Cargo Trailer First Time Buyer Tips

[KayPlaya]

What about putting your 718's on the 5x8 trailer floor, with smaller gear on top of the 718's, strapped down? Or, have a handyman build shelving inside your trailer, like I did? That added a ton more storage space to otherwise wasted vertical space. The first few months, I just had stuff all over the floor, and it was horribly inefficient, disorganized, and risked equipment damage.

For the trussing, get a 5x8 with a roof rack; carry a folding step stool/short ladder to make it easier to access the roof rack. The stool/ladder would also make it easier to hang lights/cables on the truss at the gig. 6.5' truss should easily fit on a 8' long trailer for transport. If you end up storing the trailer off-site (rental storage place), it's light enough you can lay it on top of your gear inside the trailer.

Here is a video tour of the inside of our trailer. Hopefully, this will give you ideas for shelving. All of the shelving was custom built to fit my (then current) gear, and the gear I was planning to add, as well as my Sterilite see-through plastic bins ("redneck road cases"). I do most gigs myself, and I'm very careful with my equipment, so the bins are fine for my road cases. Anyway, a good handyman or interior carpenter can work wonders.

Good suggestion with the roof rack. That would definitely free up some top end space for other cases. I think I would be able to manage with a 5x8 with what I have now, think it would definitely take some mastering of the space though. Thanks for the visual of your trailer set up as well with the video

I have loading in my car down to a science, the trailer..not so much. I'm afraid of things shifting around and you gotta balance a trailer to some degree so you don't get too much or too little tounge weight or it will handle stupid or dangerously.

You pretty much need shelving or racks - so put the subs on the floor in over the axles and the tops on shelves above them, lights are light so they can go in the back. cords and amps can get heavy so put them in the front. Also the front seems to ride better (at least on my 28' camper) than the rear (think back to when you rode a schoolbus and it hit a bump - the back got tossed more than the middle or front).
the plastic bins I use for stuff slip and slide too much as well.

For now I'm all Active as far as my sound setup so I thankfully don't have to worry about amps at the moment. As far as the subs go, placing them over the axles is definitely something I didn't think of and a great idea for weight balance. Although I haven't just yet, I plan on building road cases for just about everything. I have 4 prx's so 2 cases, holding 2 each, a case for each of my subs, moving heads pars etc. I'm going the DiY route because the mark up on them I feel is quite ridiculous when bought pre-fabricated, but I think I'll have to keep in mind how I plan to fit them in a 5x8 when it comes to building them. The speakers will all have t be on the floor since they'll be too tall to stack so I'll have to master storing the rest of my equipment on top with either e-trac and/or shelving. All while keeping the weight distribution in tact

Mine is a 5x12, without a roof vent and that gives me the clearance. I couldn't stack my Unity15's on top of each other. That's when I played with the pack and arrived at things like:

Power amps sit on top of my subs

Cable boxes on top of my Unity15's

As others have said just have to think in terms of 3D space. When I first got my trailer it took a few gigs to arrive at the pack that I have now.


Every time, thinking of how to improve things until I arrived at my current pack. Contact that Middlebury Trailers, they might have a dealer near you. Like I said the 5x12 fits in my garage with a 7' door.

Thanks for sharing the pictures! Thats definitely what I'm expecting to go through with my pack. The pic with the amps on top of the subs on both sides along the wall was a big help. Would like to have a little space in the middle in case I need to get access to the back (or is it technically the front?) of the trailer. I think what I'm going to do in the mean time is tape off a section in my garage with the interior dimensions of a 5x8 and see exactly how much space I have to work with. Gotta do some cord management out there anyway so I'll already be moving stuff around. That will help me get a better understanding of how much space I'd have inside that size trailer. Checked out the site for Middlebury Trailers but I might have to leave an email to see if they have dealers where I'm at. A google search brought back no results

Whats the interior height of your trailer? My local store says only the 4'7" one would fit in my garage. My back hurts already!

[KayPlaya]

Another question! (Forgive me I'm clueless and you guys seem to have the experience I lack)

In your experience have new trailers been negotiable? The 5x8 I'm looking at is ~$2800 new. Should I expect to pay that or should I expect to negotiate if I'm not financing? Normally I would say, "I can get something similar to this over at the other place, but from what I'm seeing this Trailers Plus is the only reputable cargo trailer sales place in the city.

Also, does is matter that the suspension is LEaf Spring and not Torsion. I keep reading that people prefer Torsion axles.

