Trailer advice needed for a newbie

[Art Vandelay]

One last bit of advise for you, if you are ever considering getting a bigger truck, then get the bigger duel axle trailer now. I made the mistake of the small trailer for a small truck then upgraded after I got a bigger truck. I hauled a 14 foot duel axle at one point with a ranger without any problems. Just got to watch you don't over load yourself.

 

[Haywire Haywood]

his toyota is NOT going to be able pull the trailer full, so why bother.

I have to agree. Every time I think I want a tandem, I have to remind myself that I don't have enough truck to pull it loaded like I would want. Now if I had a 3/4t diesel... Droooool... 6x12 tandem and 3' sides.

Ian

 

[palmrose2]

a year ago I too would have said "I second the beater."
BUT - insurance, maint, repairs, etc, may not be worth it - run the #'s.....think about it, then make your decision. I just sold my beater - didn't use it enough and wanted to put that $ elsewhere....but wood is on my property too. Each case is unique man.

There you go. There are just my wife and I now. She drives a late model Mini van with full coverage and drives to work each day 25 mile round trip. I have a rust free 1979 Ford pick-up (handy to have but gas mileage sucks), 1987 Cherokee with plenty of off road mods (don't even like to drive it on road), and a 2001 Olds Alero GLS with handling package (my pleasure craft), all of which I drive for "pleasure". If I took the full coverage off the van they would basically all cost the same. It doesn't seem to matter that I have a company vehicle to drive to work and can hardly rack up any miles on the rest of my Fleet.

I think it would be cheaper for me to just buy a newer F-250 and drive it everywhere.

 

[Art Vandelay]

There you go. There are just my wife and I now. She drives a late model Mini van with full coverage and drives to work each day 25 mile round trip. I have a rust free 1979 Ford pick-up (handy to have but gas mileage sucks), 1987 Cherokee with plenty of off road mods (don't even like to drive it on road), and a 2001 Olds Alero GLS with handling package (my pleasure craft), all of which I drive for "pleasure". If I took the full coverage off the van they would basically all cost the same. It doesn't seem to matter that I have a company vehicle to drive to work and can hardly rack up any miles on the rest of my Fleet.

I think it would be cheaper for me to just buy a newer F-250 and drive it everywhere.

Your 79 pickup should be eligible for antique insurance. In Missouri any vehicle 25 years old and older are eligible no matter the condition of the vehicle. It only costs me around 100 bucks a year on a 67 mustang that I valued at 20K. What you value the vehicle at dictates how much the insurance costs.

 

[oneoldbanjo]

I agree with those that recommend a single axle trailer. They are manuverable, you can load a bunch of wood in them, and unless you get a 1 ton truck you really aren't going to be able to pull or stop the weight that you can load into a dual axle trailer.

Take your time and find the right trailer....don't just buy one from the Big Box stores. My single axle trailer is as wide as the law allows, I believe it is 66" wide and almost 9 feet long. It has a low boy axle and 12 ply tires and I believe it will haul about 5,000 pounds legally, and it does have electric brakes. It is a home built trailer and the fame is square tubing and it is much nicer built than the angle iron trialer with the stretched metal floor. The sides are removable as it has the stake pockets that accept 2x4 uprights - but the sides are only about 10" tall and I have to stack the wood carefully if I want get a lot of wood. Low sides are nice for reaching over and stacking the wood - but if you just want to toss the wood over the sides and into the trailer without stacking you will want taller sides. I like my short sides as I can reach over the trailer sides to unload and get almost all the wood out without ever having to climb up on the trailer.

Watch Craigslist or your local paper and look for a nice used trailer. Good trailers come up everyday in our area and they sell very quickly. If you buy a nice trailer and use it for a while and decide that you want something different you will have no trouble reselling it to buy a better one....and you might even be able to make a little money. If you buy one of the cheap trailers from the Big Box stores.....they will not sell nearly as easily. Used Single axle trailers capable of hauling firewood are generally $ 500 - $ 800 around here. I paid $ 175 for mine.......the tongue was bent and it needed painted and tires. I cut off the single tube tounge and put on an A frame, primed and painted it, and put on some new tires and it is now a great trailer. Wide tires are nice to help keep the trailer from sinking in on soft ground.

