Looking at car hauler/trailer, need some dimensions, please.

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ProjectBazza

ProjectBazza

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I'll try to keep this short. I'm looking for a used trailer/hauler, and I found this one:

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Seller states right in the Listing: "...works great for cars...but fenders are a bit narrow for a full size pickup." But no dimensions were given in the Listing....

So I reached out to him, and he responded back with a dimension of 81" between the fenders (they're selling the house and have moved out, so he asked his neighbor to get this for me).

"That's great!", I'm thinking, as U-Haul trailers are 79" between the fenders, and I've used them quite a few times in the past.

So I drove out there this morning (a 1-1/2 hour trip), and his neighbor must be an absolute idiot, as here's the inside width dimension I get:

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No idea where the neighbor got 81"...from anywhere or anything!

So here's the ask: Those of you with trailers, what is your "inside width dimension", and what do you haul with it?

I'm curious about this because I assume moving cars around would be ok, but I'd also like to move some 1/2 ton trucks every now and then, and this 75-3/4" dimension is "right there" on two of my trucks (depends on the tires), and I'm wondering what others here have on their trailers so I can decide whether to grab this one (if that dimension is a "standard"), or if I should hold-off and keep looking.

Thanks!

Jim
 
Keep looking. The widest I've seen between fenders is 83" . They are not rare. Maybe you can even find one with a winch or a tool box already put on.
 
slantflat said:
Keep looking. The widest I've seen between fenders is 83" . They are not rare. Maybe you can even find one with a winch or a tool box already put on.
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Funny you should say that, as that’s exactly what I stumbled across JUST NOW on CL not 5 minutes ago! Haven’t even reached out yet….

But good to know they’re out there!

Thank you!!

Jim
 
I'm at the beach for several more days, but I will measure mine when I get home. It has a 16' diamond plate steel deck with the last 4' dovetailed to make loading easier. I hauled an 88 D100 long bed on it from Myrtle Beach, SC...back home to Candler, NC and had no issues at all. My trailer was made by Superior Trailers, somewhere in GA. I've owned it since 2004. The car haulers listed on their website look identical to mine , except the new ones have diamond plate fenders. They list the deck as 7' wide...so it's 84". The doors on my 71 Challenger conv open with room to spare. Do did the doors on my 65 Barracuda when I hauled it home from Crackheadsville, GA. lol. Hope this helped some.
 
Dove tail and 6 foot slide out ramps. Deck the same width as the outside of the fenders front and rear so you can work on the car on the trailer. The trailer can also haul a dual wheel truck. Fenders lift off to open doors on low car. Fiberglass shield on front to protect what you are hauling. The trailer deck is 26 foot. We copied it from the red one next to it Just made the deck longer and wider.

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My dad has built a few and from our experience hauling may cars, trucks, and even heavy equipment from running to rollers. Look for a tilt bed as ramps suck, break over will tear things up if things hang low. Ask about bearing service, tire age, and brakes. Be sure it has functioning brakes too and load rated tires. Lights are all functioning or serviceable. D rings to tie off at the tires are nice plus extra to help load it to keep in on the trailer. Some trailers have drop away or down fenders. Spare tire is a boon. Wood beds are OK but metal pate is stronger. Just know empty they bounce a but until loaded. Look for quality structure, true channel, square/rectangle tube and not sheet metal stamped structure. Winch or ability for winch is handy too.
 
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16' is adequate, 18' is much better! Spacing between fenders needs to be a minimum of 82" I prefer 20' with it having a 2' dovetail and 83" between fenders...
 
I splurged 10 years ago and bought a 16' with the 4' dove tail and 6' ramps to haul my Demon bracket car, I couldn't be happier with it. Between the 4' dove tail and the 6' ramps, it makes loading any vehicle a dream. With the car balanced out on the deck, pulling it is great.
 
Done! 18’ trailer with dove and ramps, 83” wide deck, two 3500 pound Dexter axles, 225-15 tires, winch, tie downs, and good battery.

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Sold, and draggin’ her home right now!

Thank you for all of the responses, gents! I think I got it right, thanks to FABO!
 
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By the time I went outside to get dimensions off of mine, you'd made the right decision. Congrats on the correct purchase.
(Now, look carefully at the axles, if they are fabbed dropped ones like mine were. After thirty years of hard use, my brake axle stub broke off, and the wheel, brake, and axle stub disappeared into the california desert. I should have reinforced em, didn't occur to me till way too late.....)
My trailer is under my 33 in my avatar, hauled a 1 ton dually on it from Cali to AZ (with the outers in the bed).
 
My Carson Deluxe is 82" between the fenders.

Nice buy on the trailer. They come in handy, especially if you plan to go places and drag something with!
 
