I stopped to check this out on my way home today.
Id like to have an aluminum one, so I was pretty interested at first.
Closer inspection wasn't good. I know they're prone to cracking.
The frame cracks forward of the fenders were what concerned me the most. I suspect a contributing factor is the fact that the trailer has no suspension. The axles are bolted directly to the underside with no springs.
I am aware that some car haulers don't have suspensions, but I looked at the straps in the box, and it appears that they tied down whatever they were trailering directly to tow hooks. That would result in steady upward pressure on each end of the trailer and since the suspension on the vehicle on the trailer couldn't move either, the stress resulted in the frame cracking.
I've never seen a trailer with no suspension. First for everything. Sure they weren't torsion axles?
Either way, I'd agree that's a pass unless really cheap.
In reply to Spearfishin :
I have an old trailer, like 1970's old, that was custom built for a racecar. It doesn't have springs. Only suspension is the air in the tires. Tows pretty well loaded but unloaded it will bounce pretty bad on rough roads. Don't use it very often for that reason.
drock25too said:
In reply to Spearfishin :
I have an old trailer, like 1970's old, that was custom built for a racecar. It doesn't have springs. Only suspension is the air in the tires. Tows pretty well loaded but unloaded it will bounce pretty bad on rough roads. Don't use it very often for that reason.
I've got an f550 that, unloaded, functionally only has the air in the tires as suspension. 100+ psi is a little stiff!
In reply to Spearfishin :
Seen a ton of 'em built (and used) for cars. Keeps 'em nice and low.
But an ALUMINUM one? 
Um, yea. Really bad plan.
In reply to Floating Doc (Forum Supporter) :
I'd be interested in fixing that... or attempting to. But since scrap aluminum would pay him several times more than me, I won't get to find out. 
That's what you'll find on most every aluminum trailer that actually gets used. The ones that don't crack are likely towed to PCA events 4 times a year. Sorry, but it's the truth. I've had at least 10 open trailers over the years and only tried an aluminum one one time. It was a Trailex and wasn't welded, but bolted together and made from numerous aluminum extrusions and LOTS of 3/8" bolts. My friends who bought aluminum trailers, some were incredibly expensive too, most experienced the cracking you see in the pictures at some point. There really isn't any advantage to an aluminum trailer vs steel construction. You need to use heavier gauge materials(thicker wall tubing), extra bracing, gussets & corner reinforcements to make them strong enough not to bend when loaded. At the end of the day, the weight savings is usually 200# for a comparable size trailer. The price though is usually twice what the steel trailer sells for. I would buy a steel trailer to use every day and an aluminum one to use a few times per year to impress my friends at the track. Sorry if this offends anyone, it's just been my observation over the last 40 years.
Here's a high-end aluminum trailer manufacturers website. https://alumaklm.com/products/
Here's a local to me small-volume trailer manufacturer and who I've bought my last 2 open trailers from. http://www.econotrailer.com
lotusseven7 (Forum Supporter) said:
It was a Trailex and wasn't welded, but bolted together and made from numerous aluminum extrusions and LOTS of 3/8" bolts.
The Trailexes are substantially lighter than steel trailers, but the welded ones aren't. I'm told it's because welding aluminum removes the heat treatment and nobody has an oven big enough to re-treat an entire trailer. Since the Trailex is bolted it never loses the original heat treat on the extrusions, so they don't need as much material.
