[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

 

[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

 

[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

 

[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

 

[Cannon51]

I was loading the Zero turn today and the mesh failed in the back corner. I guess I'll either put 2 treated boards on each side over the mesh or take the mesh off and floor it all
with boards.
Cannon

 

[Cannon51]

If the mesh was strong enough I would prefer it to the wood. Before I bought this I used a 10 foot tilt trailer with a wood floor. If it was wet there was not enough traction to get to where it would tip down, way to much drama. I haven't had any trouble with the mesh on the tailgate. There is a piece of angle that bears the weight all the way up, see post #1. Light duty always has some disadvantages but being able to unhook it and roll it by hand into a tight place is nice.
Cannon

 

[Cannon51]

This morning I used a couple of pry bars and got the mesh back above the side rail. I found a piece of 1 1/2 tee metal that was a standard on a shelving system. I cut and notched it to go over the angle iron on the trailer. I bolted it down so it would be easy to remove if I end up having to floor it. I put it a foot in from the sides so it will be under the wheels. I need to tack the metal down and see how long it last. If it works I'll make one for the other side. I'm thinking this will work in this one place but am afraid I'll be chasing failures on other parts of the trailer.
Cannon

 

[Cannon51]

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Can't you just flip the hitch itself upside down in the receiver. The way you have it now is a little too high, i think--giving you some negative tongue weight.

glenn; With the axle placement where it is there's still enough tongue weight that it pulls good empty. With a tractor on it most of the tractor is in front of the axle. I do need to turn the hitch over I just haven't got it done.
Cannon

 

[Cannon51]

The sagging metal mesh had started on the other side so I expanded the angle iron fix. I notched some 1 1/2 inch angle and put it on both sides. It bridges the first and second gaps from the back. I wouldn't doubt that eventually I will have to go all the way to the front. I considered flooring it with treated wood but I like the fact that the trailer is light enough to move around by hand.
Cannon