33IMP said:
By the time I went outside to get dimensions off of mine, you'd made the right decision. Congrats on the correct purchase.
(Now, look carefully at the axles, if they are fabbed dropped ones like mine were. After thirty years of hard use, my brake axle stub broke off, and the wheel, brake, and axle stub disappeared into the california desert. I should have reinforced em, didn't occur to me till way too late.....)
My trailer is under my 33 in my avatar, hauled a 1 ton dually on it from Cali to AZ (with the outers in the bed).
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Well, she made it back home ok (2-1/2 hour drive), but you bring up a good point. I don’t know anything about it, other than what the seller told me, so first thing I’m going to do on it is take the tires off, have all 5 of them balanced (it came with a same sized spare), and while they are out being balanced I’m going to go through the bearings and brakes.

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My father has a 31 foot 5th wheel trailer with a bent axle (tree fell on it several years ago), so looks like I’ll be in the trailer repair business once it warms up around here.
 
crackedback said:
My Carson Deluxe is 82" between the fenders.

Nice buy on the trailer. They come in handy, especially if you plan to go places and drag something with!
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That’s the basic idea, yeah. Not sure what, exactly, I’m going to buy just yet, but once the shop is insulated this summer I can start looking around for a roller, a Project, or something I know I can flip.
 
Mine looks a lot like yours (but shorter).
I had to add a panel at the back to fill in between the rails for a small car with big tires.
My trailer fits normal sized cars well (38" from inside of rail to inside) but my little car has to line up very well, to keep from falling in between.
I might have to do something about that.
 
My trailer has 3500 lb. axles also. They have the bearing buddy caps, which makes grease touch up really easy. But, I take them all apart to check the brakes and do a proper bearing repack about every 2 years....or more often if I pull it a lot. I put LED taillights on it because the 1157 bulb mfg's were getting fat off of me buying bulbs. The crack the whip effect beats the filaments out of them to quickly. After having to repair dents in fenders and having to replace a bent axle after I loaned mine to someone, I have learned to say, "No, I don't loan it out...but I will help you if it's local." :BangHead:
 
Be sure to pull and inspect the bearings, races, seals and hubs very well. On my trailer, I pull the wheels in the spring, inspect or replace as needed and check the one axle brakes. I'm toying with the idea of putting brakes on the second axle, just because I have the kit.
 
JDMopar said:
My trailer has 3500 lb. axles also. They have the bearing buddy caps, which makes grease touch up really easy. But, I take them all apart to check the brakes and do a proper bearing repack about every 2 years....or more often if I pull it a lot. I put LED taillights on it because the 1157 bulb mfg's were getting fat off of me buying bulbs. The crack the whip effect beats the filaments out of them to quickly. After having to repair dents in fenders and having to replace a bent axle after I loaned mine to someone, I have learned to say, "No, I don't loan it out...but I will help you if it's local." :BangHead:
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Oddly enough the only lights on it are taillights, which are these:

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No side marker lights, nothing. Not sure how this got through DOT regs (unless they've simply been removed), but since I can use these lights taillights on my boat trailer (they're sealed), I'll replace them with LED's, and add some marker lights (LED's as well).

And, yeah. Bearing Buddies will definitely be going on!

I'm a little curious about the hubs though, as the seller told me he purposely put on 5 x 5" hubs so that he could use those Lincoln "turbine" (my term) wheels. He used this to haul his open wheel racer (very little weight), but I'm planning on using it for up to a 3/4 pickup, so I'll have to look into whether those wheels will be up to the task.
 
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Demonracer said:
Be sure to pull and inspect the bearings, races, seals and hubs very well.
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Absolutely, positively. So many people neglect the bearings and brakes on their trailers, and when they fail, it's always when you're hauling a load and in the middle of nowhere.

I saw a truck yesterday driving towards me, and it caught my eye from way out in the distance because he was leaving a trail of white smoke. As it got closer, I saw he was hauling a car, and the smoke was coming from one specific wheel on his trailer. I'm thinking stuck brake or seized bearing. Poor guy had no clue.

....should've turned around and alerted him, but I was almost home and had to pee.

@ProjectBazza In addition to those side markers, I recommend buying a roll of that DOT C-2 reflective tape. I put that stuff all over my trailers. I'd rather my trailer look like a damn Christmas tree than invisible.
 

Putting aftermarket wheels on a trailer can be a bit dicey, in my experience I make sure of the wheel weight rating. I've used mostly steel wheels instead of aluminum because of the side stresses put on the wheels when turning the trailer.
 
Demonracer said:
Be sure to pull and inspect the bearings, races, seals and hubs very well. On my trailer, I pull the wheels in the spring, inspect or replace as needed and check the one axle brakes. I'm toying with the idea of putting brakes on the second axle, just because I have the kit.
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So now I'm curious....

I've used electric trailer brakes before, and I've owned a dual-axle boat trailer that had hydraulic brakes, but are you saying that only one axle may have brakes? Hunh! I guess I assumed that both would be powered...

Colder than he** here right now, but I'll have to take a few minutes to look at this when I get home this evening.
 
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Righty Tighty said:
@ProjectBazza In addition to those side markers, I recommend buying a roll of that DOT C-2 reflective tape. I put that stuff all over my trailers. I'd rather my trailer look like a damn Christmas tree than invisible
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The earlier trailer I looked at (the one that was too narrow) had that reflective tape on it, and I liked it:

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And I agree with you 100% about being as visible as possible!
 
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