Thread: Thoughts/review of 24' No Ramp hydraulic lowering trailer after ~1 year of ownership

Originally Posted by digger doug

I saw a Burban equipped with duals, and the glue on fenders.
Stuck out in my area for sure.

Found out on another board, these are sort of common down Texas way....yikes.

It's not super common but there are DRW conversion kits for full size vans (both Savana/Express and Econoline), in passenger van or "church van" configurations (15 passenger... I think) it was apparently very easy to be way overweight on the rear axle if the van was full with standard adults. There's been a few tragic accidents in the past. I've seen a handful that had the conversions (they run about $2500) but I'm not a big fan because it's essentially a stud/hub adapter and not a full hub assembly. I've been discussing either a hub swap or complete axle swap (to the cutaway DRW axle), and I might tackle that at some point but it hasn't been an issue in my use case so far so it's not real high on the list.

Originally Posted by Ox

I just looked, and while I told the tarr dealer that I wanted F's, he came back at me with a set of E Carlisles that are rated for 3640# single @ 80#, and my wheels are only rated for 80# anyhow... I checked all over, even called GoodYear and others directly - trying to find a USA tire for my trailer, only to be told time and aggin that they doo not exist. So - I have these "seem pretty nice" Carlisle's on it now. The originals lasted 20 yrs tho. But mine sits a LOT more than yours! BUT, like you - I am able to ask how high when I need to jump. It's not been a huge deal recently, but it did make a difference back when I got it. I doo use it to shuttle machinery between shop and wherhouse regularly tho. Many times well overloaded, but it's only 1/2 mile, and only yards on public roadway, so ...

I spent a few years in the tire business (managed a few shops for a large chain and did sales training) and it's been many, many years since I've had any inside knowledge but I can tell you that you absolutely will not find an American made trailer tire... Chinese manufacturers copied the tread design of the Goodyear (I can't remember the model... it's been around forever) and started re-branding them and absolutely destroyed the margins. Trailer tires were a prime target because they don't need to have a nice ride or low noise... or even decent QC (trailers beat the tires up anyway...). If someone tells you it's made in the US they're almost certainly lying... even in the name brand tire world it's nearly impossible to tell if the particular tire you're buying from a company such as Michelin was made in the US, France, South America, China, Vietnam... they all run manufacturing facilities all over the world. They may claim they make that particular tire in that particular size in the US, but you can bet that they run a much larger volume out of countries where the labors cheap and the oversights weak.

A friend that works at Discount Tire told me about the Taskmaster, it's a DT house brand and I was intrigued right off the bat not only because it's not just another clone tire but because it also comes with a speed rating (81mph) and they offer it in F for a surprisingly fair price... $87 (for my size) through there direct site (ships to you) but I was able to get an even better price ordering from my local store with a commercial account. My plan is to run the two I have on the way for a couple trips and see how they do and assuming they perform as expected I'll swap them all out before winter gets in full swing. In my experience when it comes to private label/import things like this the biggest factor that drives quality is oversight and QA from the company that's doing the private labeling. In this case it's Discount, who from what I can tell seem to operate a really good business, they pay fair (far above similar positions at competitors) and take care of their employees/make it a nice place to work. You can also bet they have "fixers" and other people dedicated to keeping there overseas manufacturers from cutting corners... it's not one or two people operating an LLC out of a UPS mailbox and marketing online. They also seem to have a very straight forward road hazard policy that isn't fraught with the usual "gotchas", and from what I've seen over the last year I've been buying from them they have very fair pricing, and won't hesitate to price match (even when I don't have them installed, I have machines at my shop and prefer to do it myself most of the time). As a consumer with experience on both sides of the desk that's pretty swell. I might eat my words if these tires turn out to be junk... if I end up swapping them all out I'll list the old ones on craigslist/facebook for a super good deal... gets them out of my shop and helps save someone a few buck, win-win.

You can get 11R17.5 tires rated for something like 6,000 lbs single and 5,000 lbs as a dual. But you'd probably have to go to real 10 bolt hub pilot rims.

The idea of these trailers is interesting, but it would never work for me. I need more width.

I do know this, when you can haul heavy things, they tend to follow you home.

Originally Posted by ewlsey

You can get 11R17.5 tires rated for something like 6,000 lbs single and 5,000 lbs as a dual. But you'd probably have to go to real 10 bolt hub pilot rims.

No real point given I almost never use it as it currently sits to it's full limit. Also, the axles are customized/modified quite a bit to facilitate the deck drop so an axle swap is far easier said then done

Originally Posted by ewlsey

The idea of these trailers is interesting, but it would never work for me. I need more width.

Can totally understand that. Generally the only things that wouldn't fit in the width of this trailer are likely full size machines requiring real riggers capable of real heavy haul... but everyone's use case is different and I'd go ahead and say that that's likely the biggest design "issue" or compromise with these trailers.

Originally Posted by ewlsey

I do know this, when you can haul heavy things, they tend to follow you home.

Is that a bad thing though? Kicking those things out is the key to it all... I make sure I turn inventory as much as possible while still keeping my margins (most of the time, sometimes you just get stuck with something and it takes a fire-sale to get rid of).

We've had these discussions before, and it all boils down to a light as possible
trailer, to haul the most. Too much mechanism, hydraulics, winches, legs, etc.
all add up fast.

I went to the OP's linked website, and they list "tilt" trailers too, but
didn't really see anything.

The lightest tilt I have seen was the sliding axle kind, no hydraulics,
no double frame, nothing.
"Texas car Hauler" I think was one of them.
Add a winch up front to one, and it may be workable.

Unfortunately, I don't see them as a "deckover" style, that would get you
the full 102" width.

For well-made manual tilt, single or dual axle, check out Felling. I have an ex-rental single-axle 6K (4300 payload) that does a great job. They're still used by rental houses like Herc and Sunbelt. I think Ohio Mike has a dual axle version... or maybe it's a PJ Trailer. But anyway, they're out there.

Originally Posted by Chip Chester

For well-made manual tilt, single or dual axle, check out Felling. I have an ex-rental single-axle 6K (4300 payload) that does a great job. They're still used by rental houses like Herc and Sunbelt. I think Ohio Mike has a dual axle version... or maybe it's a PJ Trailer. But anyway, they're out there.

Do you like the single axle? I have another thread on a tilt trailer I could buy but am not sure it is a good fit for me.
Link to other thread so not to get sidetracked here: Opinions on this tilt trailer

My response is there...

I ordered my u19 with 215/75 R17.5 wheels. Each tire is rated for ~4805 lbs. Much sturdier option. That was the only real issue I had when pulling the u14 near its capacity (6 years) as well as a u12 occasionally.

17.5's are the go to trailer tire these days. 19.5's don't seem very popular anymore.

I really like all the cool tricks you can do with traveling axle trailers. I have been real close to buying a Landoll twice and had to evaluate what I wanted to do because I knew that would change what I do for a living.

You can buy used single axle container landolls like you tow behind a FL70 type truck for around $10k used. That's a hell of a lot more trailer than that triple axle and you can get that 40' deck into places you couldn't fit a car trailer.