Pipe top vs angle top ATV trailer

Sold my Honda Foreman and bought a Pioneer-4 and need to buy a larger trailer.

Anyone have any input on good or bad with the top rails being pipe/round vs angle iron?

Thanks,
Charlie

I've had both and I prefer round top rails. The trailer I had with angle iron would flex and it eventually cracked several welds. Could have just been sloppy welds but I went with round when I got a bigger trailer. No problems so far and I haul everything from my tractor to 4 wheelers.

I like the angle tops with a heavy full length frame, essentially a car hauler with angle top rails. I like the angle top because it makes strapping easier, just wrap the strap and hook once all the way around the angle top and it's guaranteed not to fall off when hitting bumps. Pipe tops require hooking to the angle frame or tie downs which often can't be wrapped and may come unhooked on bumps. I've had too many instances where my load has moved because straps came loose. Most of what I tow is Jeeps and ATV's/SxS, and if not strapping around the tires or axles then you run a risk of the towed vehicles suspension squatting which is what allows the straps to come unhooked.

I like the round pipe top trailers.

Pipe top is gonna be more ridgid, I have seen some ange iron trailers made with 3/16 that are okay. Most angle iron trailers are 1/8" angle iron and will hold up fine for the small stuff. If you push your trailers to their weight limits often you don't wanna go that route

PigPig you needa strap on those goggles and weld some stake pockets onto the next pipe top you buy!

had both
one is about as good as the other.
just don't cheap out.
what is critical is what you tie down with.
this is no place to save money.
i cringe this time every year watching those
guys highballing down IH20 or IH45 with a
$15000.00 + utv strapped down with walmart
or harbor freight cheap a$$ tie downs and
no safety chain in sight.

oh well . . . hope they're well insured

Good point on the ratchet straps Maximum. I bought some top quality made in America straps with chains and hooks on the ends. Chains and ratchet binders for the tractor.

Still need to be careful buying pipe top trailers, there are a lot of pipe tips that don't have a good frame, yes they are a little more rigid, but often they cut weight where the customer doesn't see it.

I've got stake pockets, I just need to get the correct straps for them, and with the money I have invested in dozens of straps, I don't plan on replacing them anytime soon.

And what MAXIMUM said, still need to put a chain around you're load, if it has wheels, something will fail

Thanks for all the input. So I've decided on the pipe-top style, what do you guys think about an alternative to the 4ft drop gate as they have in the link below?

Dove tail UTV trailer

This one has a 2ft expanded metal dove tail on the trailer with a smaller drop gate. All of the 6 x 12 pipe-tops seem to be in the $1,250 range around here, this one was a little different plus it has a spare tire mount on the side.

Thanks,
Charlie

I prefer heavy gauge pipe or square tube top rails a wrapped tongue and a bi fold rear ramp.
Wrapped tongue is far stronger & makes for a more stable deck & less towing flex, bi fold ramp less wind resistance & better rear visibility.

Nothing wrong with the dovetail but you do lose flat floor space.

Just me, I spend whatever it takes to get the best built trailer I can find.
Nothing sucks worse than having the tongue welds or axle mount welds break going down the road loaded.

no top

Just make sure your machine's tires line up with the support on the gate...if not have them weld cross supports because you will bend and pop the cat walk stuff without supports behind it....don't ask me how I know

Cat walk stuff

you know, the cat walk stuff....don't know what its called but every cat walk I've ever seen that was what you walked across.

Oh and for tie downs...buy Fastrap tiedowns.

http://www.amazon.com/Green-Touch-Fastrap-Tie-down-Kit/dp/B000HZUVDE

Another thing to consider is what type of terrain you'll be towing the trailer through. That dovetail is going to drag a bunch. I've got a 6.5x12 pipe top Big Tex that I ended up doing a lift on because I was tired of it dragging so much. I'll second the idea of the bi-fold tailgate. It makes an enormous difference having it on there, but I added three more hinges to the fold to help disperse the load a little better.

This^^^ if I had it to do over again. We have a pipe top and I prefer it to angle, has plenty of stake pockets/D-loops to tie stuff down and you can hood around the pipe like you can an angle top also.

Had to haul my car with busted radiator and put it on/off our pipe top a couple times recently... im tired of crawling out the window of a darn car, no sides for the next trailer.

What's the length on that? That's what I'm wanting but need at least 24foot to make it worthwhile, what's the cost?

102x24 Gooseneck Equipment Trailer

-7000lb brake axles

-2 jacks 12000lb

-3ft dove tail

-spring assist ramps

-locking tool box

-10inch channel drive over fenders

-rub rail and chain pockets

-16inch 10pr tires RADIALS

- comes with spare

What's the Cost? $7k ??? Nice looking trailer for sure!

^^^

Worked with a angle iron topped trailers for years. Strapping is easy.

Starting using trailers with the pipe tops and I like them also. If you don't like running the hooks down to the bottom frame rail and are nervous about looping around the pipe back to the strap, do like we did. We dilled into the angle iron supporting the pipe and installed Eyebolts. You have a secure mounting point higher than the base rail. The pipe top seems to be stiffer.

Ended up buying a pipetop Big Tex trailer. To strap the Pioneer down, I bought a chock/e-track combo thing off of e-trailer to strap a front and rear wheel down to the floor.

Thanks,
Charlie

Did you get the bi-fold tailgate?

No, just the 1 piece, didn't know they had a bi-fold gate.

I seriously, seriously looked at a 12' w/ a 2'ft dovetail and 2ft ramp, it was $300+ dollars more, but I just couldn't justify the price difference. I was actually looking mine and considering how hard it would be to make the gate a bi-fold.

Charlie

Na good bit less

You're not missing out. The bi-fold as it comes from them is junk. If I had it to do all over again I would have just bought the regular tailgate and taken it somewhere to have a competent welder make it fold. It does make a difference in towing, but I don't know if it's enough to make it cost effective. It might be worth it to run it out to Ramball's place and see what it'd take to make it happen.

That Tiger trailer is nice. I have one of their early models, 2005, I think. Its been a dandy.

I built a nice atv trailer using an old boat trailer I bought for $100. It has a 3500 lb axle rating with torsion suspension, I just welded a 2in tube frame together for the floor and welded on expanded metal in the center with two 5/4 x 6 deck boards on each side. The floor is 6'wide x 15.5'long.
I'll post a couple pictures when I get home. I don't think I have $700 in the whole thing.

I bought a Tiger UTV trailer this last spring to haul the Ranger/ golf cart/mower with. Got the dove-tail gate. It makes it a dream to load the mower.


Gman

Here are a few pics of the atv trailer I built. Not shown is the E-track that I bolted down each side of the trailer for easily adjustable tie down points,and the water tight tool box that is mounted on the tongue of the trailer to carry the tie down straps-bungee cords-E track rings. I just use 6ft metal atv ramps to load them on the trailer,and strap them to the front of the trailer.







I over engineer things,and this trailer is no exception.It's not as light as I wanted it to be (1000 lbs empty),but it is solid as a rock,and it pulls like a dream.