Tilt trailer

[Greg]

I'm seriously thinking about purchasing a manual tilt trailer for hauling around my Jeeps and other projects. Has anyone used one or have experience with one of these?

It uses a manual hydraulic cylinder at the front, to drop the trailer. One of my concerns is the cylinder going bad, but I'm sure you could find a replacement for pretty cheap. I am thinking about something like this because it would be easy to load and unload the lowered El Camino if we ever need to haul it somewhere.

tit would be nice to also not need ramps every time we go wheeling and unload the Willys.

I think a Warn Drill Winch would be handy too, when you need to load a non-running rig. No need for a permanent mounted winch and battery.

 

[jeeper]

I’d go for just the tilting deck, not a lifting trailer.
something like this.

 

[Greg]

I’d go for just the tilting deck, not a lifting trailer.
something like this.

View attachment 128083

They're more money... $400 more at the place I'm looking at and only come in a 20' or 22' long. Thats more length than I need/want.

 

[jeeper]

They're more money... $400 more at the place I'm looking at and only come in a 20' or 22' long. Thats more length than I need/want.

well look some where else, silly.

 

[Greg]

well look some where else, silly.

They have really good prices, the one pictured is $2800.

 

[SnwMnkys]

Seems gimmicky and I dont see any benefit other than price. It would suck to have to pump that ram every time I wanted to unload a car. Id rather carry ramps than sit there for five minutes pumping that thing.

Weve had a conventional tilt deck purchased from Lone Peak for over 20 years. Only thing Id do different if I bought another is a longer fixed deck and removable fenders or low profile fenders for cars so you can still open the doors.

Look at Diamond C trailers if you want to see a quality tilt deck.

 

[Greg]

Seems gimmicky and I dont see any benefit other than price. It would suck to have to pump that ram every time I wanted to unload a car. Id rather carry ramps than sit there for five minutes pumping that thing.

Weve had a conventional tilt deck purchased from Lone Peak for over 20 years. Only thing Id do different if I bought another is a longer fixed deck and removable fenders or low profile fenders for cars so you can still open the doors.

Look at Diamond C trailers if you want to see a quality tilt deck.

Getting a lowered car on and off without hanging up is the main benefit, not dealing with ramps to begin with is another.

I doubt it would take 5 min to raise and it should be pretty quick to lower, especially when loaded. I bet you could raise and lower the deck in about the same amount of time it would take to remove and setup a pair of ramps.

The build specs on this brand of trailers is damn good, actually. The prices are affordable, but that doesn't mean the trailer itself is junk. They're powder coated, not painted... have a bunch of upgrades over cheap trailers.

 

[mbryson]

I’ve had PJ powder coated trailers. I’ll take paint over powder coat on a trailer personally

 

[Greg]

I’ve had PJ powder coated trailers. I’ll take paint over powder coat on a trailer personally

Really? Why, for touch up reasons?

 

[mbryson]

Really? Why, for touch up reasons?

Exactly. The trailer by nature will get rocks kicked up at it all the time. Over a couple years there are a LOT of nicks on the tongue. I can’t imagine a trailer powder coat is the highest quality powder coat in the world either? I’ve had similar experience with powder coated bumpers on my JKU

After a run through salty/wet roads the salt will get under the powder coat and it will start falling off in huge chunks. At least that’s my PJ experience.

I ground all the powder coat off that was still attach with a flap wheel and wire wheel and just painted the metal. It seemed to hold up fine. The areas where I couldn’t get the powder coat out/off would continue to flake off occasionally

 

[Greg]

Exactly. The trailer by nature will get rocks kicked up at it all the time. Over a couple years there are a LOT of nicks on the tongue. I can’t imagine a trailer powder coat is the highest quality powder coat in the world either? I’ve had similar experience with powder coated bumpers on my JKU

After a run through salty/wet roads the salt will get under the powder coat and it will start falling off in huge chunks. At least that’s my PJ experience.

