Thanks! I'm really enjoying the setup...and the trailer pulls nice. Really glad I went with the 20ft'er...


biz

 

wish i would of gone 8.5 X 24...darn 20" works fine but wish i would of gone bigger.

 

Agree with you David. I have same truck and trailer setup. My 1/2 T GMC plays with an 18ft open trailer loaded with ATV's but when I pull our enclosed trailer like yours it really struggles. last summer we almost never made it home going south into a strong 95 degree headwind on large hills on I-35. 4 mpg, 45 to 50 max up the hills, and water temp running much higher than normal. I just struggle to justify buying a bigger truck for one trip per year.

 

Yes, talking about resale, don't buy anything less than a 24 ft. The car guys will not touch anything smaller. With regard to 7 vs 8 ft wide. It depends. Me, I can't muscle a large Ute sideways any more. As you get older, these things happen. Do you want to re-buy a trailer in a few years because you made a mistake? An 8' will let you load 2 side by side. If you get a deck over, they have no wheelhouse to worry about. My biggest beef with trailers in general is the load capacity. DON"T mess with anything less than 10,000 weight rating. As time goes by, you will want to haul 4, then 5 or 6. You start hauling that many machines and you once again over load the capacity and are looking for another trailer. Do it right the first time and save yourself some grief down the road.

 

UPDATE:

Just a quick update on the LOOK brand trailer. So far so good! Really liking it...and it tows like a dream. Over all quality...GOOD to Awesome!


Still happy with my LOOK trailer. All machines are happy too!


biz

 

I broke down and bought a new truck a few months ago. I haven't pulled my 7' X 16' trailer with it yet but this truck will ****** the hitch off of my 6' X 10' (+2' V) trailer. Doesn't get quite the gas mileage the '08 with 5.3 liter got but I wasn't expecting it to when I ordered it and I'm happy with it. I think it was the best compromise for me between the 5.3 liter 1/2 ton and diesel 3/4 ton (just can't justify the diesel 3/4 ton).

2012 Chevrolet Silverado 1/2 ton with Max Trailering Pack. The Max Trailering Pack is mainly a 6.2 liter gas engine and a larger differential with larger axles and 3.73 gear ratio.


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Federal DOT laws limit maximum trailer width of a trailer and anything attached to it at 102". As a result, the 8.5' wide trailers are all deck-over style to stay within these limits. There's no sense building a whole new set of axles for narrower trailers, especially when the same ones can be used to create a "lowboy" style of trailer.

When it comes to the 7' versus 8' versus 8.5' trailer widths, the biggest issue I see is that the narrower trailers (being lighter at the same length as a wider one) tend to be much more susceptible to being pushed around by the wind. If you do the math, you'll see that a 35MPH crosswind on a trailer with 6' high walls is pretty substantial (something on the order of about 1,000 lbs of force). Think about how that compares to the vertical force of the trailer based on its weight, and you'll quickly realize that the wider, heavier trailers are much more stable in crosswinds (or disturbances from things like Semi's driving past).

 

I actually have both in the driveway as I speak. Both are over 22 ft. The latest toy hauler (Raptor) is the larger of the two. It has presented some interesting issues. First, being the full 102 inches wide, it is impossible to see around with my Ram 2500 Cummins. I have my trailer tow mirrors out as far as they go and I cannot see around it My 7 ft trailer is easy to see around. This is very important when backing into a parking spot at a campground, trail head etc. As for towing, as long as you have the tire pressures set correctly, and the tongue angle and weight correct you should be good to go. If not, it could prove to be a wicked white knuckle affair. If you are pulling a 20Ft plus enclosed, I advise you to consider a load balancing hitch. They will handle all but the worst cases of sway. They are a little more expensive to set up, but they really settle a bad handling trailer down, and you will be glad when you get passed by a semi on the road.

Hey Ember1205, I agree with you. My "Big" trailer is not as suceptable to wind as my 7 ft wide is. But with a caveat. When I picked up my 7 ft wide, I drove it home over 600 miles in a storm with just under hurricane force sidewinds. AND that trailer is 11 ft tall. My toyhauler on the other hand, is bigger, taller and wider and does not move around at all. It is also about 3000lbs heavier too.

 

I doubt you can see around any enclosed trailer, but I can easily see along side of my 102" trailer with my towing mirrors.

 

Biz 4two above points out look trailers. Just for everyone's benefit. Look is the first manufacturer that really gets it. You look at their offerings and the first thing you see is a deckover (Some call them snowmobile trailers) that is long enough to haul 6 machines AND they give you a 10,000 weight capacity so you can haul 6 full sized utes without overloading the thing. Next, you find that the back door is taller too. Enough to get a full size side by side through it without having to air down the tires and have your buddies hanging off the bumpers. (You know who you are). They also have resurrected the PACE trailer company... so they have a track record. I have spoken to a lot of trailer makers and they almost to a man will refuse to build one like this. They can't seem to see past the snomobile crowd. Man what a market if they would just look past their noses and listen to what the ATV crowd is telling them they need.