was looking for 4x4 hardbody's last night

[1994SEV6]

They were talking about trailers a bit earlier in the thread. I wasn't going to comment before,

Personally, they really aren't even an option for me. They might be good for other people, such as yourself Bowtied, but not me.

 

Here's how I see it

the trailer.

First of all, A halfway decent one like this

is going to be $800+. Where I live anyway. The owner is personally asking $899. ~$1000 for a good trailer is no big deal, if you're going to use it. An extra $1000 for something that has a flat tire and sits in your driveway for years at a time is not practical.

 

Second, they severely alter drive-ability. You have to drive slower, be more cautious, and turn differently. Being more cautious isn't a bad thing, but paying all your attention to the trailer distracts you a little bit from the vehicle.

I'm sure you can, but you shouldn't go above 45-55mph while towing a trailer (says U-HAUL). I don't know about you, but 50mph on the highway isn't great. My "local" dump is 25 miles away on a MAJOR highway. If I went 50mph, I would be run over.

 

Third, you have to have the vehicle for it. Toyota Camrys might come with trailer hitches, but...really? Pathfinders and Hardbody trucks came with trailer hitches and the wiring. Hell, even my truck has a hitch and wiring..somewhere. The engines are plenty strong for towing, the transmissions are pretty good. These vehicles can handle a decent amount of weight. Some drywall would be fine. You could get away with some landscaping equipment.

 

Last...Just hooking the trailer up when it's loaded. I rented one with my dad's friend once. Slipping the female hitch onto the trailer hitch was a game of "left, right, ohh too far back, ok ok press the gas pedal down 2% and go forward 1/2 inch". Biggest pain in the neck. When it's empty no big deal. When you have a ton of brush, you need a team of 3 guys and a bottle jack.

 

A trailer just doesn't compare to a solid pick-up with a bed. It's just a trade off. Your preference.

 

With all that being said, trailers definitely have their advantages. I'm not hating on them, I'm just saying that it's really not a reasonable permanent substitute. I had a huge landscaping job that included mulching, severe tree trimming, and laying a gravel driveway. The trailer was a life saver. We were using a 2004 Tahoe with one of the big v8s so we got some work done. It was invaluable for loading up 70, 80, 90 full sized tree branches, hauling 50 bags of mulch, and buying 1/2 ton of riverjack from the local quarry. My Hardbody just couldn't have done it.

[JamesRich]

They were talking about trailers a bit earlier in the thread. I wasn't going to comment before,

Personally, they really aren't even an option for me. They might be good for other people, such as yourself Bowtied, but not me.

 

Here's how I see it

the trailer.

First of all, A halfway decent one like this

is going to be $800+. Where I live anyway. The owner is personally asking $899. ~$1000 for a good trailer is no big deal, if you're going to use it. An extra $1000 for something that has a flat tire and sits in your driveway for years at a time is not practical.

 

Second, they severely alter drive-ability. You have to drive slower, be more cautious, and turn differently. Being more cautious isn't a bad thing, but paying all your attention to the trailer distracts you a little bit from the vehicle.

I'm sure you can, but you shouldn't go above 45-55mph while towing a trailer (says U-HAUL). I don't know about you, but 50mph on the highway isn't great. My "local" dump is 25 miles away on a MAJOR highway. If I went 50mph, I would be run over.

 

Third, you have to have the vehicle for it. Toyota Camrys might come with trailer hitches, but...really? Pathfinders and Hardbody trucks came with trailer hitches and the wiring. Hell, even my truck has a hitch and wiring..somewhere. The engines are plenty strong for towing, the transmissions are pretty good. These vehicles can handle a decent amount of weight. Some drywall would be fine. You could get away with some landscaping equipment.

 

Last...Just hooking the trailer up when it's loaded. I rented one with my dad's friend once. Slipping the female hitch onto the trailer hitch was a game of "left, right, ohh too far back, ok ok press the gas pedal down 2% and go forward 1/2 inch". Biggest pain in the neck. When it's empty no big deal. When you have a ton of brush, you need a team of 3 guys and a bottle jack.

 

A trailer just doesn't compare to a solid pick-up with a bed. It's just a trade off. Your preference.

