Has anyone bought a trailer from this company?

[squatting dog2]

I have purchased 3 trailers from these guy's over the last few years. ( 8.5 x 20, 7x14, and 8.5x24) Price was fair and build quality was fine.
Also, you may want to compare the basic build specs for a 7' trailer... quite an eye opener.

http://www.usacargotrailersales.com/virtuemart/7-wide/7x12-tandem-axle-detail.html

 

[Optimistic Paranoid]

I'm under the impression that the cheaper trailers are all built with z-post or hat-post walls.  The better - and unfortunately, more expensive - trailers are built with square tubing, which is much stronger.

 

[highdesertranger]

well you really wouldn't bend a torsion axle, you would just beat the hell out of the rubber inserts causing premature failure. axle on springs is what I was talking about bending. you don't need to upgrade the springs. trailer springs are rated per spring so 3500lb rated springs are actually good for 7k together. I myself don't like to derate springs by removing leafs. but it can be done. highdesertranger

 

[ZoNiE]

I think I'd prefer a single 7,000 lb axle to two 3,500's in a smaller cargo... Comments?

 

[squatting dog2]

I think I'd prefer a single 7,000 lb axle to two 3,500's in a smaller cargo... Comments?

I don't know. I myself prefer 2 axles. would rather have 4 tires than 2. even with a flat, one could nurse a double axle trailer to safety, where as a single is pretty much stuck where it falls. Maybe 2 5200 lb axles rather than 2 3500 lb ones??

 

[highdesertranger]

there is no doubt a dual axle tows better. but now you have 4 tires to deal with. for me personally I wouldn't want to haul 7k on a single axle. I like the 3500 springs combined with two 6k axles and brakes on all four. highdesertranger

 

[Every Road Leads Home]

I always prefer dual axles. Mostly in case of a blow out. But I also thing dual axles tow smoother and better.

I don't want to start the entire torsion axle debate but they are (at least the quality ones like Dexter) well suited to rough roads. There was one off road magazine who published info saying they are junk for it and it's spread through the internet like cancer. Dexter repeatedly asked them for proof, for the axle, for any information at all to back up their claims and failed to ever do so. Dexter the best axle maker in the world who also sells spring axles warranties and states their torsion axles are well suited for off road use. The military only uses torsion axles on all their trailers under 10k lbs now. Numerous offroad trailer maker companies only use Dexter Torsion axles in their builds, some in business for over 20 years which doesn't happen if your product isn't up to what it's built for. Alaska has Torsion axles all over the state, land of the roughest roads in the country. So yes, Torsion axles can be used off pavement. Everyone should do their own research and chose which best fits their needs but you can absolutely use them offroad.

 

[Optimistic Paranoid]

I'm under the impression that the leaf sprung trailers have more ground clearance than the torsion axles can provide.  Am I mistaken?

Also, while Dexter axles are primo, a lot of the cheaper trailers are coming with Chinese axles these days.

 

[highdesertranger]

you are right on both counts OP. not only that but torsion axles have no where near the articulation of spring axles. ERLH I know you are a big fan of torsion axles, I don't want to get into a back and forth about them. but could you provide a link for the military use of torsion axles the only thing I can find is the military uses them on their boat trailers. I saw a brand new design military trailer on the road the other day and it was leaf springs. highdesertranger

 

[wagoneer]

Wolf where are you when we need some input???

 

[ArtW]

Squatting Dog: Thanks for the link, I'll do some comparison, but I also have to consider that i'd have to pay delivery to Texas on that site, whereas the site i am using has a plant here, might make up the diference in price
If you look at the site I'm using, they don't use Zbar, according to the photos, but it looks like it might be channel, Hmmm

my mistake,it looks like 3 sided is Zbar, well well, hmmm SD, have you actually seen the framing on your trailers? the roof studs in the pics sure look like Zbar

RE single Vs double axle, the benefits of the double axle are pretty obvious, the elephant in the room is weight
a 7x12 SA trailer is 1300lb empty at the site i linked, while a double axle the same size is 1960lb empty
That might not matter if you're towing with a 1 tome , but if you're using a Ranger, with a tow cap of 4000lb, you're already at almost 1/2 your rating

I'd be tempted to go bigger DA, had I the tow cap, but I think the general rule is if you're going to tow a lot / on steep grades keep at about 1/2 your rating, no?

 

[squatting dog2]

Here's a snap of my roof braces. also have a pic of the front hitch. for comparison, my brothers 7x14 is here in my yard. he paid more for his "Wells Cargo" than I did for my Diamond Cargo, and look at the frame.

