Trailer questions?

[low277]

Thanks for the reply's. My current needs are pretty simple. Its just me, so I don't need a lot of room. Mainly a nice place to sleep and/or get out of the weather.

My intended uses are camping, both in campgrounds and a occasional music festival. I would like the ability to carry a kayak on the roof and maybe a smaller motorcycle like a XT250 or a CRF250. I have had travel trailers, motor homes and even pickup campers in the past but Im looking for simple. I will spend most of my awake time outside. I would like a roof vent/fan and possibly air conditioning, a descent bed, but it only needs to be a twin size, full at the most. I would lke a place for a porta pot. I know its easy to get carried away and start getting bigger, heavier and more complicated.

I do see a large variation in trailer prices and I have no doubt that it affects the quality. My biggest concerns right now are,

Round Top vs Flat Top...........Is one significantly better than another. It appears in my area that Flat Tops are becoming the norm?

Life expectancy of trailer.......Is a 3000 dollar 6x12 going to fall apart in 5 years vs a 6000 dollar one lasting 10 years?

I live in far NW Minnesota so most use will be 500 miles of area code 56701.

[aggie79]

Let me first issue my disclaimer that I don't own a trailer. One advantage that I see for a round top trailer over a flat top trailer, especially where there is snow, is that the trim that joins the top to the side wall is on the side for a round top trailer. This should allow rain and melting snow to better shed off the roof. The trim on a flat top trailer is on top of the roof metal (in most cases but not all) and there will slight pounding of water with the potential for more leaks.


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[CoventryKid]

Does anyone have a good idea how much weight that their conversion has added?

My trailer weighed 1,870 lbs empty with spare. This is what NEO said it weighed but I weighed it myself and it was 1,870lbs empty - a good start!

FWIW: From my notes during the build:

Feb 3/15: Added 3 windows, 2 skylights, insulation and strapping: +352 lbs
Mar 8/15: Framing complete, kitchen counter, sink, water tank, etc.: +594 lbs
Apr 26/15 Finished conversion: 3,388 lbs (without our stuff) Weight of trlr left/right: 1,672 lbs, 1,716 lbs
June 7/15 On the road with everything in: 4,245 lbs.

So total weight conversion added: 1,518 lbs. This is approximate as I did not make a note of what I had in the trailer (appliances, etc.) on this date.

Hope this helps1

[hankaye]

low277, Howdy;

Mine has a 'rounded' top, it's not rounded very much but enough to qualify for that
designation. That will lead to some very minor adjustments when I go to install Solar
panels on the roof. Placing a kayak up there would be just as easy with either although
'flat' may be a bit easier here as well ...


Life expectancy of trailer, Ok, How well do you take care of the things you own ?? That will
be the biggest factor for your trailers life span. Just like anything else, you take
care of it and it will be there for you.

hank

[Padilen]

Thanks for the reply's. My current needs are pretty simple. Its just me, so I don't need a lot of room. Mainly a nice place to sleep and/or get out of the weather.

My intended uses are camping, both in campgrounds and a occasional music festival. I would like the ability to carry a kayak on the roof and maybe a smaller motorcycle like a XT250 or a CRF250. I have had travel trailers, motor homes and even pickup campers in the past but Im looking for simple. I will spend most of my awake time outside. I would like a roof vent/fan and possibly air conditioning, a descent bed, but it only needs to be a twin size, full at the most. I would lke a place for a porta pot. I know its easy to get carried away and start getting bigger, heavier and more complicated.

I do see a large variation in trailer prices and I have no doubt that it affects the quality. My biggest concerns right now are,

Round Top vs Flat Top...........Is one significantly better than another. It appears in my area that Flat Tops are becoming the norm?

Life expectancy of trailer.......Is a 3000 dollar 6x12 going to fall apart in 5 years vs a 6000 dollar one lasting 10 years?

I live in far NW Minnesota so most use will be 500 miles of area code 56701.

My CTC is setup for my TW200 and a kayak. I have the ability to sleep up to 4. And with out kayak I have room for second bike. I had limited funds & physically was limited when I started. While I like mine I have more ideas.


