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Trailer decision


John mills

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Looking for input on a new trailer, I need to hold 2 137 sleds, I have narrowed it down to 12’ hybrid or 16x7 drive through cargo. There is a price difference but not as much as you would expect

hybrid $6000 cad

drive thru $7800 cad

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All depends on what you will be using as the tow vehicle,  we had the Triton TC 118 hybrid and although a great trailer next to zero visibility when towing with our Jeeps. Even with mirror extenders it was brutal, have since bought a TC 167 and it’s an amazing trailer to tow. Hope this helps. 

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Make sure whatever you get, it has enough internal height so you can leave a high windshield on the sled.  Many clam shells are too low with the top down.

 

BP

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1 minute ago, manotickmike said:

The drive through is from Beckner? I was VERY close to driving down to get one. 

 

I was close to getting one myself. Opted for an 8x14 open deck that fits 3 sleds. We tarp them all the time and only travel short distance anyway.  It doubles as our quad hauler in the summer too.

 

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Depends if you want to use it for other stuff in the summer as well.  You will be able to fit more stuff in the inline.  As stated before it depends what you tow with.  Ive had clamshells and they suck the fuel and are tough to see behind them.  Also i hate them even more because i got a ticket for not having mirror extensions on.  

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7 hours ago, manotickmike said:

The drive through is from Beckner? I was VERY close to driving down to get one. 

I have looked at the Beckner trailer site and they show some really good pictures on their building process. Look like really nice quality.  https://becknertrailers.com/

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1 hour ago, gobills said:

Depends if you want to use it for other stuff in the summer as well.  You will be able to fit more stuff in the inline.  As stated before it depends what you tow with.  Ive had clamshells and they suck the fuel and are tough to see behind them.  Also i hate them even more because i got a ticket for not having mirror extensions on.  

x2 on the fuel usage. When we have used 2 truck / trailer setups to go sledding in past years it was a hybrid  and a 18'x 6' in line. With comparable GM tow vehicles and running together the vehicle towing the Hybrid used about 18 more litres per fill.

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One of the things with the drive through is that the trailer itself sits much lower to the ground. It was a consideration for me when we bought our trailer. Picture driving through an as of yet unplowed parking area to off load your sleds. You are now trying to drag the body of the trailer through the snow rather than just cut through the snow with the truck and trailer tires with the bodies being above the snow height. Or perhaps trying to back the trailer up in snow where the back of the drive through trailer now becomes a plow. I recall going riding for the day. It snowed quite a bit that day. When we got back to park the trailers I was able to just back our hybrid in since the trailer body was above the snow. My friend tried to back his "single wide utility trailer" in and couldn't because it built up a wall of snow behind it as it plowed the snow. We ended up getting out shovels to clear the snow so he could back in.

 

Sitting higher you will have less build up of snirt on the front of the trailer from wheel spray.

 

The hybrid will have a bit more wind drag than the drive through.

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13 hours ago, Nunz said:

All depends on what you will be using as the tow vehicle,  we had the Triton TC 118 hybrid and although a great trailer next to zero visibility when towing with our Jeeps. Even with mirror extenders it was brutal, have since bought a TC 167 and it’s an amazing trailer to tow. Hope this helps. 

TC-167 is the way to go, no extra mirrors to fight with staying in place, tows nice, very mobile for backing up. Well worth the extra $$ in my opinion, went from doublewide clamshell three years ago and more than happy. also no issue with yearly safety and yellow sticker on trailer and tow vehicle if you go with a tandem axle

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@irREVerent what is your trailer?

 

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1 minute ago, revrnd said:

@irREVerent what is your trailer?

 

I think he has the TC-167 as well.

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1 minute ago, sledjunk said:

I think he has the TC-167 as well.

 

Thanks for the quick comment SJ. 

 

He's towing his w/ an Avy so I imagine it's a 5.3 L. I never noticed it struggling when we drove up & back to Timmins thus winter.

 

W/ our 2 sleds in there was still lots of room for gear.

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4 hours ago, revrnd said:

@irREVerent what is your trailer?

