Trailer reccomendations

dieselfuelonly

Well-Known Member
Joined
Feb 9, 2008
Location
Chapel Hill, NC
Hi ya'll, looking for some opinions on what brand/type of trailers to keep a lookout for.

I'll probably be towing a mid-sized Bobcat skidsteer (probably 7XX series). I don't want 3500lb. axles, looking for something more in the 10.2-16k (total) range. Standard 235/85 tires would be great. Bumper pull is fine, don't have the extra money to spend on a GN right now. Brakes on both axles for sure.

16' would be fine, but longer is fine as well. Needs to have ramps and not a mesh get that will get crushed.

It seems like Kaufman trailers had some good deals. But I'd rather buy used if I can, and save some money (as long as the trailer is in good shape).

It'd be used for hauling a skid steer, a small Yanmar tractor with a bush hog (tractor + bush hog is 14' from weight box to tail wheel on bush hog), and whatever else.

Thanks for any ideas.

Dennis
 
I bought a used Hudson Brothers 10K#GW 18' (droptailed) for less than most "car hauler"s go for. According to Galen, they regularly pulled a Bobcat (and occasionally a huge skidsteer) without any issues.

If it held up to those muppets (has the scars to prove the abuse), there's little doubt it'd last forever with a little TLC. IMO, Hudson Bros have excellent "after the sell" customer service... were great to me 10 years later! Even sent me a new VIN plate & offered to bump it over the 10K#GW based on axle upgrades since manufactured (which I declined as 10,001# requires a whole new DL in NC).
 
Thanks for the help Caver Dave.
You say
which I declined as 10,001# requires a whole new DL in NC
Click to expand...
Do you mind explaining what that means? Does this mean I would have to have my CDL to legally pull a trailer rated over 10k in NC?
My truck is a 1996 3500 CTD... can't find the GVWR or GCWR info. on the web, and my truck is in one of the ECU parking lots about a 20 minute bus ride from here, so I can't check the manual... lol.
 
Nevermind, it all makes sense now. Found a thread on here (I think it was your thread) and someone said something about info. being written on the back of their licence, and sure enough there it is. Guess it has nothing to do with my truck unless I was over 26k lbs. or whatever.

So when it says "May tow a vehicle with a GVWR less than 10,0001 lbs.", this means that the trailer I buy will need to have a GVWR of less than 10,001lbs., correct? Even if I bought a trailer with a GVWR of 14k only loaded with 5k, I would still need to have a different licence, correct?

Is it possible to get this "upgraded" license without having to get my CDL?

[EDIT]

Looks like I would need the "Non-CDL Class A" license.

Class A: Required to operate any combination of vehicles exempt from commercial driver license (CDL) requirements with a gross vehicle weight rating (GVWR) of 26,001 pounds or more, provided the GVWR of the vehicle(s) being towed is greater than 10,000 pounds. Also required for operating any combination of vehicles with a GVWR of less than 26,001 pounds, if the vehicle being towed has a GVWR of more than 10,000 pounds.

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on the nc driver license. you will need a class a to pull any trailer that is over 10,000 gvw. the gvw will be listed on the vin plate. it is on my delta gooseneck. i used to haul cars and we had gotten parked because the gvw on our trailers were over 10k.

now what i have is a class a classified. you still have to do the tests for the air brakes and all. and you have to do a driving test. i took a car hauler with a dually truck and got mine. there is a restriction on your class a that says no tractor trailers.

i haul heavy equipment every day with my gooseneck and i have been stopped 3 times in the last year and all 3 times they wanted to see if i had the class a endorsement. i have NEVER been stopped when i had a jeep or truck or empty. i think they mainly are looking for commercial type offenders. like when i have the tractor or cable plow loaded.

i hope that helps any more questions just let me know.
 
Effective 9/1/08, a regular NC class C non-commercial license allows you to drive any combination of vehicles with a GCVWR less than 26k. Trailer GVW doesn't matter, so long as the total is under 13 tons.

Oh, and you've got to be over 18. I would get a replacement license printed if you plan on towing it out of state.
 
I would have recommended Kaufman, but I need a replacement ramp for my trailer, and they won't call me back despite leaving my name and number twice now on their message system. The first of which was 10 days ago.
 
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