy with. They sell a 10k capacity, 13,300 Gvwr model. http://www.bametrailers.com/
NO PJ trailers. Built cheaply. Have used a 22' tiltbed car trailer a few times and do not like it at all. ABU here in Dwight, ND builds a nice trailer. Over in Sauk Center, MN, Felling has good trailers. Had a Contrail once. That trailer was the best one of all, but I'm not sure they are still around. Whatever you decide, my opinion is go with spring suspension. I have had a few torsion trailers, springs ride better and tires last longer.
I have had good luck with Econoline trailers. They have a good 14K tilt trailer available as well as others.
We have a 14,000 lb felling tilt deck 7' stationary in front and 16' tilt deck and it hasn't been a good trailer for us but they have done some updates since we bought it so they might be better now and also the style of trailer you want is different! Jerry
Have a PJ. 22' deckover. 8' slide in ramps (don't use ramps very often). 2x7,000lb axles. 8"? I-beam. So far I like it. I use to have a car-hauler style trailer (also PJ), but found I was hauling mostly pallets of supplies. Traded for a deckover 102" wide. Already know what I'd want on the next one! Dual jacks in the front - lowering that spring-loaded foot is a pain with a spare tire in the middle of the A-frame! Also, I'd go to 10,000 lb axles to get duals. Those 7,000lb axles aren't as wide and when loaded with pallets 2-wide down the deck, it's a bit top-heavy and sways (yeah, it might have been over-weight too ! You could always get 2x10,000lb axles but only register/license it for 14,000lb or whatever. Andrew
If you do your own wrenching, don't rule out rehabbing a used trailer to save some bucks. I've had very good luck with my 14k 20+5 Big Tex gooseneck. Its a 1996 model that I purchased about seven years ago. Since I do a lot of one-day jobs it gets used pretty much every day. When I got it I replaced the bearings, the brakes from the backing plates out, rewired it complete with a new breakaway and painted it. The trailer doesn't have duals, so I run G-rated tires for a little piece of mind. It will need new deck boards this year, but even after that I saved $2k over a new trailer.
OK, I have a followup question... I intend for this trailer to be able to haul a variety of different equipment. Excavator Skid Steer Tractor w/ a device hooked to the 3-point, which in turn is dragging a roller on a pintle hook. I believe that the most versatile option would be a flatbed/deckover trailer, but there are multiple loading options; Beavertails, Full & Partial Tile, various ramp options, etc... Anyone got some experience to share on those options that I might want to know before I buy anything?
For those loads, I would look at a beavertail w/ flip-over ramps myself. I think they would be best for heavier loads on the ramps. And yes, a deckover! Andrew
Mine has a 5' dovetail with flip over ramps. The dovetail and ramps are self-cleaning. When I have a brush hog attached I'll use every bit of the 20' deck and ramps, and the tail-wheel sits even with the end of the trailer/ramps. Same thing if I'm taking a landplane to the job with a box blade attached to the 3-point. One thing I'll be adding to my trailer is a flip up center ramp with rubber belt material for loading a vibratory roller. Steel on steel can be a bit hairy when loading a roller on a deckover so I haul it on another smaller trailer I have. I do a lot of steel culvert installs and many of them are 30 footers so flip over ramps are a must. We're legal with 5' over here in Texas.
Anyone ever hear of Sure-Trac?
I have a moritz 20+5 14.5k GN that works great. IT even has an adjustable beaver tail so i can have a full 25' flat deck. The ramps are built heavy but they are spring assisted.
I have beavertail, with stand up ramps. Meaning I stand the ramp straight up, and there is a 2' bar that attaches to the trailer and the ramp to hold it up. It works great to haul a long load. When I haul my tractor & batwing cutter, it is just over 29'L, so with the stand ups, I get all of the 30' trailer. For shorter loads, they will fold over like normal.
honestly a full tilt deck over with a winch in the front is great, makes moving everything from your running equipment to your broken equipment allot easier. no ramps easier on your back etc... only reason i don't own a tilt deck is because my uncle has one i can use as much as i want.