 

[ArtW]

Thank you SD, very helpful, and as you said, a bit of an eye opener

 

[highdesertranger]

so I guess the Wells Cargo is the one on the left? highdesertranger

 

[ZoNiE]

I suspect my 25' nomad travel trailer has 2 x 3,500# axles, but when fully loaded, one is a wee bit over that, so says the CAT scale. If I were towing with a smaller vehicle, a trailer with one axle gives the ability to put motorhome capable, D rated tires on it, and makes maneuvering easier, but yeah, tandems are definitely more stable at speed.

This comes after completing my trailer tire saga. I now have four new china bombs on my trailer, and have a reminder in my calandar to replace them in two years.

One blew on the highway, one died in the driveway, and a third was noticed to be separated when it was removed from the wheel at the tire shop yesterday, so they replaced that one under warranty.

My trailer is not one of the newer style that has more spread between the axles, so going to larger rims and tires was a no-go otherwise the tires would touch each other.

 

[highdesertranger]

I have had such bad luck with trailer tires that I use LT tires now. trailer tires and off road do not play well together. highdesertranger

 

[speedhighway46]

When I was building my Peterbilt Motorhome the Morgan box I ordered for it was built using Z bar wall structure on 16" centers. They have been rock solid and easy to work with. I would highly recommend them. But of course, this is not a trailer, but I would think they would be effective in that application as well.

 

[squatting dog2]

so I guess the Wells Cargo is the one on the left?  highdesertranger

No ranger... the six inch box tubing hitch on the left is the diamond cargo. the 4 inch is the wells cargo.
needless to say, the brother was mighty upset when he started looking at the differences.

 

[Optimistic Paranoid]

I'm currently looking at Bravo Trailers in Indiana. 

http://bravotrailers.com/trailer-models

Their economy line uses the z-bars, their better models use rectangular tubes.  I haven't priced them yet.

I like the fact that they use Dexter axles.

Trailer Showroom in GA used to offer Dexter axles as an optional "upgrade" to their standard axles, but that seems to have disappeared from their option list . . .

 

[masterplumber]

I thought I'd weigh in with some general info based upon my experience. First, regarding framing - my trailer, a Carry on brand I bought used, has a 2x4 boxed main frame and tongue, with 2'' angle floor supports. The walls are z bar but the roof framing is 1 x 1 1/4 rectangle tubing. There is a length of angle running the length of the sides at the top tying it all together. When I first bought it it only had 1/8'' luan paneling inside and you could see the walls flex while driving down the road looking in the mirror. I used 1/4'' quality paneling screwed 16'' on center on the walls and that stopped all of the wall flex - kind of like shear panelling a house for those of you with construction experience. The original rating was 2880 lbs - mainly for registration reasons in some states. It has a 3500 lb spring axle. Having put well over 12,000 mile on it now, including many miles of very rough roads, I feel confident that the framing is good enough. I was worried about the z bar at first, but now I appreciate the weight savings.

As for axles, I remember the whole torsion axle debate taking place over on Expedition Portal. It seems there were a few failures, and they all were traced back to heat build up. They all occurred after many miles of high speed wash board road with a trailer loaded to close to max GVWR. I don't recall any that occurred when someone just took the occasional rough road at reasonable speed. This makes sense as Torsion axles use rubber for springs and heat is the enemy of rubber, whether in your tires, bushings, or trailer springs. I believe Schutt Industries makes their off road trailers with torsion axles and they also make them for the military. Torsion axles can also be had with a higher "start" angle for more clearance, but they can't be "flipped' like a spring axle after you've bought the trailer. Spring axles actually shouldn't be flipped due to the camber built into them, but rather a new spring perch should be welded to the top of the axle and then the axle bolted to the bottom of the spring pack. Also, this should never be done with a factory dropped axle due to the stresses put on the drop brackets.

I agree with HDR, that you should order heavier axles than what you need, while keeping the spring rates just slightly higher than what you're actual GVW is. This is why I plan to upgrade my axle. As stated above, my axle is a 3500 LB axle, and when my trailer is fully loaded with water, food, supplies, and my KLR motorcycle, it is right at 3500 lbs - 3480 last time I ran it across a scale. This is with a trailer that started at 980 LBs empty before conversion. I toyed with converting it to tandem axle but with only a 12' length and a 3' side door I couldn't get them positioned in the correct place. I did this before on a 7x14 and the difference in the way it towed was night and day. My 6x12 actually tows pretty well so I'll stick with single axle. I'm going with a 6000 lb axle eventually, with 8 lug brakes so I can run the same wheels as my truck. I'll use springs with a combined capacity of somewhere between 4500 and 5200 LBs.