Bought used Straight Line Trailer. Tips?

[Blake G]

Today I bought a used "Straight Line Trailer" manufactured by Noble Industries in Gorrie, Ontario. The unit seems to have been well-kept (the previous owner is known to be meticulous about his stuff), and the price was reasonable. The trailer is the same style as the E and J Trailers that I've seen from time to time.

 

Wondering if anyone has any experience or tips related to this style of trailer.

 

 

[PISTON LAKE CRUISER]

Tip - Don't put the sleds in sideways.  It's OK Blake, there's no need to thank me.

The trailer looks to be in awesome shape and should pull like a dream. Is it Styrofoam lined?

[Blake G]

14 minutes ago, PISTON LAKE CRUISER said:

Is it Styrofoam lined?

 

Just plywood painted white.

[Bigfish]

Hmmmm?

Didn't come with sleds, did it?

[Hkb82]

Was kinda thinking the same thing. Looks a lot alike. 

[Blake G]

No such luck.

 

 

[Nunz]

Our old trailer was like this but not enclosed, towed like you didn't know it was there and very easy to back up. Congrats I noticed it on my way home tonight lol

[skidooboy]

after every drive in salt, slush, crap was the heck our of it including underneath. steel frames take a beating, and look terrible in only a few trips. Ski

[Blake G]

25 minutes ago, skidooboy said:

after every drive in salt, slush, crap wash the heck out of it including underneath. steel frames take a beating, and look terrible in only a few trips. Ski

 

maybe oil spray would be a good idea?

[sledjunk]

irREVerent had an E & J like that.  Maybe he will have some pointers.

[mxzx121]

They must have got the plans from E and J, identical trailer.   E and J not making them anymore.  This manufacturer is not far from where E and J was made.

 

The only bad thing about my trailer was the doors could get heavy if snow/ice built up on them.  Or hard to close for shorter people.

[Blake G]

I was thinking I might need to buy a roof rake to remove the snow.

 

I assume your trailer has not re-appeared? I hope you get something from insurance.

 

Bad luck for a few folks being ripped off around Gravenhurst in the past month or so. Sad.

[Running Wild]

As for suggestions, I mount tail lights, signal and running lights as high up on the rear as I can on a trailer or box van.  Much easier to see by those following a few vehicles back unless obscured by a tall vehicle and may not be as snow covered. Also put a strip of the reflective tape across the rear of the trailer and some on the sides. Helps while driving but also when parked along a roadside with no lights on.

RW

[Blake G]

Great ideas, RW. Thank you.

[muddy tires]

Might want a bigger bungie cord to hold your spare tire?

[stoney]

26 minutes ago, muddy tires said:

Might want a bigger bungie cord to hold your spare tire?

 

Tires on the trailer do look on the larger side for a sled trailer..not a bad thing though.

[02Sled]

14 hours ago, Blake G said:

I was thinking I might need to buy a roof rake to remove the snow.

 

I assume your trailer has not re-appeared? I hope you get something from insurance.

 

Bad luck for a few folks being ripped off around Gravenhurst in the past month or so. Sad.

Probably a good idea. Those front and rear doors could get heavy. That's one of the reasons I don't have a clam shell anymore. I'd arrive Sat morning to find a couple or more feet of snow on top. Depending on the weather through the week there may be a layer of ice or two sandwiched in between. The first thing was get the ladder out of the truck and clean as much snow as I could. Heat from the sleds almost guaranteed a layer of ice next to the roof skin. Then hope it was light enough to now lift. Then pull the pin to tilt the bed. It happened more than once that while pulling the pin and having the shell up the snow and ice let loose and slid down on top of me. I can't be the only one this has happened to 

[irREVerent]

16 hours ago, sledjunk said:

irREVerent had an E & J like that.  Maybe he will have some pointers.

