I've found a used 16' steel deck car trailer for $3,100. It has ramps, a winch, and looks to be in great shape. It feels like a short time ago this would have been on the high end for a used trailer, but now I can't seem to find them for much less no matter how ratty they are. Is this as good a deal as I think it is?
I picked up a fairly abused 18' with wood deck for 2k last year without a winch, so 3k for steel deck with a winch sounds like a deal to me
I thought $3,100 was high until I did a bunch of giggle searches. Now it looks like a screaming deal.
The seller just informed me it doesn't have any brakes, so now I gotta do a little digging on the price of adding them. Here's the ad:
https://knoxville.craigslist.org/tro/d/walland-car-hauler/7513044240.html
Brakes are pretty cheap, as long as it has a standard axle of some sort.
There's one in a yard down the block, "free", that looks like it sat in seawater for about six months. Point being, desired condition, use, luck, and where you're located will matter a lot.
as much as new trailers
I sold a 16' enclosed for $3500 that was 25 years old and ratty as hell.
I searched for a year or so for a new trailer before finally deciding that these trailers brand new were a lot more value than the junk I was seeing on marketplace for almost the same money: http://www.econotrailer.com/Open.html
I've had mine about 9 months now and it rides really nice and stable, the paint could be more durable but other than that I have few complaints.
Saving money buying a used trailer doesn't save any money.
You are buying delayed maintenance for sure and most likely settling for less than you really want.
Having built so many race car trailers in my life. Some of what seems like a good deal or desirable isn't.
The more basic, fewer needed stuff the better. Wood deck is a no-no. Enclosed trailers may have advantages but they have more disadvantages than advantages over time.
Steel rusts. And every trailer company I know buys the least expensive stuff they can get away with. Using thicker to meet strength requirements. Thicker means heavier and worse fuel mileage, bigger tow vehicle.
There are so many new, good, aluminum trailers out there that's what I would buy. ( if I couldn't build my own for less than 1/2 of what they sell for).
If you don't have sufficient cash for new interest rates are still really cheap and likely less than inflation.
I paid $650 for mine brand new picked up at the factory in East Texas.
But that was about 20 years ago.
A different opinion than Frenchy...
I have work trailers with wooden decks that are 20 years old. No rot because I treat them every couple of years.
And, for my race car I love the enclosed trailer for 70 mph drives in the rain, and overnight at Hotel parking lots.
Of course of the 5 trailers in my yard the one I built myself for a special purpose is still the best one.
YMMV
frenchyd said:Saving money buying a used trailer doesn't ALWAYS save any money.
You (are) MIGHT BE buying delayed maintenance (for sure) and (most likely) POSSIBLY settling for less than you really want.
F has some very good info. to consider in making a decision. Most of the info is correct.
except:
Wood deck trailers are a perfectly acceptable option. Sometime way better (better to avoid "absolute " statements... they seldom are) There are considerations, and those even differ by type of wood.
I fixed his opening "absolute" statements, above 
As to price, I can no longer predict crazy!
3 years ago, that price was acceptable for a really good trailer, but lots of lower priced deals you'd of not regretted.
Now? Still cheaper stuff available, but you might regret it 
Brakes are easy. Cheap option is to disassemble, order needed parts on line, and only replace the needed parts. It's just an extremely simple drum brake, a lot of us grew up with!
The "easy button" , although more expensive (sometimes worth it - I've done both!) you can buy fully loaded backing plates, and swap em out. But it might be a simple as a broken wire to the brakes. Pick a wheel at random, and pull the hub (super easy!) if it ain't a rusty pile of parts inside, repair ain't bad.
All fair points. Thanks everyone.
I really need a trailer with a full deck with adjustable width ramps, since it will be hauling hay and tractors along with cars. I don't have a strong preference between wood and steel, but it seems that steel usually goes for more. Generally, I like buying new, but I can't really find many new trailers for less than $3,500 at a minimum, and I feel like new trailer and good used trailer quality is kind of a wash - I recall a thread a while back complaining about the horrid build quality of new trailers.
However, if anyone is aware of any trailer stores selling new car trailers for $3,000 in the Western NC/ Upstate SC / Eastern TN region, I'd love to hear about them.
