Flatbed toy / Jeep hauler.

Gobicon2017

Gobicon2017

New member
Hey,
I’m in the market for a flatbed hauler for my Jeep. Does anyone have or recommend a certain size or brand. Most likely gonna pull with wife’s Tahoe maybe f350 work truck. Something similar to this.


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With the JKU I’d go for an 18’ minimum and try to go for 86” wide or larger. 16’ fits just fine but is tight if you want to put any gear (coolers, grills, etc) in front or behind the jeep. I run 1-1/4” wheel spacers with 13.50 wide stt pros and it was tight at a trailer width of 84”. Also highly advise no rails personally.


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RockinAZJK said:
With the JKU I’d go for an 18’ minimum and try to go for 86” wide or larger. 16’ fits just fine but is tight if you want to put any gear (coolers, grills, etc) in front or behind the jeep. I run 1-1/4” wheel spacers with 13.50 wide stt pros and it was tight at a trailer width of 84”. Also highly advise no rails personally.


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Thanks for the feedback.


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I came thiiiiiis close to picking up a 20' gooseneck deckover last month but just couldn't bring myself to spend $5k on a trailer that will see limited use. I tried really hard to justify it too. To each his own, but I'm going to redirect the money back into the Jeep instead. Spyntech hubs and an Atlas TCase will help with the cross-country highway miles and wear and tear on the front end....:twocents:
 
Just ended up buying a trailer recently to haul my 2 door. I ended up with a PJ 20'. I was trying to find an 18' but new wasnt in my price range so when I found a used 20' for a good price I snagged it. Its definitely bigger than I need for the 2dr and I agree with the 18' recommendation. As far as width I have 13.50 wide coopers with 1.5" wheel spacers and I come in right at 83" wide. A ton of trailers that are advertised as 7' wide are really 82" between the wheel wells and i only found a few that were 83" wide PJ being one of them and it fits but I rub when loading.

As far as the drive over fenders go while that might be nice you have to make sure when loading your jeeps tires will not sit at the wheel well if it isnt wide enough. In my case the drive over I looked at was still 82" at the fenders but when loaded I still needed my jeep tires between the wheel wells so that didnt help me at all.

Pic for reference

20180817_191722.jpg

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desertrunner said:
Just ended up buying a trailer recently to haul my 2 door. I ended up with a PJ 20'. I was trying to find an 18' but new wasnt in my price range so when I found a used 20' for a good price I snagged it. Its definitely bigger than I need for the 2dr and I agree with the 18' recommendation. As far as width I have 13.50 wide coopers with 1.5" wheel spacers and I come in right at 83" wide. A ton of trailers that are advertised as 7' wide are really 82" between the wheel wells and i only found a few that were 83" wide PJ being one of them and it fits but I rub when loading.

As far as the drive over fenders go while that might be nice you have to make sure when loading your jeeps tires will not sit at the wheel well if it isnt wide enough. In my case the drive over I looked at was still 82" at the fenders but when loaded I still needed my jeep tires between the wheel wells so that didnt help me at all.

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Great info. Just what we’re looking for. I hope to find one in need of minor care since it will only be used from south Texas to Colorado and beyond. Thanks again.


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I currently have a 24' PJ B6 running tandem 7k torsion axles. I bought the trailer primarily for hauling the Jeep but I also wanted to be able to put a crew cab long bed truck on it if needed. The biggest thing to consider when buying a trailer isn't the length...it's the weight. First thing I would do is go weigh your Jeep. I mention this because a good majority of trailers on the market will come with 3500lb axles and the trailer will have a 7k GVWR. If you take a 20' PJ B5 trailer with those axles the trailer alone weighs approximately 2500lb so it only leaves you with a load capacity of 4500lb. So my suggestion is get whatever length you want but opt for 5200lb axles. PJ rates their drive over fenders a 4000lb and they are bomb proof. I would a PJ B5 or B6 over a deck over, as previously recommended, because it will keep the COG lower. Pulling with a Tahoe or Suburban will most likely put you over the rated towing capacity. If this is a big deal for you there are some lighter weight aluminum trailers. Aluma offers an 8218HWB model but you won't find many of these on the used market. My current trailer and Jeep setup puts me at somewhere between 10-11k which is way over what a Tahoe is rated to tow.

desertrunner said:
As far as the drive over fenders go while that might be nice you have to make sure when loading your jeeps tires will not sit at the wheel well if it isnt wide enough...
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Huh? Drive over fenders are meant to hold weight on them so there is no issue parking the Jeep with the tires up on the fender.
 
