Picked up a trailer this weekend

[Yotekiller]

So I needed a trailer to haul my 2502 around on. I purchased a used PJ 20' dovetail with 5200# axles. Kinda curious any interesting ways you all have found to make $ off your trailer?

 

[GreensvilleJay]

just by selling it for more than I paid for it ......
be careful about trying to make money using it.....
states laws vary of course, but you would be considered 'commercial'.... $$$$ in fines, inspections, etc.

Isn't there a song about that''' Indiana wants me.....'...

on a serious note, add LED backup lights at the rear of the trailer ! If you have to ask why, load it up and then TRY backing up my neighbours driveway at 2AM.....

 

[bbxlr8]

Looks great! I've been kicking it around for a while but can't seem to find any reasonable deals in my area. Everyone wants "new" money.

Not asking cost, but how was the deal IYO? Obviously "fair" & you needed/wanted it...
Also, what does it weigh unloaded?
THX

 

[RCW]

Looks like a great trailer!

Couldn't tell if the truck is 1/2 or 3/4 ton pickup. Certainly more than a 1/2 ton can handle, depending on the load.

As Jay said, I'd research "for hire" services a little, just so you don't get backwards with your auto insurer or DOT.

 

[rc51stierhoff]

So I needed a trailer to haul my 2502 around on. I purchased a used PJ 20' dovetail with 5500# axles. Kinda curious any interesting ways you all have found to make $ off your trailer?
View attachment 125485

Looks great. . PJ makes a good trailer from when I have looked/shopped them. Dovetails are really handy IMO for anything with low ground clearance. As far as making money with it…I dont have a helpful answer. I have mine for convenience. Heck just keeping good rubber on them isn’t cheap. Good luck turning tricks with it.

 

[The Evil Twin]

There used to be a thing called Trailer Share or something like that. High risk/ low reward when I looked at it.

 

[Kurtee]

Ask your insurance carrier how much for commercial liability insurance and cargo insurance then check to see if you need a cdl in your state. Don't forget to get your health card to go with it. Most money maker would be to park it out of sight so no borrowers to damage it for you. Tractor time with Tim explored some of these issues with the State Patrol. I would suggest you look that up on youtube and see what you can learn there. The maintainence on these small trailers is crazy for brakes and such. Bear in mind that the axle manufacturers recommendation for repacking the wheels is 12 months or 12000 miles whichever comes first. Is it spring ride or torsion axles? I prefer torsion for better handling.

 

[Workerbee]

Hey now, havn’t we all told the better half that our latest and greatest purchase is going to make the farm payment, or at least pay for itself?
Seriously though, don’t even think about trailering for hire….

 

[Yotekiller]

Looks great! I've been kicking it around for a while but can't seem to find any reasonable deals in my area. Everyone wants "new" money.

Not asking cost, but how was the deal IYO? Obviously "fair" & you needed/wanted it...
Also, what does it weigh unloaded?
THX

I haven't weighed it yet so not sure on weight. So I looked at a LOT of trailers over the last week from many different brands. I paid pretty much what I could have bought a new 20' 7,000# trailer for minus taxes. But I really didn't feel that a 7K pound trailer was heavy enough to pull my 2502 and especially not if I decide to jump up to a Grand L in a year or two. But, the old man that had this trailer put brand new 5200 pound axles with brakes on the trailer, new tires, and always kept it stored inside when not in use. The other thing I noticed about this one was it is built much heavier than pretty much all the new trailers I looked at.. There was barely any rust other than slight surface rust where scrapes happened etc. The deck is milled from telephone poles and much thicker than all the other decks I had looked at. All in all, I feel I got a better piece of equipment buying this trailer as opposed to a newer one made today (this one is a 2005 PJ trailer).

 

[rc51stierhoff]

I haven't weighed it yet so not sure on weight. So I looked at a LOT of trailers over the last week from many different brands. I paid pretty much what I could have bought a new 20' 7,000# trailer for minus taxes. But I really didn't feel that a 7K pound trailer was heavy enough to pull my 2502 and especially not if I decide to jump up to a Grand L in a year or two. But, the old man that had this trailer put brand new 5200 pound axles with brakes on the trailer, new tires, and always kept it stored inside when not in use. The other thing I noticed about this one was it is built much heavier than pretty much all the new trailers I looked at.. There was barely any rust other than slight surface rust where scrapes happened etc. The deck is milled from telephone poles and much thicker than all the other decks I had looked at. All in all, I feel I got a better piece of equipment buying this trailer as opposed to a newer one made today (this one is a 2005 PJ trailer).

I am not sure how sales / paperwork are handled in your area…weight might be on the paperwork if it came with any. At least here we need that to title it. But if looking for trailer weight / load rating, including axle rating, there should be a load rating sticker or plaque (I would think a sticker) somewhere on the front driver side corner of the trailer. You can verify that easily at a truck stop with a stop on the scales.

 

[GreensvilleJay]

hmm... curious, maybe small red flag.... "put 5200# axles on it".

Are the spring mounts RATED for the heavier axles AND springs ? did he replace the original 3500 mounts with 5200 mounts ? You can probably see if the old were replaced(cuts/grinds/welds...

 

[Yotekiller]

I am not sure how sales / paperwork are handled in your area…weight might be on the paperwork if it came with any. At least here we need that to title it. But if looking for trailer weight / load rating, including axle rating, there should be a load rating sticker or plaque (I would think a sticker) somewhere on the front driver side corner of the trailer. You can verify that easily at a truck stop with a stop on the scales.

Thanks! I use to be a regional manager of a very large national aggregate company and one of their quarries is just down the road from me. They have some nice truck scales that I had installed 10 years ago. I plan to run over there and have them weigh the trailer and truck as a combo unit.

 

[Yotekiller]

hmm... curious, maybe small red flag.... "put 5200# axles on it".

Are the spring mounts RATED for the heavier axles AND springs ? did he replace the original 3500 mounts with 5200 mounts ? You can probably see if the old were replaced(cuts/grinds/welds...

The guys best friend owns a trailer business and they put all new springs, axles, brakes, wheels, and tires on the trailer. The seller was an 80 year old local retired police officer, and just a good old farmer. I trust him and the trailer is in excellent condition. No worries on my part....

 

[mcmxi]

So I needed a trailer to haul my 2502 around on. I purchased a used PJ 20' dovetail with 5200# axles. Kinda curious any interesting ways you all have found to make $ off your trailer?
View attachment 125485

I have three PJ trailers and I think they make a decent product.

 

[Yotekiller]

I have three PJ trailers and I think they make a decent product.

They definitely seem better built than most of what I looked at. And this 20 year old one seemed better built than a new one of the same brand.

 

[mcmxi]

They definitely seem better built than most of what I looked at. And this 20 year old one seemed better built than a new one of the same brand.

I recently sold a MidSota 22ft dovetail since I bought a PJ 22ft hydraulic tilt deckover. The MidSota was a really nice and well made trailer, but despite having the same load rating, the PJ is built on 8"x4" I-beams compared to 5" C-channel for the MidSota.

I don't know if PJs from 2005 were better built since all three of mine are 2020 or later models, but I worked for 15 years or more as a welder followed by decades as a mechanical engineer so I tend to be picky about anything made of metal that's welded or bolted. There are some areas where PJ could limit corrosion by doing full welds rather than stitching, but overall I consider the design and fabrication to be good to very good on the current products.