Bronco car trailers

[nvrstuk]

Looking for a heavier duty then what I currently have, 16 ft car trailer. Current one is 7k gross.

Yes, price is an issue since as I'm sure there are some trailers out there that cost more than my first two houses. lol. I'm just not mentally ready to spend that much for a trailer. lol

I have a seven thousand pound five lug with wood decking as my current trailer now and it's been great for the last 29 years... I prefer wood as it doesn't burn my leg or hand if I touch it in the summer heat... won't melt the kayaks that will be sitting on it when slid under the Bronco axles on trips.

I put 2 new axles under it recently - well, the second axle is going in on Friday or Sat. All new brakes and it works great. But i'm just thinking I would love tires that would be guaranteed not to blow l o l and with larger brake drums I'd have more braking capacity, which would be a nice thing.

I still want to use this as utility trailer as I have side racks already built (29 yrs old) and I will modify them to match whatever the stake pocket layout is on this one.

I do not want a dovetail because I want it flat for the entire 16 feet cause I've been known to haul thirty foot pieces of irrigation pipe an hundreds if not thousands of twenty foot long dimensional pcs, like 2x12"s , units of 16' er's etc so it's multipurpose.

Ideas, brands, any that you know of for sale (PNW), etc.

THANKS

 

[dmoses42]

I can't help with anything local to you, but in my area, there are several places that build trailers (good sized operations) and most sell to the public. My car trailer is a 18 foot dovetail I bought in Jacksonville, Florida over 20 years ago. Wood floor with ramps that slide underneath and secure with pins. It has stake pockets but I never built any sideboards for it. When I bought mine, they had a 6 month same as cash deal, so that's what I did. Seems like it was about $2k or $2200 back then. I know, not much help.

 

[Broncobowsher]

I have used several trailers, more than I can count. But don't own one, so no ownership bias.
Local availability is huge. A brand only sold on the other coast isn't going to mean much locally.
I find 18' much more useful than 16' So many more vehicle and stuff fit on it. better chance of actually getting tongue load right.
7000 pound rated trailers are a bit boarderline. Usually built to be sold at a price point. Who has the cheapest one. I'll generically lump them at about 2000# empty and with a 5000# Bronco they are at capacity. Fine when new. But a 10,000# GVW trailer weighs nearly the same and has better margin for when it is 5 years old. You are not running tires and bearings at the limit.
I know price is a consideration, but if you can spring for it, hydraulic tilt deck. Flat, no dove tail. Full length of the trailer is usable for hauling long stuff. No ramps to mess with. Since you haul some pretty random cargo that sounds like you may have to work to get it on, that tilt deck is a dream for loading. We have a couple at work. The 26' 14,000 GVW is a monster, too big. But man is it nice. The 10k 18 or 20' (I forget) is the go to one. With a winch on the front, nearly a tow truck. It has done some recoveries that you could not do with a flat or dove tail trailer and ramps. That includes drop offs. Key is power up and down. The gravity tilt decks or sliding axle trailers are not the same.

 

[ssray]

I have a H & H 24' tilt bed aluminum, heavy axles and wood deck. It has steel parts for the tilt portion and the power pack is between the tongue and not under the deck. It has a remote FOB as well. One negative with a tilt is loading in snow with the wood deck. Any snow, frost or ice and that deck is slick. I dont do much with it in the winter but I figured some strips of cattle panel that could bolt down would fix that in the winter.

They are made in Western Iowa so not far for my shipping but I dont know how far west they might be sold. You might have to come to NE for some 4 wheeling and pick one up.

Heres info for fun!

PS 3 dealers in OR, Napa ID and Wst MT.

 

[gnsteam]

I recently picked up this used, 2019, 16' aluminum Sundowner, all purpose trailer for $5K. Here are a couple pictures and the specifications.

 

[DirtDonk]

On a metal deck version, wouldn’t some very rough, sandpaper like, or even a wrinkle finish coating keep it much cooler for laying down on or kneeling on?
I’ve been shocked at the difference in temperature of things that have been sitting in the sun with wrinkle paint versus standard.

 

[Yeller]

Aluminum trailers are pretty, lighter weight, and have some good points, especially if you live in the rust belt. I don't have one on purpose. every weld joint is a stress riser, stress risers and aluminum don't mix, they create cracks, if it is not 100% huck bolted I have no interest. They are fine if you don't plan on pulling 100,000 miles, and you have the ability to make crack repairs they can be great. My current 7 year old hauler has nearly 80k on it, has been flawless minus getting bit by the chinese bearing bug. Now that we have a coach again it will start seeing more miles, it will be near 100k by this time next year.

recipe is pretty simple, get a trailer with 5" or larger channel frame, 16" wheels and brakes on both axles. Beyond that it is 100% all personal preference. For bronco hauling I like 12-14' of deck and a single 7000lb or 8000lb axle with 4400lb rated all steel belted tires (no nylon or polyester belts).

