Trailer choice?

[justabout]

I have a couple quick questions about trailer choice. It seems that everyone is going for the kit trailers from Northern Tool or Harbor Freight for the most part. I was wondering has anyone used a 5x10 or 12 landscaping trailer and just taken the mesh decking and loading ramp off? To me it seems that the main difference is the material used in the construction. It looks to me that the HF and NT trailers use a lightweight C channel while most landscaping trailers use angle iron. Would there be any problem with these landscaping trailers such as weight, structural issues. I noticed that the landscaping trailers are about $150 to $200 more than the HF and NT trailers but I can drive just up the road and pick one up instead of having to have one shipped and assembled. Thanks for the help.

JustAbout

[mikeschn]

Those trailers would work also, especially if you have the means to remove the grate decking and/or sides.

The other think you want to keep in mind is the ability to move the axle, typically rearward!

Mike...

[Alphacarina]

I was wondering has anyone used a 5x10 or 12 landscaping trailer and just taken the mesh decking and loading ramp off? To me it seems that the main difference is the material used in the construction. It looks to me that the HF and NT trailers use a lightweight C channel while most landscaping trailers use angle iron. Would there be any problem with these landscaping trailers such as weight, structural issues

You can certainly use one of those - It's way more than you need though

The big issue is weight. A trailer which is designed to be stiff enough to haul around a mower and gardening equipment is probably way overbuilt for duty as the frame to sit a lightweight 'box' on top of . . . . the box structure of a travel trailer or teardrop will make a lightweight, flimsy trailer very rigid - You should see how little framing there is under small travel trailers . . . . they are nothing like a landscape trailer.

The net result is your camper will weigh a couple hundred pounds less when built on an HF frame as opposed to a landscape trailer frame and generally unnecessary weight isn't a good thing, especially if you're towing with a small car. If you're pulling with a full sized pickup though, I wouldn't worry too much about the extra weight . . . . though it does cost you in gas mileage

Don

[justabout]

Currently I do have a full size dodge that I would use to pull this with and my current 16' car hauler. But eventally I want to get medium duty flabed (f700 or isuzu npr) to get wood with instead of my current setup. When that happens I will more than likely be using an '87 toyota tacoma to do the teardrop pulling duties or something similar to that.

Since the camper portion makes the frame more rigid I guess some of the cross members could be removed to remove some excess weight.

The more that I think about it the more I'm starting to like the idea of either building a frame out of the lightweight square tubing or having someone "help" me build it. I just don't like the idea of having to do to much modification to an angle iron trailer frame.

This really is addictive.

JustAbout

[Alphacarina]

The 'ideal' way to go about it is to select the trailer which best suits your needs and then have a custom frame welded up to match your chosen design. If you have local access to a steel tubing supplier and have a friend who is a decent welder, it can also be the cheapest way to go

That way you don't have to modify your chosen trailer design to fit the trailer frame . . . . you do it the other way around

Don