 

With all that being said, trailers definitely have their advantages. I'm not hating on them, I'm just saying that it's really not a reasonable permanent substitute. I had a huge landscaping job that included mulching, severe tree trimming, and laying a gravel driveway. The trailer was a life saver. We were using a 2004 Tahoe with one of the big v8s so we got some work done. It was invaluable for loading up 70, 80, 90 full sized tree branches, hauling 50 bags of mulch, and buying 1/2 ton of riverjack from the local quarry. My Hardbody just couldn't have done it.

I'll have to agree with you to not use a trailer if you don't know what your doing, because it sound like you don't know what your doing! If your attention span is so small that you can't watch a truck and a trailer at the same time you shouldn't be driving at all. Uhaul tells you no more than 45mph for liability reasons because they know people with short attention spans will be pulling them.

A properly loaded trailer in good condition will handle fine at highway speeds. You don't see 18 wheelers doing 50 on the interstate do you? (unless its from JB Hunt) When my titan was new someone pissed me off by speeding up when I tried to pass them while pulling my 20 foot trailer. When the computer shut me down at 110mph I thought about the bias ply tires not being able to handle that speed but there was no problems unless I had to stop fast.

As for hitching them up it something you learn or get a spotter. Trailers are very helpful if you know how to use them. Ever tried loading a riding mower in the back of your truck? I've seen videos of the ramps falling off while people were going up and they landed on their head with the mower on top of them. With the trailer just drop the gate and drive it up. The single axle trailer in the pic you posted will ride pretty ruff and bounce a lot. A double axle trailer will ride smoother than your pickup as long as it has trailer tires on it.

James

[adamzan]

Sounds like you have no experience with trailers at all, so you shouldn't be posting all that against them. Jamesrich is right, you can go past 50mph just fine. I was towing a 6x12 covered trailer for my buddy and the pathy cruised easily down the highway at 60 with the cruise on. And it was fully loaded.

[BowTied]

Don't rag on 1994sev6 too much guys. He has had a couple bad experiences perhaps. And I commend anyone who doesnt feel comfortable with a trailer to not use one. Mis-used by accident they can be quite dangerous esp. as the loads increase.

 

I am surprised that he found trailers expensive in his area, $1k gets a brand new one from TSC or Costco and decent smaller used ones can be had for $4-600 around here. I have two, one I traded for a computer and one I got for free, albeit i needed work.

 

 

So I realize now that I have hoared up this truck thread with trailer stuff... sorry OP!

[1994SEV6]

Ever tried loading a riding mower in the back of your truck?

Only every day of the spring, summer, and fall. My truck is a work truck. I mow lawns for money. I'm in high school. I was actually considering buying one of those trailers for landscaping like the big crews/companies have.

 

I don't have a small attention span. At all. I am a great driver and I am great on focusing on what I need to. What I meant was you have to always check for things flying out. Recently, I went to Atlantic city with a family friend. We put suitcases, coats, bags, food, etc in the back of his pickup truck. He drives a tow truck for a living. He has been doing this for 30 years. A flat bed. He still had to check his rear view mirror every 30 seconds for something flying out the back. Even if a single tan plastic grocery bag flew out and got on someone's windshield, he would be paying a lawsuit for the rest of his life.

And that's in the bed of a pickup.

Think about a trailer. At 60,70mph, the air flow is extreme. Even something heavy like a chunk of drywall could EASILY go flying. If that hit someone, you would be in jail and paying off a lawsuit for the rest of your life. It happens all the time with dump trucks.

 

I know you can go above 50mph fine on most trailers, I was just saying what U-HAUL said since we rented a U-Haul trailer. I do believe it was a double axle and it was very heavy duty. There were a few times when the driver went above 55mph and that thing got shaky as hell.

 

110mph with a trailer is just plain reckless.

[Kingman]

Trailers are great and tow just fine if you know how. Severe crosswinds can be sketchy though. Freeway speeds are no problem either. Stuff flying out of a trailer is not a trailer fault, it's the owner's fault because they didn't properly secure their load. No if ands or buts about it.

 

What, you've never done 110MPH in an Excursion on 38s pulling a wake boarding boat? It's a lot of fun.