Enclosed Trailer WTB

[carsick]

Hey all, give me a hand with your collective wisdom on trailers. It takes way too long to load and unload the truck twice a weekend, not even counting the weather. Two bikes max, one person, I'm thinking a 6x10 minimum. Used is fine (even preferable), any common pitfalls to watch out for? Any leads would be helpful, Thanks!

[OreoGaborio]

Lol... I did the open trailer dance for 8 years. Finally went enclosed last year & zomg, couldn't believe the difference. Love it.

A few key things I've learned:
6x10 is a touch cozy. Definitely doable, but I'm glad I went bigger (7.5x14).
Keep your eyes on craigslist & the forums. Be patient.
Steel frame is fine if your vehicle can handle it. Aluminium is better... but you're gonna pay for it.
V-nose apparently doesn't make as much of a difference as I originally thought (or so I've been told).

As for the trailer interior:
Good electrical wiring (lights, outlets, etc.) and organization are KEY!
- Pit Posse stuff is a little pricey but very nice to have.
- A good wall hook system (Like the Gladiator Geartrack) is very convenient.

[gregp]

Are there any favored dealers in MA (or nearby in VT, NH, RI, or CT), where a guy could go look at some, and compare prices? I am in the market as well. I would really prefer an aluminum model (wouldn't we all?). I have a 4 cylinder Taco, so keeping the weight down is very important (unless I go buy a new truck as well - and I am not too keen on that idea).

[burnham]

^ There's Airport Trailer in Fitchburg MA. They always have at least 50 trailers on the lot. FWIW, when I was in there talking with them about aluminum vs steel frame trailers, they told me there wasn't enough of a weight difference between the two to make it that much of a benefit. I don't know how true that is, but I would hope the salesman knew what he was talking about.

[OreoGaborio]

Considering Aluminium is more expensive than Steel & would likely net them more profit, I'm actually kinda surprised he would say that. Shows that he's honest.

[carsick]

aluminum vs steel frame trailers, they told me there wasn't enough of a weight difference between the two to make it that much of a benefit

Towing with an F250, it could be made of lead and I doubt my mileage would suck any worse!

[Scottg22]

Kevin Holmes just posted his R6 and trailer forsale in that section. Has a nice enclosed trailer.

[Kurlon]

Yeah, hard to beat a setup like that.

I've been casually shopping for a trailer for awhile now, looks like you can get aluminum 6x12s in the low to mid 2 grand range new in NH if you shop around. That doesn't include any 110v wiring, tie down points, etc though.

[TheIglu]

^ There's Airport Trailer in Fitchburg MA. They always have at least 50 trailers on the lot. FWIW, when I was in there talking with them about aluminum vs steel frame trailers, they told me there wasn't enough of a weight difference between the two to make it that much of a benefit. I don't know how true that is, but I would hope the salesman knew what he was talking about.

Considering Aluminium is more expensive than Steel & would likely net them more profit, I'm actually kinda surprised he would say that. Shows that he's honest.

Honest and fair is what these guys do.

I bought my 12x7 flat bed trailer from them last summer. They do have a lot in stock for enclosed.

Towed the trailer home. Noticed not even a mile away that the trailer bounces a shit ton. Just ran it like that for a month or two.....

One day I was bored. Got it home, jacked it up, spin the tire, definitely has some serious side to side runout. Took the wheel off, the HUB was out of round. Looks like they machined the bearing cup in back off the center axis. Give them a call, explained I was leaving for North Carolina in a week and needed this fixed.

Got there, they swapped out the hub, put in new bearings. For my trouble they swapped all 3 (including the spare) tires from Bias Ply over to brand new radials. Then they recommended I go get them balanced. Told me to head to this tire shop locally to do it right now. Get there and had it done, tried to pay for it and they said Airport Trailer Sales covered it for me.

Sure, they probably still made out in the profit end due to the cheap nature of an all steel trailer, but still. No grumbling, just a "we'll make it right" attitude. They dropped everything they were doing when I showed up and all 3 people, including the old guy who is the owner, were outside working on my trailer for me.

[OreoGaborio]

Wow. Very cool. Sounds like a place I'd wanna shop. Too bad I'm not in the market for one.