Don't be too tough on me when you see the trailer behind the S10....I was only hauling the straw around the property while we where planting our yard.

 

[KMB]

I have to agree. Every time I think I want a tandem, I have to remind myself that I don't have enough truck to pull it loaded like I would want. Now if I had a 3/4t diesel... Droooool... 6x12 tandem and 3' sides.

Ian

Or a properly geared 1 ton big gasser (or diesel) and a 16' or 18', 10K or 12K trailer...my dream set-up.

Kevin

 

[barton174]

Or a properly geared 1 ton big gasser (or diesel) and a 16' or 18', 10K or 12K trailer...my dream set-up.

Kevin

You mean a truck like this? '90 Dodge 3/4 ton: Cummins, 4x4, 5-speed, 4.10 gears, rear LSD, DMI spring-hitch bumper, and 110k miles...

Aside from my uncle who had it for a year, it's a 1-owner farm truck from northern IL, that was stored inside... It's got a little bit of cancer above the rear wheel wells, and some on the passenger side rocker, but other than that, it's pretty clean for a working truck...

Mike

 

[clearance]

Better Idea

Why not just get a bigger pickup, get rid of the Toyota.
Lots of used 3/4 and 1 tons out thee, doesn't have to be a beater.
I like old GM, but I also like single cab F-350 4x4s from the mid 90s.

 

[giXXer]

Or a properly geared 1 ton big gasser (or diesel) and a 16' or 18', 10K or 12K trailer...my dream set-up.

Kevin

...20' gooseneck dump trailer????????...since we're dreaming...

to dump trailers!

 

[KMB]

You mean a truck like this? '90 Dodge 3/4 ton: Cummins, 4x4, 5-speed, 4.10 gears, rear LSD, DMI spring-hitch bumper, and 110k miles...

Mike

Sounds like a stong truck. The 4x4 and gears would work for me, but realistically a big gasser would be better for me and I would want a crew cab.

Kevin

 

[KMB]

...20' gooseneck dump trailer????????...since we're dreaming...

to dump trailers!

A fella would need a whole lot-of-truck to pull a trailer like that fully loaded.

Kevin

 

[barton174]

Sounds like a stong truck. The 4x4 and gears would work for me, but realistically a big gasser would be better for me and I would want a crew cab.

Kevin

It is a strong truck... Even in 2WD/4-HI, the granny gear first has a 5mph top speed... A crew cab would have been nice, and I don't really need the diesel, but 22mpg highway (19 city) is nice for such a heavy truck, and I couldn't pass it up for $2400... It starts fine without plugging in down to around 5 degrees F (grid heaters are much better at cold starts than glow plugs on Chevy and Ford), and I've put a used $75 camper shell on it, and have got my low-dollar stuff in totes in the back... Fill 3/4 of the bed with wood, and the rest in my 5x8 utility trailer with 2' sides... That's about all I can get cut and split in a day down at the farm, anyway...

Mike

 

[Haywire Haywood]

That's about all I can get cut and split in a day down at the farm, anyway...

Mike

I always had delusions of going out for the weekend and cutting a couple days before coming back to the house. Where I was cutting at the time was a 45 minute drive and I was devising schemes to make the trips more productive.

Ian

 

[barton174]

I always had delusions of going out for the weekend and cutting a couple days before coming back to the house. Where I was cutting at the time was a 45 minute drive and I was devising schemes to make the trips more productive.

Ian

Eh, it's my grandparents' house... It is 45 minutes away, but I'm down there quite a bit anyway, with hunting and its associated scouting and setting up stands and such...

Mike

 

[palmrose2]

I always had delusions of going out for the weekend and cutting a couple days before coming back to the house. Where I was cutting at the time was a 45 minute drive and I was devising schemes to make the trips more productive.

Ian

I've always had delusions of finding a nice turbo diesel 4x4 truck with a Dana 60 up front and a Dana 70 LSD out back for less than 2500 bucks. The spring hitch is just a bonus.

