[Cannon51]

I saw this 5x8 trailer on Facebook yesterday morning about 20 minutes from the house. Guy said he bought it earlier this year, used it 3 or 4 times but needed to sell it. He had the 2020 certificate of origin and tag receipt. He had paid 749 for it so he still wanted a little more than I wanted to pay. We haggled around a bit and I bought it for 475. I stopped at the court house on the way home and got a tag for it. Not a great bargain but I've been looking for a 5 ft wide trailer for a few months. Nothing special, 12 inch tires and mesh floor but it will haul my 4 ft deck mowers.
Cannon

 

[Ingersoll444]

Thats a pretty good deal. Up here even a rat trap will cost you over 500 bucks! Always thought it was strange all the new smaller trailers have the axle so far back on them. I wonder if they got a lot of people overloading the back and making the tow sway.

 

[MARK (LI)]

I think you did well...axle close to the front makes the trailer react to steering a lot more quickly....further back it has a slower response time making it easier to follow with the truck or car that it is connected to

 

[B440]

That's not a bad price for a 2020 trailer. I bought nearly the same one from Tractor Supply back in 2010 for $600. Over time I have added a spare tire, tongue jack, LED lights, bearing buddies, moved the plate to the fender, and repainted several times.

They use a 2,000lb axle for all the sizes (4x6, 5x8, 5x10, etc.) so the smaller trailers can hold more weight! Mine, and maybe yours, weighs about 400lbs so 1,600lbs can go on the trailer.

The expanded mesh will eventually fall apart. I need to refurbish mine. I stopped letting people help me load the trailer because they kept putting their foot through the ramp like a chinese finger trap

Would I buy another? Heck yeah! Best purchase ever. I use it at least once a week. I wouldn't be able to buy tractors without it (I drive an SUV). Beats trying to load a pickup bed any day. Just have to get a little creative if parking in the city.

Did your trailer come with black rims, or were they painted? And how were you moving your tractors around before buying?

 

[Cannon51]

B440; As far as i know the rims came black. I have an old homemade motorcycle trailer that I can haul 42 inch mowers and was borrowing my BIL's 20 year old 5x10 tilt trailer to move the 48 inch mowers. The last year or so he has mentioned that he thought his trailer was past being road worthy. Another hint is that he moved it to where it was not readily accessible. We both live on the family farm that was divided after my MIL passed. I was looking for an older one with bigger tires and a wooden bed but I do like the fact that this one is easy to move around and hookup. Also the guy had all the paperwork and I was able to get a tag without a bunch of aggregation. Only thing I've bought in a while that wasn't a project. Glad to know yours has lasted 10 years.
Cannon

 

[steddy]

I've got one exactly like it, circa 2005 maybe? Incredibly difficult to back up with a full size SUV or truck, especially the F250 I used to have. I could only see the tailgate when towing it. Make sure to keep the tongue low when setting up your hitch. Otherwise it'll sway all over behind you at highway speed because the air resistance on the tailgate will about give it negative tongue weight. Mine is all beat to crap because I've overloaded it with knotty wood, so the mesh floor is all bent up. I've given up trying to keep lights and wiring on it, so I just use my portable set with magnets. It's inconvenient to do it that way, but at least I'm not constantly replacing lights and wiring. I try to get into places I shouldn't with it, so the lights get all broken up and critters/dogs chasing said critters destroy the wiring at least every 2 years.

It's very convenient to grab that trailer to haul pretty much any garden tractor. It's light, easy to hook up, and the gate is plenty long so it isn't very steep when lowered. Many of my machines have had 48" decks, so the 60" width accommodates them even with a bagger.

 

[RedOctobyr]

I saw this 5x8 trailer on Facebook yesterday morning about 20 minutes from the house. Guy said he bought it earlier this year, used it 3 or 4 times but needed to sell it.

Very nice, congrats! Around here, that would be a great deal! Utility trailers seem to hold their value quite well, and this one is basically brand new! That's a very lucky find. And not having it be a paperwork hassle is great.

