Enclosed Trailer Questions

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Model T Ford Forum: Forum 2014: Enclosed Trailer Questions
Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Mike Kossor on Sunday, November 02, 2014 - 10:08 pm:

Anyone own or have experience with USA Cargo Trailer in Douglas, GA? They are advertising a brand new 8.5' x 16' enclosed trailer that seems perfect for my 1927 Touring for $3600.

A complete list of features can be found here:
http://www.usacargotrailersales.com/virtuemart/8-8-5-wide/85x18-car-hauler-3675- detail.html

I've been reading up on enclosed trailers by searching the forum and this trailer seems to have all the desirable features for a Model T application but I don't have much experience with trailers so any information if this is a good or poor choice appreciated. Thanks.


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Mike Walker, NW AR on Sunday, November 02, 2014 - 10:33 pm:

You might want to spend the $275 to get an additional 12" in height.


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Gene Carrothers Huntington Beach on Monday, November 03, 2014 - 02:00 am:

Mike double check the height of your car with the top up and the opening at the door. It sounds like a must have for the added height if it is at the door opening and not just inside.

You should also ask about an added 2 extra feet in length. You'll never be sorry for a little extra room. The lighter axles will be fine and I wish I had the full width inside and the V nose.
Seems like a great price as well. Good Luck


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Tim Wrenn on Monday, November 03, 2014 - 08:03 am:

Prior to my buying Jack Putnam's Interstate Cargo trailer which I absolutely love, I looked into them as they seemed to be pretty good. They at least use a 6" box frame, many others use only 4". The one I got from Jack is a whopping 8", so I know it'll last a good while.

I'm no expert for sure, but I think you'd do OK with them. I agree with Mike, get the extra 12" height. Makes a BIG difference driving the car through the opening. Mine is taller, and really really nice.


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Jerry Davis on Monday, November 03, 2014 - 08:47 am:

The height measurement that is critical is at the rear door. Most trailer Co's will publish interior height but the rear fold down openings have a roller bar/spring arrangement that's usually not shown. Give your self some room. 12" at 275 is a give away.


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Dave Wells on Monday, November 03, 2014 - 09:05 am:

I have a new US Cargo 7x12 for my '19 Runabout. I am totally happy with it except for one thing. The larger than necessary fenders look like they were installed by a newly hired, drunken 12 year old. A few screws on one side, more on the other side, screws randomly placed and rammed in hard enough to strip half the threads. I sent dozens of e-mails to the company. They don't care. They played the blame game. I had to buy self tapping screws and install them properly myself. Plenty strong now. I also had to trim the fenders so they don't stick out so much. The price was good. I had to pay extra to upgrade to radials and purchase a spare too. I would buy one again but, CHECK THE FENDERS at the dealership before you buy. The standard height trailer works fine with the windshield folded. It won't work with the later windshield I'm sure so, extra height will be needed.


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Greg Whaley, Georgetown Ontario Canada on Monday, November 03, 2014 - 12:01 pm:

I bought my 8.5 x 16 foot enclosed U.S. Cargo trailer in March of this year. Had it built because I wanted the extra foot of height.

I would never own another one. This workmanship on this one is absolutely terrible. Two months in the front panels fell apart - come to find out that there is a huge gap between the front vertical frame and the aluminum skin. No rigid foam in the front either, causing the front aluminum to flex in about three inches as it when down the road. Got to the point where it just came apart. Dealer fought for weeks with the factory. Ended up putting screws down the sides of the front panels to hold it all together. Too little too late though - the front panels are all bent out of shape and look like crap.......I am in the process of taking it to a trailer repair shop to have it done right.......NEVER would I buy another one.

If anyone is looking at them, make sure you give the panels a push and see how much they flex


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By G.R.Cheshire on Monday, November 03, 2014 - 12:45 pm:

Mom always told me if you don't have anything positive to say.... They start out with good materials, but the people who put then together must be welding school dropouts I am repairing one for a friend where there was no penetration on the left side of the "A"(THE PART THAT THE BALL GOES INTO) frame and it just kind of peeled away. He was empty and it could have been a lot worse. he fought with them for 2 years before letting me repair it.