 

SJ is correct, I have the TC-167 too...have had it for 6 years, and similar to BooneBP,  I would highly recommend it as well.  Mine is single axle...no need for the weight-carrying capacity nor electric brakes of dual axle, nor the extra weight and length of a V-nose.  Much nicer to tow than double-wide (either clamshell or hybrid) style...way less wind resistance, and better visibility behind without need for/hassle of clamp-on mirrors.  Even fully loaded with our 2 sleds and some gear, the loaded trailer weighs less than 2,600 lbs.  As you indicated, revrnd, I tow mine with a Chevy Avalanche (2011, with 5.3L), which handles it just fine. 

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Thanks guys for the input

yes its a Beckner, I have gone and ordered it, I will be using it as a garage at my cottage when not towing so the extra space was key, also it looks a lot cooler than the hybrid, I will be towing with a Land Rover Discovery with a diesel, rated for 9500# towing so that won’t be a problem even fully loaded 

yellow safety sticker is required on both TV and trailer? 

Also reflex spray in rubber flooring, $1900, big price tag, is it worth it? They will spray the complete floor, both ramps and 6” up the walls. 

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1 hour ago, John mills said:

Thanks guys for the input

yes its a Beckner, I have gone and ordered it, I will be using it as a garage at my cottage when not towing so the extra space was key, also it looks a lot cooler than the hybrid, I will be towing with a Land Rover Discovery with a diesel, rated for 9500# towing so that won’t be a problem even fully loaded 

yellow safety sticker is required on both TV and trailer? 

Also reflex spray in rubber flooring, $1900, big price tag, is it worth it? They will spray the complete floor, both ramps and 6” up the walls. 

No way that is not worth it at all.  Even if you don't put anything on the floors and destroy them in let's calls it 5 year plywood is a couple hundred.

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1 hour ago, John mills said:

Thanks guys for the input

yes its a Beckner, I have gone and ordered it, I will be using it as a garage at my cottage when not towing so the extra space was key, also it looks a lot cooler than the hybrid, I will be towing with a Land Rover Discovery with a diesel, rated for 9500# towing so that won’t be a problem even fully loaded 

yellow safety sticker is required on both TV and trailer? 

Also reflex spray in rubber flooring, $1900, big price tag, is it worth it? They will spray the complete floor, both ramps and 6” up the walls. 

I had mine sprayed with LineX and installed SuperGlides when I bought it in the fall of 2010.  However, if I am only loading one sled (fairly often), I run it straight up the middle and am not on the glides.  The LineX has held up well, and has no significant damage and still looks great.  I paid $1500 for the LineX in 2010 and would highly recommend it.  BTW, I use fairly aggressive carbides (EverLaster Blades) and there are no cut throughs.

 

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17 hours ago, John mills said:

Thanks guys for the input

yes its a Beckner, I have gone and ordered it, I will be using it as a garage at my cottage when not towing so the extra space was key, also it looks a lot cooler than the hybrid, I will be towing with a Land Rover Discovery with a diesel, rated for 9500# towing so that won’t be a problem even fully loaded 

yellow safety sticker is required on both TV and trailer? 

Also reflex spray in rubber flooring, $1900, big price tag, is it worth it? They will spray the complete floor, both ramps and 6” up the walls. 

Put down plastic lattice on floors, wall where you bank off when driving in, and ramp doors.  I would paint white first, but the wood will never be touched by picks or carbides.  Cheap, light, quick, and easy.  Have put it in 4 trailers.

 

Have never seen a lighter, cheaper, or better system.

 

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You've made the call so that's cool.  One thing for others viewing this to consider is where you need to go with the trailer.  I pull into our cottage regularly.  With snow piled up getting anything longer than 12' in there becomes an issue as the road and driveway are not wide open aread.  Width is tight too, but I've always made it between the banks.  I'm not sure that would be the case with a 16' long unit.  If someone else looks at the 12' unit the lower deck with the wheel wells poking up into the cargo area is a good idea to cut wind resistance when pulling.