Than you : RSQCON


Well we were looking at pulling with the Tahoe because of the distance and having the kids in tow as well. Thinking weight distribution hitch maybe. Either way if and when I pick up a trailer week get the weights figured out. As back up I have my F350 diesel which will handle it just fine.


Gobicon2017
 
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I should also mention that if you have 3rd or 4th generation Tahoe the hitch is built into the rear crossmember. The crossmember is rated at 10k with 1k of tongue weight but people have reported seeing the crossmember flex because it's part of the rear crumple zone or whatever they call it. Depending on how much your Jeeps weighs you may be forced into getting an aluminum trailer. I have a 3500HD Suburban on order and am looking at that 8218HWB so that I can leave 10-20% of that 10k hitch capacity as a cushion. Lastly the wheelbase on a Tahoe is pretty short so the shorter the trailer you get the less any sway will affect your tow vehicle,
 
RSQCON said:
I should also mention that if you have 3rd or 4th generation Tahoe the hitch is built into the rear crossmember. The crossmember is rated at 10k with 1k of tongue weight but people have reported seeing the crossmember flex because it's part of the rear crumple zone or whatever they call it. Depending on how much your Jeeps weighs you may be forced into getting an aluminum trailer. I have a 3500HD Suburban on order and am looking at that 8218HWB so that I can leave 10-20% of that 10k hitch capacity as a cushion. Lastly the wheelbase on a Tahoe is pretty short so the shorter the trailer you get the less any sway will affect your tow vehicle,
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Ok, well I wanna say the Tahoe has 8600lb toeing compactly not sure on trailer yet but I’m assuming it should way somewhere around 3k by its self. The well add the keeps weight which is around 5600 or so. It’s gonna be close but if all else fails I put the miles on the ford lol.


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RSQCON said:
I should also mention that if you have 3rd or 4th generation Tahoe the hitch is built into the rear crossmember. The crossmember is rated at 10k with 1k of tongue weight but people have reported seeing the crossmember flex because it's part of the rear crumple zone or whatever they call it. Depending on how much your Jeeps weighs you may be forced into getting an aluminum trailer. I have a 3500HD Suburban on order and am looking at that 8218HWB so that I can leave 10-20% of that 10k hitch capacity as a cushion. Lastly the wheelbase on a Tahoe is pretty short so the shorter the trailer you get the less any sway will affect your tow vehicle,
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I thought the 3500 HD suburbans were beefed for armor, not towing capacity. GM listed them as a max tow of 3k? Do they make a different level for towing as well?


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RSQCON said:
Huh? Drive over fenders are meant to hold weight on them so there is no issue parking the Jeep with the tires up on the fender.
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I understand that however the drive over fenders on the trailers near me were 82" wide and my jeep is 83" wide. If you look at my pic my jeeps rear tires sit right at the fenders so I would have to either leave my jeep far back enough to not tie it down on the fenders or have only 1/2" per tire on the fenders to tie it down.... neither of which I thought would be safe. so for my application for the trailers I found in my area the drive over fenders didnt work.

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wjtstudios said:
I thought the 3500 HD suburbans were beefed for armor, not towing capacity. GM listed them as a max tow of 3k? Do they make a different level for towing as well?
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You are correct. I plan on taking mine to the DOT to challenge the rating using a 3500HD Silverado truck as a comparison. I have looked at many of the individual components including the engine, transmission, axles, brakes, wheels, tires, springs, torsion bars, etc etc and they are either identical or very similar. That truck in and extended cab long bed configuration (if I remember correctly) has a similar wheelbase to the Suburban and it's rated to tow 13.5k. There is a process for challenging DOT ratings but you have to get through all the weeds first.

Desertrunner I don't recall my width but all I do is drive one side up on the fender and keep the other one flat on the deck. Works like a charm. Yes theoretically you are not placing more weight on one side. To counter than I drive my driverside tires on the fender since the gas tank in all on the passenger side.
 
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RSQCON said:
Desertrunner I don't recall my width but all I do is drive one side up on the fender and keep the other one flat on the deck. Works like a charm. Yes theoretically you are not placing more weight on one side. To counter than I drive my driverside tires on the fender since the gas tank in all on the passenger side.
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That makes sence. This is my first trailer and the first time I have ever loaded a vehicle so it seemed easier to me to just find a trailer that my jeep would fit between the wheel wells. Definitely more than 1 way to get the job done though.

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