Recommended trailer Brand

[drkelly]

Bought my Kaufman car hauler in 2005. Zero problems with it. From the comments in this thread, it sounds like the quality may have dropped since I bought mine. I've probably hauled more landscaping materials on it than cars/rigs.

 

[Ron]

Does he need a dedicated idiot willing to share this fortune?

You havent seen me change jobs yet have you?

 

[Hoodw!nk]

I've owned a PJ and been around Big Tex and Kaufman's. I'd own either of them but I do think there are differences in quality (and reflected in price point).

In my opinion, we see a lot Kaufman's in our area due to the fact that they're manufactured here in NC (not far from URE in Silver Valley...Lexington address if I'm not mistaken). To me, they're a good "value" trailer and I consider them close to the bottom of the "quality" spectrum that I would personally go (thinking the likes of Mid-State trailer, etc....I personally would NOT own one of their trailers and just pony up a little more cash to have a better trailer than MST). @Chris_Keziah has a 20ft 14k equipment Kaufman and it seems to hold up well unless @Hoodw!nk borrows the dang thing. They appear to be built fairly decent but lack some of the extras that I'd want in a trailer. That being said, that's not to say I wouldn't buy one new from them whatsoever. I do like their DTC model so I don't have to deal w/ middle man mark-ups (it'd be easy for me to call them, order what I want, drive down in [[insert number of week backlog]] weeks and pick it up).

I think BigTex and PJs are next level, personally (and BT nudges out a PJ but not by much). They're both well built trailers and I think they're better built "out of the box" than the Kaufman's. For example, both BT and PJ that I've seen come standard with round tube in between the stake pockets of the rub rails. To me, this is just a little thing that is going to help the trailer ultimately hold up better. That's not to say you can't order that from Kaufman, it may just be an upgrade where it appears to come standard on other brands.

A 10k trailer is definitely an upgrade, but I'd HIGHLY recommend just bumping up to a 14k simply based on how it sounds like that thing gets overloaded often (with drop down, spring assist ramps....FAWK slide-in ramps). Whatever you guys do, try to steer clear of 5-lug wheels...6 or 8-lug for sure.

Oh...and if for whatever reason baller budget comes into play. Diamond C ftw

@jeepinmatt will likely chime in before too long. I'd expect him to have some really good feedback / insight

Hard R

 

[No fries]

wide deck and drive over fenders would still allow you to easily load vehicles when needed:

6” Channel Super-Wide Tilt Trailer (TS) | PJ Trailers

The 6" Channel Super-Wide Tilt Trailer safely and securely hauls heavy cargo.

pjtrailers.com

Or a Load Trail or Diamond C if you're feeling frisky (getting full tilt may be build to order, but a partial tilt would work for your scissor lift and material needs):

Details - Load Trail LLC

TH14 – Available Sizes Standard Features Axles Available Colors Options *TH14 stock photo. May be shown with optional equipment. ‹›× ‹› Standard Features Axles: 2-7,000 Lb Cambered Dexter Torsion (UP) 2 Elec NEV-R-ADJUST Brakes Couplers: 2-5/16″ Adjustable Crossmembers 3″ Channel 16″ OC (3.5...

loadtrail.com

HDT - Diamond C Trailers

This intelligently crafted HDT low profile hydraulically dampened tilt bed trailer is ready to take on your world, one heavy load at a time.

www.diamondc.com

That popup winch is a sweet feature!!!

 

[StretchASU]

I shopped for about a year before landing my PJ 25’ goose last year. I was not willing to pay new price, wait times for what I wanted on new sucked too. Just about every manufacturer mentioned here was asked for a quote or I looked at lightly used ones.

Kaufman makes a good trailer for the money. They’re probably the shortest wait time for anything with special options. There are enough members here who have worked them hard I would trust them.

PJ has a good dealer network though in the area. The fit and finish was just better I thought. Welds, powder coat, wiring and deck fasteners per board looked better than a comparable Kaufman. That might not be worth the premium to some but I plan to keep the trailer forever so when it comes to equipment and tools I like the buy once cry once method and buy what you want.

 

[untchabl]

@Stuntman Autoworks has a full tilt Diamond C trailer, so maybe he can chime in with some firsthand insight.

I've had my Kraftsman 18' solid steel deck car trailer since January 2013 and I've been very happy with it. But I'm not rough on my equipment so maybe that helps. Back then that was the best trailer my budget would get.

