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Small trailers?

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GVH said:
Well that just reminded me of another stupid human tricks story. Moving houses (20 yrs ago) I had a 4x6 trailer modded to 4x8 (Not by me) with 2 extra feet out back. Put all 8 snows on rims at the back furniture on the front. At the new house unload all the furniture then decided to unhook the trailer and heel it up the driveway to more easily unload the rest. Stand over the tongue knee on it to unlatch. Not only did the trailer come shooting up it came forward. Bumper and hatch lid damaged plus a solid 5 plus minutes of whimpering like a little girl holding my bits lying on the ground.
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I think everyone who uses or used a trailer in the past has some sort of a "oh Phuck, stupid me" story to tell.


I once forgot to lock put the lock pin into the coupler. Luckily I was just turning the trailer around on my street.
Thankfully the chains were still on as it could have turned into a run away trailer. ?‍♂️
 
GVH said:
Well that just reminded me of another stupid human tricks story. Moving houses (20 yrs ago) I had a 4x6 trailer modded to 4x8 (Not by me) with 2 extra feet out back. Put all 8 snows on rims at the back furniture on the front. At the new house unload all the furniture then decided to unhook the trailer and heel it up the driveway to more easily unload the rest. Stand over the tongue knee on it to unlatch. Not only did the trailer come shooting up it came forward. Bumper and hatch lid damaged plus a solid 5 plus minutes of whimpering like a little girl holding my bits lying on the ground.
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I was going to say hooking up or unhooking but I hoped that he would chock the wheels and have it loaded properly. We all have to learn sometime. That lesson will be very well ingrained in you.

Does anyone know how much space there was behind the ball on the old truck bumper mount hitches? I don't think it was much but I never actually hooked up a trailer to one.
 
mimico_polak said:
My wife would not be pleased if I scratched her bumper....then I’d have to hear about how I kept reminding her of scratching the last bumper in the garage.
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So don't scratch her bumper? Backup cameras have made solo trailer hookup almost trivial. You are also looking at small and light trailers so you can safely bring the trailer to the van instead of vice versa if you aren't fighting a slope.
 
GreyGhost said:
So don't scratch her bumper? Backup cameras have made solo trailer hookup almost trivial. You are also looking at small and light trailers so you can safely bring the trailer to the van instead of vice versa if you aren't fighting a slope.
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This is a much preferred method, especially if you are not too familiar with maneuvering with a trailer or hooking up to one.
I would recommend it for sure.
 
GreyGhost said:
So don't scratch her bumper? Backup cameras have made solo trailer hookup almost trivial. You are also looking at small and light trailers so you can safely bring the trailer to the van instead of vice versa if you aren't fighting a slope.
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I actually meant if I was driving it and the ball was too close to the bumper and would scratch during turning. But that works too.
 
The only problem I've ever had was the hitch itself not opening completely to swallow the ball.
Nothing a good ball-peen hammer couldn't fix.
 
Seeing a bunch more trailers popping up so may be able to pull a trigger soon (missed the one by @crankcall as I just didn't see it posted dammit!). But a question...is there a way to take a 4x8 or 5x9 trailer and just stand it up?

I'd prefer the folding ones, but since I don't feel like keeping it in the front yard, I wouldn't mind putting it along the side of the house behind the gate...it may squeeze through the gate but I'd like to stand it up simply for storage space saving. Or does it need to be in the position it's in always? Basically is the frame strong enough to support itself laying on the side, or standing up?
 
mimico_polak said:
Seeing a bunch more trailers popping up so may be able to pull a trigger soon (missed the one by @crankcall as I just didn't see it posted dammit!). But a question...is there a way to take a 4x8 or 5x9 trailer and just stand it up?

I'd prefer the folding ones, but since I don't feel like keeping it in the front yard, I wouldn't mind putting it along the side of the house behind the gate...it may squeeze through the gate but I'd like to stand it up simply for storage space saving. Or does it need to be in the position it's in always? Basically is the frame strong enough to support itself laying on the side, or standing up?
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Depending on the size and weight of it, it might be difficult to lift it up on its side or end. Especially as a 1 man show.

A 1 solid platform 4X8 or 5X9 maybe be too big for storing on its side along garage wall etc. It for sure would be to tall to store on its rear end.
If you have any side walls on the trailer, this will be an even bigger issue as it would stick out from the wall a lot.

The folding trailers are much more forgiving and designed in a way where storing it much easier.

My HF with a 3/4" plywood as it platform can be tricky for me alone. Keep in mind I'm no Pudzianowski.

Just for reference, here is a pic of a HF trailer stored.

If I remember correctly. From wheel to wheel its about 5 feet in width and when stored as close to the wall as possible, its about 2 Feet in depth that it takes up. (its not the wheels that take up that much depth, but the tounge/hitch when folded. )

1619403959757.png
 
I was just up at Woody's cycle near Perth and he is selling an old motorcycle trailer. It's set up for one bike in the middle, or two; one on each side. It has a little ramp and channels for the tires. Low bed for easy loading. It looks really rough, and he banged the wheel wells down in the middle for clearance of the bikes I think, which makes it look even rougher. I think I would extend the side channels and return the wheel wells to a proper state. This might also make it easier to ensure proper tongue weight. Anyway, $250. I took some pictures on my cell phone, but it's a flip, so getting them off is not easy. Once I do, I'll post pics. L
 
mimico_polak said:
Seeing a bunch more trailers popping up so may be able to pull a trigger soon (missed the one by @crankcall as I just didn't see it posted dammit!). But a question...is there a way to take a 4x8 or 5x9 trailer and just stand it up?

I'd prefer the folding ones, but since I don't feel like keeping it in the front yard, I wouldn't mind putting it along the side of the house behind the gate...it may squeeze through the gate but I'd like to stand it up simply for storage space saving. Or does it need to be in the position it's in always? Basically is the frame strong enough to support itself laying on the side, or standing up?
Click to expand...

If you have the clearance in the garage (as an example) you could install a winch or pulley system to attach to the tongue and stand it up against the wall


Sent from my iPhone using GTAMotorcycle.com mobile app

I couldn’t remember what it was called initially but a chain fall would be my choice over the winch. Much cheaper and no electricity required.

 
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SVeezy said:
If you have the clearance in the garage (as an example) you could install a winch or pulley system to attach to the tongue and stand it up against the wall


Sent from my iPhone using GTAMotorcycle.com mobile app
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Depends on how where the tail lights are located. Might have to fab a frame extension or dolly, but that's additional time and materials cost.
 
Relax said:
Depends on how where the tail lights are located. Might have to fab a frame extension or dolly, but that's additional time and materials cost.
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Agree. Also the leverage arm is horrendous to pick up the tongue. For most steel trailers I don't think it would be possible without some kind of mechanical advantage. Rotating either way requires you to lift half the weight of the trailer and raise it in the air. Flipping on it 's side you only need to lift it 2', flipping on it's tail, you need to lift it close to 5'.
 
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