New utility trailer - some feedback please

FastEddieB

FastEddieB

Touchdown! Greaser!
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Lenoir City, TN/Mineral Bluff, GA
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Fast Eddie B
About 20 years ago I bought a 10’ steel Snowbear utility trailer. I’ve towed it with a Land Cruiser (pictured headed to Baja from N GA), a Ford Flex, a Honda Ridgeline and even a Honda Element:

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Still going strong, but I wanted to upgrade to something newer and large enough to haul Karen’s Ryker and another bike. Or our subcompact John Deere with accessories. Picking this 14 footer up in the next couple of days:

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A couple questions:

1) I want to protect the wood floor. My thought was spar varnish and mix in a little of that sand they sell for grip. Any other ideas?

2) We towed the smaller trailer with no sway control or weight distribution hitch and never had an issue. But our 21’ travel trailer has both. Very few of the utility trailers I see on the road seem to bother with either. I know that 10% of the trailer weight should be on the ball. Would either sway control or weight distribution or both be advised here? For now I don’t anticipate more than about a 3,500 lb load. We’ll be towing with our Ridgeline or our Flex for the time being.

Thanks in advance for any feedback!
 
FastEddieB said:
1) I want to protect the wood floor. My thought was spar varnish and mix in a little of that sand they sell for grip. Any other ideas?

2) We towed the smaller trailer with no sway control or weight distribution hitch and never had an issue. But our 21’ travel trailer has both. Very few of the utility trailers I see on the road seem to bother with either. I know that 10% of the trailer weight should be on the ball. Would either sway control or weight distribution or both be advised here? For now I don’t anticipate more than about a 3,500 lb load. We’ll be towing with our Ridgeline or our Flex for the time being.

Thanks in advance for any feedback!
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I have a 20 foot car hauler I used for hauling ATVs and my Kubota subcompact tractor. I've never done anything to protect the wood. Its treated, and stays outdoors, never had an issue with rot, very little issue with damage. I honestly see the wood as being sacrificial ultimately.

I don't use a sway control or weight distribution. My max capacity including the trailer weight is 7,000 lbs. As long as the trailer is loaded correctly I'm never overloaded on the tongue of my truck (F-150 though, heavier duty than yours). For 3,500 lb, I'd say you will be ok. Sway control really comes in on enclosed trailers and campers, as they have a lot of side area to catch the wind.
 
Not sure on #1- Thompson’s water seal maybe?

For #2 I wouldn’t bother with any of that stuff on a 3500# max trailer. If the rear end of the tow vehicle isn’t sagging excessively you should be fine.
 
I would do(spend$$) to much on/with the floor. I have a 20+ y/o trailer, wood floor replaced 8+ years ago. You could paint it if you want, treated wood should be good a while reguardless.

Lack of road salt will mean more for longevity than anything you can do.
 
Just for reference, here's ~7,000# on an 18' trailer with no load equalizing hitch or sway control just brakes. Tows wonderfully behind an F-150. I have never used either of those things, my understanding is a load equalizing hitch is really only for situations where you have too much tongue weight on the tow vehicle.

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I definitely would not bother with the weight distribution hitch.

I've never done anything to protect wood on trailer decks, but I've never kept trailers long enough for it to matter. :)
 
1. You could. it would be nice,......but nobody but you will notice.
2. I wouldn't bother.
3. I'd make sure it had EZ Lube bearings.......Not just bearing buddies.
4. Hi quality trailer tongue jack
 
Dad always used boiled linseed oil on the bed of the grain truck to preserve the wood. It's still the original wood from 1957, though it's retired now. It didn't spend that much time outside though. I'd treat it exactly like a wood deck on your house...clean it and use an exterior wood stain every few years when it starts to look like it needs it. Some guys paint the wood with used motor oil, which works great to preserve the wood, but is not Sierra Club approved.

That's a nice trailer. I don't think you'll have any trouble so long as you don't load it over the max towing weight of your car and mind the tongue weight.
 
1. You can do what you like, but there's no reason to really worry about trying to protect treated wood. You could coat it with spray-in bedliner if you like (Rustoleum sells decent stuff), but the wood should last a decade or two without doing anything to it.

2. I've never seen anyone use a WD hitch on a utility trailer. Just keep your heavier loads over the axles as much as possible and it won't matter much. 10-15% tongue weight is ideal to avoid the tail wagging the dog.
3. Get some decent electric trailer brakes on at least one axle if not both if yours isn't equipped. It makes towing a lot easier, even though you don't intend on towing really heavy.
4. Don't forget to mount a spare tire and have a lug wrench/jack that fits the trailer.
 
