Trailering An Electric Cart Questions

[LBZ_Duramax]

If you are looking for a trailer to haul cart mainly do yourself a favor and get one with a fold down ramp. We have had a tilt trailer for years and I recently bought a 5x10 with a ramp and love it. I haul mine forward BTW.

[Rickochet]

Originally Posted by craig tn

If you get a 4x8 trailer check with seller to see if you call haul cart first before buying. My experience with 4x8 tilt trailer hauling a cart forward the trailer will not tilt back down with out additional weight on front and cart having rear seat it be additional weight on rear. Top speed was about 45 mph any more speed and trailer would sway.

Hauling backwards remove windshield and tie or strap seat and strap cart.

Trailer swaying is usually a sign or too little tongue weight (tail wagging the dog). I really don't want a tilt trailer. I am just want to make sure that I have sufficient tongue weight. That is why I am considering backing the cart on if using a small trailer.

[Rickochet]

Originally Posted by kgsc

Rick, you missed the mpg vs mph entry

Sorry, I did miss that one. For some reason I can't get back into the original post to edit it.

And yes the 250 stands at 82 inches tall so it does create quite a wind block.

In the fall of 2008 Ford was almost giving away new F150's. I went to look at some and saw how big they were. I got my friend to bring his over to my garage. I pulled it in the garage. The antenna scraped the overhead door and I didn't have room to open the doors. My garage space is tight but that is one big truck.

[as350pilot]

I started hauling my cart with a 5x8 that I had to back on.After the 3rd trip the weight of the batteries caused the frame to actually bend left to right. The trailer did not have an "A" frame design (It was a Lowes). Do yourself a favor and buy a 6x10 from the start. The prices, at least in Fl, are not much different between the two.

Good luck.

[scottyb]

The advice here leans strongly towards the 'get a bigger trailer' side of the discussion... no one has said to get as small a trailer as you can... but that is what I have done this past year.
I have a 16' dove tail flatbed Carson car hauler that holds 3 with #4 in truck.
I have a 5x10+ that holds even an extended workhorse with a back seat. This 'homemade' trailer has a 5' hinged ramp. It's nice, solid rail around the deck and big 15" tires make it really solid to haul. It started as $150 craigslist find like the trailer below.
Last is another craigs find... it's a 5x8 Uhaul trencher hauler. It has 2 very big 15" tires and a drop axle puts the deck about 6" off the road and tilts for easy loading. I have extended the rear a foot to get the tilt axis correct for a golf cart to load ... and extended the front deck a foot to improve the tongue weight. It is light weight and very easy to load. I haven't found anything I couldn't load on it.
My advice is to:
Look around and get creative. Remember most people agree a larger deck is better and always haul your cart facing forward when possible. Be sure to strap the cart down. Straps should be 1" wide ratcheting type. Strap it forward and backwards..... a hard stop will send your cart up the trailer tongue if you don't have a headboard or adequate rear straps.
For the most part bigger trailers with larger tires are safer

[Rickochet]

Originally Posted by as350pilot

I started hauling my cart with a 5x8 that I had to back on.After the 3rd trip the weight of the batteries caused the frame to actually bend left to right. The trailer did not have an "A" frame design (It was a Lowes). Do yourself a favor and buy a 6x10 from the start. The prices, at least in Fl, are not much different between the two.
Good luck.

Thanks for the info about the bending. If I got the smaller trailer with the single tube tongue I would probably add some side tubing for the "A". But, from what I am finding is most every listing on Craigslist is that people are wanting what they paid for their trailers. By the time I go smaller and add a few things I am up to close to the cost of a new larger one.

[Rickochet]

Originally Posted by scottyb

The advice here leans strongly towards the 'get a bigger trailer' side of the discussion... no one has said to get as small a trailer as you can... but that is what I have done this past year.
I have a 16' dove tail flatbed Carson car hauler that holds 3 with #4 in truck.
I have a 5x10+ that holds even an extended workhorse with a back seat. This 'homemade' trailer has a 5' hinged ramp. It's nice, solid rail around the deck and big 15" tires make it really solid to haul. It started as $150 craigslist find like the trailer below.
Last is another craigs find... it's a 5x8 Uhaul trencher hauler. It has 2 very big 15" tires and a drop axle puts the deck about 6" off the road and tilts for easy loading. I have extended the rear a foot to get the tilt axis correct for a golf cart to load ... and extended the front deck a foot to improve the tongue weight. It is light weight and very easy to load. I haven't found anything I couldn't load on it.
My advice is to:
Look around and get creative. Remember most people agree a larger deck is better and always haul your cart facing forward when possible. Be sure to strap the cart down. Straps should be 1" wide ratcheting type. Strap it forward and backwards..... a hard stop will send your cart up the trailer tongue if you don't have a headboard or adequate rear straps.
For the most part bigger trailers with larger tires are safer

Thanks for the info Scotty. One thing I will not do is compromise safety for a few bucks. I tend to over secure stuff when I haul things. You can't tie something down too much but you can do the opposite.

[scottyb]

You have to be patient when shopping on craigslist..... and expanding your search to nearby bigger cities helps too. If you are a welder or have a friend who can help you out, you should find something that will fit your needs with just a little modification.

[CART-ZILLA]

i used an old tilt boat trailer built a deck on it and back mine on to it strapping it down by the axles with the straps pulling away from each other so it can't roll forward or backwards thats the way i tie my bobcat down on my other trailer ... except i don't use the axles for strap points..

[JcXtreme72]

I have a 22' car hauler for when I take more then one but for the most part I just use the trailer my pop's and I built out of a chevy 1/2 ton truck abotu 10 years ago. I load it forward and have never had a problem I've hauled it more then 3 hours one way and never had a problem. Truck bed trailers are dirt cheap around here but you have to inspect the welds and tongue length to make sure it wasn't built in a way that would cause problems.