Buy the tilt trailer, you will never regret it. Ramps are the biggest pain in the a-- you will ever find.

 

I would order a PJ the way you want it, they are quality units....the powder coat paint is a big plus..

 

I would love to have a tilt trailer, but they run $4,000+, vs. $2,399 for the PJ w/dovetail & ramps. Since I won't be using it all that frequently, it's a little hard to justify. Believe me, I am tempted though!

The powdercoating is a great finish. Seems just about every (painted) trailer out there looks rusty around the welds, but the powdercoating should last longer as long as they did the proper prep work. The downside is that when I want to weld on some D-rings, I'll have to grind it off and then try to match the powdercoat with some paint in that area.

 

You could weld the d-rings to a plate have it powder coated and then bolt the plate to the trailer..

 

PJ will put the d rings in for you if you order it That way. You can even get LED lights.

 

Since I have an immediate (tomorrow) need for the trailer, I couldn't wait a month for a special order, plus the dealer is raising their price on the next load, supposedly by 12%. Today I ended up buying the 7k GVW I was talking about in my original post. They'd sold 2 of the 4 they had when I was in last week. Insert pet peeve here: Why is it that for a retail item like a trailer, they have a posted price, then they have to tack on a bunch of charges? Just post the actual sale price!! I understand adding on for license/title fees and sales tax, but they tack on $19 for dealer prep/inspection, $54 fuel surcharge, and $50 for a document fee. NONE of this is state or county mandated; it's all extra line items to inflate the bottom line price...extremely annoying! It's all stuff that is part of the cost of doing business, and should be included in the price. If they need more money, then be honest and raise the price! I think it's dishonest to quote prices, then add multiple line items to pad the bottom line. If they would just be up front & include that stuff in the quoted price; I'd respect the company much more.

Now I need to start outfitting it with all the straps, since I'll be hauling a couple cars in the next week or so. I'll probably use a combination of chain & ratcheting straps to hold cars on it. Do people like the ratcheting straps with the integral axle loops? How about those wheel strap/loops that tie down for the front tires/wheels?

 

Ratchet straps are fine, I use them all the time. Usually 2 straps on the rear and a chain on the front. You can pull against the chain with the straps and you dont need a boomer. i have seen the tire straps but have never used them>

 

I use straps on all four corners. I have separate axel wraps but recently bought some straps with built in axel straps on them and thay are my favorite straps now.

 

I bought about $185 worth of tie downs and straps from Etrailer.com which should be here any day, 10k's for the back and 5k's with built-in loops for the front. From what I've read, it's best to cross the tie-downs, ie: right side of vehicle tied down to left side of trailer. What do people usually loop around on the front of the vehicle? Looking at my '65 Pontiac A-body, it looks like the best point is to loop through part of the lower A-arm. Is there a better place? On the back, I assume the idea is to run the straps around the axle, sliding them under the brake lines (between axle & brake line.) Also, I only have stake pockets on my trailer right now, so I bought extra 10k axle straps to run through the pockets and hook on to my ratchet tie-downs. Ok to do, or bad idea? Once my house sells, part of the money will go to a MIG welder, and some D-rings are in my future. I've seen some bolt-on D-rings, but I don't get the warm fuzzies so much from them. Am I being overly paranoid? Thanks in advance for any advice!

 

I got my 18' with 2 5/16 ball from Top Notch trailers in Rochester WA.
Its a 7000#
Its a 07 and after bringing it across the border and having it inspected Ive got abot $3200.00 total with everything in it.

 

Anyone with some tie down tips? BTW, the Etrailer stuff arrived today. The 2" ball that their website showed rated at 8k# ended up actually rated at 10k#. One concern solved. Oh, and two of the axle straps I bought were used. I'm betting someone used them once or twice, then returned them, and they just put them back into the bin.