[robare99]

Good suggestion with the roof rack. That would definitely free up some top end space for other cases. I think I would be able to manage with a 5x8 with what I have now, think it would definitely take some mastering of the space though. Thanks for the visual of your trailer set up as well with the video

I probably could have gotten away with a 5x8 in the beginning. I decided to get a 5x10 because my light truss sections were 10' long. I asked how much extra it would be to get a V-Nose, it would be $200. The salesman said "you know, for the same $200 you could get a 12' trailer instead. So that's what I ended up doing. It worked out really good as it gave me some room to grow my setup.

For now I'm all Active as far as my sound setup so I thankfully don't have to worry about amps at the moment. As far as the subs go, placing them over the axles is definitely something I didn't think of and a great idea for weight balance. Although I haven't just yet, I plan on building road cases for just about everything. I have 4 prx's so 2 cases, holding 2 each, a case for each of my subs, moving heads pars etc. I'm going the DiY route because the mark up on them I feel is quite ridiculous when bought pre-fabricated, but I think I'll have to keep in mind how I plan to fit them in a 5x8 when it comes to building them. The speakers will all have t be on the floor since they'll be too tall to stack so I'll have to master storing the rest of my equipment on top with either e-trac and/or shelving. All while keeping the weight distribution in tact

Cases will add to the weight. I've had no issues with things banging into my speakers since everything is strapped down.

Thanks for sharing the pictures! Thats definitely what I'm expecting to go through with my pack. The pic with the amps on top of the subs on both sides along the wall was a big help. Would like to have a little space in the middle in case I need to get access to the back (or is it technically the front?) of the trailer. I think what I'm going to do in the mean time is tape off a section in my garage with the interior dimensions of a 5x8 and see exactly how much space I have to work with. Gotta do some cord management out there anyway so I'll already be moving stuff around. That will help me get a better understanding of how much space I'd have inside that size trailer. Checked out the site for Middlebury Trailers but I might have to leave an email to see if they have dealers where I'm at. A google search brought back no results

Whats the interior height of your trailer? My local store says only the 4'7" one would fit in my garage. My back hurts already!

The way I have the gear there's enough room to get through to the front. I also have a side door which makes that easier as well. You lose a bit of space to strap things down but the side access is nice as well. The interior height of mine is 5'6" so it's not too bad inside. I have a tilt back dolly that lets me move the load around nicely.

I can't remember why I went with leaf springs. There was a reason, I'll try to find out why...

[KayPlaya]

Alright guys, so after all the research and all the helpful input from everyone here I am now at odds? In about 6 weeks time I've saved the money from my gigs and am almost there with being able to purchase a trailer. The one I finally locked in on is an Interstate Cargo 5x10 trailer with Ramp door.

With that being said I am having a few doubts. My original interest in having a trailer was one obviously because I couldn't fit everything in my pickup bed if I were to do a large event, and secondly to be able to have a potential for growth for transporting things as my equipment list grew. I originally wanted to go with a 6x12 tandem (on advice from a few here) but realized I needed something to fit in my garage as I don't want to pay a monthly fee to a storage fee. That is what brought me down to the 5x10.

The foreseeable issue with that is that it comes in at just 2 inches under the height of my garage door. Because my driveway is on an incline I fear I might not clear the opening when trying to back it in.

Another issue is price. the 5x10 is a little pricier than I expected (~$4000, $3300 for trailer itself plus tax and customization like e-track, shelving etc). I think I'll only be using it once a month on average for now. For ROI purposes I'll include in my price a $100 transport fee whenever I need to actually use it. At that rate it'll take me a little over 3 years to pay it off. I would like to see an ROI after 1 year which means I need to do 40 events big enough to have to use it in a year, more than triple what I expect.

Alternative is to rent a trailer as I need for $50, still charge the $100 transportation fee in my price and keep the extra $50 as a savings toward a trailer after I buy a house with RV parking or a shop on site to keep a 6x12 tandem inside.

If I go that route, I free up some capital to by more equipment for now. As usual with decisions like these I tend to over think!

[robare99]

My 5x12 was $5600 all in I beleive. You should be able to depreciate it over 4 or 5 years. For me the real savings comes in with the hour at the beginning and end of each gig that I don't have to deal with because I'm able to roll in and roll out

$100/hr?

That's essentially $200 of your time saved per gig.m


Are you close to the dealer? Can they bring one over so you can try to get it in your garage?

[navydiver]

Jumping in late here but if you have a pickup truck have you consider a Cap to extend the space availabilty in your box - low I know but may do the trick way less expensively. I use a full sized crew cab with locking back-flip tonneau and it "just" fits a normal load-out. Been reading some info here with interest because if I grow any more I may have to go to a cap or even a trailer....