I ended up deciding on a 22' Deck-Over. Thought about going to 24 or even 26, but decided that in terms of what this trailer will ever haul, I could use the extra cargo capacity of the 22 more than the extra length. By that I mean, I have a 14,600lb limit on trailer GVWR. So, the longer the trailer the more it weighs and the more it weighs the more of the trailer:cargo ration is going to skew towards the trailer.
If I may ask why did they limit the gvw of the trailer to only 14k
Business decision. I want all of my core equipment to be operable and deliverable by people who don't have a CDL; so the combined GVWR of both truck and trailer can't exceed 26,000 pounds. Nor do I actually NEED anything more than that right now.
Pintle and Goosenecks both have their advantages. Pintle of course you can pull with almost anything including a dump truck. A gooseneck has it's limits, a pickup. flatbed, or a low sided dump. Some Pintle's will give you "backlash" and Goosenecks will give you a tighter turning radius. Do your homework on what brand to buy because a lot of trailers are pumped out in quantity and who can sell the most. Cronkhite Trailers are a bit pricy compared to some but they a built pretty decent in my opinion. We had PJ once I thought was kind of flimsy but we pushed it to the limit with what it was rated at. Bwise makes a nice looking pretty durable trailer from what I have seen almost bought one but ended up buying a 21k Load Trail from a dealer that had 400 trailers in stock instead. Bwise had the best warranty, then Load Trail from what we found out as far as new. Since you're in Ohio you might consider freight charges if buying new. Another thing to think about is the quality of the steel used, tires, and the paint. We were on the fence like you which would be the best investment for the money and priced several new ones but the wait time was going to be 6 plus weeks to have one built. Finding a good used one is not impossible either.
Makes sense
Just because a truck is rated for or can haul more than 26,000 lbs doesn't mean you HAVE to have a CDL to drive it. It's how much you license the vehicle for that determines if you need a CDL or not. At least here in ND that's how it is. You can license a truck that has axles for 32,000 lbs for 26,000 and anyone can drive it.
I'm pretty sure , here in KY , which may not matter up there , if you have 4 axles , truck and trailer combined , you have to have a medical card and a class B CDL. The reason being it is being used as a commercial business. They were popping lawn services like crazy a few years ago. They also got a contractor I worked for , pulling a bobcat 743 on a Cronkite trailer behind a 3/4 ton truck. He hires all his moves out now. It may not be that way in Ohio but it wouldn't hurt to check.
that's NOT the way it works here in Indiana!!!! its what the tag in the door says... ( as was explained to me by the man in blue lucky I already had my CDL) don't matter what you put the plate on it for. reason he stopped me was I didn't have DOT #s on the truck yet, I hadn't even put my name on it yet either!!!
Well yes, I know that. My truck is tagged at 11,400 from the factory and the trailer will be 14,600, for a combined weight of 26,000. I already have it registered at the DMV as 26,000 pounds and have the little "26" sticker on my plate to prove it. Also, the weight limits are a bit more complex... I had a long conversation with one of the Highway Patrol guys at a weigh station near here and at the risk of oversimplification it comes down to this: When I pull onto a scale the total weight of truck, trailer & cargo better not exceed 26,000 pounds; although he did mention that violations under 100 pounds are often ignored. It's like speeding... You get a little grace but the exact amount is variable. I can actually load the trailer to more than 14,600 pounds because part of the weight is carried by the rear axle of my truck. The exact amount varies based on trailer design, load and placement of load. Other than the overall weight limit, the other weight limit that matters is "per axle" weight. My axles, from front to rear are 4,400, 7,000, 8,000 & 8,000. That actually ads up to 27,400 pounds, but the point is that exceeding axle limits is just as illegal as exceeding total limits. All in all, this means that I can safely and legally carry approximately an extra ton on my trailer than the papers would seem to indicate. There's actually a complicated formula that is layed out in a chart that shows permissible limits based on the number of axles and their distance from each other. The formula is: W = 500 [ L(N)/N-1) + 12(N) +36 ] Where: W = Max weight in pounds that can be carried on a group of two or more axles to the nearest 500lbs. L = Spacing in feet between the outer axles of any two or more consecutive axles. N = Number of axles being considered. In THEORY I could carry up to 40,000lbs on just my truck and something in excess of 55,000lbs on my truck and trailer. EXCEPT of course for the actual load limits of my axles and that pesky 26,000 pound thing. I think they should at least bump that to 30,000, which would make life much easier for equipment operators hauling around the smaller stuff (equipment 15,000 pounds or lighter) without making a significant difference in the loads the drive has to deal with. Maybe require the trailer to have Hydraulic brakes above 26k, but other than that it's no big PRACTICAL difference but WOULD make life easier for contractors.