I've been watching, waiting for some time. $3100 seems very reasonable from my searches.
In reply to AMiataCalledSteve :
Back in the '80s, one of my dads friends (we were all still in VA back then) found a place in the Carolina's, selling the trailers, they were building, at wholesale prices. Drove down to stack a few, to tow back to sell, and was planning on my dad towing some back the next trip.
Came home empty handed 'cause he wouldn't buy the corner cutting junk they were pretending were trailers. It's not just the "new" new trailers. Always been more questionable ones than good ones!!!
03Panther said:frenchyd said:Saving money buying a used trailer doesn't ALWAYS save any money.
You (are) MIGHT BE buying delayed maintenance (for sure) and (most likely) POSSIBLY settling for less than you really want.F has some very good info. to consider in making a decision. Most of the info is correct.
except:
Wood deck trailers are a perfectly acceptable option. Sometime way better (better to avoid "absolute " statements... they seldom are) There are considerations, and those even differ by type of wood.
I fixed his opening "absolute" statements, above
Wood is scary. I can/ could buy old growth white Oak cheaper than most can buy plantation grown pine.
Bolt old growth white oak to steel and the bolt plus the steel it's laid on will decay as quickly as plantation grown pine.
Put that same old growth White oak on stainless steel or aluminum and you have a perfectly acceptable decking.
You will never get me to endorse plantation grown pine. 4 growth rings to the inch?
In reply to AMiataCalledSteve :
If you have skills. A weekend can produce a nice trailer. Or could a few years ago. Now it might take me a week.
Stop trying to think of a simple platform. Add Some dimension to that and that depth provides strength while reducing weight. Reduce weight and lower costs. Stiffen that thinner material with sheet metal or carbon fiber and it gets lighter and stiffer.
I think a nice one could be produced in your budget. Maybe less. Depends on your abilities at finding good deals.
In reply to frenchyd :
I'm sorry you have such issues with wood.
I've had excellent luck with it. My pressure treated trailer floor lasted 20 years before I replaced it.
It worked fine, at a reasonable cost.
As much as I would like a steel or aluminum deck, wood meets my needs better.
I use my trailer frequently, for all kinds of different loads. A wood deck lets me screw cleats to it to help secure odd loads when I need to.
In reply to SV reX :
If you needed it to nail or screw into then yes it worked. If you wanted to reduce slipping and sliding Wood can help do that as well. However there is little strength in 2 by wood especially plantation grown pine. Treating it may provide the protection from normal decay but you could achieve that as well with ordinary paint and periodic reapplications. If wood was right, then trailers could be made with it.
I'm not condemning wood. During WW2 the British Mosquito which was made of wood and went over 400 mph With a pair of Rolls Royce V12's in the Nacelles So properly engineered there can be great strength in wood. Likely Sitka Spruce. Then there was the Spruce Goose. Further proof of its potential. Light and strong!!!
If I lived closer to Alaska I'd be tempted to build a wooden trailer simply to prove the concept. I do appreciate wood, only a few glances at my home should confirm that.
My prime objection to wood on trailers is the weight you are forced to add to a trailer to use wood. That added weight forces you to use a bigger less efficient vehicle to tow a relatively light weight.
Frenchyd:Wood is scary. I can/ could buy old growth white Oak cheaper than most can buy plantation grown pine.
You will never get me to endorse plantation grown pine. 4 growth rings to the inch?
White oak ( of any growth) goes for around $5 / bf 'round here. DOT requires white oak. No pine allowed, treated or not.
Your bad experience with wood is probably different than 99% of the people I know with trailer decking.
Does that mean all the people having satisfactory results with any of the wood decks are using magic?
Or maybe absolute statements are probably not good conversational advice habits?
Wood, even the junk F will not endorse ( he's right there... it is pitiful what the get away with selling ) is not scary. It's, well, one way to skin a cat. Is it ideal? No.
Is steel ideal? Well no, but it is a bit more forgiving on maint.
Is SS ideal? It ain't bad, but it's heavy, and unbelievably expensive.
Is Aluminum ideal? It's good stuff. Relatively light, but expensive, and harder to build with. Unless you have a great welder handy 
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