Carting materials: Trailer or beater truck, van?

Apr 20, 2007 30 Replies

According to Dan :

If you have a vehicle that's suitable for towing, you simply can't beat a trailer for economy and convenience. Renting or delivery is always a possibility, but, having your own trailer means that you'll use it a lot more than you thought you would.

The Impreza might be a bit undersized for this task, so, it's worth checking. If you're going to be limited to city/suburban driving, it should be fine. We originally towed our trailer (that's 500lb empty) with a Nissan Multi which has a 500lb tow limit. With loads of > 2000lb once or twice. Very gently...

For general haulage, a 4x8 trailer like the one pictured here is about the very best choice:

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Our JDJ trailer looks just like the ICH4X8, so I assume the specs are the same.

The bed is actually 50"x98", so, getting 4x8 sheets in and out is easy.

Back when we bought ours (over 10 years now I think), a new one with a 2000lb rating was $800, and the 3500lb was $1200 new. Canadian dollars - at the time that was around 550US and 900US.. I haggled the 3500lb one down to $1000CDN.

Note the steel sides and railings. It also has steel rope loops for tiedowns, and the tail lights are just about indestructable (being mounted inside 4" angle iron).

JDJ looks like they've dropped the 2000lb version, and who knows what they charge now. JDJ is Canadian. They have US distributors. The design is pretty simple, so I'm sure that there are US makers of trailers very similar to that.

We have often taken ours on trips of several hundred miles at a go. Handles very well. Mind you, now that's been with a SUV with a 5500lb capacity.

We probably have had this trailer loaded to its limit.

The only mods we've made were to sling a piece of 3/4" sheathing in to protect the floor, and stick a jackstand with wheel to make it easier to move by hand.

According to Dan :

Look around, you should be able to find them locally.

Our Canadian Tire store chain has carried these things for at least 5 years now. Lists for about $450CDN (

harbor freight sells nice trailers cheap.

the convenience of tools like this far outweighs the cosat of a trailer, unless all your friends start asking for use of you.:(

truck insurance, repairs etc, a loser.

although i have a mini van for much hauling

Thanks for the reply. Forgot about them, this looks like a possibility:

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Some trailers can be folded and carted around. They're usually small capacity type - 200-300# load range - but the convenience can't be beat.

You fold one half over the other, stand it up, and roll it off on little castors.

note in pennsylvania getting a title and plate take some time, so purchase in advance and check on local regulations.

the nice thing about trailers, they require no additional insurance, you vehicle insurance automatically covers the towed trailer.

note in pennsylvania getting a title and plate take some time, so purchase in advance and check on local regulations.

the nice thing about trailers, they require no additional insurance, you vehicle insurance automatically covers the towed trailer.

????? Not around here- In MI, one of the questions when adding a car to policy, or starting new policy, is if it has a trailer hitch.

aem sends....

Before you go out and buy a trailer, rent one some weekend and take off for some remote spot in the country where you can fool around with it, practicing, in particular, how to back up in a straight line, then turn a corner (backwards) and put it PRECISELY between two marks. If you can do this with finesse after a couple of hours, then get a trailer. If you constantly muff the handling, get a truck. The thing that city boys don't know and farm boys have in their genes, is that trailers are not always driven forward and the most important part of the journey is getting the load to the site and that involves backing up. For you macho types who think you can do it like ranch hands, just try making it with a 4 wheel trailer going up a slope backwards...but that's another story. HTH

Joe

mine is a '86 with 300 inline six, rear wheel drive. so rusted out that it actually has decent gas mileage when not hauling (nearly

30mpg!)

dont expect any money back(i.e. depreciation) and if you record is good insurace wont jump that much(mine dropped when i combined it with the house insurance). rev has some points, but my position is a bit different.

also, I got mine for $400, limped it over to the auto garage and said "fix it" $800 later i said "fix it some more" then they ran out of stuff to fix, aside from replacing all the body panels with rust free parts. total cost into it as less than 3k, and i probably can sell it for $1500 no prob, but i aint. when enough body panels rust away enough, it'll become a bush truck that i'll use to pull stumps, tear down old barn foundations, erect a 40x80 workshop, and other such things you dont want to do with a "good" truck. then if the motor still runs, I have plans for an experimental airplane that it might fit into(hey, i can dream!)

oh, when my ford focus finaly gets paid off(in a few months) i'll got get me a NICE truck. maybe a F150 with an FM radio that works!

Just FYI you can find a similar trailer at Harbor Freight for a little over $200. After buying mine about 2 years ago, I am so please with it I'd keep it even if I did someday buy another pickup truck.

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then search for trailers. They have retail stores in many areas also.

Thanks Larry. Yeah I saw this one

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I think it's just what I need.

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