Yep, it's that way in SC too, also, if you look in the definitions section of the federal interstate rules, it clearly shows GVWR as whatever the manufacturer says it is.
I don't know what part of Ohio your in , just going to mention I have a trailer that may suit your needs if your still looking. I would have mentioned this earlier but I thought it might be heavier than you would want. I'm probably going to take a bath on it when I sell it. PM me if your interested.
I appreciate it but I've already ordered my new trailer. I also spec'd it out so it would do things I needed the trailer to do and most trailers are not spec'd out the way mine is. For instance I have power everything so I don't have to worry about uneven ground I don't have to worry about broken down equipment because there's a winch and I even have hydraulic landing gear. I don't know anything about your trailer but you won't necessarily take as big a bath on it as you think. The reason used trailers are so expensive, and everyone notices that they are, is because the new trailers are even more expensive. If yours is in good shape… You know? I would actually be interested in knowing what the specs are on your trailer, even though I am theoretically not in the market for one at the moment.
ericscher . if you look at the Betterbuilttrailers.com , it has all the specs , lighting , paint process etc. Its a decent trailer , about like any other 10 ton pintle. I have it on craigslist in 5 different areas and have had little interest.
I've had good luck with lucon ( http://www.customheavyhaul.com ) weve bough five tag trailers tandems and triples from them in the last 5 years.
So a truck with a 12,000 lb front and 20,000 lb rear, if you don't have a CDL, you're not driving it. It seems to me that if the state chooses to assume the GVWR is what it says on the cab card, then everybody is happy. That's the way it is here in ND. What it sounds like to me is your guy's communist states think they need to be a bunch of jerks. I would rather see people driving around with trucks that are built heavier than you really need than people trying to make do with one-tons and the like. Fact is, it really doesn't affect the state at all if someone is driving around hauling 25,900 lbs with a truck that can haul 32,000. If the non-commercial truck is loaded to 32,000 lbs, and the driver doesn't have a CDL, the fine would be the same as someone who had a one ton and trailer that was RATED for 20,000 lbs, but had 26,000 on. The difference being, now the state can MILK THE CASH COW and force a guy to put commercial tags on a light duty truck, AND have a CDL too. What a crock. On Edit: I'm not trying to hijack this thread, or go off-topic, but just expressing an opinion on the overstepping going on in the transportation industry, in regards to vehicle weight ratings.
Shimmy , if I'm following you right , your saying a lay person with a dually and tandem GN , if he hauls 32000 and is over his weight then he should be ticketed , which I guess is right. Here in KY I know if a farm guy is running farm tags which are good up to 38000 , they can roll on until they get caught doing some type of commercial work , like a farm guy owns a skid steer , and does custom work on the side gets pulled over , to get commercial tags. We have had guys hauling grain with semis using these farm tags , which are 15$ but the DOT has stopped a lot of that. They have to use farm limited now or commercial. It sure seems to be a lot of grey areas here as well. My single axle dump has a cab card that says 32000 GVW. But the state will allow you to haul up to 44000 as long as you have a 44000 tag. It confuses me what's right or wrong , so I shoot down the middle , my SA dump is tagged at 38000. 6 over or 6 less how ever you or the DOT wants to interpret it.