 

Blake, as SJ mentioned above, we had the E & J version of the identical sort of tandem aluminum trailer for 4 years.  The only difference was that I had E & J build the back of ours squared-off with a beavertail (ramp door) instead of a lift-gate like the front.  Otherwise, they were identical, and there is/was nothing else like that on the market...so either E & J copied Noble's design, or vice-versa.

 

Anyway, from having had ours for several seasons, here are my tips:

 

1.  I couldn't tell from your pics whether there are any tie-downs (e.g. D-rings) in the floor...if not, I would urge you to put some in (both front and rear of each sled), so you have multiple tiedown points for each sled/ATV.  In ours, I also installed the big eye-hooks you can get with SuperClamps, so I could use my Superclamps on the skis of each sled, and I used cam-straps or ratchet straps to the D-rings at the rear.  Also locked the parking brakes on, and the sleds never budged while travelling.

 

2.  Can't tell from your pics whether the floor is marine-grade plywood...if it isn't, I would suggest that you roll on some Thompson's water repellent (usually used on wood decks) to help prolong its lifespan.

 

3.  I see that you have the swivel-tongue set-up like mine had...MAKE SURE YOU KEEP THE BIG SWIVEL PIN (under the centre of the trailer bed) WELL-LUBRICATED, and if possible, protect the pin from corrosion with oil spray, silicone, rust-proofing spray, or whatever. Otherwise, unless the swivel-tongue is used frequently, it will seize up and get very corroded...and could potentially even break right off, leaving you with only the tongue still attached to your drawbar, and only the safety chains to prevent the trailer from becoming an unguided missile on the highway.

 

4.  You mentioned the possibility of getting a roof rake.  I highly recommend that for removing snow and ice build-up...and not only from the doors, but also the roof as well, so heavy slabs of snow or sheets of ice aren't flying off at high speed onto the windshields of vehicles following you on the highway.  Mount some hooks on the side walls well up off the floor, where you can hang the roof rake poles out of your way while travelling. 

 

5.  Another post above mentioned putting reflective tape on the back and the sides of the trailer...excellent idea, which I did as well.  Also, put some on the front corners of the front lift-gate, so oncoming headlights can pick it up.   And speaking of the front lift-gate, from your pics, it appears as though the vertical portion has no protective stone shield (e.g. aluminum checkerplate);  I would urge you to add that, otherwise that vertical panel will get chipped to rat$hit from stones, ice and other crap on the roads, both winter and summer.

 

6.  Lastly, do your back a favour and mount some sort of pull-cord on the inside of both lift-gates near the bottom edge (similar what you see on a manual overhead garage door), so you don't have a big reach up to pull the door closed. 

 

Otherwise, enjoy it Blake...I'm sure it will serve you well.  

 

irREV

[Blake G]

5 hours ago, muddy tires said:

Might want a bigger bungie cord to hold your spare tire?

 

I'll put a man on that.

[Blake G]

2 hours ago, 02Sled said:

Probably a good idea. Those front and rear doors could get heavy. That's one of the reasons I don't have a clam shell anymore. I'd arrive Sat morning to find a couple or more feet of snow on top. Depending on the weather through the week there may be a layer of ice or two sandwiched in between. The first thing was get the ladder out of the truck and clean as much snow as I could. Heat from the sleds almost guaranteed a layer of ice next to the roof skin. Then hope it was light enough to now lift. Then pull the pin to tilt the bed. It happened more than once that while pulling the pin and having the shell up the snow and ice let loose and slid down on top of me. I can't be the only one this has happened to 

 

I found out today that the back door is quite heavy, as you mentioned. The saving grace is that the trailer is a single wide. Still heavy enough though.

[Blake G]

irREVrent, I was hoping you might chime in.

 

I will peruse your suggestions at greater length, after I return from a 4 p.m. appointment.

 

Thank you!

