I have a opportunity to pick up a used trailer for decent price. It's 24' long and 82" between the fenders and is a flat deck car hauler type with no side rails. Current configuration is bumper pull. The frame is 2x6 rectangualr tubes with 4" crossmembers and a 6" channel tongue. Wood deck.

It currently has two 3500# axles under it which appear to be fairly new so I suspect they were replaced recently and whoever did so cheaped out and bought 3500# instead of 5200# or 6000# that were probably under it originally. There is no Mfg. data plate, so I suspect the trailer is a home built unit. It's hell for stout, but with it's currently length, it's weight has to seriously cut into the 7k load limit of the axles.

Neither axle has brakes so I'm using this as a bargaining chip to bring the price down.

So, if I were to get this trailer, I see two options to go with it.
1) Cut it down to 18', reposition the 2-3500# axles to maintain proper weight bias front to rear, leave it bumper pull.

2) Swap in a pair of 5200# or 6000# axles, remove the tongue and convert it to gooseneck.

Let's hear some opinions on this........

 

You simply can't beat the way a g/n pulls... Having said that, there sounds like some rather significant cost involved in upgrading to the g/n configuration. Axles with brakes, new wheels and tires (your 3500lb wheels likely won't share a bolt pattern with any 6000lb units, and the current tire rating is probably way off too), new wiring, and then the steel to fabricate the gooseneck itself. Not to mention the actual gooseneck nose coupler or the new jack(s) required. Since I'm a tinkerer to the bitter end, I would probably work the guy down as far as possible on price and take the project on. However, not knowing your fabrication skills or budgetary limitations, these are some things to consider.

 

For the GN part, unless you're planning on doing the work yourself and the trailer is near free, I suggest skipping this one and finding one that's already set up the way you want it. Lots of time and money involved in this project. You'll need all the parts that tobyw said and probably a few more, and none of them are cheap. If you're having somebody else do it, the parts and labor most likely come close to the cost of a new trailer. Shortening it and relocating the axles and keeping it bumper pull wouldn't cost much in parts, and if you did it yourself, it would be real cheap. But, you'd have a bumper pull instead of a GN, and no brakes.

 

Yeah, eric, I pretty much came to same conclusion earlier today. If I can pick up for what I think is reasonable, I'd just shorten it 4-6 feet, reposition the axles and swap them out to 5.2k or 6k axles. I'd end up with a 10.4k or 12k car hauler then for a lot less than I could get one off a lot for. I already have a WD hitch so I'd just leave it bumper pull.

I'm going to use the fact that it has no brakes and the fact that it is only a 7k trailer to try to work the price down to my liking. That and a handful of CASH to wave under their nose.....

 

I'm in the same situation except I already own the BP. Since the price of steel has doubled the converstion is too expensive compared to buying a GN straight out.

I figured $900 to purchase the steel, welding supplies, coupler, jack, and a set of tires. I still think the price is low, It'll probably be in the ballpark of $1100.