I towed an 18' flatbed with appx 120 50-pound bales of hay - a lot, and sometimes did tandem trailer tows all with an '84 Dodge Maxivan.

I was frequently exceeding the capacities of the vehicle and the weight-distribution hitch was a saving grace.

If you're not doing that, I wouldn't bother.

What's a Ridgeline capable of comfortably doing?
 
Do you have trailer brakes? I’d be more concerned about that than a leveling hitch or sway control.
 
Used motor oil and kerosene 1:1 ;-)
 
I use a similar sized trailer (but steel) to haul a 5500# tractor w/implements. I didn't bother putting anything on the deck...it's treated. You may find it difficult getting any varnish to stick to the deck, if the treated wood isn't properly "aged" to allow it to dry out completely. With 5500# tractor, FEL, an implement, and the trailer weight, I'm right at 7500#, and I tow no problem without a sway/distribution hitch. Picture of my setup:

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Half Fast said:
Do you have trailer brakes? I’d be more concerned about that than a leveling hitch or sway control.
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Yes, the new trailer has brakes on both axles and an emergency brake breakaway cable. Our Flex has a brake controller for towing our travel trailer, and I just (yesterday) ordered a brake controller and harness for the Ridgeline so we’ll have that option going forward.
 
Lachlan said:
Picking up groceries, cruising to the mall, occasional forays to the spa.
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It’s like the proverbial singing dog. It’s not so much that it sings well, but that it can sing at all!

The older Ridgelines are largely lightly modified Pilots with a bed. But still quite versatile as a pickup. We’ve used ours for hauling gravel in the bed, towing a dump trailer with 2 1/2 tons of gravel, hauling mulch, taking trash and scrap metal to recycling or the landfill, hauling kayaks, you name it. But, sadly, it’s never been to a spa.
 
The most important question, do you still have that LandCruiser?
 
I just like to take a moment to thank everyone in this thread for correctly writing the word "brake". People taking about the "breaks" on their car is possibly my biggest pet peeve. Of course it does alert me to the fact that they are idiots and I can safely ignore anything else they have to say, so there is that.
 
I’ve decided to just apply an oil-based stain with some anti-skid added:

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Should provide some small amount of protection without braking the bank!

Has anyone used the E-Track system for tying things down? It seems like one track down each side and one in the middle would add a lot of versatility.

Lots of offerings on Amazon:

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As far as the E-track is concerned, it just kind of depends on what you're towing. Most of the time, 4 D-rings are just as versatile as the E-track and less susceptible to getting clogged with dirt/debris. I think they're useful if you're always hauling the same piece of equipment and using tire straps, or if you have an enclosed trailer and are hanging things off of the walls. For larger items we just use the 3" farm straps and secure to the side rails or stake pockets.
 
Jim K said:
I just like to take a moment to thank everyone in this thread for correctly writing the word "brake". People taking about the "breaks" on their car is possibly my biggest pet peeve. Of course it does alert me to the fact that they are idiots and I can safely ignore anything else they have to say, so there is that.
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Try looking for used trailers and vehicles on FB marketplace or craigslist. You quickly lose faith in humanity after finding a few trailors and tracktors for sale. Although the newest head scratcher is this; search FB marketplace for "yes" and see how much stuff comes up with "yes" in the title. "No" often yields results as well :confused:
 
Jim K said:
Dad always used boiled linseed oil on the bed of the grain truck to preserve the wood. It's still the original wood from 1957, though it's retired now. It didn't spend that much time outside though. I'd treat it exactly like a wood deck on your house...clean it and use an exterior wood stain every few years when it starts to look like it needs it. Some guys paint the wood with used motor oil, which works great to preserve the wood, but is not Sierra Club approved.

That's a nice trailer. I don't think you'll have any trouble so long as you don't load it over the max towing weight of your car and mind the tongue weight.
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Thompson’s is a hell of a lot easier to apply than linseed oil.
 
We had 4 hay trailers with wood floors for many years. I think we used native grown walnut as the wood. We painted them when they were built and left them unsheltered when not in use. It took ages before the wood needed replacement.
 
One thing you might do while the trailer is new is go and inspect the trailer wiring and protect where needed. Often the wiring is just threaded through holes in the cross members or left hanging to catch on things. Some plastic wire loom and zip ties can be cheap insurance and help extend trailer wiring life.
 
