Which car hauler trailer to buy for my long bed?

[Greg58]

Originally Posted by MrBeast

I think we need to see some more pics of your trucks!

I like the black square body pulling it's big brother!

Greg

[4x4k30]

Originally Posted by Greg58

I like the black square body pulling it's big brother!

Greg

that pic was taken the day I got my 77 crew back from the paint shop after waiting 8 months for it and it took me another 6 months to get it on the road .also if you look in the right front of the pic you can see where all the tow power comes from my little buddy chico r.i.p 2013-2017

[rcrahn]

Scottcoda - in case you have yet to purchase a trailer my advice is to seriously look at a roll back, such as a Kwik load. It has a low 5 degree ramp angle (needed for many lowered cars) and no ramps. I have an 18' kwik load and use it for transporting a race car. Loading and unloading is so easy.

Many of the trailers (like the 22 ft Hull and Rice) are certainly well made. Looking at them it's clear they are heavy and built for equipment hauling. IMHO such trailers will easily do the job. But they are also overkill for your stated needs. Seems to me you need a car hauler. Something that is strong enough to do the job yet easy for you to work with. I have seen racers at the track loading their cars onto these wood deck trailers. Often times they have to wrestle with ramps, use blocks, race ramps and perform all kinds of contortions to simply load a car.

Using our Kwik load trailer I can load the Spec E30 (by myself) in under 60 seconds. I've seen guys jaws drop when they watch how easy it is.

[Popcorn W]

I'm curious why some many of you guys went with the wood floor? I'm on my 3rd trailer, a 22' Kaufman diamond plate floor.
My last trailer, a ProLine was a wood floor. That thing worried me to death that the wood would get damaged. Dragging cars with no wheels, I'd have to devise some kind of "sled" for the drums to ride on. Even a flat tire where the tire was broken loose from the bead was a problem.
I would pressure clean and reseal that wood with marine spar varnish every year, and just went crazy trying to make sure it would last. Then I though, this is crazy. I need a steel floor. A rattle can will undo any damage.
I would never consider another wood floor trailer. That's just me though.

[Popcorn W]

Pics I took to sell it. You can probably tell how many coats of varnish it had on it, and it still had damage in places.

[Killer Bee]

reasons I chose wood; weight, cost, surface temp..

probably would go with something different next time..

but I've put a lot of miles and loads on that '04 carson and it has yielded a lot of bang for the buck..

[Willowrun]

I like a wood bed because it isn't loud and it doesn't burn me when I'm laying under a vehicle hooking it up. Yes, there is some maintenance involved but not enough to make me want to sell it and get a different one. The roll backs in this thread have me thinking though.

[DeadheadNM]

Curious what benefit there is (if any) with a dovetail trailer? I've never used one.

[old Rusty C10]

i bought the 20 ft trailer you need the room and i used to haul professionally

[Killer Bee]

Originally Posted by DeadheadNM

Curious what benefit there is (if any) with a dovetail trailer? I've never used one.

dovetails soften the approach angles on ramp trailers, mostly needed to load lower profile sedans and trucks

on dovetail equipment trailers, some machines can crawl on without ramps

in both cases, backing a trailer into a small draw in the ground eases the angles as well


as mentioned above, wood is cooler to lay on, cheaper, quieter, lighter

steel decks do have other advantages but weren't as important to me at the time

both hay trailers and the equipment trailer on the farm are also wood deck

original decks much older than my Carson but always parked inside makes a huge difference

I redecked my Carson after almost 20 years on the original boards always parked outside

[tim71]

I wish those 2018 prices were still around.

[D.B]

I bought an 18' Roll Back (Tilt Style) trailer with steel floor. I use it mainly to haul my race truck to the track. As I get older, I wanted something that was easy to load and use. Best decision I made.

[a1vintage69]

I still have my tilt trailer in this post but a couple years ago I bought another one of the coolest trailers I have ever seen. It was a custom order and has a Split bed with a tilt, a winch and drive over fenders! I can haul anything on it. 24 foot long but drives behind my truck like a dream. If I need a smaller one to access tight spots I just use the shorter one.

[DeadheadNM]

I'm kicking tires on trailers for something that can haul my LWB in a pinch but used for other purposes too

[a1vintage69]

Originally Posted by DeadheadNM

I'm kicking tires on trailers for something that can haul my LWB in a pinch but used for other purposes too

Pete, Get at least a 20 foot tilt with a winch. You will be glad you did. The extra money is well worth it. Also they hold value better than anything you can image ion.

[72c20customcamper]

This has been a great trailer Aluma brand lightweight all aluminum . I also have an enclosed Haulmark I really don’t like it to haul a car or a truck it’s really tight . Sure if it were a 108” I’d feel differently.

[Greg58]

Originally Posted by tim71

I wish those 2018 prices were still around.

Just for fun I priced my 20' Hull that I paid $4060 for in 2016.
It was over $7200 for the same specs last winter.
Everything is up, both material and labor to build things. Consequently used trailers are up there too!

Greg

[72c20customcamper]

Originally Posted by Greg58

Just for fun I priced my 20' Hull that I paid $4060 for in 2016.
It was over $7200 for the same specs last winter.
Everything is up, both material and labor to build things. Consequently used trailers are up there too!

Greg

I bought the Aluma on a whim at the spring Carlisle cars show in 2009 . Price was $4800 . A comparable trailer is over 15k from them now
https://www.equipmenttrader.com/list...T-A-5031832207

My trailer has the front deflector with tire mounts for flat track racing but it the same trailer