 

[jeepinmatt]

That popup winch is a sweet feature!!!

Agreed. I'm really thankful they didn't have that when I was trailer shopping, or I would be dragging around a Diamond C right now.

 

[No fries]

I shopped for about a year before landing my PJ 25’ goose last year. I was not willing to pay new price, wait times for what I wanted on new sucked too. Just about every manufacturer mentioned here was asked for a quote or I looked at lightly used ones.

Kaufman makes a good trailer for the money. They’re probably the shortest wait time for anything with special options. There are enough members here who have worked them hard I would trust them.

PJ has a good dealer network though in the area. The fit and finish was just better I thought. Welds, powder coat, wiring and deck fasteners per board looked better than a comparable Kaufman. That might not be worth the premium to some but I plan to keep the trailer forever so when it comes to equipment and tools I like the buy once cry once method and buy what you want.

Same reasons I bought my PJ, though I wished I had got a longer one. 18' works for my CJ5 and the XJ but, have to back a 1500 ext cab short bed on it to get it to fit. Love the drive over fenders.

 

[R Q]

Just go see Mike at Mikes Welding & Trailer MFG Charlotte NC he's local and can make you whatever you want. Both of mine are from him.

 

[Croatan_Kid]

Pretty sure I remember @Croatan_Kid having to stop at Tractor Supply and replace some bolt on his trailers maiden voyage

Duane

You're not wrong, D. I definitely did. Was it their fault? Absolutely. Was it also my fault for not looking? Yes. I looked at every other part of the trailer and should have ducked under and looked to see if they put nuts on the equalizer bolts...it was a Friday pickup afterall. I even checked the torque on the lugnuts! Should I have had to do that? No...but, I did a walk around when getting fuel on the way home and caught it. I also got 300 bucks out of them for about an hour's worth of aggravation and about 30 bucks in hardware. I also got new hardware for it.

I'd probably buy another one. It's been a good trailer. If I had deeper pockets, I might have a deckover, but it works quite well for me. It hauled my mini-ex many a mile.

FWIW, the Kaufman tilt decks only tilt 14'6" of the deck normally. It may not work for the OP's needs.


There's a dude that builds trailers in like Hudson or something like that. My uncle has two of them. T&W, I think? He'll pretty much build whatever you want.

There's also Kraftsman. I'd have liked to have gotten a trailer from them, but it may have been wait time or something along those lines that kept me from getting one. It's been 4 years, so I can't remember.

 

[Croatan_Kid]

That's because PJ likely has ACTUAL quality control and decent wiring. While I feel Kaufman is OK for the price, NUMEROUS stories of customer picking up trailer in Denton and having to tighten suspension bolts in the parking lot, and lights not working a few miles down the road due to wiring being pinched. Then other folks like Clay not having issues like that
My neighbor bought a tilting MAXX-D and it's quality thru and thru but DAMN is it expensive.

Suspension bolts? Yes.

Wiring? No. I opted for the better wiring option and it's definitely been worth it. I can't complain with that. I didn't like where the license plate was intended to go though. So I put it somewhere else.

 

[CLRracer]

@Croatan_Kid if it makes you feel better, I remembered your issue when I picked up my new Texas Pride earlier this year and checked all the suspension bolts before we started home . And FWIW, I also have a Kaufman gooseneck trailer. For the price I paid, it does everything I need it to do. I've only had one issue with it and it was mostly user error with their removable fenders. Would I have rather had the Load Trail I was getting ready to order? Probably so, but the money saved put a lot of fuel in the tow pig.

Duane

 

[Croatan_Kid]

As long as somebody learned from it, all is not lost!

I have a very big "fawk it" attitude. I was just like, well...that sucks, but I know there's a TSC nearby. I can fix it

Only thing I wanna know that you still have is that sweet ass W250

 

[CLRracer]

As long as somebody learned from it, all is not lost!

I have a very big "fawk it" attitude. I was just like, well...that sucks, but I know there's a TSC nearby. I can fix it

Only thing I wanna know that you still have is that sweet ass W250

Despite the used car market being incredibly stupid, I have not sold any vehicles in about 8 years lol.

Duane

 

[ghost]

That popup winch is a sweet feature!!!

Agreed. I'm really thankful they didn't have that when I was trailer shopping, or I would be dragging around a Diamond C right now.

I want to thank yall for making my dream trailer go from $10K to $15K. I need to stay out of these threads.

 

[jeepinmatt]

I want to thank yall for making my dream trailer go from $10K to $15K. I need to stay out of these threads.