 

[ssray]

On a metal deck version, wouldn’t some very rough, sandpaper like, or even a wrinkle finish coating keep it much cooler for laying down on or kneeling on?
I’ve been shocked at the difference in temperature of things that have been sitting in the sun with wrinkle paint versus standard.

Things can really surprise you sometimes. We once painted a 500 gal propane tank with some aluminum colored paint thinking it would reflect heat away. I think it was as bad as black would of been. There's a reason why they're painted white we found out.

 

[Yeller]

PS: LOL

Those that live in the NE or SE or KA might not have issues with 3500lb axles, you will never have an issue. those of us that pull with diesels and run west, we set the cruise at 70 or 75mph and do not slow down for anything, up hill, down hill, wind, it just doesn't care, and we will do that for 500-1000 miles per day, 3500lb bearings just cook. Have a friend that has pulled out to Moab with us several times with 3500lb axles, he replaces the wheel bearings before we leave to go and before we leave to come home, they are brown they have been so hot. I repack my 7000lb bearings every year when, I remember, have only had 1 bearing issue on my trailers ever, in literally a million miles of towing.

 

[ep67bro]

I have an old 16ft car trailer all steel deck dual axle with dual axle brakes 7,000lbs GVW. I have had it about 20years. It has served me well over the years and has hauled everything from Broncos, to classic cars, to wood for decks, to tractors and everything in between. But if I had to do it all over again I would get at least an 18ft deck 10,000lbs GVW at least 15" rims, dual axle brakes and all LED lights. The flat deck would be nice but I found the flat decks put the car ramps at a steeper angle so loading cars can be a PITA.

I am on the east coast so brands out here probably wont be much good to you. My brother in law just bought exactly what I described and it is sweet.

Good luck lots of options out there!

 

[Yeller]

@jamesroney that needs to be a consideration for every state, when I had a F350 dually 14k gvw and a 14k trailer is 28k so CDL territory, I have one, but it gets gray really fast state to state, federal gets just as fuzzy, they want to treat you as commercial even if your private until you rub their noise in their own rule book. The escape clause is if you are pulling with a motor home, it can get weird in some states but for the most part you can do what you want with a motorhome. @nvrstuk and I have a side discussion about upgrading the running gear on his existing trailer and not changing the gvw of the trailer, I would bet in KA, OR, WA there is a licensing relief for that, assuming more gvw = more taxes. In my own state I can't get a title for a trailer, and license plate is not required for non commercial. The other key is transporting to attend a "festival", wipes most of the federal requirements out for the average person. Part of Personal Freedom, the freedom to attend festivals LOL.

 

[ntsqd]

A friend recently purchased one of those 9,999 trailers. I think in any other State its a 12k or 14k trailer. I wonder what KA does with owner-built, i.e. unrated, trailers? Go by the cumulative max weight on the tire sidewalls? Am thinking this may be an issue when I finally pull the trigger on building a partial clone of @Yeller's single axle trailer.

There's a lesson hidden in Overland trailer building's RoT of using at least the 3.5k axle under a ~1.5k trailer, it's for the larger wheel bearings. They stand up to off-road use longer and better than the axle most would expect to use. I think it reasonable to apply the same thinking to Bronco hauling trailer.

For long hauls at speed on a trailer with marginal bearings I'd want the largest OD tire that would fit. Slow down the bearing speed. I'd also use Redline CV-2 grease in the bearings, but then I do that anyway. Then if the bearings are still running too warm start looking for a deal on krytox grease and run it in those bearings. Putting axles with bigger bearings under the trailer would actually be more economical than running krytox grease long term......

MISF & I built a utility trailer with a near zero budget. Most of it was donated or given to the project. A CUCV gave it a bed. An IH 3/4t gave it a frame. An old square spline D60 gave up it's spindles & wheel hubs, we welded them into a straight piece of large OD tube left over from a Demo Derby car. Which we then put in a fill and drain plug, and a vent. A friend of his working in the oil patch dropped off a 5 gal pail of 80-90wt, and that axle holds about 3.25 gallons. Running in an oil bath of that volume those bearings have no hope of getting warm. When it sits too long the seals will start to weep a little, but it only takes one dump run to tune that back up.

 

[Broncobowsher]

For homemade trailers I have registered, they just ask what I want the GVW to be. I pick the number I want. That is what they use. At least how AZ does it.

My boat trailer is actually classifed wrong. The GVW is listed as the curb weight. But that is 65 year old paperwork as well. So old with perm plates that it has fallen out of the system. I keep the title and other paperwork locked up in a safe deposit box. Going to need that in about 7 years.

 

[bax]

I recently picked up this used, 2018, 16' aluminum Sundowner, all purpose trailer for $5K. Here are a couple pictures and the specifications.

Sundowner makes some good stuff. That looks like it would do a great job hauling a bronco. About as light as you can go. No room for extra stuff but it will go down the road just fine.