I'd be curious to know the length of the ramp, and how the angle works for loading/unloading tractors. Like if the deck wants to get hung up. I'm also trailer shopping, for a 5x8, and was saw a review of a Karavan 5x8 saying the ramp angle was rather steep for driving equipment onto it, without the deck scraping.

I use separate wooden ramps with my current trailer (whose bed is above the wheels, so probably a little taller than the bed on these), and they are a PITA. But at least the angle is shallow, since they're long. I love the idea of the convenience (and safety) of a liftgate, but don't want the deck to get stuck on it.

For the mesh floors, I think I've heard some people mention putting boards, or plywoood, on top of it. For the mesh liftgate, I've also seen some people say they've welded a reinforcement beam under the liftgate, if the tractor wheels didn't line up with the existing supports, and risk over-stressing the mesh. If the tractor was really heavy, you could maybe even slip something (a block of wood, etc) under the middle of the ramp, to help support it from below.

I like the idea of the 5' width, that should be plenty for my 48" deck with a little room to spare. I'll be interested to hear how it works out for you. I see the Carry-On trailers all over the place around here, they seem very popular.

 

[subdivisionbigdog]

I had a 5x10 carry-on a few years back. It had the bigger wheels and wood floor. For a cheap little trailer I liked it. Easy to pull behind my truck and always tracked straight. And easy to move by hand when needed.

 

[APinNY]

I've posted these shots of my Carry-on before, but maybe this will give you some ideas. I made the sides and the ramp supports easily removable, although so far, I haven't had the need to do so. The ramp supports are set for the width of the BX and are positioned almost directly over the built-in ramp supports.

 

[RedOctobyr]

I've posted these shots of my Carry-on before, but maybe this will give you some ideas. I made the sides and the ramp supports easily removable, although so far, I haven't had the need to do so. The ramp supports are set for the width of the BX and are positioned almost directly over the built-in ramp supports.

That looks really nice! Can you help me understand what the side pieces are doing, though? On the inside of the side walls, I see little wooden pieces joining the two long boards that form each side wall. Are those just holding those 2 boards together?

What are the clevis pins doing, shown in the up-close picture? One looks like it secures the small vertical board, I'm thinking those vertical pieces sandwich the trailer's angle-iron, to keep the long side wall boards in-place.

But what are the other clevis pins doing, the one in the close-up that's just through the long side wall board?

I like the clevis pins approach, they had occurred to me as an option to help attach something to the trailer, while still allowing it to be removed without tools. I think that's slick. And I really like the look of the whole thing. I just want to better understand what the different items are doing, so I don't overlook some of the functionality.

 

[Cannon51]

I haven't driven anything up on it yet but I am aware that the decks hang on them. My brother had a craftsman that the deck didn't go up very high on and it would hang up.
Cannon

 

[stevech]

Nice deal

 

[RedOctobyr]

I haven't driven anything up on it yet but I am aware that the decks hang on them. My brother had a craftsman that the deck didn't go up very high on and it would hang up.
Cannon

Drat. I hope you can get on and off without dragging. My last tractor's deck would raise higher, but my current one doesn't go that high, just under 4" cut. I fear that doesn't bode well for me, for dragging

I wonder if you could gain yourself a little more clearance at the top of ramp. Picture boards placed on the ramp, like @APinNY showed. But cut them so that they stop maybe a foot before the top of the ramp. And cut an angle at each end of the board, so it's a smoother transition driving on/off them.

They would add clearance for the deck, by the thickness of the boards. Heck, you could even do this with boards laying on the trailer's bed, too, to raise the front wheels as well.

Not perfect. But not difficult or expensive, either.

 

[Cruisin'n5thgear]

Nice trailer! I have a 5x10 with expanded mesh, I ended up cutting/grinding it out and putting deck boards down. No issues on mine hanging up on the mower deck, hope yours turns out to work ok.

Sent from my SM-G970U using Tapatalk

 

[APinNY]

That looks really nice! Can you help me understand what the side pieces are doing, though? On the inside of the side walls, I see little wooden pieces joining the two long boards that form each side wall. Are those just holding those 2 boards together?
Thanks, RO. Yes, the wooden pieces inside are there just to hold the horizontal boards together.