Doesn't have to be expensive. You can build your own. Just weld some tube to a winch plate and trailer for the pivot, and put an old axleshaft through it for the pivot pin. That's basically what I did.

 

[Tom@Hilltop_Machine]

It worked for my lathe.

 

[jeepinmatt]

It worked for my lathe.
View attachment 378788

Thanks, couldn't remember if I had any action shots, haha.

 

[ghost]

Doesn't have to be expensive. You can build your own. Just weld some tube to a winch plate and trailer for the pivot, and put an old axleshaft through it for the pivot pin. That's basically what I did.
View attachment 378784
View attachment 378785
View attachment 378786

Correction. I'll stay right here for more good ideas to steal....

 

[Stuntman Autoworks]

I researched and priced trailers for months and looked at every brand you can think of. For the quality you get coupled with well thought out design Diamond C is at the top. I've been happy with mine.

 

[redneckjeep87]

Out of curiousity......why has noone mentioned gatormade? See lots of em towed around. Have researched them as well as an option to replace my current equipment trailer.

I have a load trail king size dumb that I have absolutely beat the shit out of for 5 years I believe. It's been pretty solid. Some things I would do differently....mostly due to what I do with it.
Their "powder coat" absolutely sucks though. And the welds don't exactly look the best, but none have failed other than a door bracket weld that netted me an entire new gate assembly under warranty. Original jack sucked so it got upgraded.

But back to equipment trailers.
I had an older hudson that was built like a brick shithouse. Badass trailer, towed great, but was heavy and rode like shit.
Diamond c and maxxd look badass as hell. The loadtrail equipment trailers look nice.
My buddy has an older pj deckover goose that is shit quality. but it has held up for him

Gatormade?

 

[jeepinmatt]

Out of curiousity......why has noone mentioned gatormade? See lots of em towed around. Have researched them as well as an option to replace my current equipment trailer.

I have a load trail king size dumb that I have absolutely beat the shit out of for 5 years I believe. It's been pretty solid. Some things I would do differently....mostly due to what I do with it.
Their "powder coat" absolutely sucks though. And the welds don't exactly look the best, but none have failed other than a door bracket weld that netted me an entire new gate assembly under warranty. Original jack sucked so it got upgraded.

But back to equipment trailers.
I had an older hudson that was built like a brick shithouse. Badass trailer, towed great, but was heavy and rode like shit.
Diamond c and maxxd look badass as hell. The loadtrail equipment trailers look nice.
My buddy has an older pj deckover goose that is shit quality. but it has held up for him

Gatormade?

Never been around one personally, but from what I've seen they look a lot like the Big Texx, so they should be a decently built mass produced trailer. They are the ones with the Aardvark tongue, which always seemed like a really weird idea to me.

You lose the strength and flat top of a solid beam, and I don't really see that you gain anything.

 

[shawn]

Never been around one personally, but from what I've seen they look a lot like the Big Texx, so they should be a decently built mass produced trailer. They are the ones with the Aardvark tongue, which always seemed like a really weird idea to me.
View attachment 378981

You lose the strength and flat top of a solid beam, and I don't really see that you gain anything.

When I first saw them, I wondered if it was a way to streamline tag vs gooseneck production but I couldn't figure out how that made sense.

 

[redneckjeep87]

Never been around one personally, but from what I've seen they look a lot like the Big Texx, so they should be a decently built mass produced trailer. They are the ones with the Aardvark tongue, which always seemed like a really weird idea to me.
View attachment 378981

You lose the strength and flat top of a solid beam, and I don't really see that you gain anything.

They have standard tongue and goose as well. They say the aardvark tongues tow like a gooseneck....but I don't really see how considering it's still bumper pull. It does give a nice toolbox and spare tire storage as well as a nice dual jack configuration like a goose.

When I first saw them, I wondered if it was a way to streamline tag vs gooseneck production but I couldn't figure out how that made sense.

It does seem as though they are just using gooseneck parts. But correct in the fact that saving on materials doesn't make sense considering they do also build standard bumper pull trailers.

I truly would like to tow one to see how they are. There are several running around the lake norman area

 

[Ron]

We have a hot shot hauler out of Birmingham that uses one.
The only benefit I have seen is he can jack-knife it and turn it aorund in a super small area.....but only because he has a flat bed. If he had bedsides I think it would still get into those - and with the fklat deck he could just as easily use a goose