Trailer recommendation

[ASE guy]

What is the empty weight on that trailer?

I bought a PJ 7712 a few years ago and have no complaints. Seems to be a well built trailer.

 

[RCP]

I bought a PJ 7712 a few years ago and have no complaints. Seems to be a well built trailer.

How is the powder coat holding up? Do you store the trailer indoors?

 

[brendonh]

That.

2026 Load Trail PE 102x24 16k Deckover Full Tilt Trailer

2026 Load Trail PE 102x24 16k Deckover Full Tilt Trailer RV for sale in Texas. Find more Load Trail PE Tilt Deck Trailer RVs at Crazy Trailer World, your Whitesboro TX RV dealer.

www.crazytrailerworld.com

But some of your requirements can't be met with this. I am of the belief the deckover / tilt makes up for the lack of other not met specs.

This is what I'd like to have anyway.

 

[ASE guy]

How is the powder coat holding up? Do you store the trailer indoors?

Stored indoors and it is fine now. I think I may have a few chips.

 

[MeanGene1]

Good luck with that. Pickup trucks haven't run 16" wheels with an 8 on 6.5 pattern in 25 years. I'd rather run a higher capacity tire and carry a good dedicated spare.

Have to disagree with that one- 16" tires are still readily available. I have an '01 7.3 so it is the old bolt pattern, but is a duallie so still needs it's own spare, but the tires can swap. My dump trailer has 235/85/16s, and I just picked up a 3-axle equipment trailer in good shape, but it had 16.5's. Looked around and scrounged a bit, found one guy with 2 white spoke trailer wheels in 16 x 6.5, then found another guy with a set of 4, and they all match. Just put the 6 235/85/16's on that trailer yesterday, and I have a couple extra wheels that don't match visually but fine for spares. I also have a sweet old ex-uhaul utility trailer that has the 5-lug GM pickup pattern, and had a set of GM pickup aluminum wheels in 16", so that one has 245/75/16s on it. 3042 lbs per tire load rating is enough for me

 

[Destroked 450]

Have to disagree with that one- 16" tires are still readily available. I have an '01 7.3 so it is the old bolt pattern, but is a duallie so still needs it's own spare, but the tires can swap. My dump trailer has 235/85/16s, and I just picked up a 3-axle equipment trailer in good shape, but it had 16.5's. Looked around and scrounged a bit, found one guy with 2 white spoke trailer wheels in 16 x 6.5, then found another guy with a set of 4, and they all match. Just put the 6 235/85/16's on that trailer yesterday, and I have a couple extra wheels that don't match visually but fine for spares. I also have a sweet old ex-uhaul utility trailer that has the 5-lug GM pickup pattern, and had a set of GM pickup aluminum wheels in 16", so that one has 245/75/16s on it. 3042 lbs per tire load rating is enough for me

Ford went to the metric bolt pattern when they introduced the super duty in 99
They look the same but the studs don’t center up in the wheels

 

[RCP]

Follow up

I looked at several brands of trailers; there were plusses and minus for all of them. I decided to buy a Moritz gooseneck equipment trailer 25 +5, GVW 17,900, 17.5" wheels, 8K torsion axles, hydraulic disc brakes, aluminum wedge ramps etc.

The reasons I choose Moritz are;

1) Trailer is made in Mansfield Ohio which is about a 2-hour drive from me.
2) The dealer, Bennet trailer sales in Salem Ohio, is about an hour from me and is a family-owned business with an excellent reputation for service after the sale.
3) The trailers are painted with urethane paint, from the new and used Moritz trailers, I saw this paint holds up better than most. I decided against powder coated trailers because of the issues I have seen with powder coating. I did investigate galvanized trailers, but the adder for galvanizing was cost prohibitive.
4) The aluminum ramps are very easy to deploy and retract, I was able to try this on new and used Moritz trailers.
5) The trailer is heavier than others with similar GVW, I know this means reduced cargo weight allowance, but I hope it means the trailers are sturdier. In my case, cargo weight is not a limiting factor.
6) Many trailer manufacturers were not interested in supplying hydraulic disc brakes on a trailer this size, so I did not look into them any further.
7) The Moritz trailer has a winch mount and large toolbox as standard equipment.
8) The frame extension that supports the dovetail is tapered to increase ground clearance, I hope this means less tail dragging going into and exiting driveways.
9) Torsion axles, I have always heard good things about them, we will see.

This was not the cheapest nor the most expensive trailer that I was quoted, but I think it will last me a long time.

Thanks for everyone's feedback, I did take it all into consideration.

RCP

 

[zilla24]

Congrats on the new trailer, it sounds like you got the right tool for you! Send some pictures with your tractors loaded up when you have a chance.

 

[showcrop]

Stored indoors and it is fine now. I think I may have a few chips.

Get after those chips with rust converter right away. The right stuff will chase the rust right under the powder coat and kill it.

 

[RCP]

We picked up the new Moritz trailer from Bennett Trailer in Salem Ohio yesterday. It was cold and windy, so I didn't spend a lot of time looking it over. From what I saw I am impressed with the fit and finish of the trailer, the manual jacks are a little stiff, but maybe that will get better with use.

I must say my experience with Pat Bennett was fantastic, his price on the trailer was $1k less than other dealers of the same brand, he did not have paperwork fees like other dealers, he was familiar with selling trailers out of state and how it worked, he knows trailers inside and out, he allowed me to pick up the trailer on his day off, and he is a great person, I highly recommend his business.

