Guide to Buying an Enclosed Trailer
Investing in a new trailer for your business or your home can be stressful. You’re spending quite a bit of cash on a trailer you expect to last through years of hard work. The money you put into a new trailer can make the purchase taxing, particularly when buying an enclosed trailer, which are often pricier than traditional open utility trailers.
Here at M&G Trailer Sales, we want to make sure you leave with the perfect trailer. We’ll help you buy an enclosed trailer you can depend on by giving a few helpful hints in this buying guide. From build quality to color schemes and branding, we’re going over all of the most important things to consider when buying an enclosed trailer.
Enclosed Trailer Basics
Enclosed trailers, also known as cargo trailers, are exactly what they sound like. They’re fully covered trailers with four walls built to be towed behind your vehicle. Enclosed trailers are often made of aluminum, steel or galvanized steel.
They’re very versatile, with many potential uses. They can be used to haul large items, like ATVs, or small items, like landscaping equipment. Enclosed trailers can be modified on the inside to fit your needs. They sometimes come with options like interior/exterior lighting, windows, side doors and more.
Benefits of Buying an Enclosed Trailer
There are many benefits of buying an enclosed trailer. The most common among these are storage, protection and security.
With side walls where shelving can be installed and a roof from which equipment can hang, enclosed trailers allow you to maximize storage space. Additionally, the fully covered style protects your items from both weather and theft. Enclosed trailers protect your equipment from rain, snow, sun, dirt and other potentially degrading elements. At the same time, they provide an added level of security. When you lock your trailer doors, it becomes very difficult for anyone to steal whatever is inside. Enclosed trailers provide much more safety and security compared to other open trailer styles.
Considerations for Buying an Enclosed Trailer
Trailer Size
The first thing to think about when buying an enclosed trailer is size. They can be anywhere from eight to 32 feet long, with many options in between. You’ll need to think about everything you plan to tow or store in your trailer. Additionally, you have to think about the weight your truck can handle and whether you’d need a specialized license to drive an extra heavy trailer.
Axle Number and Type
Your next question is about axles – one or two? To do this, you need to think about how much you want to spend, how big are the items you plan to tow and what kind of roads you’ll drive on. Although tandem axle trailers, or trailers with two axles, have a higher price tag than single axle trailers. On the other hand, tandem axle trailers are more stable on rough roads and are able to handle more weight than single axle trailers.
Aside from the number of axles, you’ll need to think about axle type. The two most popular axle designs are leaf spring and torsion axles. Leaf spring axles use metal springs and are heavier, where torsion axles use rubber springs and take up less space. If you’re planning to tow lighter loads, consider a torsion axle over a leaf spring axle.
Check the Details
There are quite a few small things that might warrant your attention when buying an enclosed trailer. We’ll cover some of the most important in this section. The first detail to look at is the exterior build. Choose .030” or thicker aluminum panels to ensure your trailer will hold up through years of heavy duty use.
Next, take a look at the flooring. Less expensive trailers might come with a plywood floor, which will work for a while. But we recommend trailers with a more durable floor, likely to last much longer. This would be flooring by brands like Drymax or Advantech, which will hold up much longer when faced with water, dirt, scratches and more.
The last miscellaneous detail we’ll go over is the exterior panel fasteners. Screwless panels might look cleaner and make sticking on decals much easier, but they come with risks. Screwless panels on an economy trailer have been known to come completely off. If you want a screwless exterior, make sure you’re investing in a high-quality trailer.
Trailer Design
Most enclosed trailers are black or white, but M&G has sold trailers in tons of colors – yellow, orange, blue, green and even pink! Additionally, if you plan to use your trailer for business purposes, consider getting a custom design. Talk to your M&G salesperson about how to get your business colors, name, logo and phone number on the side of your new enclosed trailer.
Now that you know what to look for and what to avoid, you’re ready to buy an enclosed trailer. Our sales team at M&G can take it from here. We’ll help you identify the perfect trailer for your business or home and walk you through the entire buying process. We even offer rentals if you aren’t ready to buy today, as well as financing options to help you afford your new trailer.
Once you have your new trailer, we offer upgrades and installations. If you’ve got an older trailer in need of repairs, we can help with that too! Everything from simple fixes to full re-paneling, our service team can execute it.
Browse our enclosed trailer inventory online or visit us in person at our Ramsey, Minnesota, dealership. Call us, message us on Facebook, or fill out a contact form here to get started!