SoonerAviator said:
One thing you might do while the trailer is new is go and inspect the trailer wiring and protect where needed. Often the wiring is just threaded through holes in the cross members or left hanging to catch on things. Some plastic wire loom and zip ties can be cheap insurance and help extend trailer wiring life.
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And a lubricant on the connections...a weak ground is notorious for causing all kinds of havoc on trailer lights.
 
SoonerAviator said:
One thing you might do while the trailer is new is go and inspect the trailer wiring and protect where needed. Often the wiring is just threaded through holes in the cross members or left hanging to catch on things. Some plastic wire loom and zip ties can be cheap insurance and help extend trailer wiring life.
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Thanks, will do!

Twice in our ownership of our travel trailer we had issues with ground and neutral being bonded (shorted), which can cause a shock hazard. Once it was traced to the wiring to the air conditioner running through this jagged hole:

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The second time was a neutral wire with several inches of insulation stripped which was shorting against a ground bus.

Kinda “shocking” the shoddy wiring work one can find on otherwise fairly well made trailers.
 
I have delivered a few new trailers. Check lug nuts. (don't ask how I learned that) :lol::lol:

And wheel bearings. Builders usually never put enough grease on wheel bearings.
 
Zeldman said:
I have delivered a few new trailers. Check lug nuts. (don't ask how I learned that) :lol::lol:

And wheel bearings. Builders usually never put enough grease on wheel bearings.
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It's always amazing to me that, for as simple as a typical 14'-22' trailer is, they often cut corners and miss a lot of important details, lol.
 
Zeldman said:
I have delivered a few new trailers. Check lug nuts. (don't ask how I learned that) :lol::lol:

And wheel bearings. Builders usually never put enough grease on wheel bearings.
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Coincidentally, I just checked the lug nut torque. At 100 ft lbs about half of mine needed up to 1/4 turn more.

I’ll put wheel bearings on the list - maybe give them an extra squirt or two!
 
SoonerAviator said:
One thing you might do while the trailer is new is go and inspect the trailer wiring and protect where needed. Often the wiring is just threaded through holes in the cross members or left hanging to catch on things. Some plastic wire loom and zip ties can be cheap insurance and help extend trailer wiring life.
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Thanks again. A quick inspection showed at least a half dozen areas that needed attention. For instance, they had the foresight to install little grommet-like things but not the foresight to secure them in place:

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And 2 cases where I could foresee an issue with chafing:

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I just spent about an hour with electrical tape and black RTV to take care of the obvious stuff. I also see where some connectors for the trailer brakes are rubbing against the tires. May mess with those when it gets cooler this afternoon.
 
2 quarts of stain and the anti-skid stuff was under $25. Knocked off the job this morning:

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Hopefully it may provide some small amount of protection and increased grip. Easy and cheap enough to touch it up every few years.
 
If nothing else it looks sharp! I'll bet it does it's job without issue for decades to come. Being an aluminum trailer, it'll be a joy to tow as well versus the steel counterpart.
 
Jim K said:
I just like to take a moment to thank everyone in this thread for correctly writing the word "brake". People taking about the "breaks" on their car is possibly my biggest pet peeve. Of course it does alert me to the fact that they are idiots and I can safely ignore anything else they have to say, so there is that.
Click to expand...

Brake/break and lose/loose are glaring to me. Seem so obvious but apparently not to others. But English is hard, and it’s not unreasonable to expect loose to rhyme with choose.

Then again, on average I think pilots do a bit better than most. I’m on a FaceBook page about Karen’s new Ryker, and for whatever reason a fair number of the members seem barely literate. Here’s a gem response from this morning, concerning why most Rykers exhibit a bit of a “clunk” if you’re not judicious with throttle application:

“Researched BRP coulda sny onizing shiftin closer”

(BRP is Bombardier Racing Products, the manufacturer of the Ryker)

That said, overall I agree with his sentiment!
 
That's one thing I've really enjoyed since I started flying... pilots are on average more intelligent and goal driven. The ppl sets a bar which not particularly high, at least weeds out the mouth breathers. This makes interacting with pilots much more enjoyable than the other hobbies I've been involved in.
 
Station wagons, the original SUV...

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Any resemblance.?? :lol::lol:

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Anyway, the trailer looks good. Should provide years of trouble free hauling.
 
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