Thanks Firehog, I really had not considered that option.. I could use a helper bag to raise the back end up if I needed it, but under normal conditions I'd leave it down. With 7000+ in hauling capacity, I will never even get half way there with my ATV's.

I hear you No1, I know that going in. Like I said, I'd rather have my son using MY trailer that I know, and I can be assured it isn't going to leave him on the side of the road or worse. The two boys actually snapped a tongue off one guy's trailer and totaled the truck pulling it. Thank God I said no that day to them using my truck. I don't pull junk just for that reason.

I know a 20 ft trailer is probably overkill, but that is what it is going to take if I want to haul 4 or 5 machines on it. I'd rather buy it one time. I could get a 4 place ATV only trailer for much less, but couldn't haul a car, and I'd be stuck with the tiny wheels again.

Besides I will still have the alluminum 2 place if I have a short haul or only want to pull two and don't want to hook up the bigger trailer. I don't think I will attempt 3 on it any more though. It is just too dangerous and I know from experience that you can only tempt fate so many times before you get bit. Or I might just sell it... I don't know. I know I do not need three trailers in my driveway. The homeowner's association is already barking at me about my big enclosed one as it is. Yeah, well as soon as the other residents get rid of their campers and boats, they can talk to me. right?

 

20' is about the minimum for three ATV's in line - and that may not work with some models. My trailer deck was 20' long x 7' - 4" wide. It worked OK for 5 or 6 quads as long as a couple were kids quads size. however, now we are down to only one kid quad, plus my brother has a big-*** AC TRV that's basically an SUV in ATV clothing so we had to make some changes. I lengthened the deck to 22' and made the new width 8' even. As the deck runs betweern the fenders, we still have to plan for the smaller bikes to be side by side in the middle, or put just one full size there. As it is I can fit two full sized ATV's side by side up front and another two full sized in the back with room for two (Ozark and TRX90) in the middle. Even though in theory 20' is long enough, we found that giving a little room between each quad required the extra 2' length.

Jaybee

 

Is that teh one on your personal page? Looks good. I would prefer the deckover personally, but with the need to haul an occasional car with a very low stance, I can't load it when it is that high. The lowest deckover I found has a 28 inch deck hight. (Sure-trac) It doesn't have the mesh tail gate like yours, rather it has ramps. I could get 6 on it but I can't imagine hauling 6 machines at a time. Generally 3 will be the norm, with the occasional 4. That will go to 5 in a pinch.

Mrs DB has a Grizzly 450 that is 6 ft long. My youngest has a Honda TRX 250 that s about 5 ft long, and generally I ride my Rubicon that is 7 ft. All tolled that is somehwere around 18 to 19 ft nose to tail. Plenty of space. I can load a couple from the side in front to get 2 sideways, 2 nose to tail, and all 5 sideways in a pinch. The one on the beaver tail would be the only one that I'd have to really muscle. But realistically I am not up to wrestling a 600 monster any more. That is why I am going for something a little lower and easier to load and can haul a car in a pinch.

Just this evening, my son called and wants me to haul a Porsche 944 for him this wekend. Ah the joys of father hood. I thought that ended when they turned 18 and moved out... he is now 27 and still calls dad for help. Oh well. I would be removing Christmas decorations otherwise. IT is a good excuse to leave while Mrs DB does the boxing up and I'll show up when the work is done to throw it into the attic for yet another year. Momma didn't raise no fools...

I could probably get by with the 18 ft standard model, but for an extra 300 bucks, I can't turn it down. (20 footer).

Just curiious, do you all prefer metal diamond plate deck or wood? After having wood for so long, I think I am going to try the steel deck for once. I will however paint it with no slip paint to give me good grip. I can't afford another slip with these legs.

 

I would by a trailer with a wood deck. I found for me a wood deck made my trailer more versatile. I made side boards that I would mount to the deck with screws, and I could always screw down chalk blocks if I was hauling something that I did not want to move at all. If you do go with a metal deck it might be a good idea to see if you can get it sprayed with something like Rino Liner. If you do get a car hauler get one with a winch plate. Having a winch on my trailer saved me from a lot of hard work many times.

 

Will do. I tried some deck paint with anti slip grit in it when I replaced the deck on my current trailer and liked it a lot. I figured I'd do that on teh metal to make it anti slip as well. I believe it will have the same effect as you suggest with the Linex/ rhino liner. The trailer I am looking at does a really good job of power coating the surface, but experience has shown me that metal decks, even with the dimples, can get slick and greased owl snot when you combine mud with water on a slick surface. Thanks for the vote for wood though...

 

The pics on my site are older and show the trailer before I enlarged it. I also have lost the mesh ramp/gate. Even though I had rigged up a spring system to help lift it, it was heavy and awkward, plus I suspect that it combined for a fair amount of frontal area and was hurting gas milage. I've gone to a 54" wide by 78" long tri-fold aluminum ramp and am very pleased with it.

