High Quality Cargo Trailers

[HParfitt]

Hi,

Looking at a cargo trailer. Not looking for the cheap way out. Looking to get a good trailer with good build quality. It will be used mainly for motorcycle hauling, dirt & street bikes. Looking at adding an rv door and few creature comforts. Awning, air, ect. Most I'll ever haul is 4 bikes and gear so I've been looking at an 18'. I narrowed it down to trailers from 3 companies.

First the Wells Cargo Express Wagon an 8' trailer.

Second the Pace American Conquest a 7' trailer. It's listed as on the website as having an overall width of 7'4" basically it just has fenderettes. My wife liked this cause our old trailer was a 7', with what I'll call 7' axles. Meaning the wheels only stuck out about 1" past the sides of the body on each size. She felt very comfortable in construction zones ect. The trailer was basically as wide as the truck. Now the dealer says that the Conquest may only be available with 102" axles? Especially if I get an axle upgrade.

Third the Car Mate 800HD. An 8' Trailer.

I was initially looking at Haulmark, it's real easy to price one out on the net. My buddy just picked one up and I was looking around on the dealers lot. The dealer was a Haulmark & Car Mate dealer and stocked maybe 100 trailers. I thought the Haulmark build quality wasn't very good. Screws missing, doors rubbing, plywood interior fit was very poor. Little stuff but annoying none the less. The dealer said that for his money he went with a Car Mate. They looked to have very high build quality but I am a little skeptical about the wood framed walls.

What can anybody add from ownership experiences with these companies?

Is it worth upgrading from the base 3500# axles to 5200# or 6000#. I might be close to 7000# fully loaded, but not often. Probably mostly be running about 5000#. I was looking mostly at axle upgrades for bigger brakes and better tires. Both bigger diameter and heavier duty. Had a lot of problems with a race team that I ran with on a trailer with 3500# axles and 15" wheels. They also ran heavy but I thought an axle upgrade might be worth the $'s if your ordering a trailer.

Also what about torsion axles vs spring axles. I've towed a bunch of utility trailers from 14' to 28'. I always thought that spring axles towed great. The trailer seemed to ride very smooth. I recently towed a 24' with 6000# tandem torsion axles to bike week. My first experience with torsion suspension. It only had 3 bikes in it. I used this trailer since my 14' got wiped out in an accident sitting in my driveway by an 18 year old answering a cell phone the week before Daytona. Luckily no bikes were in it. Anyway the trailer was loaded very light but I thought it rode terrible. It seemed to bounce around much worse than any other trailer I evet towed. Also going over any bad bumps you seemed to get 2 distinct hits/jolts as opposed to the spring setup that seems to walk over bumps especially speed bumps. Everybody is telling me torsion is the way to go but I'm not convinced. Anybody with any experience comparing the 2?

I will be using it for about 12,000 miles per year.