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  • 2 months later...
On 9/5/2018 at 5:21 PM, John mills said:

Thanks guys for the input

yes its a Beckner, I have gone and ordered it, I will be using it as a garage at my cottage when not towing so the extra space was key, also it looks a lot cooler than the hybrid, I will be towing with a Land Rover Discovery with a diesel, rated for 9500# towing so that won’t be a problem even fully loaded 

yellow safety sticker is required on both TV and trailer? 

Also reflex spray in rubber flooring, $1900, big price tag, is it worth it? They will spray the complete floor, both ramps and 6” up the walls. 

Hello to everyone again,   I am also thinking of upgrading trailers.  Advice here has always been helpful.  One item I did come across in the last while was from 3 sources,  if pulling a tandem axle trailer, as you bought,  with a Suburban, or you can say any of the other brands,  WITH ALL THE SEATS IN,  that vehicle will not require a yellow sticker.   Any way  that is what I heard. 

 

Has anyone dealt with the people at Action trailers  and what  are the Pro Star Hybrid trailers like.  I am a fan of the torque flex axle  and just wondered if there are different styles or qualitys for them ? 

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I ordered a ProStarr Bullet from Action Trailers at the Snowmobile show. Looked like a good unit.

 

Action promised to meet my requested 4 weeks delivery time, (verified by the manufacturer, who was also at the show). At the 4 week point I was told some materials were backordered, and the trailer would be a week or 2 late. This week they said the trailer should be at Strathroy at the end of this week. Total time of 7 weeks instead of 4. I am not very surprised about the delay, as it's a new model with no pre-existing stock.

 

Aside from the delay, I am looking forward to getting the trailer and putting it to use.

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On ‎9‎/‎6‎/‎2018 at 2:27 PM, signfan said:

You've made the call so that's cool.  One thing for others viewing this to consider is where you need to go with the trailer.  I pull into our cottage regularly.  With snow piled up getting anything longer than 12' in there becomes an issue as the road and driveway are not wide open aread.  Width is tight too, but I've always made it between the banks.  I'm not sure that would be the case with a 16' long unit.  If someone else looks at the 12' unit the lower deck with the wheel wells poking up into the cargo area is a good idea to cut wind resistance when pulling.

I'm not so keen on the lower deck and body when pulling into somewhere that has yet to be plowed. If the wheels sit with the body and deck of the trailer nice and high above it the only thing you have to push or pull through the snow is the wheels and the axle. I have seen low slung trailers backing up and the rear of the trailer has snow building up against it as it becomes a plow, or similar for the front. As for wind drag. For me the width seems to be more of a concern than the height.

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1 hour ago, volunteer2 said:

Hello to everyone again,   I am also thinking of upgrading trailers.  Advice here has always been helpful.  One item I did come across in the last while was from 3 sources,  if pulling a tandem axle trailer, as you bought,  with a Suburban, or you can say any of the other brands,  WITH ALL THE SEATS IN,  that vehicle will not require a yellow sticker.   Any way  that is what I heard. 

 

Has anyone dealt with the people at Action trailers  and what  are the Pro Star Hybrid trailers like.  I am a fan of the torque flex axle  and just wondered if there are different styles or qualitys for them ? 

The yellow sticker requirement is as clear as mud. For example an RV trailer is exempt even if it exceeds the weight requirements. My F150 Supercrew with a 6.5 ft. box towing my single axle 2 sled hybrid trailer is exempt from yellow sticker inspections. Now... my wife's aluminum horse trailer has two 3,500 lb. axles which means it has to be inspected with the yellow sticker. To tow it with my F150 the otherwise exempt truck would need the yellow inspection sticker. So now I get the truck inspected. Once the truck has the yellow inspection sticker almost every trailer I tow with it now requires inspection. So if I get the truck inspected to tow the horse trailer legally I now have to also have the snowmobile trailer inspected and stickered. If not for the horse trailer neither the truck or snowmobile trailer would need inspection.... ooops. My boat trailer which didn't need an inspection sticker needs one now as well since the truck has one. Oh don't borrow someone's trailer that doesn't need inspection either.

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