I ground all the powder coat off that was still attach with a flap wheel and wire wheel and just painted the metal. It seemed to hold up fine. The areas where I couldn’t get the powder coat out/off would continue to flake off occasionally

Sounds like a pretty bad powder coat job with no effort put into the prep, IMO. Powder coat needs a rough surface to adhere, a recently sand blasted surface is ideal. I have no idea how these trailers I'm looking at are prepped, but thought the powder coating sounded better than cheap paint that rusts thru within the first year or 2.

These trailers I'm looking at have pieces of diamond plate on the front crossmember, directly behind the rear tires of the towing vehicle to prevent rock chips from ruining the coating. Obviously a trailer is going to get rockchips all over the front of it, no matter what, but it's nice that they've made an effort to keep it looking OK with the diamond plate panels. Personally, I dislike diamond plate, but it seems like a good use in this application.

 

[jeeper]

The more I think about it, the harder I would push for just a tilting trailer. No ram to worry about. Move a lever, it drops down. Drive on and it self levels. No need to park it on a hill and then lower the ram. We’ve had big bubbas custom make trailers for us. I’m sure you could find a few places to custom build a 16’ tilt deck.

 

[SnwMnkys]

Getting a lowered car on and off without hanging up is the main benefit, not dealing with ramps to begin with is another.

I doubt it would take 5 min to raise and it should be pretty quick to lower, especially when loaded. I bet you could raise and lower the deck in about the same amount of time it would take to remove and setup a pair of ramps.

The build specs on this brand of trailers is damn good, actually. The prices are affordable, but that doesn't mean the trailer itself is junk. They're powder coated, not painted... have a bunch of upgrades over cheap trailers.

We had our entire tilt deck Rhino lined except the wood deck. A good bed liner is your best option for rock chips. Its held up well for 22 years except for where the paint it was applied over underneath has pealed away from the metal which takes the bedliner with it.

You definetly get what you pay for when it comes to trailers. I dont see how they can be a cheaper option without skimping somewhere.

 

[Greg]

The more I think about it, the harder I would push for just a tilting trailer. No ram to worry about. Move a lever, it drops down. Drive on and it self levels. No need to park it on a hill and then lower the ram. We’ve had big bubbas custom make trailers for us. I’m sure you could find a few places to custom build a 16’ tilt deck.

Custom build = expensive and I don't want to have $5k tied up in a trailer when I can get one for close to half that price.

I really don't understand why that design of this trailer and the ram are an issue, a replacement ram is probably what, $50 at Harbor Freight? Are you concerned about the hinge, strength, etc?

 

[Greg]

We had our entire tilt deck Rhino lined except the wood deck. A good bed liner is your best option for rock chips. Its held up well for 22 years except for where the paint it was applied over underneath has pealed away from the metal which takes the bedliner with it.

You definetly get what you pay for when it comes to trailers. I dont see how they can be a cheaper option without skimping somewhere.

Good to know about the Rhino lining, it could be a good option down the road.

There are a lot of trailer manufacturers in the mid-west and their prices are quite a bit less than than what you'll spend in the West. That seems to be a pretty reliable standard. This specific manufacturer is in Kansas and they're far from cheap, sub-par trailers. I don't mind a little drive to save $1-2k versus what I can get in CO/UT. The build materials and specs are impressive, I don't think they're a cheaply built trailer at all.

See for yourself, the 18' tilt trailer pictured above is $2800 - https://doubleztrailers.wixsite.com/zztrailers/copy-of-h-h-mxc-speedloader-7k-1

A standard wood deck 16' car hauler (14' deck with 2' dovetail) is $2400 (steel deck is $2900) - https://doubleztrailers.wixsite.com/zztrailers/copy-of-5-6-7-wide-sa-enclosed

The website is pretty bad, but they build trailers.... not web sites.

 

[jeeper]

Custom build = expensive and I don't want to have $5k tied up in a trailer when I can get one for close to half that price.

I really don't understand why that design of this trailer and the ram are an issue, a replacement ram is probably what, $50 at Harbor Freight? Are you concerned about the hinge, strength, etc?

Having a trailer custom sized for me didn’t cost anything extra than what the trailers on the lot sold for. I just had to wait a couple weeks for it to Be built. It’s really not an issue.


I don’t have any fears of failure of the trailer or ram. It’s function I am worried about.