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Hal Davis-SE Georgia on Monday, November 03, 2014 - 04:06 pm:

There are a lot of trailer manufacturers scattered around South Georgia. I am not familiar with this one in particular (It's 60-80 miles SW of me), but I don't hear a lot of good talk about the ones I do know about. Not sure why it is that way. Guess they cut costs everywhere they can. My youngest son thought he wanted to be a welder at one point. He checked into a couple of the trailer places and decided against working for any of them. Low wages, rumors of drug use. I have no idea if this place falls into the same category, but the quality problems mentioned above would certainly point to less than stellar employees.


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Mike Kossor on Monday, November 03, 2014 - 04:48 pm:

Thank you for sharing your experiences, I spoke with their sales person, Tyler, earlier today and was getting ready to place an order but these experiences give me pause.

Brendron Titan trailers is another brand I was looking at which look very similar to the USA Cargo (coincidently they located/made in the same town: Douglas, GA) Hope they are not the same outift; anyone know or have experience with Brendron Trailers?

In any event, Brendron has a local dealer just a couple of miles from me where I can inspect before I buy. Their cost is higher (~$5300) but don't have to pick up (or have delivered for around $1200) and can inspect Before I buy.

Sorry to learn of the difficulties others have had USA Cargo Trailers. Will call Tyler back and let him know I changed my mind because of the poor quality complaints and inaction to correct Model T owner's complaints. Just maybe they will think twice about correcting problems other T owners encounter with their product.


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Dave Wells on Monday, November 03, 2014 - 05:45 pm:

Also, U.S. Cargo is a brand name for an outfit called Forest River. I think they make other brand names too. I find the fit and finish of my ramp door to be top notch but, it is probably a purchased, finished product just like the axle assembly is. Again, the only flaw I found was the utterly horrible fender installation but, it makes me worry what else could be wrong that I didn't see. I still think I got ok value for the money. I know there are better trailers out there and I know who they are but, I didn't want to spend the money then and I still don't, so I'm not too upset about having to fix my fenders.


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Greg Whaley, Georgetown Ontario Canada on Monday, November 03, 2014 - 05:48 pm:

Dave- I'll trade ya - I'll come fix your fenders and you can fix the front of my trailer...:-)


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Dave Wells on Monday, November 03, 2014 - 05:59 pm:

One more thing, I have read lots of worse reviews about Cargo Mate trailers. I spent plenty of time crawling under my U.S. Cargo trailer checking things, can't see any faults at all and it hauls perfectly. I wouldn't reject them outright. Just be careful when you look them over. I looked inside some higher rated brand trailers and was not impressed with certain things I saw. I've never looked at the top makes because they cost too much. Best to consider your budget, and look over the different brands carefully.


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Dave Wells on Monday, November 03, 2014 - 06:00 pm:

Just read your post Greg. Sorry, I can't reach that high.:-)


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Tim Wrenn on Monday, November 03, 2014 - 07:23 pm:

Just noticed the plethera of bad reviews about U.S. Cargo, a.k.a. Forrest River. Glad I didn't buy one! I really like my Interstate 1 cargo trailer, it seems to be really very sturdy, has wall ribs closer together too, than most models. Forgot to mention that. This brand is worth looking into.


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Dean Dorholt - Mpls, MN on Monday, November 03, 2014 - 08:22 pm:

I did a lot of shopping around and ended up with the Interstate, 12" taller and "V" front 8-1/2' X 18'.It has 16" on center floor braces and is real solid. Would recommend to any one.


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Steve Schmidt on Monday, November 03, 2014 - 08:47 pm:

I have a 8' x 16' enclosed rear ramp trailer. Great for storage of T. Kinda tight, but I can drive it on and off. Taller door, but still need to lower top. I have about 6" in rear and a couple of feet in front. There is a lot of wall space too. Walking around car is tight, but doable. I installed two motorcycle chocks in front. Would be better to have channels for tires to follow, and also on ramp. I installed 2 tie down tracks to floor, full length, and lots of clips to attach rachet straps too. Gotta be careful not to hook ramp guy wires when driving on or off. They can hook onto hubcaps.
Will add more interior lights and a winch soon.