 

[moresmoke]

You'll be happy with the Moritz. I have a 20+5 that dates from 1995. Its getting a bit rusty at this point, but has been used and abused over the years and is not much worse for the wear. Still has the original main decking, some of the tail wood has been replaced due to damage not of its own fault.

Was originally a tandem axle, added a 3rd along the way.

 

[GM Guy]

Have to disagree with that one- 16" tires are still readily available. I have an '01 7.3 so it is the old bolt pattern, but is a duallie so still needs it's own spare, but the tires can swap. My dump trailer has 235/85/16s, and I just picked up a 3-axle equipment trailer in good shape, but it had 16.5's. Looked around and scrounged a bit, found one guy with 2 white spoke trailer wheels in 16 x 6.5, then found another guy with a set of 4, and they all match. Just put the 6 235/85/16's on that trailer yesterday, and I have a couple extra wheels that don't match visually but fine for spares. I also have a sweet old ex-uhaul utility trailer that has the 5-lug GM pickup pattern, and had a set of GM pickup aluminum wheels in 16", so that one has 245/75/16s on it. 3042 lbs per tire load rating is enough for me

You better try to bolt on your spare in front of the shop so you aren't learning on the side of the road that all super duty bodied trucks (late 98 production and newer, 99+ model year) are all metric, both SRW and drw.

 

[SkipperII]

So what if he never had disc brakes that came on tractors 70 years ago? They are a far cry from modern disc brakes, and a completely different design.

The biggest problem people have with disc brakes is trying to re-use old rusty components to save money. I know all about it because I'm guilty of it myself. Your only mode of transportation is all torn apart in the driveway, so you use what you have, and in 6 months, you're doing it again.

You know why those drum brakes on the back of your old pickup truck lasted so long? THEY WEREN'T DOING ANYTHING! All the braking was done by the DISC brakes on the front! That's why they were always worn out and giving you trouble...

On our light fleet vehicles, we estimated three sets of front brake pads to one set of rear shoes.

 

[RCP]

I have been using the new trailer for a couple of months now, the brakes work great, it tows straight and doesn't hop going down the road. There are two things that concern me, the empty weight is 7700# about 1200# more than was estimated and the tongue weight empty is 1900# about 500# more than I expected. The factory did not have an explanation on why the trailer is so heavy. The heavy tongue weight is because the axles are too far to the rear, no response from the factory on that concern either. With the axles so far to the rear it makes it a challenge to enter and exit driveways. If I am not careful how I load the trailer the tongue weight can quickly exceed 3000#.

These things are manageable, fortunately my payload weighs about 10,000#, so I am under the trailer GVW, especially when you factor in how much weight the truck is carrying. I am considering moving the front axle forward and making a spread axle trailer, have not decided if I want to do that or not.

For reference, the truck is rated by RAM to tow 20,000# but is limited to 2000# gooseneck tongue weight and RAM literature says tongue weight should be 10-15% of trailer loaded weight. Moritz says tongue weight should be 20-25% of trailer loaded weight. The trailer has two 8000# torsion axles, the GVW on the trailer is 17,900#. In our area they seldom bother guys like me as long as everything looks correct, so I am not overly concerned about the DOT.

 

[Destroked 450]

With a dove tail the axle have to be near the back of the deck to prevent the dove tail as much as possible
My 25+5 with the axles back will occasionally scrape the dove tail as I transition onto the road going to my house
Electric/hydraulic disc brakes are great but they are a fair bit heavier than the standard electric drum brake setup
My 25+5 10k axles on springs weighs 6500 and doesn’t have a torque tube
Is your trailer deck level? Torsion suspension will transfer weight if the deck isn’t level, they don’t have the suspension equalizers that spring suspension has

 

[showcrop]

I have been using the new trailer for a couple of months now, the brakes work great, it tows straight and doesn't hop going down the road. There are two things that concern me, the empty weight is 7700# about 1200# more than was estimated and the tongue weight empty is 1900# about 500# more than I expected. The factory did not have an explanation on why the trailer is so heavy. The heavy tongue weight is because the axles are too far to the rear, no response from the factory on that concern either. With the axles so far to the rear it makes it a challenge to enter and exit driveways. If I am not careful how I load the trailer the tongue weight can quickly exceed 3000#.

These things are manageable, fortunately my payload weighs about 10,000#, so I am under the trailer GVW, especially when you factor in how much weight the truck is carrying. I am considering moving the front axle forward and making a spread axle trailer, have not decided if I want to do that or not.

For reference, the truck is rated by RAM to tow 20,000# but is limited to 2000# gooseneck tongue weight and RAM literature says tongue weight should be 10-15% of trailer loaded weight. Moritz says tongue weight should be 20-25% of trailer loaded weight. The trailer has two 8000# torsion axles, the GVW on the trailer is 17,900#. In our area they seldom bother guys like me as long as everything looks correct, so I am not overly concerned about the DOT.

You appear to be under a common misconception. It is not the DOT that you need to worry about. The situation that can have a major effect on you life is if even through no fault of your own, you are involved in a serious wreck that involves a major loss to someone. Should you be found to not be in compliance, since the DOT seldom bothers guys like you, it would be the judge that you need to worry about.

 

[RCP]

You appear to be under a common misconception. It is not the DOT that you need to worry about. The situation that can have a major effect on you life is if even through no fault of your own, you are involved in a serious wreck that involves a major loss to someone. Should you be found to not be in compliance, since the DOT seldom bothers guys like you, it would be the judge that you need to worry about.

Been there done that, cop and judge never asked a single question