[KayPlaya]

My 5x12 was $5600 all in I beleive. You should be able to depreciate it over 4 or 5 years. For me the real savings comes in with the hour at the beginning and end of each gig that I don't have to deal with because I'm able to roll in and roll out

$100/hr?

That's essentially $200 of your time saved per gig.m


Are you close to the dealer? Can they bring one over so you can try to get it in your garage?

Was it? With that news I wouldn't feel like I'm being over charged as much. Just honestly feels like more of an investment I was prepared for. And I was thinking just adding on $100 per gig not per hour. At that price my pay off would be around the same as yours 4/5 yrs assuming I take on no more gigs than I already have which may not be the case. What customization does that $5600 include for your trailer if any?

Jumping in late here but if you have a pickup truck hace you consider a Cap to extend the space availabilty in your box - low I know but may do the trick way less expensively. I use a full sized crew cab with locking back-flip tonneau and it "just" fits a normal load-out. Been reading some info here with interest because if I grow any more I may have to go to a cap or even a trailer....

I have considered that. I currently have a tonneau cover on but have to take it off every time I have a gig that needs subs because I have single 18s and they're too tall/wide. A full camper shell is an option but I just don't personally like the way it looks. I haven't yet reinvested the money I have saved for a trailer so if I wake up one day thinking I should just get the purchase over with I just may, but man am I conflicted.

[robare99]

Was it? With that news I wouldn't feel like I'm being over charged as much. Just honestly feels like more of an investment I was prepared for. And I was thinking just adding on $100 per gig not per hour. At that price my pay off would be around the same as yours 4/5 yrs assuming I take on no more gigs than I already have which may not be the case. What customization does that $5600 include for your trailer if any?

My bad. I don't mean charging $200 for it, but more of an opportunity cost. I'm saving 2 hours per gig with my trailer. When I head out, I just hook on and leave, it's ready to go. When I get home, I back it in and I'm done. It used to take 45 - 60 minutes to load and unload my pickup truck (with a canopy) before I had a trailer. I dreaded the end of the night, taking pretty much an hour to get everything back into its place is the garage. The trailer just makes like so much easier. Plus it classes up the whole operation a bit, I'm no longer a guy with a bunch of stuff in the back of my truck. When I roll up, it just looks better.

I'm in Canada, though I have to say , I could probably get a 6x10 trailer used for around $3,000 but they all advertise yhe headroom inside. That just wouldn't work. Plus if I bought one, I'd have to add E-Track, threshold plate etc etc. so I got the basic 5x12 trailer, and had it customized to exactly what I wanted.

Extras, or specifics:
3500lb axle with electronic brakes
7pin connector
Battery for emergency brakes
Ramp door
Threshold plate
2 rows of E-Track, 18" & 42" centers
The color
Rear floodlight
No roof vent

So all the little things add up, plus I'm in Canada. I can't remember what the Canadian dollar was at when I bought it. I liked the rounded front & sides vs square roof edges.

I have considered that. I currently have a tonneau cover on but have to take it off every time I have a gig that needs subs because I have single 18s and they're too tall/wide. A full camper shell is an option but I just don't personally like the way it looks. I haven't yet reinvested the money I have saved for a trailer so if I wake up one day thinking I should just get the purchase over with I just may, but man am I conflicted.

I had a canopy. I did one gig in the next town an hour away and tried to tarp everything. 10 minutes into the trip it was flapping all over. Thats when I bought a canopy. Everything fit, no lights or truss. But I made do. I always needed help loading and dropping the subs every time (LS800p's) and it was frustrating always having to ask for help.

[Drewbdo]

I always needed help loading and dropping the subs every time (LS800p's) and it was frustrating always having to ask for help.

Plus, one equipment drop when loading/unloading heavy expensive gear in/out of a truck bed, and the money you saved by going that route is seriously impacted. Sometimes there isn't someone strong or dependable enough to help you load/unload. What happens if you have a sore back? One benefit of a trailer (or my cargo van) is lower deck height, making it easier to load/unload heavy, awkward gear.

I usually load (or my daughter does), but I did a gig one time and the very drunk guest of honor could not be persuaded to "go relax". He thought he had to help load my trailer after the party. I was concerned he would drop gear, since he was having problems just carrying himself around.

So, I gave him coiled extension cords, XLR cables, etc ... individual cords... not a box full of cables... if he dropped them, no big deal.

[robare99]

The last straw for me was waiting 45 minutes for help to show up. It was then that I made a trailer the priority on my purchase list. I wanted to be self sufficient.