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Greg Whaley, Georgetown Ontario Canada on Tuesday, November 04, 2014 - 05:05 am:

One thing I do is put pool noodles on the ramp cables - can't see the suckers and run in to them when walking around. I just took two foam pool noodles and cut them lengthwise on one side. Every time the ramp is down,I put them on. Nice bright colours so everyone can see the wires.


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Royce in Georgetown TX on Tuesday, November 04, 2014 - 06:27 am:

I have had a Haulmark 22 foot enclosed trailer for 10 years. I would buy another one but will probably never need one - it was built to last.


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Steve Tomaso - Milton,WA on Tuesday, November 04, 2014 - 10:09 am:

I've had this 2000 16' Pace for quite some time - tows good and the price was "right" but I do have to lower the top on the '14 Touring.


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By John Aldrich Orting Wa on Tuesday, November 04, 2014 - 11:44 am:

My 2006 20 foot interstate looks nearly identical to Steve's and like his I must take the top down to load the Touring or Runabout. I HAVE gotten a Depot Hack in there but the clearance was scary!

Were I to purchase another closed trailer (which I prefer to an open trailer... have one of those to) I to would ensure the rear door was tall enough to accept a top up Touring or even my Tudor.

Hindsight is always 20-20.


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Harold Schwendeman - Sumner,WA on Tuesday, November 04, 2014 - 01:36 pm:

How well I remember John! I find it odd that most enclosed trailer manufacturers list inside height dimension along with the usual table of specifications, but they almost NEVER list the door opening height dimension! I don't understand why they don't realize that the door opening height dimension is so important! It doesn't matter what the inside height dimension is if you can't get the car through the doorway!


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Gene Carrothers Huntington Beach on Tuesday, November 04, 2014 - 09:43 pm:

Mike... Check out the Classified ad


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By mike_black on Wednesday, November 05, 2014 - 08:31 am:

Mike,
I've bought several trailers over the years from Elite Trailers ( http://www.elite-trailers.com/ ) in the FL panhandle. It's a small family operation that makes great trailers for reasonable prices, I recently picked up my new one they built for me that's tall enough to haul my TT--and anything else I want to haul. (One of these days I may even give in to my wife and sell my old trailer}. They make YOUR trailer for YOU--not just another trailer to sell. Also, that one listed in the classifieds in Boone, NC sounds tempting.


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Anthony Ventrice on Friday, November 07, 2014 - 02:11 pm:

Hi, I just a new trailer for my 1922 ford touring from cargoNJtrailers. I bought a 16 footer by 8 feet by 7.5 feet high and the model t drives right in with the top up. Its brand new shipped up from Georgia and its costed me $5500. Its well built and a Vnose. I live in staten island.


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Warren Webb on Saturday, November 08, 2014 - 07:55 pm:

A friend bought a WW trailer and a couple of years into ownership it started leaking from the top. it did damage to a T inside. I now own it and am going to strip the skin off and start over.


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Mike Kossor on Sunday, November 09, 2014 - 12:16 am:

Thanks for sharing your trailer experiences and knowledge. Appreciate the help.


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Les VonNordheim on Sunday, November 09, 2014 - 12:58 am:

I bought a Royal Cargo trailer (Ind.) in 2006. It is 8.5 x 18 box plus 5 ft. V-nose. Ordered it special direct from the factory. Extra tall with two recessed track tie down running from rear ramp to front of V-nose. Has winch plate, Bogie rear rollers, Extra heavy duty rear ramp, LED lights, 12 V power jack, 5 K torque flex Dexter axles with up graded tires and spare mounted in V-nose. Triple tong frame and Aluminum skin roof. Most trailers have Gal-Alum. roof which is heaver. Price was $5,200 with pick up at factory. I am very happy with the over all construction and price. I ordered it with what I wanted....tall enough to fit a TT truck.

Talked directly with sales at RC....did not go thru a dealer. Cost additional $150.00 for RC to have a local dealer secure title and one way permit so I could get it back to Calif.

Contact me by e-mail if you want me to look up who the sales person was at RC. Check them out on line.


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