Hi everybody, I'm considering buying a utility trailer to haul stuff in. I'd like to be able to go to the landscaping supply place and get a yard of top soil, or mulch, or whatever. What I don't know is how much these things typically weigh, so I can see how much of a trailer I need to buy.
FYI, I just sold my pickup truck in favor of a Jeep, so I'm looking for an alternative to the bed of the truck.
TIA
Mike
If you are going to haul soil, stone, concrete block, you need a minimum of
1 tone, preferably 2 ton.
The rock will weigh about 3000 pounds for a cubit yard. Most other stuff will be less.
Google is your friend... :)
lb/cu-yd
My estimator book says sand (dry) weighs 2900 pounds per cubic yard. Anyone doing landscaping should have a trailer that carries at least 4000 pounds (2 tons). A yard of sand doesn't do much; I put 8 yards in a 25 x 50 foot garden area (soil was mostly dense clay). If stone or brick are contemplated, it would be a good idea to consider more than 2 tons.
Thanks for the responses. It sounds like I should look for something that can carry up to about 3000 lbs. If I need to get more than a yard or two of whatever, I have no problem paying the $20 to have it delivered. All that I need is the ability to pickup some mulch or topsoil once a year or so, and something to haul firewood and stuff when we go camping.
Does anyone know much about trailers? If I want something to haul up to
3000 lbs., can I get away with a single axle? Also, my new Jeep Liberty is rated to tow up to 5000lbs. Adding in the weight of the trailer, does this sound resonable?Thanks again,
Mike
Mike,
What you are looking for is a double axle trailer with a braking system. Kind of like what a car dealer uses to haul a single car. Your Jeep may be rated for 5000 pounds , but you would be taking chances if you pulled more than 4000 including the weight of the trailer. Pulling it is not the problem. Stopping is the problem.
I had a good friend that foolishly tried to pull a horse trailer loaded with wood with a half ton truck. As he was going down a not so big hill the trailer tried to push his truck and wound up jack-knifing. He said he aged 10 years in less than 30 seconds. He survived, and to follow up his bad judgement, had to unload the trailer and have all of us help him haul his load.
Look at what landscapers use to haul a trailer with a yard of sand, rock or dirt. A 3/4 ton truck (weighs 6,000) or better.
Best deal, get a light trailer and when you need a yard of dirt have it delivered.
Bill in New Mexico
Did the trailer have brakes?? SWMBO and I used to have horses, and we routinely pulled a two-horse trailer (2700# empty, around 4500-4800# with the horses, tack, and a couple bales of hay) with a half-ton truck. Up hills, down hills, wherever we needed to -- and never had a problem like that. Of course, our trailer had electric brakes, too, and the unit was calibrated to apply the trailer brakes *before* the brake pedal got down far enough to put any pressure on the truck's hydraulics. It also had a control which permitted the driver to apply the trailer's brakes alone, independent of the truck's brakes.
Our biggest problem was going *up* hills. Even a 360ci V8 has to work a bit to pull that much weight up a steep hill.
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