Well you folks talked me out of getting a wood chipper and perhaps rightly so. Now let's see what good advice you have on trailers. I plan to start developing my property in the spring. I expect I'll be wanting to haul a certain amount of material out to my property, especially considering I live in a province with no federal sales tax and a lower provincial tax then the province where my property is. I want to get a trailer to haul material & equipment but am a bit undecided on what to buy. I'm leaning towards the lowbed tandem axle trailers with breaks but they pretty much start at 16' and I'm thinking that might be a bit much and also 'big bucks'. On the other hand the few trailers I've seen in the 10' or 12' range have no breaks. I'm really wondering about the merits of taking a trailer with a GVW of 2,000 to 2,500lbs. and no independent breaks on the highway and through the mountains even though it is legal. I would be using an Explorer which has a GVW of around 5,000 lbs. What are your thoughts on using a trailer with no independent breaks? Thanks for your oppinions.
Big problem is going to be your tow vehicle. 5000lbs isnt that much weight when you start talking materials or equipment. The explorer is a small truck when you toss a 16ft trailer behind you. Then stopping all that weight isnt much fun either. Your big limit is going to be what "equipment" you want to haul. most rental places force you to use there trailers and even then require a 1ton to tow. If your moving your own tractor then you need somthing that will support the weight, With the exception of a compact tractor, I dont think I want the weight or height a larger tractor behind an explorer. A 12-16ft landscape trailer is a good compromise. With wood side rails will haul a bit of dirt and with a tarp laying in the bed will haul sand as well. MIght also look a dump bed trailer. With the side rails out you can haul smaller equipment.
I agree the limiting factor is the tow vehicle. A good 10-12 foot 2000GVW no brakes trailer conservatively loaded will be fine but for heavy loads you'll want a heavier tow vehicle. Brakes would help, and if you're in the mountains remember surge brakes don't work going up hill as well as electric.
You need one with brakes. As others have said, your vehicle will pull a decent sized trailer, it just may not stop it. Around here, the most popular size is a 16 foot, with a pipe siderail (tougher than angle iron). They haul everything from utility tractors to nursery stock on them.
my take is that a dual-axle, flatbed with dump would be ideal for moving and for future use - they are so versatile especially with attachments that can be home-made - and, the ones i've seen, are built stouter as a flatbed rather than as a railed model
Brakes are essential for the trailer. If the load get shifted to the rear and you try to stop with the Explorer alone you will wreck. In the mountains the trailer will try to push the tow vehicle down the hill also, again, not a safe situation. With good brakes and the Exploer you may not be able to tow the load but you can stop it, which is safer? You need brakes!
In the USA you need brakes on over 3000#, don't need them under 3000#. You need some experience & brains to run safely with a trailer. With or without brakes. For me the brake question depends on the size & load on the trailer. An Explorer is more of an SUV than a work truck, don't get too big a load. Seems that would be the limiting factor. For landscape materials & dirt & such a dump is really, really nice. But it costs more (quite a bit) & weights more, decreasing how much you can actually haul on it. Car trailers can be found pretty cheap near new & might work fine for you if you want 16'. Just drive smart, & careful on those mountains. You often hit your weight limit much faster than you think you will, no matter what size you get..... --->Paul
CalBob, Without knowing the types of things you plan on using your trailer for it's hard to make a meaningful recommendation. I've been fortunate in that I've been able to borrow a friends 16 foot dual axle (with electric brakes) trailer. I've hauled hay on it (80 bales) with a ford F150. Not bad going forward but a pain backing up <G>. I've delivered hay where I've backed up that 16 foot trailer into a horse barn and it has not been pretty. I also don't think I would want to try towing it on a real windy day. I'm planning (actively looking) on buying a smaller trailer that I can easily tow up into our property. Then I'll circle back for a bigger beefier one. I'm a buy used kind of person so I think I can get both (for my budget) by shopping carefully. I've heard people say good things about buying used stock trailers for general use. Sometimes having a roof and sides can be a useful thing (think rain or snow!....or locking when one is going to be in town for a while and has a load of things that might get up and walk away. Basically, why think about limiting yourself to a single trailer. I'd like to make the argument that having both a large and small one can be useful. Hope this helps
Thanks to everyone for their oppinions. I do agree with you that an Explorer is not the best of Tow vehicles but it should be able to easily pull 3500 GVR. I have decided that a 16 ft. Tandem Axle would be a dandy trailer but until I change my vehicle, which isn't likely for another 3 or 4 years, I am pretty much limited to the 3500 lbs I mentioned. 2,000 lbs of that would be taken up by the trailer itself. I have found a couple of nice single axle 3500 lb GVR trailers. The tare weight of the trailer is about 900 lbs which leaves you with a decent payload. And yes, you reinforced my own thoughts about breaks. I will get the electric brake option which is available for these particular trailers. Again thanks for your views. Bob
