Car Trailers

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5spd Z71

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Hey guys, lately I've been looking into getting my own car trailer. Getting sick of borrowing/renting. Just some FYI... the truck doing the towing is my 1995 K1500 350/5spd with 35's and 4.56 gears. I've been looking at getting an 18' with dove tail and wood deck. Specifically the big Tex 70ch. Is there any other/better options? I will be adding a winch in the future, since they don't come with them. Which will probably be another topic later on when I do buy one. Two of the cars I have that I'll be towing are lower to the ground, so I would imagine the dovetail would help that.

Just wondering what what everyone's opinions and why you bought what you did. Because you always hear well, 20' is better than 18' etc etc and you'll always want more room, but when is it too much?

Thanks.
 

Bob L

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You will be towing between 6 and 8 thousand pounds with a 1500, trailer brakes would be at the top of the list.
 

BerHntr

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You are right about the length. I went with 20 ft but I was buying mine with the intent on hauling a 4 seater SXS and 2 4 wheelers. Looking at big tex's website shows 150 lbs for every 2 ft. For such a small amount of weight I would rather have the extra length. My thoughts on the 20 vs 18 vs 16 is that the added weight of the trailer is offset by having more trailer to be able to adjust the load. Im the type though that may adjust the load front to back multiple times till its perfect. Also mine only has one brake axle, I would definitely try to get both axles with brakes. I also went with a cheaper non big branded trailer because of the price mainly but I also liked that both ramps were on the passenger side of the trailer. If im ever in a situation of loading a vehicle on the side of the highway I like the idea of not having to pull a ramp out into traffic. oh and lastly you can never have enough stake pockets.

For what it's worth here's my 20, doesn't take much to fill one up. You can see both ramps on the passenger side.
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skylark

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I personally want a 22-24' deck. I want to be able to fit a crew cab dually on a trailer and that can be done with a 22' but I would prefer a 24' to be able to move weight around as well. Ultimately I would like a 12k pound capacity, a winch, triple axle, led loading lights in the deck, d rings on the side, wheel straps instead of chains and binders, a storage box and the whole thing to be made from aluminum. Unfortunately cash doesn't fall out of my ****** though.
 

Biggershaft96

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Big tex makes good trailers! My grandpa has a 30' gooseneck made by them and its definitely a quality built trailer that will last a long time. My grandpa gave me his old trailer when he bought the new one. Mine is a 22' deckover and compared to the 18' ive borrowed a few times i like the longer deck for the ability to distibute loads, but i dont use mine all that much because once you put about 3,000lb on it, im at my gcvwr or whatever its called. But as far as the lenght thing goes i would shoot for at least a 18' ideally a 20'. With an 18' you would probably have to load a ecsb truck backwards to distribute the load better. You shouldnt have any problems power wise, just make sure you get a brake controller.
 

Supercharged111

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I personally want a 22-24' deck. I want to be able to fit a crew cab dually on a trailer and that can be done with a 22' but I would prefer a 24' to be able to move weight around as well. Ultimately I would like a 12k pound capacity, a winch, triple axle, led loading lights in the deck, d rings on the side, wheel straps instead of chains and binders, a storage box and the whole thing to be made from aluminum. Unfortunately cash doesn't fall out of my ****** though.

A friend hauled my CC dually over 300 miles on a 20' deck. There couldn't have been a foot behind the rear tires, but it fit and it actually balanced real nice there too. I never got a good shot of that, just of the front of my truck up on the trailer.
 

brutpwr

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I have two 16 foot car trailers. One narrower and can only fit cars 6 feet wide or less. You can fit a full size truck but with narrow 6" wide or possibly 7" wide wheels on older trucks. It is a lighter duty trailer but is great for smaller vehicles and does well with motorcycle and atv's etc or lower cars as the bed sits real low. My other 16 footer has drive over fenders but the heavier thicker frame and taller tires makes the bed quite a bit taller but the 100" width is handy on wide vehicles like off road race trucks etc. I like 16 footers cause they r easier to tow into tight areas like small gas stations and the like. I have had a 22 foot enclosed trailer and currently have a 26 foot enclosed trailer so I know how those lengths tow. The 22 footer handles more like a 16 footer you just need a hair more planning or room but man the 26 footer is long and is very hard to get in and out of places. As such I would have to think hard before I ever bought any car trailer longer than 20 or 22 feet max unless I needed it for a specific commonly loaded use.
 

skylark

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This is my wife's crew cab. We bought it 300 miles from us and it cost $600 to get it here. The engine, tranny and transfer case were in the bed when we bought it but they had to move them into the bed of the tow vehicle because the trailer was wagging the dog. That is 22' trailer.
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SamCal36

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I am wanting a deck over or the drive over ramps for width I have 6ft 8 inch trailer perfect for tractors but a full size truck with any wheels or tires won't fit but like a 24 length to adjust load an so I will never have anything to long


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drewcrew

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Hey guys, lately I've been looking into getting my own car trailer. Getting sick of borrowing/renting. Just some FYI... the truck doing the towing is my 1995 K1500 350/5spd with 35's and 4.56 gears. I've been looking at getting an 18' with dove tail and wood deck. Specifically the big Tex 70ch. Is there any other/better options? I will be adding a winch in the future, since they don't come with them. Which will probably be another topic later on when I do buy one. Two of the cars I have that I'll be towing are lower to the ground, so I would imagine the dovetail would help that.

Just wondering what what everyone's opinions and why you bought what you did. Because you always hear well, 20' is better than 18' etc etc and you'll always want more room, but when is it too much?

Thanks.
Hey guys, lately I've been looking into getting my own car trailer. Getting sick of borrowing/renting. Just some FYI... the truck doing the towing is my 1995 K1500 350/5spd with 35's and 4.56 gears. I've been looking at getting an 18' with dove tail and wood deck. Specifically the big Tex 70ch. Is there any other/better options? I will be adding a winch in the future, since they don't come with them. Which will probably be another topic later on when I do buy one. Two of the cars I have that I'll be towing are lower to the ground, so I would imagine the dovetail would help that.

Just wondering what what everyone's opinions and why you bought what you did. Because you always hear well, 20' is better than 18' etc etc and you'll always want more room, but when is it too much?

Thanks.
I had a 22' open trailer and was happy with it. I would rather have a trailer that is too long than buy one that is too short. As far as towing it is concerned I don't see any big difference between towing a 20' or 24'.
 
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