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Budget crawler hauler

Wulf

Well-known member
Joined
May 19, 2020
Member Number
324
Messages
1,067
Loc
Denver ish
I picked up this cheap equipment trailer to haul my chit boxes around :)

it is 18' long and 83" wide between the fenders, dual brake axles, bulldog coupler, blah blah blah.

It needed a tire, a deck, and wiring because the brakes are the only thing electrical that work. I checked all the hubs with an infrared temp gun after the drive and they all were about 20 deg above ambient so the bearings ought to be OK even though I should repack them soon for peace of mind.


After a couple hours on faceplace marketplace I scored a pair of nice tires for the front axle with a 2019 DOT date to replace the bad one and leave the other take off as a spare.

The wiring was once nicely done but appears to have several mismatched crimped and wire nut splices in place now so I opted to order 30 foot of jacketed 7 wire to redo the entire thing.
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Puts crawler on trailer

Hauls it

Crawler hauler :flipoff2:

Although when I hear crawler hauler, I usually think of either a gooseneck with a cab over on the front, or some type of converted MDT.

Wire in reverse lights! 7 pin plugs are wired for it.
 
I should be re-decking my trailer this summer what are you going to use for the deck
 
I'm thinking good ol dimensional lumber treated with waste motor oil

I'm looking at doing some white oak called a two local saw mills waiting to hear back from one of them. The first guy I spoke with can't do 18 feet and recomenmed the place I left a msg with
 
I'm looking at doing some white oak called a two local saw mills waiting to hear back from one of them. The first guy I spoke with can't do 18 feet and recomenmed the place I left a msg with

I hadn't considered white oak at all but I probably should. I was gonna be lazy and run some cheap fir 2x12" from HD or bLowes since they stock 16ft boards and the trailer has a 2' dovetail. I might just do angle iron across the dovetail but haven't decided yet.
 
Check out the "little things" thread, I think it is, 45 acp used perlin for a trailer deck. Basically life time deck, light weight, and still had small gaps to prevent water pooling.
 
Wire in reverse lights! 7 pin plugs are wired for it.

I'll have to order some after I get things wired. I know I want to add clearance lights on the fenders too, it's fawkin dark in the mountains at night.

Immediate goal is to get it wired and legal with brake/turn/running lights. Between the time I got home I went from having lights on one side to no lights, only brakes. I played with the grounds but didn't make any immediate progress so I decided to wait til I can rewire it all.

Seller told me clearance lights on the sides of the trailer didn't work. No big deal. I found the problem when I got there. They aren't even hooked up :laughing: .


Check out the "little things" thread, I think it is, 45 acp used perlin for a trailer deck. Basically life time deck, light weight, and still had small gaps to prevent water pooling.

That is something that I had not considered but could definitely be worth the extra effort, especially for the durability/longevity. Hurculiner is a good idea too, I was using my X's diamond plate deck equipment trailer for most of the last year and it was fawkin slippery with any dirt/moisture on it.

I am planning on sending it with the current deck for the summer. I don't think my 3500lb mini truck is gonna drop through the diamondplate reinforced shitty 2x12s... remember this when I post the fail pics :flipoff2:
 
My budget crawler hauler. 355k miles. Cheaper than a trailer i was looking at when i found it. Did all fluids and a tint job and it works perfect for our needs.

How do you fit 6 guys in a single cab when hauling 3 rigs? :flipoff2:


​​​​​​I thought about buying a roll off when I saw a few 7.3l ones available but it wasn't gonna work for me. It is a cool setup, though!
 
How do you fit 6 guys in a single cab when hauling 3 rigs? :flipoff2:

Only need to carry 3 guys. Me, my 9 year old, and my brother Has a bench seat. Cat 3126 and 6 speed manual.

90% of the time its just me and my boy and the 2 rigs on the flatbed.
 
Only need to carry 3 guys. Me, my 9 year old, and my brother Has a bench seat. Cat 3126 and 6 speed manual.

90% of the time its just me and my boy and the 2 rigs on the flatbed.

Cat and a six speed! I am jealous of that :D
 
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​​​Got it all wired up with new Amazon LEDs yesterday. I picked up my new to me truck. The trailer pulls great and is just the right size.
 
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​​​Got it all wired up with new Amazon LEDs yesterday. I picked up my new to me truck. The trailer pulls great and is just the right size.

Couple more pictures?
 
After a whopping 300 or so miles I have a vibration from the trailer at 50+ MPH. I'm wondering if one of the tires is starting to separate. They all pass visual inspection.

I don't think it's a hub/bearing because none of the hubs were more than warm to the touch when I stopped. Tire choices in 235/80R16 are a little slim and the best options look to be Maxxis or Goodyear for $170~ ea from Discount. I know I should do all 4
 
Yeah, I've been looking at comparable sizes in truck tires as well.
 
If you can't fit the G rated steel trailer tires then for sure skip ST and go LT.
But if you can fit the G rated tires you might want to consider them.
 
If you can't fit the G rated steel trailer tires then for sure skip ST and go LT.
But if you can fit the G rated tires you might want to consider them.

It currently has 235/80R16 tires on it. It looks like Provider makes a G rated tire in 235/85R16 that is available at Walmart. https://www.walmart.com/ip/Provider...4400-LB-LCC-Heavy-Duty-Trailer-Tire/188488484


I was looking at these LT tires https://www.discounttire.com/buy-tires/bfgoodrich-commercial-t-a-all-season-2/p/28034
 
It currently has 235/80R16 tires on it. It looks like Provider makes a G rated tire in 235/85R16 that is available at Walmart. https://www.walmart.com/ip/Provider-...Tire/188488484


I was looking at these LT tires https://www.discounttire.com/buy-tir...ason-2/p/28034

Not sure if your wheels are high pressure or weight rated for G tires but even if they aren't they are still more capable than E rated tires at 80 psi.
This is what I run on my 13k lb toy hauler.

Sailun S637 75mph rated @ 4080 lb
 
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for a 10K trailer what is the benefit of going up to G rated tires? I guess if I have to drop an axle I could still limp home on the remaining one with my truck on it
 
No point really except they are not made like BS trailer tires.
Even at 80 psi they are 3400lb rated and 75mph
ST tires are usually max 65mph.

Just throwing it out there, we use them on dump trailers my RV and my buddies triple axle cyclone and they have been bullet proof for 5 years.
 
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