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[Gonefishin]

My "$3,000" 6X12 Haulmark is just over 7 years old now. No leaks, no breaks, no wiring problems (factory), and only has some exterior damage from an antelope running into it at 60 mph. Even that did not bend the frame. I've spent hundreds of nights in it, gone through two sets of tires, and broke a leaf spring going up a boulder-covered hill. (was still able to limp into a town and get it replaced) So yes, a $3,000 6X12 can last 10 years. I live where they salt the roads too. I haven't done anything to the outside bottom since I bought it.

The roof has a very slight "bubble" to it, but not sure if its classified as a round or flat. Its pretty flat when I get up there, but I leave it parked outside in the snow and cold all winter, as well as in the thunderstorms of summer. That's one of the reasons for a cargo trailer--durability. So far-so good.

[low277]

Thank you for the replies!! I spoke with a dealer today and they are having a indoor trailer show this weekend. They happen to handle Featherlight and Mission brands of cargo trailers. Manufacturer reps are supposed to be on site so the salesperson said it would be a good time to discuss any options or questions.

With any luck I should know much more in a week or so!!!

[low277]

I have been looking at some manufacturer websites and it can be overwhelming. I think Featherlite may be out of my price range but I did notice something that they offer. It appears that they and a couple of others offer a 6.5 or 6.7 x length. They show inside width as being 77 inches. Is this just a 7ft trailer or is it actually something in between?

[walkrdg]

My 6' wide Haulmark Transport came stock with 5.2mm luan walls. I upgraded to 3/8" plywood when ordering. The weight difference between the two materials added approximately 100 lbs to the trailer, but also added significant strength and a better base to fasten things to. (I see by their new specifications, they now build with a 3/8" material as stock.) My interior width is exactly 68 inches, giving me a wall thickness of 3 inches. This should be correct because I put a 3 7/8" bolt through and had just enough thread for the nut to go on flush with a washer.

Isn't this fun?
Dave

[yycwrangler]

I've just purchased a 6x12 trailer myself. A Neo all aluminum. I'm pulling it with a Jeep Wrangler JKU. I was concerned about wind drag from the trailer, although you can't get a worse aerodynamic vehicle than a Jeep Wrangler. From my readings a vnose helps with wind drag, and also to a smaller degree rounded top as opposed to the wind hitting a square top. I also opted for a slant in the vnose. We'll see if that makes a difference or not. I'm still a firm believer that the rear is the worst culprit for causing aerodynamic problems and those aritabs or a similar rendition will be going on my trailer as soon as I receive it.

hope that helps

Cheers
Al

[low277]

yycwrangler.

I know a guy with a NEO trailer and it is a nice looking trailer and he is happy with it. I did check into featherlite, but I mght be in for some sticker shock.

Its none of my business but how did yours compare in price to some other brands?

Looking forward to seeing pictures of yours as well.

Tomorrow I will look at Mission and Featherlight at a indoor showroom and I may get to see some Stealth, Haulmark, Pace American and Look on Sunday.
Its a lot of trailer brands out there. Maybe I am over thinking it!!!

[low277]

I looked at a couple of different trailer brands over the weekend. I stopped at a indoor show that a dealer had and looked at Featherlite and Mission. The Featherlite factory rep was there and I was given a quote on the spot. It was higher than I had anticipated. 6.5 x 12 with a V nose, increase height to 6'6", add 1 roof vent, delete side vents, barn doors with bar lock on each door, rv door latch along with bar lock and aluminum wheels. 8-10 week for delivery.

Full price as quoted was 8800 and change, show special was about 7400, with tax and license about 7900.

I told them I would think about it. It was a nice trailer but it's way out of my original budget.

One thing that I really liked was the inside width was about 76 inches.

Anyone know of other manufacturers that make a in between width?

[hankaye]

low277, Howdy;

Have you looked into full width but with inset wheel wells? The wheel wells are
only set in about a half of the wheels width so you don't have much space lost.
MtnDon has one and has some excellent pics in his thread. You can see it here
nearer to the bottom. viewtopic.php?f=42&t=58336&start=60

hank

[Padilen]

Why so much? What extras did you get quoted?
My all aluminum 7x12-7. I think was $5400.



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[low277]

hankaye, I did see MtnDon's build thread. Very nice! I never asked the factory rep if narrowing well wells was a option?

Paddling, options were, 1 roof vent, adding 6 inches of height, adding 2 additional bar locks, one to the curb side door and another to the back barn doors, silver color was optional and aluminum wheels.

I knew it was going to be higher, I just didn't realize how much more. I went there expecting 6000 give or take.