My deck is pressure treated wood planks and I prefer it over expanded metal. My old trailer was metal and was OK but didn't really have any advantages over the wood. On the wood deck, I have recessed rings for tie-downs - couldn't do that with the metal. Also, although it was a little easier to clean the ATV's while sitting on the metal trailer vs doing the same on the wooden one, running down the road with clean ATV's would result in road dirt and dust from underneath getting them dirty all over again. One other down side to the expanded metal - If you park your tires on a section that is not supported from below, the constant bouncing while towing will push the metal downwards, bending it into a divot that will not come out.

I too looked at a deckover - simply to get away from loading around the wheel wells, but decided that the extra height was not worth it. As I've got mine rigged up now we load all the quads from the back and keep them facing front to back so there is no moving them around. I did rig up the 6" high side rails to drop down so that the entire deck is flush to the ends (except for the fenders of course) but that was more because I also use the trailer to load building materials from a forklift than to load ATV's from the side.

Jaybee

 

Yeah, those were all reasons I wanted the deck over. I haul a lot of materials too, but my son is insistant that I buy a trailer that meets HIS car hauling needs... The lower deck hight of the car hauler is a plus though. I did find a deck over from Sure-trac that was under 30 inches, but even that is a stretch for these old bones. I have been in situations like you described where I had to screw something to the deck to facilitate the haul of somehting odd shaped, so I clearly see the advantages of the wood deck. I also think you have more traction with the wood than a plain metal one, but with the non skid paint, I'll solve that one. The issue is that with the particular model I am looking at, there is no option for wood. I'd have to look at a different trailer all together. The good thing is this one has commercial style rub rails with built in stake pockets so I can always add sides if I need to, and I can strap down all along the side with the rub rails. I definitely will hang a winch on it as well. I hear you on the deck bending issue. Nothing worse that seeing a trailer going down the road with a wavy deck surface. Makes you wonder just how much weight the guy has attempted to haul on it. I don't like the fenders deal for the same reason you wanted the deck over. Loading via a fork lift is an issue. I solve that with a couple 6x6's, but that isn't an optimal fix either. That is one reason I am looking at the 20 footer too. There is enough room up front so I can load in front of the wheels. That is especially handy when I have to load two machines sideways up front.

Part of me says get the bigger deck over, as it fits MY needs and hauls more machines, but reality sets in. I doubt I will need to haul 6 machines very often, probably NEVER. 4 is likely, 3 all the time. I'd hate to pull that moose around for several hundred miles with the deck only half full.... Of course I could use that as an excuse to get more toys.... but mrs DB isn't going to agree.. and she will see right through me. After over 40 years together, I suspect she has me figured out. Damn.

 

Well, you can never have too much horsepower or too many trailers! I sold my old trailer (18' long expanded metal by 5' wide deck) when I got the bigger one. Other than finding a place to park it, I wish I still had it as lots of times it's just me and my brother riding.

As to the 30" deckover height............Right now I can hop-step up and jump up to the deck on my trailer. Had I gotten a deckover, I'd probably have to park my butt onthe side, pivot around and get my feet up, then try to stand back up. Almost like I was an old man [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-happy.gif[/img].

Jaybee

 

Our car trailer works just fine. . .

A buddy and me share a car trailer we haul ATV's cars trucks ECT on it all the time trailer is old n getting weak so we are about done Hauling carsn trucks. . . with but it makes a great AVT hauler you load 4 untility ATV's on it side ways theres a about a 3inch lip that sticks up around the sides works outstanding it just high enough to lock in the ramps and load them up. . .

have fit:
1 Rancher at 1 Rubicon 1 Rincon and a banshee. . .
1 sp500 1 sp600 1 ruibocn and da Banshee. . .
plus we have always got room for 1 in the bed of the truck. . .

We got a few Tow rigs to choose from:
2-1/2T Studebaker M275., no bed fits but could hold 4 if it had a bed. . .
1-1/4T GMC 4500. < fits 1 in bed
1T Ford F-350 Dump truck.< fits 3 in in bed
3/4T GMC 2500 diesel.< holds 1 in bed
1/2T Dodge Ram1500 SXT with 2500/3500 rear springs.< holds 1 in bed
We got a great trailor and plenty of Good solid strong running trucks to pull it and plenty of power for a bigger trailer or trailers if need be later on[img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-wink.gif[/img]. . .

Mikey

 

I don't have any problem with the tow vehicle. I have an 06 Ram 250 Cummins in the driveway for that. This little amount of weight isn't going to make it break a sweat. If you check my page, you can see a few pics of why I neded it. The pictures d onot really tell the story. The trailer is almost 11 ft tall counting the AC. That is a lot of air to push around. Fully loaded, I am grossing around 8000 lbs. Thanks for chiming in though... I plan of maxing out at 5 machines. I don't put anything in the truck bed because I have a topper that pretty much kills that idea. I can probably droop the bars and let teh air out of the tires of my son's TRX 250, but I am not exactly thrilled about that. Mrs DB said no today over lunch, but after finding out that I am not willing to drive to the mountains of WV with the overloaded snowmobile trailer, she is waivering.