6/7 car high mount Cottrell Miller Sun Valley Wally Mo

I researched these trailers endlessly a few years ago & ended up buying a Miller.
Bought a used 48' one to start with & then bought a used 2007 53'.

The structure of their trailers are bullet proof & need nothing in terms of making
them stronger. Which is rare.

However am looking again. Stinger set ups are insanely priced & really do not
have the customer base to keep one full all the time. Maybe if leased on someplace
it would make more sense? But still that is a tough call to make as that company holds
the key to either making or breaking you.

So, thought I would throw this out there to see what advantages the other mfg's
have over Miller in the 6/7 car segment.
The only complaint I have with it is the load angle for the top deck.
If the rear flips were longer like Cottrells optional 46" aluminum it may cure that vs
using boards to adjust for lower/longer cars?

If you are running something else, your input appreciated.

 

FYI Miller Industries just bought out Delavan car carrier's manufacturing business a few months back. They also have a program where they will take your old trailer and completely rework it at their factory in Tennessee. They media blast it bare, inspect it and then give you a estimate with different levels and options for repairs, modifications, and upgrades. I ran two Miller 5307 trailer, one long nose and one short and they are still both on the road today, one is 13 years old and the other is 11 and they have been uses mostly in the northeastern US with a lot of road salt. The owner of them is a good friend of mine, I was just looking at them last weekend, still holding up very well.

Miller Industries website is www.millerind.com I hope this helps.

 

Haven't used their car trailers, but if Miller makes them anything like their towing equipment, they're the best of the best, IMO. I've used about 15 different tow trucks at my former job equipped with Miller beds, and they were always stronger than the non-Miller equipped trucks. The only time we didn't buy Miller was if it was a used truck at a really good deal. Every truck we bought new had Miller equipment on it. Nice features, too. My last tow truck had a heated sink, soap dispenser and paper towel holder in one of the toolboxes for cleaning up before getting back in the truck. What? lol If I were looking at a piece of equipment and Miller made a comparable unit, I would buy a Miller hands down.

 

I have a Cottrell 5309 and I love it. It is a little heavy and not for beginners. But it will fit a great load. I had a 07 miller seven car and it was a good trailer. However, couldnt fit a full size pickup in the belly and mine was a long neck which hurt length in the belly

 

Millers build quality and materials used are as good or better than anyone else's, BUT there are VERY limited on what they build as far as different configurations.

Cottrell on the other hand, IMO, could use better materials, however they do build a trailer to fit just about any load out there.

If it was me, and I liked the trailer I had, get it refurbed, and have them modify it they way you want, the down side of course is that if you only have one trailer, you are out of work until it's done, and then have a bill to deal with, double whammy.

After running nothing but high mounts and lowboys for the last 10 years we are going to build one new stinger this year, but it will be tailored to what we do and not an off-the-shelf unit.

I think Wally-Mo's are a good trailer from what I have seen, I have no knowledge on Sun Valley.

 

Glad you like your 5309. They look cool, but the weight & thought of all those cylinders(maintenance) scared me off. Little C12 in my truck too, so would have needed more power/torque to be rolling with that. Pushing 25 thousand pounds aren't they?

As far as loading the lower deck on the Miller. I know Cottrell/Wally Mo have the arch with more height available down there, but then you have to worry about what gets loaded on the top deck. I like that Miller has the lower flat deck on top. Can still put mid size cross overs down below with top deck set level, like Cadillac SRX's & they are just shy of 68" tall.

Used to load alot of these in the photo below. They are 75 or 76" tall & would be tough to fit four in any brand of standard 7 car set ups. The center is 13'5 & the rear is right at 13'6. Would need a 5309 type set up to adjust accordingly for four at or near 13'6.

 

Hauling out of South Bend? I thought they went belly up? Not the company, just the product line? BTW you could probably get four of them (actually I know you could) on the Sun Country with the angle up decks and drop floor. Buddy of mine owns Sancrest Transport, he helped design that trailer, he also sells them. Trailer weighs in a 17,000 but five reg, cars is max, can't do six.

 

Yeah, have seen those guys running around & friend of mine lives down that way runs one. Good solid trailers. Really like how they split the rear load ramp for 2 reasons: 1 it opens a spot to wheel strap & 2 they can add a brace or block in between.

The problem is I do not have the sort of contacts needed to run that. The idiots on Central underbid large equipment moves too much & have no direct contacts for utility trucks, buses etc.

Edit: VPG did file bankruptcy & the company was dissolved. AM General is handling their warranty, parts etc.

 

They are nice trailers, but it's the same old issue, unless you are hauling just cars and suv/vans there will always be that load that just doesn't work. I've been searching for the ideal, do-it-all trailer for over twenty years, it doesn't exist, lol.

I had looked hard at those Sancrest Trailers but I have my heart set on stinger setup, mostly because it gives me more deck space with the larger vehicles I haul, but more importantly, they are legal EVERYWHERE.

I am just getting burnt out on these states and their different length rules, and then on top of that, what one guy let's slide this week, someone else will enforce next week.

Had two trucks about an hour apart with identical loads/trucks/trailers running same route, first truck, no issues, next truck gets one warning, and then has to drop off one vehicle to make scale house happy, crazy #### these days.

 

Phil did help design that trailer and its a good one. We haul a lot of oversize vehicles and work trucks out west, which is what that trailer is great for. The only thing that scares me is when you dont have oversize vehicles to haul it's still only a 5 car. As far as a 5309, its does weigh 23,500lbs. I also have an 8-car built by ruben in southern california thats about a thousand pounds lighter