In SC, whether you need a CDL or not is determined by the manufacturers rating. You can tag an f150 for 80k if you want to give them the money. There are 3 ways to get a weight ticket in a vocational truck, (one of those listed as exempt from federal bridge law). Being over your tagged weight. $200 Being over 20,000 lbs on any one axle. $small fine Being over the gross allowed by your number of axles $$$big fine SCDOT doesn't care what you do with a pickup and trailer, basicly. One of my best friends had an employee driving an F250, pulling a dual tandem gooseneck, with 20,500 lbs of material on it, so a about 26,000 lbs of trailer and load. When he got to a construction zone, the flagger stopped the car in front of him. He clipped the back bumper of the car with the trailer, and centered the F250's grill on the flagger, killing him. At my friends request, I observed and assisted the DOT and insurance investigators on seperate days in going over the truck and trailer with a fine tooth comb. They found the equipment to be in good shape, except that 2 of the electric trailer brakes were not connected, and one was badly out of adjustment! The driver got a warning for having no medical card or CDL, and a $160 ticket for too fast for conditions. The Owner got a long list of warnings for basic equipment and paperwork, a $200 ticket for having no license tag on the trailer. I have never seen SCDOT do a roadside inspection on anything smaller than an F600, and very rarely on anything smaller than a tandem, though tandems and up can plan on being stopped once every couple of months. I have never heard of SC giving a ticket to anyone for not having a CDL for pulling over 10,000 with a pickup, though NC burns them up. I once had to take my drivers to NC to rescue 5 of my cousins F550s pulling big welder trailers, NC wouldn't let them move without class A drivers.
I don't want to get into this much deeper, here in ND, a 7-axle farm truck with harvest permit can be loaded to 105,500, and the farmer's 16 year old kid can get behind the wheel. Make of that whatever you wish. About the GVWR rating, I think that the DOT forcing you to license YOUR truck for what it says on the door is a ridiculous, asinine, chicken$#!+ bit of policy. Now, if you can license for more than what the tag says, that is up to you. There are some guys that have been whacked by some new, hotshot officer feeling his oats. If you are running oversize/overweight, you can permit up to 45,000 on a set of tandems. Most trucks have 40,000 rears. They get their permit pulled, a ticket for whatever they're over the axle rating, and they must find another truck to pick up the trailer.
I think what a lot of you are overlooking in your talk about the weight breaks for CDL is that what the TAG says and what the actual capacities are; are two different things. I think were the confusion is coming from is that some words mean more than one thing. "tag" for instance... That can mean the manufacturers sticker in the door of your truck that defines the GVWR, OR it can mean the sticker you put on your license plate that shows what weight you are declaring for. ( You might have a 25,999# truck but only buy a 22,000# sticker. You wont need a CDL to drive it, but you better not weigh in over 22k either. ) On the trailer I ordered, the factory is going to put 14,500 on the GVWR tag, but the trailer itself is built heavier-duty than that; mainly because I believe it is unwise to use equipment at or very near it's operational limits on a continual basis. So, the trailer will have an ACTUAL weight capacity of 17,500# GVWR (some of the weight is carried by the truck's rear axle or course) but it will be factory declared at a lower weight. And THAT is legal.
I guess I'm a bit late to the game on this post but just noticed it when I came on here looking to hopefully find a Belshe Trailer/Directional Combo for sale. If anyone does, please PM me. I completely concur with one of the posters who suggested a Belshe Trailer. They are in fact a much larger company than expected and to my knowledge have been in business over 50 some odd years. I've dealt with many of their trailers as some of the places I've worked with in the Kansas City area strictly sell their trailers - and I see why. They manufacture their own axles, much heavier duty than whatever running gear others are using. One of our trailers was broken down and they sent me down to get one of their specialty made axles and I was amazed by the machining and equipment this place had and the fact that they could build our axle in a day. In any event, that's my two cents to the OP who is probably now long gone. I've worked at two heavy equipment dealers that sold only Belshe trailers exclusively as they will hold up forever. The only other trailer I would recommend would be an Interstate Trailer - they are built somewhere in Texas and are very heavy built too. We see many of these more well known trailers like Big Tex, PJs, etc. and they are more for light duty, extremely cheaply made and just don't hold up to commercial use. Maybe that's not what they are intended for.