Buying a flatbed trailer...

That is what I did not like about the (know this is not spelled right) retinhouser? When I hauled bar I would have to put 2 coil pads under the last timber on the back bundle or the timber would be loose.

 

You mean an arch like this?? Very carefully! And no, the arch doesn't come out with a coil on it.

 

You must have had one of the older Big Bubba trailers. The new ones lose the arch with about anything you put on them, its some new design that reitenour has come up with. Not alot of people are happy with it either!

Most trailer mfg will let you decide how big of an arch you can put in the trailer. I could've went bigger on mine but my sidekit panels wouldn't have stayed in, I'd had to have a conastoga put on it.

 

The Manac you took pics of is a nice trailer but the arch drops down alot more than mine, which is nice if you haul alot of different stuff. It most likely rides alot better than mine also!

The problem with a trailer with a big arch that don't give is it makes for a rough ride! The best riding trailer I had was a Transcraft Eagle with the 230 suspension. You put a 20k coil on or a 53k coil on and the trailer just flattened out and gave both ways. With my Mac I get a snap out of the arch from it trying to spring back up, it takes a good bit of weight to get that out.

 

I have a 2001 Transcraft TL-2000 all steel and its cracked in the back and on the braces that go between the suspension mounts on both axles. Its also cracked on both rear corners as well. It was welded there once before but whoever did it just ran a bead over the crack and it cracked again next to their weld. I have been trying to get some info on bracing it, I guess I will go look at a new one and see what they did. Mine has a dump valve but it is not hooked up. I am going to get it wired up so I can dump the rear axle if I have to turn sharp. Its amazing how much it flexes when you turn, I almost hate to look at in the mirror. Its pretty hard on tires too and since I am the one paying for them, I am pretty careful when I turn.
I haul bricks 85% of the time and belly load the trailer, I had a Utility before this trailer and owned it for 14 years, I sold it to a farmer recently for the $500 less than I bought it for way back when. It was still a good looking trailer and in great shape. I am thinking of looking into another one of those but they are heavy.

 

am in love those would be lovely hauling 600bags of sugar out in jamaica

 

There's a reason Transcraft has the nicknames "TransCrack" and "TrashCan". I've had 3 and 2 cracked and I sold the other before it could. Their just weak trailers. All 3 I had only hauled lumber and when you would turn it would bend like a horseshoe. Reitnouer trailers are OK but I wouldn't keep one very long. All the used ones I've looked at are usually needing new bolts. I've got 2 East flats now, one is an MMX which is a pretty strong trailer and the other is a 4-9 spread Beast. The Beast has 4 axles because it needs them, it's pretty weak, equal to the Benson I had before. I've also got 4 Wilson's, 3 steel alum combo's and 1 all alum. The alum Wilson is a really nice trailer, comparable in strength to the MMX East even with most of the floor cut out for grain hoppers (custom trailer). The next new one for me will probably be a 80k Mac. I stopped buying combo trailers because the price difference for new isn't worth the extra work painting. My only advice is no matter which trailer you buy make sure it has heavy suspension. (Intraxx 300) while you may not haul heavy they ride so much nicer with the lower bag pressure and when you dump the rear axle the 300 will carry the extra load.

Here's the MMX with about 83k net.

 

You have any problems with your Intraxx 300 picking up the weight? I've got it on my trailer and it was struggling to pick up permit loads. I asked Mac if it had the right bags on it, they said it did but a buddy of mine has the same suspension and his bags look different. The trailers are only a year apart. This is what I had to do to mine....