I Want to Buy a 10 Car hauler .

Side rails, rear side rails (section behind tandems) hydraulic lines. Most of the hydraulic lines on the trailers have a date on them and will let you know how old they are. Just remember the older they are,,,the more chance of having one blow ending in a big mess, headache and sometimes a costly damage.

 

What would it cost to bring the trailer to a hydraulic nose shop and have all new hoses made/? How many feet of hose and how many hoses are we talking about?


How many cylinders are typically on a trailer?

 

That just really depends on the trailer and it's age, condition, past use, but on a full blown SS 10 car it would bet you are into several thousands of dollars, as far as cyl. again, just depends on the trailer, depends if you just have lift/tilt tables or if they also slide?

30 cyl. would be a "guess" again, just depends on the setup, make, model, year Others here that have more stinger experience than me can probably give you a better idea, but this will get you in the ball park.

 

A high side Cottrell with a 3-car rack has 42 cylinders. I'm not sure how much hose there is, but I had a buddy who worked for Allied when they switched all those old trucks to Parflex, and it cut over a 1000 pounds. So a lot of freaking hose. Even figuring a $50/hose, that's $4200 in just hose, with no labor. Everyone I know of who's had a truck and trailer refurbed has dropped in the neighborhood of $30K - $40K for a strip, blast, paint and hose.

The biggest issue with a used rack beyond rust is metal fatigue. No matter how well cared and properly loaded, after about 5 years or so, the brittleness of fatigue starts to show as stress cracks. After that happens, you'll spend a lot of time chasing cracks with a welder, and every place you brace and repair just transfers the problem to another spot.

So if you find a one-owner truck with minimal plated repairs, and straight aluminum, that's a good sign it wasn't abused, and you'll not have quite as many problems. Personally, I would stay away from any truck I walked up to and found all the locks at the bottom, as loading on the cylinders instead of the locks puts lots of wear on the cylinders and hoses, and I have no desire to splice a hose a week or start replacing the cylinders. (Cottrell cylinders are really crappy, too shallow of threads) Bent aluminum indicates someone who didn't give a crap about properly placing vehicles on the decks, and likely abused the trailer in other ways as well. Spin a bunch of ratchets, too. If they are free-spinning and don't have excess play, it means they were likely lubed at least occasionally, and shows someone cared. So does the condition of the chain clusters. Little things mean a lot when evaluating how a carhauler was cared for.

 

You car haulers are way underpaid for the grief you have to put up with the cars and trailers.

 

It is a struggle to keep rates up, but most of the grief is related to how you use and care for your equipment. Load like an idiot, and pay the price when it's a few years old. You can load fat and not load stupid; like any other human endeavour, laziness leads guys to do it the easy way instead of the right way.

 

Call Cottrell - 770-532-7251 - ask for a recommendation on a dealer. I believe there was one in Virginia Beach with a good reputation. I suggest leasing a truck/trailer from a company that will offer some sort of warranty and stand behind the truck. I bought a 10 year old Wally Mo 6 car and spent more on welding and hydraulics than I paid for the trailer.

 

If you're talking about East Coast, I don't know if I know many guys who would say they have a good reputation.