The issue I have with the ram up front is that when you load a vehicle you have to park it and get out on an incline. If it’s a car with doors, you will be fighting the door the whole time. If it’s a Project car without motor or trans, or any car without a good parking brake, that may be trouble. When I have to work in my dump trailer with it up, it’s a major pain. I hate it.
A tilt deck will level off as you drive on.
unloading is the same issue. You’ll have to pump up the ram to unload. With a tilt, just drive backwards.

it also doesn’t do much for the lower car issues. I know ramps aren’t fun for low cars, but having the deck that steep still has a steep approach angle.

I use trailers all the time. I love trailers. I support you in any trailer purchase you want to make. I just want to make sure you buy what is best for your needs, and want to make sure you are looking at all possible options. If you decide the ram style is best, I support that, and will be totally stoked to see it get used sometime

 

[Greg]

Having a trailer custom sized for me didn’t cost anything extra than what the trailers on the lot sold for. I just had to wait a couple weeks for it to Be built. It’s really not an issue.


I don’t have any fears of failure of the trailer or ram. It’s function I am worried about.

The issue I have with the ram up front is that when you load a vehicle you have to park it and get out on an incline. If it’s a car with doors, you will be fighting the door the whole time. If it’s a Project car without motor or trans, or any car without a good parking brake, that may be trouble. When I have to work in my dump trailer with it up, it’s a major pain. I hate it.
A tilt deck will level off as you drive on.
unloading is the same issue. You’ll have to pump up the ram to unload. With a tilt, just drive backwards.

it also doesn’t do much for the lower car issues. I know ramps aren’t fun for low cars, but having the deck that steep still has a steep approach angle.

I use trailers all the time. I love trailers. I support you in any trailer purchase you want to make. I just want to make sure you buy what is best for your needs, and want to make sure you are looking at all possible options. If you decide the ram style is best, I support that, and will be totally stoked to see it get used sometime

That's what I was looking for, reasoning and logic behind the opinion.... not just 'I don't like it'. You bring up some good points and they're worth considering. Thanks for taking the time to explain.

 

[Unimog]

From personal experience, loading a non-running vehicle on a tilt deck is about as easy as it gets, just because it becomes really easy to winch once the weight of the car is up far enough to tilt the deck. Same getting it off - just roll back and be ready to brake. I've never used one of the trailers where the entire bed tilts. The engineer in me can see that there is going to be a weight advantage on the tilt bed vs the tilt deck if that matters.

 

[SnwMnkys]

The build materials and specs are impressive, I don't think they're a cheaply built trailer at all.

/QUOTE]

Another thing to consider is a lot of car haulers will run a tongue box to store straps, bottle jack, lug wrench, etc. With that hydraulic ram there it really hampers youre options for storage.

I saw the list and they do a few things that are quality. Powder coat everywhere. The center support for the fenders. Conduit for the wiring. Treated? wood deck is good if its pressure treated and not coated treated. Most the bones of the trailer are not anything special. Theyre also leaving out important information.

-205/75-15 tires. Notice they dont say what ply rating. Because I bet theyre C load Range. Bare minimum.
-5" channel? As opposed to what? 4" channel like they say is "flimsy"? I havent seen a car hauler built out of 4" anything. ATV/UTV, landscape trailers yes. But not car haulers. 5" box tubing or 6" channel would be a quality upgrade for this class of trailer.
-3"x2"x3/16" c channel (not cheap 1.5" angke iron like some competitors trailers) Ok, on what centers? 24"? Id take 1.5" angle of the same thickness on 12" centers over 3x2 channel on 24".
-"COUPLER heavy duty 2" 8000lbs rated (not cheap 7k bulldog coupler.)" Most 2" balls are only rated for 7k lbs anyway. They could put a 20k coupler on there. But the 2" ball is still the weak link so it doesnt matter.
-Stake pockets arent quality. Welded on D rings are.

Ive rebuilt at least a half dozen enclosed trailers and a few equipment trailers. Ive seen whats quality and what isnt from tearing them apart and owning dozens of them.

 

[Hickey]

Greg, I think you should get one, but I think you should spring for the higher GVW model. I would also try for 16" wheels so you can run the heavier trailer tires.