Need help choosing a trailer to haul cargo, not motorcycles

[ben10281]

I searched the site for Enclosed trailer posts, and read through most of them. However, I didn't quite find what I was looking for, since they were mostly related to hauling motorcycles and making them cozy to sleep in. My father-in-law hauls stuff to the flea market in the summer and wants to buy a 20' trailer to haul his stuff(household stuff). Does anyone have any experience with the cheaper trailers found down in Georgia, NJ, or On Ebay? They sell brand new for much less than what we are finding used around here. The specs(7,000 GVWR, dual 3,500lb axles, 16"OC walls, 24"OC roof, 24"OC floor, etc...) seem to be similar to what I found on the Wells Cargo/Haulmark manufacturer's website, but I was hoping to get some first hand knowledge, do they hold up? He doesn't travel much about 30-40 miles round trip each weekend in the summer so I am curious if the cheaper ones will be a good fit for him.

Any help would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks

Examples of cheap trailers I am talking about:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/New-8-5x20-E...item2ecbbe37a9

http://newyork.craigslist.org/stn/rvd/4191895051.html

[TripleTaco]

I just purchased one of these "value" type trailers your talking about this summer. I got a 14x7 and drove down to Virgina to pick it up. I've only had it since July so I cant speak to long term durability but I can tell about my initial impressions and performance thus far. This is also my first enclosed trailer so I cant compare first hand to the bigger name brands out there. Mine is nearly identical in style to the one in your ebay link, just smaller. In the last few months I've managed to put some decent mileage on it, between a half dozen trips to Vermont and a few shorter trips mixed in. I mainly haul 3 dirt bikes, tools and gear. Being that these are cheaper trailers the fit/finish and component quality is what suffers. There are some instances where you can really tell these things are "slapped" together and sent out the door at the factory. The tongue jack feels cheap-ish, what little bit of the wiring Ive inspected uses slice connectors, there are a couple of wires at the top edge of the inside wall that seem awfully tight(like they couldn't spare another inch), the side door hinge is kinda cheap-ish/light duty, paint on the inside frame is thin/non-existent in a couple spots ...and there are probably a couple other items along these lines I could complain about. So, thats the bad but even with that considered I can still say I'm pretty satisfied with the purchase. Everything works fine, doors, roof vent, lights, brakes, no leaks ect. It follows my truck down the road just fine and seems sturdy enough. I dont know if I'd buy one of these and throw it into a commercial/construction environment but for my personal use I don't see any reason I wont get many years of life out of this trailer.

It sounds like for your use one of these trailers would do the job well.

[ben10281]

Thanks! That's good info. I think it will be perfect for what my father-in-law will need and it definitely fits his budget.