Nice TRUCK!

 

[barton174]

I've always had delusions of finding a nice turbo diesel 4x4 truck with a Dana 60 up front and a Dana 70 LSD out back for less than 2500 bucks. The spring hitch is just a bonus.

Nice TRUCK!

Thanks! That's why even though I didn't really have the money, and didn't really want to sell my S-10 Blazer to get it, I did because I couldn't pass it up!

Mike

 

[giXXer]

Thanks! That's why even though I didn't really have the money, and didn't really want to sell my S-10 Blazer to get it, I did because I couldn't pass it up!

Mike

I wouldn't have passed it up at $2500 either. I've been dreaming of a truck like that either to modify and drag race or just use it as a "woods truck." After putting a small ding in my new truck, the "woods truck" idea sounds better and better every day. Prior to selling my super duty I was thinking about using it solely for plowing and firewood, but was scared about the potential of huge $ repairs. Plus, it seems every time I would let it sit for more than a week or two it would develope "issues." It just wasn't reliable and was to the point where it always needed something. Luckily that 12V Cummins is a pretty simple animal and also pretty easy to work on. It should be a great work truck for you for years to come. Unfortunately the older Dodges I find up here are usually pretty rough.

 

[giXXer]

A fella would need a whole lot-of-truck to pull a trailer like that fully loaded.

Kevin

It would probably take me a couple of days to fill a trailer like that and I doubt I would ever need to haul that much firewood. The reasons I said 20' gooseneck is: #1 We were momentarily in "dream land" so...why not go BIG! #2 My tractor would just barely fit and the trailer would have the weight capacity to haul it. All of the dump trailers that are even in my ballpark price range are much smaller and wouldn't fit the tractor.

My other dream wood haulers would be a 2.5 ton M35A2 military truck or an older uni-mog with pto's, side/rear/side dump, and, of course, the twin screw front blower! Once again, extreme over-kill, but also, again, dream land.

 

[banshee67]

its hard enough on any of these large v8 half tons to pull a cord or more of wood and a trailer, i just dont see how a little taco will do it. the thing is gona be downshifting for every little incline in the road, youll have to run it at 4k rpm with the OD off to keep up with traffic on the highway, if you are pulling a cord of wood on a trailer, i would think a v8 half ton is bare minimum

 

[barton174]

It would probably take me a couple of days to fill a trailer like that and I doubt I would ever need to haul that much firewood. The reasons I said 20' gooseneck is: #1 We were momentarily in "dream land" so...why not go BIG! #2 My tractor would just barely fit and the trailer would have the weight capacity to haul it. All of the dump trailers that are even in my ballpark price range are much smaller and wouldn't fit the tractor.

My other dream wood haulers would be a 2.5 ton M35A2 military truck or an older uni-mog with pto's, side/rear/side dump, and, of course, the twin screw front blower! Once again, extreme over-kill, but also, again, dream land.

The other thing about a gooseneck is; that cuts down the number of "can I borrow you trailer"s

I wouldn't have passed it up at $2500 either. I've been dreaming of a truck like that either to modify and drag race or just use it as a "woods truck." After putting a small ding in my new truck, the "woods truck" idea sounds better and better every day. Prior to selling my super duty I was thinking about using it solely for plowing and firewood, but was scared about the potential of huge $ repairs. Plus, it seems every time I would let it sit for more than a week or two it would develope "issues." It just wasn't reliable and was to the point where it always needed something. Luckily that 12V Cummins is a pretty simple animal and also pretty easy to work on. It should be a great work truck for you for years to come. Unfortunately the older Dodges I find up here are usually pretty rough.

Yeah, it's pretty good all around... DEFINATELY Needs some meats on it, though... Currently has half-gone Transforce HTs on it, in 235/85-16... Going to put some Mud Terrains in 265/75-16 or some add-a-leafs and some 285/75-16 Mud Terrains...

Will probably put a LSD or air or E-locker in the front, as well... Someday, when money grows on trees... or my wife finds a job...

Mike