Jim Walsh said:
author="eernest4" date="1198495439
You should consider spending $350.oo for a 4 ft x 8 ft trailer & another 100.oo fo the hitch.
For like 450.oo ,you can almost triple your payload & the trailer is so handy for larger items
like picking up a new wood stove or splitter or lawn tractor,snowblower,you get the idea, instead of paying $ to have it delivered.
I wouldn't want to be without mine as it allows me to drive a 40 mpg honda civic & still have a pick up truck load capacity.
Heck, I even put a tow hitch on the 04 toyota celica GTS, avitar, upper left.
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We are looking into a trailer, so where can you purchase a 4'x8' trailer with 1/2 ton payload for $350.00? A "Class A" trailer hitch is $175 properly installed + Ball.
Those poor rice burners!
*******************************************************************************Hi Jim, How you doing, Merry Christmas & Happy Holidays!
first, you should look to see if you can get a bolt on class a hitch that you can put on yourself
with just a socket wrench & a open end & box combo wrench. They , well some, at least, are no drilling, they allign up with existing holes in the chasis & bolt on in your drive way in 20 minutes. You just need a friend to hold it up in place, under the car, while you get 2 bolts started. After that,its a piece of cake. It is well worth paying $20 or $30 more for that type of hitch.
Also,
www.ask.com search for the cheapest tow hitches. You will get a list, but if you go through them all,like I did, you will find one guy will sell it to you 40.oo or 50.oo cheaper than all the rest. IT PAYS TO SHOP HARD.
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As to the trailer itself, start at (broken link removed) It know they have them for $325.oo or $350.oo + ship
There are many internet sellers with similar prices, I see them often. Just an offhand chance
www.tractorsupply.com
Also,
www.ask.com search for fold away trailers or cheapest 4'x8' trailer or trailer kits.
Don't forget the used market, I paid $75.oo for my trailer, all assembled with floor & side boards.
www.craigslist.com or
www.bargainnews.com
If you buy a used trailer, have the wheel bearings pulled,inspected & greased or changed out if need be. Always care a spair trailer tire & a jack & a can of fix a flat, the one with the hose.
Do install an original bearing buddy Kit to the axil.
www.bearingbuddy.com the one with the spring tension disc in the middle.
Nothing worst that sitting by the side of the road with a blown wheel bearing on your trailer, waiting for the repair man to come back before dark, with,you hope, the wheel bearing replacement that actually fits your trailer, instead of the wrong replacement part.
Almost makes you want to carry an extra wheel bearing kit in the trunk, doesn't it.(word to the wise.)
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Look for the 1000lb load rating, not all the trailers are rated that high, most are not, but you will find some if you look hard enough, so check the specs.
These are the fold away type trailer without a bed or sides, You have to buy a 3/4 pressure treated 4 'x 8' plywood sheet from the lumber yard as well as 2x 4 x8 's for the sides & may have to make your own fenders out of 3/8 or 1/2 plywood.
I try not to tow more than 800 lbs & if I must,inspect your fully inflated tires to see how flat they look under the added wieght, you might want 2 offload some weight until the tires look somewhat round again & make two trips instead. Inspect the clearance between the top of the tires & the bottom of the fenders, ther may not be any if you are too overloaded.
Never exceed the 200lb maximun toungue wieght & try to balance the load so that the center of gravity, center of mass is over the axil. Bounce on both the tongue & the back of the trailer.
You should get roughly equal movement in both places. If the tongue doesn't bounce back
readily, you have too much tongue wieght, not good for your rear shocks or the trailer.
Redistribute some of the load towards the back of the trailer & try the bounce test until satisfied that both front & rear bounce equally. Now your load is properly distributed.
ALWAYS TIE IT DOWN, AS WELL AS YOU CAN WITH AS MUCH ROPE AS YOU GOT.
Use all the rope you have with you.
WHEN I TOW HEAVY LOADS I DRIVE 25 MPH, 30MPH IF I MUST or 55 on a smooth super highway. Never start or stop fast when towing. never turn hard or fast when towing.
Watch out for bumps & pot holes.
Slow & smooth is the ticket.
600 lb cast iron stoves have been known to bounce off trailer beds & pick up beds, You pick up the many little pieces with a shovel & a broom.
Others have been there & done that. I use lots & lots of rope, instead.
One guy paid me $200.oo to straighten out all the bent sheet metal of his toro 826 snowblower when it rolled off the back of his pick up bed & hit the ground at 12 mph.
I told him not to pop the clutch , but he was stuburn & didn't listen & then it cost him.
That is what usually happens when people ignore my advise.
He only had 1 bungy cord on the snowblower & I say" Are you sure thats enough to hold it??
Aren't you even going to close the tail gate. He ignore me, now he &200;.oo poorer & I'm $200.oo richer & his snowblower runs again, saved from premature death. Took me 8 hours to repair all the damage he done & I warned him twice, before it happened.
I hope this helps.All info is true.No BS, here zone.events actually happened.
edit: almost forgot. I didnt like the fold up feature, I felt it weakened the trailer too much, so I bolted it firmly in the open position. I might have bolted a piece of angle iron across the hinge
or just put down a solid piece of plywood flooring . Can't remember, too long ago
