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Advice wanted for purchasing used enclosed trailer

By the way my trailer has rear jack stands and I can lower the nose, the drop the jacks and crank up the nose to get all 4 wheels off the ground. It makes it very stable and easy to work on the tires. Also thought it would be nice to let the rubber suspension rest while stored.




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Thanks for the add'l info guys. Unfortunately (well, kinda), trailer shopping has to be put on hold for now...just got a new job (after being laid off for a while), and it has me travelling quite a bit for the next few weeks.
 
This will give you some time to research and think through what you are really going to use it for and what exactly you need.

I love they way mine tows with the torsion suspension, but I can't help but feel standard leaf springs might last longer, I really don't know. I have several trailers, some that haul up to 20,000 lbs with leaf springs, so I know they can handle the weight.

Also I just ordered something called airtab, you can search it. They are vortices generators that are installed at the rear of the trailer and are supposed to help with the drag at the rear of the trailer. Didn't cost too much, will see if it helps or not.

What is crazy, I get better mileage with the Duramax towing our 38' fifth wheel trailer that weighs who knows how much that I get towing the little low hauler trailer.

Perhaps the fact that I rarely tow the fifth wheel over 70MPH and the motorcycle trailer I am hardly under 70MPH might have more to do with it. I do know the rear of the fifth wheel is designed to reduce drag with some interesting shapes, but the motorcycle trailer is nothing but a big flat panel which produces a lot of drag...
 
Two enclosed trailers on Cranky Ape Georgetown Tx this week. , One tandem one single axel both High bid on both is 25 dollar so far. That won't last. but out of everything they auction trailers seem to be most reasonable. I may bid on the 14foot if it is still low Tuesday morning.
 
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I live on the coast and the roof and how it is constructed is important in keeping out water. Avoid roof vents if possible. Also I have a low garage door and have found the shorter trailer to be better in storing in the garage although the lower height is pain in loading and unloading. the axle/s needs to be rated for 3500 lb and have the correct higher performance tires. If two axles the gross is 7000 and depending on state may need brakes on all wheels and a controller in the vehicle. A single 3500 lb may be exempt as I have not read the TXDOT rules for some time. Always get a 2" hitch. It is standard on the 2 axle but may not be on the single especially if the axle is rated less than 3500 lb. Sometimes they rate a single 3500 lb axle trailer less than 3500 to avoid brake requirements. I did not read all the free advice so this may be redundant.
 
Having the in cab brake controller is nice. My truck came with a tow package and that is built is so I did not have to add it. It lets you fine tune the trailer brakes so they give you max braking power without causing that annoying front to back jerking that can occur if the trailer brakes are way off compared to the towing vehicle brakes.
 
Scott, you are so spot on, nothing better than factory integrated electric brakes, but if you do have to add an after market electric brake controller, be sure to get a proportional electric brake controller, the other "timed" ones suck!!!

The proportional is as close to a factory type performance as you can get. They don't cost anymore but work 1,000 times better than the timed type and many people even at the high end trailer places just don't understand.
 
Scott, you are so spot on, nothing better than factory integrated electric brakes, but if you do have to add an after market electric brake controller, be sure to get a proportional electric brake controller, the other "timed" ones suck!!!

The proportional is as close to a factory type performance as you can get. They don't cost anymore but work 1,000 times better than the timed type and many people even at the high end trailer places just don't understand.

I just had a controller added to factory tow on Tacoma. How do I know which one I got. This one has a little wheel to adjust sensitivity and a small lever for manual. My truck has ABS. It seems to work good. A red light comes on when I push brake peddle.
 
Do you know the make and model, there is no way to know just by looking.

Proportional controllers have inertial sensors in them and can detect when you apply the brakes in your Tacoma, then they sense how fast the truck is slowing down and will apply more electrical current to the trailer the faster the truck slows down, trying to match how hard you are braking.

The other type starts to ramp up the trailer brake voltage over time. These have no clue how hard you are trying to stop and in my opinion a danger and a joke. I have been surprised how many top of the line trailer shops still sell them. These tend to be kind of jerky, the don't kick in right away and the longer you have the brakes on the more they apply to trailer. You can feel the trailer nose start to dip even if you are just coasting up to a stop with light braking.


Integrated controllers are the best, they have pressure sensors and know exactly how hard you are pressing on the brakes and then match to the trailer.

The little knob should be for gain, it is a way to adjust the controller to each trailer. Once you learn your trailer you will figure out where to set it. To little gain and the trailer won't be applying enough brakes to help out properly. This will cause your truck brakes to overheat. To much gain and the trailer will tug at your truck trying to stop your truck. This tends to overheat the trailer brakes...

Play around with the gain setting, you will start to get a feel for it.

Of course it will change based on load. Motorcycles don't weigh too much so I don't change my enclosed trailer very much. When I have 2 light bikes like the KTM's I have my truck gain set to 3, but if I put 3 heavy adventure bikes, I would bump it up to 6.

When I pull my dump trailer empty I set the gain to 4, but fully loaded with gravel or the skid steer I will set it as high as 8 or 9 (max of 10)

It is all about safety when towing. Having the trailer brakes properly dialed in can reduce your over braking distance in an emergency as well as help prevent jackknifing.
 
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