 

[Yeller]

Been through the Sundowner factory, really like their enclosed stuff

 

[Jeff10]

Hey ntsqd,

Our previous trailer was stolen in early spring 2020. Started looking around shortly after insurance settled with us (if you can call it that).

Purchased a 9900 lb rated Sure-Trac with dual 5k axles. It has been a pretty decent trailer. We have about 20k miles on it with no issues. It is a black steel deck dove tail, and it's 20 feet long. I understand about it getting hot. Even with the dove tail there is a fair amount of horizontal deck surface with the 20 foot length. (The dove tail helped when hauling my son's car due to the lower clearance. I didn't buy the trailer with that in mind, but it was nice it worked out that way.)

The trailer is powder coated which was a big selling point for me. They offer wood deck trailers, flat trailers if you prefer no dove tail, and they offer different optional paint colors.

It has weathered well in spite of sitting out.

The electric trailer brakes haven't given us any problems.

I bought a new Chevy truck last year. It came with the ability to monitor TPMS sensors in the trailer tires. Needed new tires anyway, so it worked out well to do it all last summer. I'm totally spoiled now.

I repack the bearings myself every year and make sure the tires get changed out before they really need it. No matter what brand of trailer someone uses the tires and the brake wiring seem to be the weak links. Having lost a bearing on a previous trailer out Glenwood Canyon, I never take maintenance for granted. (That was after having a trailer dealer regrease all the bears. Lesson learned.)

Good luck.

Jeff

 

[ntsqd]

I have read of some people having a little success with pro applied bedliner applied to those trailers with all steel decks. My college roommate's then boyfriend was the local Line-X dealer and he told me that it was somewhat common for him to do those trailers.

Trailer wiring faults always seem to be the grounds. I'm to the point where I run a dedicated ground wire to each electrical consumer. I ground the frame at the tongue, but I don't ground anything else to it.

When MISF & I took the Cheap Utility Trailer down to get it registered the DMV guy told us to stamp the VIN in someplace where only we knew where it was. I also learned that KA will use a number that you have stamped in the trailer, or assign it one if you have not. When I took grandad's trailer down to register it (was in OR and they don't register or plate small trailers) I had already stamped it with his initials, the year that it was built, and the "Sequence Number" and they accepted that number.

 

[gnpenning]

Been down the road for years and a bunch of miles with sundowner trailers. In fact the parking lots were full of them and other manufacturers. As yeller said stress cracks are common, especially at the door hinges. The stock trailers hauling cattle had floor support issues. Horse trailers generally will have weight on at least one door, that is the one that cracks first.

I've been running a TJ 16' for over 30 years. It's past due for some love beyond wheel bearing pack and light tune up. The mag chloride they put on our roads is starting to cause some concern.

I had been looking for something I can put one of my dually pickups on. I wanted a 20' with no dove tail. After a number of years a 2020 18' PJ came up with a very tempting price. The biggest issue was a dove tail. I decided to look since that can be eliminated or have a quick change adapter. So after checking it out it had lead a rough life. After talking to the seller about some issues, he asked what it was worth to me. I told him and he said okay!!! I was worried about dragging the dove tail but the rear is higher than my 16' plus it has a pipe under that would drag. 7k axles and removable fenders spot for stabilizer jacks and heavy a jack double frame like my dump trailer. He threw in the chains and binders that are in the basket. He claimed the bearings had recently been packed before he came from Colorado along with new tires. Yes I plan to verify the bearings and brakes, plus the wiring needs to be checked for weak spots. Do to an interesting title I had him go to the DMV with me before paying and have held off doing anything for a few months just in case. At this point I doubt it will be a problem.

In my area tilt decks during winter are a death wish. You have the skills to deal with a dove tail if the right deal comes along. For hauling my convertible it will be an advantage for me.

 

[ntsqd]

Seeing that HD landing jack on the PJ trailer reminded me of an experience that I had on the Toll Road going South out of Chicago in Feb of '89. Inside driver flat. Was pulling a 42' triple axle extra wide, extra tall enclosed gooseneck that had a single electric/hydraulic landing jack. By accident I had learned earlier that the landing jack could easily lift the ass-end of that '85 CC Dually (with carb'd 454 goodness) right off the ground. Even with it's cross-bed 100 gallon fuel tank full of fuel.*

That even taught me to appreciate a solid landing jack, none of those cheap things for me.

* At a best of 5 mpg the OEM 40 gals on board weren't going to get me very far.

 

[nvrstuk]

Great info that you are sharing from personal experiences here ... I haven't made up my mind yet, but dealing with things like a tilt deck in winter! :0. Hadn't thought of that.

Ramps aren't heavy, but if you had them made out of aluminum, they'd be even less weight so if I blow out my other shoulder or a bad knee, or whatever it just lowers the potential issues and problems if you're not feeling good down the road.

Trying to think of potentially fending off problems in the future when I get old...lol... ( I'm old now, but i'm doing dang good)