What are the clevis pins doing, shown in the up-close picture? One looks like it secures the small vertical board, I'm thinking those vertical pieces sandwich the trailer's angle-iron, to keep the long side wall boards in-place.
The outer vertical boards are there to hold the horizontal boards in place. They are just on the outside, not sandwiched. Those clevis pins make removing the boards quick and easy.

But what are the other clevis pins doing, the one in the close-up that's just through the long side wall board?
The trailer did not have pockets on the front side like it does on the sides, so I used right angle brackets to connect the front boards to the side boards. The brackets are also attached with clevis pins. I can remove just the front boards, if needed, to back the tractor onto the trailer and require a little more room in front for the 3PH to stick out.

I like the clevis pins approach, they had occurred to me as an option to help attach something to the trailer, while still allowing it to be removed without tools. I think that's slick. And I really like the look of the whole thing. I just want to better understand what the different items are doing, so I don't overlook some of the functionality.

The clevis pins worked out very well, and were easy to install. I've used the trailer to transport several types of material, usually laying a tarp on the boards, but I wish I could get a piece of aluminum, fiberglass or hard plastic to cover the boards. That would make it much easier to clean up and I could drive the tractor up onto the trailer to load the material without ripping the tarp.

 

[RedOctobyr]

Thanks for the explanation, that's a great setup! Very nicely thought-out. And I like the tools-free aspect.

My current trailer already had 2' tall wooden sides (plywood + 2x4s) that slip into pockets on the trailer. They're heavy (the long ones), so they're somewhat awkward, but it is nice that they can go on/off without tools. Your setup takes that even further. I like the right-angle brackets to join them together.

In terms of materials to put down, perhaps something like hard board could be an option? It's inexpensive, and smooth on one side, if you wanted to make things slide more easily. It would not do well with getting wet, of course. Thin plywood, maybe with stain or paint, should be more durable, albeit more expensive.
Unbranded Hardboard Tempered Panel (Common: 1/8 in. 4 ft. x 8 ft.; Actual: 0.115 in. x 47.7 in. x 95.7 in.)-832777 - The Home Depot

 

[APinNY]

I think the Masonite might be too thin, and as you mentioned, wouldn't hold up well if it got wet. It is mostly for indoor use. Plywood would work, but it's expensive. Aluminum would be good for life, with no maintenance, but it is also expensive, if you could even find it.

 

[RedOctobyr]

Not that it would be easy to find cheap pieces that were big enough. But sheet metal might be an option. Something like a scrapped refrigerator (just as a quick thought) could provide some large pieces.

Plywood is probably simpler, though. This 1/4" stuff is $22 for 4x8:
Sandeply 5.2mm - Sande Plywood (1/4 in. Category Common: 1/4 in. x 4 ft. x 8 ft.; Actual: 0.205 in. x 48 in. x 96 in.)-479023 - The Home Depot

And this pressure treated 1/2" is $32 for 4x8:
Unbranded 1/2 in. x 4 ft. x 8 ft. CDX Ground Contact Pressure-Treated Plywood-131876 - The Home Depot

Not that plywood prices are some mystery, of course But I fear it might be difficult to find a cheaper source for a nice, smooth, weather-resistant material in those kinds of sizes. Or at least it may be kinda tricky, or you need to get a bit lucky finding some material.

But if there are good ideas, please share! If I get a new trailer, I may need to do the same thing, putting a sheet of material down over mesh or boards with gaps.

 

[APinNY]

The PT plywood is a good idea and two sheets would cover the trailer with some left over. It should be strong enough to drive on and scrape lightly without breaking when removing material. I'm done with the trailer for this year, and have stored stuff in it for the winter (it lives in the garage), but will probably do it in spring.

 

[Cannon51]

I hooked the trailer up

and drove one of my old Craftsman mowers onto it. With the Craftsman deck all the way up (which is not very high) the deck cleared about 1/2 inch. It probably helped that the hitch on the truck is to high causing the front of the trailer is higher than the back. That would decrease the angle of the ramp. I may get a hitch that drops a few inches just to get it closer to level.
Cannon