[stoney]

2 hours ago, 02Sled said:

Probably a good idea. Those front and rear doors could get heavy. That's one of the reasons I don't have a clam shell anymore. I'd arrive Sat morning to find a couple or more feet of snow on top. Depending on the weather through the week there may be a layer of ice or two sandwiched in between. The first thing was get the ladder out of the truck and clean as much snow as I could. Heat from the sleds almost guaranteed a layer of ice next to the roof skin. Then hope it was light enough to now lift. Then pull the pin to tilt the bed. It happened more than once that while pulling the pin and having the shell up the snow and ice let loose and slid down on top of me. I can't be the only one this has happened to 

Something you might want to wear your helmet while doing

[ravinerat]

Nice trailer. No slop on the sled now.

 

RR

[Blake G]

4 hours ago, irREVerent said:

Anyway, from having had ours for several seasons, here are my tips:

 

1.  I couldn't tell from your pics whether there are any tie-downs (e.g. D-rings) in the floor...if not, I would urge you to put some in (both front and rear of each sled), so you have multiple tiedown points for each sled/ATV.  In ours, I also installed the big eye-hooks you can get with SuperClamps, so I could use my Superclamps on the skis of each sled, and I used cam-straps or ratchet straps to the D-rings at the rear.  Also locked the parking brakes on, and the sleds never budged while travelling.

Noted. The previous owner installed some kind of wire cable to hold down the skis of each sled. I think something more is needed.

 

Quote

 

2.  Can't tell from your pics whether the floor is marine-grade plywood...if it isn't, I would suggest that you roll on some Thompson's water repellent (usually used on wood decks) to help prolong its lifespan.

Quote

 

3.  I see that you have the swivel-tongue set-up like mine had...MAKE SURE YOU KEEP THE BIG SWIVEL PIN (under the centre of the trailer bed) WELL-LUBRICATED, and if possible, protect the pin from corrosion with oil spray, silicone, rust-proofing spray, or whatever. Otherwise, unless the swivel-tongue is used frequently, it will seize up and get very corroded...and could potentially even break right off, leaving you with only the tongue still attached to your drawbar, and only the safety chains to prevent the trailer from becoming an unguided missile on the highway.

 

I'll have to look into this, but the previous owner said he never used the swivel tongue in the four years he owned the trailer- - he simply loaded both sleds from the rear and drove them in reverse to get off the trailer. How does the swivel work....I assume you leave the trailer hooked up to the tow vehicle, then manually push the front of the trailer sideways? Is the trailer balanced to make this possible?

 

Quote

 

4.  You mentioned the possibility of getting a roof rake.  I highly recommend that for removing snow and ice build-up...and not only from the doors, but also the roof as well, so heavy slabs of snow or sheets of ice aren't flying off at high speed onto the windshields of vehicles following you on the highway.  Mount some hooks on the side walls well up off the floor, where you can hang the roof rake poles out of your way while travelling. 

 

Sounds good. STG said the same thing this morning when I bumped into him at Summerland around 930 this morning.

 

Quote

 

5.  Another post above mentioned putting reflective tape on the back and the sides of the trailer...excellent idea, which I did as well.  Also, put some on the front corners of the front lift-gate, so oncoming headlights can pick it up.   And speaking of the front lift-gate, from your pics, it appears as though the vertical portion has no protective stone shield (e.g. aluminum checkerplate);  I would urge you to add that, otherwise that vertical panel will get chipped to rat$hit from stones, ice and other crap on the roads, both winter and summer.

 

Re snow shield: the trailer is a 1998, yet isn't wrecked at the front. Whatever's there now must be pretty strong.

 

Reflective tape makes sense. Will check at CTC.

 

Quote

6.  Lastly, do your back a favour and mount some sort of pull-cord on the inside of both lift-gates near the bottom edge (similar what you see on a manual overhead garage door), so you don't have a big reach up to pull the door closed. 

 

Pull cords are already in place.

 

Thanks again for the suggestions.

[gtserider]

The reflective tape is called.Conspicuity tape.I have not seen it at crappy tire. Princess auto has it.