I'm driving from CA to the east coast (CT) next month and back to WA in November and am hoping to aquire a trailer somewhere in that trip since it seems like they're quite a bit cheaper in other parts of the country than out here.

I need a 28+5 or 32' flat deck - I can go +/- 1-2 ft but no more. Any longer and it'll be over length with my box truck, and any shorter and it woln't fit both cars I need to move. Dovetail is preferred. Must be a tadem dual 20k+ gvw. 22k would be nice but doesn't need to be too heavy. Can't have any nose deck or square nose frame.

This will be a ranch/hobby trailer, so doesn't need to be fancy or pretty, but I do want something in good shape and functional. I'll be hauling it home and immediately using it, so everything needs to functional - particularly the brakes/bearings. I can deal with tires and lights, though the price would have to be right if I've got to put new tires on it.

I would prefer to buy used from a private party, but I think I'll likely have to go through a dealer since I'm very specific in the trailer specs and timing. Any recommendations for a trailer dealer would be welcomed especially if they support the club.

I am fairly flexible on geography, but less so on timing. I'll go more or less where I can get the best deal. Any thoughts on where is better/worse? As I understand it some states are better or worse on taxes from something like this. It'll eventually be registered in either CA or WA, so I'll probably have to pay there too - not sure how that works buying out of state from a dealer. Ideally I want to pick the trailer up on the way back in Nov, but may be able to inspect/pay for it on the way out in aug as long as it can be stored for that time.

If anyone has or knows of a trailer that would work or has suggestions on a dealer please let me know.

Thanks,
~John

If looking at used, I would look carefully at any in the rust belt area before I handed my money over. Most used daily around here are nearly rusted thru and the spring perches are breaking from rust by the time they are 10 years old. Of course there may be that occasional use one that is sweet as pie, just look close.

Good to know. That's the kind of info I'm looking for. I'd have thought that something like a trailer which is mostly heavy structural steel wouldn't be affected that bad but guess I'm wrong.

One of the issues I have with this is not being able to really inspect before planning on buying something - I can always refuse delivery, but then woln't have a trailer. Can always get one on the west coast once I get back but that complicates plans a bit.

I bought a trailer on a trip due to pricing. At the time Colorado was on a boom. Found the factory of a respected brand. I then called and asked who would give me a good deal on one of their trailers. After a round of "we can't know that...", I asked who is close ( low shipping ), moves a fair amount of trailers and is a small shop. I called the guy, told him my story ordered the trailer and all were happy. It was a Titan 14k that fit my needs at the time.

Here is a new one
www.clarkecountymotors.com/2016_PJ%20TRA...ceola_IA_4087745.veh

It is a little heavier than you requested, but it might be a good data point.
Osceola is south of DesMoines (I-80) on I-35 about 40 miles. For full disclosure I do know the owner. My brother has owned a couple of PJ trailers and really likes them. It might be a good brand to check out.

Hope this helps.

certain trailers are made with a bit more focus on quality and longevity as well. in my neck of the woods, the H&H brand of trailers had robust, low temp, rubber sealed wiring harnesses that every connection was in a true trailer type sealed junction box, or was soldered and heat shrinked to prevent water ingresss and future corrosion issues. CV trailers and Snake river trailers were considerably cheaper to purchase, but they used the run of the mill supercheap plastic encased wiring that is a little four coloured band of wires that break when moved or jostled in cold weather, splice connections were those junky blue splicing things that just crimp through the insulation of the existing wire and add another wire to the circuit, light terminations were blue, plastic crimp on butt connectors with no tape or sealant to prevent water ingression. i purchased a brand new CV trailer because of the price difference, i figured i could entirely rewire the trailer for less than the added cost of the H&H trailer where the only real difference i could find was the wiring system. the original wire harness lasted thrtee years and i did end up completely re-wiring it for about 150 bucks. if i had to pay the labour that cost would have easily been over 1000 dollars, and probably wouldn't have been to the same quality or all new materials, they would have just patched the wiring where necessary.

my new snake river trailer has the same issue as the cv trailer, poor wiring harness, it is still functioning so i will fix it when it fails.

another thing i do that i have seen many other people do is add extra mudflaps under the body of the trailer to prevent the rock damage to the electrical system.

dexter axles are pretty much standard issue in canada, and parts are cheap and readily available. it is cheaper to replace the whole backing plate and shoes with hardware, springs and a new magnet then it is to buy the shoes and the magnet and the springs separatley. there are other axle manufacturers out there, but i have found that dexters are most readily serviceable in any small town. you can almost always find a shop that carries a backing plate or two, a spare rim if needed, studs, nuts and hubs, and wheel bearings. you may not be able to rebuild 4 or six complete hubs, but if you lose one or two you can usually be back on the road in a few hours.

i have also seen a lot of frames that have mud/dirt sitting in the inboard side of the main frame i beam, this can cause excessive corrosion as it never gets washed out, and the sun doesn't shine on it to dry it quickly. check the frames for corrosion if buying used as they are generally never painted on the parts that no one can see from walking around the outside.

i don't have experience with owning hydraulic surge, electric over hydraulic, or vacuum over hydraulic brakes. my dad has a vacuum over hydraulic trailer that is a pain to use as none of the trucks he has anymore has the vacuum controls. i beleive he converted that trailer to pure electric brakes, it's been about 15 years since i have towed that trailer so i don't know what it's current condition is.

Have heard a lot of good things about the new disc brakes on the 10,000 LB axles but everyone says that unless you have a new enough truck with the disc brake controller built in don't go that route. The add on brake controllers seem to be painful to keep working.

Check Craig's List in the areas that you will be traveling. I bought new because I couldn't find anything decent used. I live in the rust belt
Chuck C

Good info, thanks.

Will probably do regular electric brakes. Electric over hydraulic sounds nice, but I've heard it's hard to get the controller to work right and it adds cost.

I agree with craiglist being a good idea, but the logistics and having a very specific need make it harder. Only way it would work is if I got lucky enough to find the right trailer at exactly the right time - hard to get folks to hold something without being paid, and not wise to pay without actually seeing the trailer not to mention how much everyone worries about scams these days.

I'm thinking I'll focus in the central south - TX,OK,etc - that seems to fit best in my route plans and it looks like there's a decent number of trailers there.

friend that has one in Lancaster CA New 2 or 3 years ago. He paid around 9k for it and wants 7k? He didnt research what driver license he needed to use it. It has no miles on it. Call him , Roger at 661 942 6283