School me on 3 car trailers

Screw it, I'm gonna get myself a 3 car. These freight rates are still horrible and I've been making more money hauling 2 cars on my flat deck than hauling freight. I'm not looking to buy a new trailer at the moment but probably a used one for now If I can find the right deal.

I'm looking at the low trailers that sit right above the truck frame the ones you need a cab and chassis to run. I'm not really a fan of 3 car wedges as I don't like all the high center of gravity weight. I want to be able to haul either 2 full size trucks/ sprinters or 3 cars. I'm trying to stay away from longer 4 car trailers.

I'm curious about the axles.. I see the triple 7ks, the duel 10 and 12ks.. I know a lot of guys like the 3x 7ks because they are cheaper to rebuild but personally I'm not worried about that cost. I'd rather have the duel for the extra safety in case of a blow out and also less money for tolls.

I'm curious is there any viable reason for weight distribution to go with 3x 7ks vs the 2x 10k or 12ks?

I'm not giving up on freight but I was planning to buy a 3 car for next winter anyway so I can stay busy through the snow season. Im just gonna do it sooner.

 

Get 2 duals
3 axles pure junk

 

go with a 7 car .

 

I would say 9-10 is the best but looks like he is not committed to specific field and trying to survive .
...flat deck will do better over long run vs 3 car trailer , jmho

 

What truck are you running?
Twin 12k are hard to find and even more so as a low profile. Kaufman's low pro are dual 10k only as they claim their trailer can't haul 24k lbs so they wouldn't build a custom one when I asked.
Also, 12k axles would probably need 17.5" wheels for the tires to have sufficient rating to carry the weight.
Twin 12K with 17.5' wheels also add a lot of weight to the trailer so you won't be gaining much capacity.
For reference, the wedge I had was dual 12k axles with 17.5" wheels and weighed about 10k lbs.

The company building mine was willing to put dual twin 10k with 16" 14 ply tires and rate it for 24k. Trailer should weigh about 8-8.5k but won't know for sure till I scale.

Side note, you would need to be insured for auto with a car trailer and that will raise your insurance so the little bit more you earn might be offset by your costs.

 

I was looking at a shipshe trailer with a 4th car lift for back loads when I was thinking about hauling RVs. You can get a second 20k axle installed. Everyone I talked to seems to like like them.
53' TRAILER DROP DECK AIR RIDE AIR BRAKE SET TO HAUL RV'S

 

See if you can find a used Shipshe or Kann trailer for a good price. Most of them have 10k tandems. Ultra low profile and aluminum decking so they are relatively light. They are designed to haul RV’s and trailered boats but move vehicles no problem.

 

I like the Kann a little better for small truck setups with electric brakes. Don’t know if they currently make an airbrake version for big trucks though.

 

Yea I've seen Shipshe's but they are way too expensive for what L'm after also too big & heavy. They are more for Semi's or single wheel tractors vs smaller trucks.

The bigger truck trailer set up you get the less places you fit. IMO running a hotshot car hauler is essentially expediting cars as least that's how I sell my 2 car right now.. I get there faster than bigger trucks so I can get the premium rate. I pick up today deliver tomorrow.. The bigger and heavier you go means the more vehicles you need to move to pull a profit and the longer the drop times are between pick up and delivery. Also the bigger you are the harder it is to get in and out of dealerships or into residential neighborhoods.

 

They are more of a niche market design and not as affordable as Kauffman type trailers. AFAIK they weigh in the 7500-8000 range depending on options.