Buy a trailer (instead of a pickup truck)

[cRiPpLe_rOoStEr]

For some folks, buying a Chinese mini truck which has a quite small footprint instead of a random econobox and utility trailer was quite reasonable...

[GrayRaceCat]

Originally Posted by oil pan 4

I have found that owning a trailer has some advantages over a large pickup.
Sometimes your line of work calls for a giant 4wd pickup but thats not the case for most of us.

This is a thread for anyone thinking about getting a large pickup truck as a second vehicle or replacing their smaller pickup with a bigger, much lower MPG pickup when adding a trailer would do.

I bought my hinged fold up "bolt together northern tool trailer" for $360.

I use a similar trailer from Harbor Freight with the optional 12" wheels. I've had it going on 20 years now. I find that if I need anything bigger, it's cheaper to rent a U-Haul or Home Depot pickup truck for a day.

<edit> I just checked, and I built and registered it in 1998!

[freebeard]

Suppose you spend $6,000 on a trailer and it turns out to be a horrid mistake? Guillotine it with a rachet strap and start over.

Don’t buy micro campers (fixing my expensive mistake)

He retrieved about $1500 worth of parts and dropped another $2000.

The taper in plan deserves the Ecomodder seal of approval. He asserts 1-2MPG benefit.

[GrayRaceCat]

Originally Posted by freebeard

...Guillotine it with a rachet strap and start over.

You didn't, by any chance, mean Garrote?

[freebeard]

I take your point.

[cRiPpLe_rOoStEr]

Originally Posted by freebeard

Suppose you spend $6,000 on a trailer and it turns out to be a horrid mistake? Guillotine it with a rachet strap and start over.

I usually take those "micro" trailers with a grain of salt. Unless the tow rig is too underdimensioned to pull a more conventional one, I wouldn't be so willing to try some of those minimalistic trailers which look better on those staged "glamping" pages than for real-life usage.

[redpoint5]

Originally Posted by cRiPpLe_rOoStEr

I usually take those "micro" trailers with a grain of salt. Unless the tow rig is too underdimensioned to pull a more conventional one, I wouldn't be so willing to try some of those minimalistic trailers which look better on those staged "glamping" sites than for real-life usage.

My trailer has to be super reliable; it's held together by like 100 bolts, assembled in my garage into the early morning hours, while quenching my thirst with a beer. I'm sure it's excellent!

Funny how some reviewers give the HF trailer a 5 star review, then go on to describe how they made sure it was square, sanded it down, threw the bolts away and welded the pieces together, replaced the bearings, replaced the tires and wheels, replaced the ball coupler, threw away the wiring for the lights, and repainted.

Only mods I've made so far have been to replace the crappy castors that slid rather than pivot, and used speaker wire instead of the disintegrating wiring that comes with it, and replaced the bearing grease (which I think is specified in the manual).

[cRiPpLe_rOoStEr]

Originally Posted by redpoint5

Funny how some reviewers give the HF trailer a 5 star review, then go on to describe how they made sure it was square, sanded it down, threw the bolts away and welded the pieces together, replaced the bearings, replaced the tires and wheels, replaced the ball coupler, threw away the wiring for the lights, and repainted.

Such reviews become quite pointless at all, considering they basically rebuilt the hell out of those trailers before giving it any actual use.

[redpoint5]

Originally Posted by cRiPpLe_rOoStEr

Such reviews become quite pointless at all, considering they basically rebuilt the hell out of those trailers before giving it any actual use.

Same thing with online recipes. Someone will give a 5-star review on the recipe, and then go on about all the substitutions, additions, subtractions, changes in quantities, and differences in cooking they made. They're giving their own recipe a 5-star review on someone else's recipe.

[cRiPpLe_rOoStEr]

I used to see more trailers before those Brazilian coupé-utilities became available with double-cab...