First flatbed

You can replace the entire wiring harness on any flat bed for peanuts.

 

OR you could buy a trailer without chronic problems like that and pull freight on the trailer instead of working on it. I didn't think those trailers were very well made. Not just the wiring harness. You should not have to replace wiring harnesses on 2 year old trailers to start with. I was glad when that company started buying different trailers. I wouldn't buy an East flatbed. Quality just didn't seem to me to be there.

 

I'll gladly spend a few hours on a Saturday afternoon laying under a trailer, with a beer in my hand, steaks on the grill, installing a hundred bucks worth of wires, in a trailer I bought for pennies on the dollar... While your out there pounding pavement, putting in miles, trying to pay for the new trailer!

To each his own... =)

 

I would agree, if you only had to do it once, or even once in a while. But as I found with East trailers, it is an ongoing battle. If you want to waste every Saturday doing that, have at it. To each his own.

 

Well after you rewire it it really wouldn't be Easts fault if the wiring was screwed up would it? If I rewired it you wouldn't have to work on it every Saturday just one.

 

So, apparently you fellows are missing the point that East trailers are junk. Keep defending them if you want. Keep arguing with me if you want. Bottom line, and last comment from me on the matter is this: OP...regardless of all the other comments....East trailers are junk and take too much maintenance to keep them road worthy. If you buy one, good luck with it. You will not be happy with the purchase in the long term.

 

I never said East trailers were anything one way or another, I simply pointed out that if you're rewiring a trailer every Saturday it's not the trailer. As far as East goes I have no idea never been around one, but you know what they say about opinions....

 

Hmmm I see an awful lot of experienced steel haulers and companies that buy East trailers and keep them for years. They must all be mistaken thinking East builds a good trailer.

 

You will want a fontaine 48x102, espeically if you can get a spread to 10 feet axles.

ABS is very important. My Ravens was the first ABS trailer we had, and down in Louisana way when empty, bare deck and raining she will want to try and slide off the road due to the excessive braking.

96 is nice and Granite City is just as good as any mill left running these days. My home Mill (Beth Steel in Sparrows Point) is all gone, dynamited and torn down for condominiums at a better income for the new landowner.

I am reluctant to accept the statement all the attachments at face value for the east trailer. Im pretty sure it has all. But you might understand all is never enough, you will be buying more of the stuff.

Flatbedding is a challenge these days. About 10% of them is idle according to the Cass Transportation Index which maintains a quarterly report on all modes of the Transport in USA.

Grain is plentiful for now. But if we get hammered this summer or fall you might discover that the pricing for bushel will be up and everyone will want grain haulers again. That should bring in a good living going back to hauling grain.

Don't forget Reefer. You can haul things with Reefer and if it's not food product or meat etc you might do dry van stuff too. Medicine products out of McKesson with a reefer is really really hot, but you must have a strong team driver set. And capable of insurance for million plus dollar value loads there.