Buyer Beware 7 Trailer Secrets Manufacturers Hide

get, but walk me through this, and then let's go through the aluminum one and show people that, and then make sure that we are comparing and contrasting because we need this to be an educational video, not a sales video. We want to make sure that the audience can understand what they're looking for when they're in the industry. So, walk me through it, Wade. All right, you guys. We're picking up a brand new utility trailer for our next giveaway. And one of the things that we're going to cover today is some of the secrets that the trailer companies really don't want you to know about utility trailers. They're not all made the same. You can go to any one of these big box stores now, and they're almost like a dime a dozen. But, you're you get what you pay for, and a lot of people don't understand what they're getting. So, I've came up to McGregor, Minnesota, to Flo Trailers, and I'm going to walk through the different options and what to look for when you are in the market for a utility trailer so that you can get your money's worth. So, without wasting any more time, let's do this thing. All right, guys. I'm with Don. How are you, Don? >> Good, Stan. Good to see you. >> So, Don and I go way back. We've always had fun together. So, we are going to be first looking at one of the most indestructible utility trailers that has ever been built, and that's the one I'm taking home for our next giveaway. >> Right. >> The rest of them won't be built like that, but what I do want to do is I want to show them this, and I also want to show them some of the things they need to look for when they're when they're in a market for a utility trailer so they understand exactly what they're getting into. Can you walk us through that? >> it can be hard to spot those things. Like you were just saying, the spectrum on how you know, from the bottom end to the high end is really a wide spectrum. Like, for example, if you go to a like a big box store, you're probably going to find the least expensive and the least quality trailers, steel trailers. They got a thin coat of paint on them. There's probably no aluminum wood deck. You know, they're fairly inexpensive. They're more disposable and quite affordable versus all the way up to, I guess, in the utility trailer realm to a flow type trailer. Um one of the things we've noticed in the utility trailer industry and probably other trailers, but you know, we're pretty active in in utilities, there's been a lot of consolidation with private equity groups buying a lot of the smaller privately owned companies that we've competed with for for decades in most cases. And a lot of them are still the same brand they used to be. Um but they're owned by an equity group. They're they might not be so focused on the customer and making the customer happy as they are the shareholder getting good value out of it. So >> So that's the relevance to that. >> And what, you know, what that can lead to sometimes is cost-cutting. And some of it's easy to spot, and some of it isn't. Like something that's easy is if you took a aluminum deck like we have on our UT trailer line over here. >> Okay. >> Uh this is one of our demos. It's not the prettiest, but we've been using it. But an all aluminum deck, what we see a lot of times is an a manufacturer will switch it over to wood. All right, it's a lot less money. I get it. We're all like things are so much money and they cost so much right now. How can I make my money go further? So I understand that they're doing that. Of course, the wood's not going to last as long and the overall value probably not as good. >> Okay. >> Um we have stuck with aluminum on that. >> So you don't offer wood at all on your trailers? >> No. >> Now how long have you been doing this for though, Don? >> Well, so we've been building trailers from the snowmobile style aluminum trailers for 42 years. These aluminum style utility trailers are we're 20 years into our Cargo Max and I think about 24 into an all aluminum utility. >> So this is the Cargo Max? >> This is the Cargo Max. >> We've been doing it for 20 years. >> This is the famous one that I ran over with Josh the Stony Ridge farmer with that lull right there. That's the one. So, your bed on this thing is let's walk through this because this is a one-of-a-kind. This is the unicorn in the industry. You have the world's largest polymer forming machine behind that wall over there, if I remember correctly. Am I right? >> Yes, it's a huge thermoforming machine that will take a poly or any other kind of polymer. It'll polyethylene is what we use, but up to 25 ft long. >> So, here's their forms for their beds, and here's the world's largest thermoformer, right? >> Right. >> Right here. And this is the oven itself right here. >> oven. It's a three-stage rotary. This thing's a big carousel. But you're bringing back memories for me now, Stan, because yeah, you and Josh from Stony Ridge were here a while back and we ran it over with that. We didn't really know what was going to happen, but incredibly it didn't break it, right? But that moment, cuz early on in the let's say go back to 18-20 years ago when we got this. One of the biggest things we heard was that it probably isn't going to be durable enough. They see plastic, right? Well, these polymers nowadays are so indestructible, and we had a little bit of a challenge getting that out. You and you and Josh helped completely solve that problem. I get people telling me now how durable they are. >> Mhm. >> Instead of the other way. So, we've solved that here. >> started when one of your customers, I love this story, had a tree fall on his on his trailer and it dented it. The trailer insurance company came out. They totaled out the trailer. He pulled the tree off from it. It sat in the sun for a day and he came back and it had reshaped itself back. And he didn't have to do anything else with the trailer. >> I haven't thought about that in a while, but that's exactly what happened. [laughter] Good memory. That was a big tree that fell over it. He thought somebody replaced the trailer or [laughter] there. >> All right. So, this is kind of like the upper echelon of what you're going to get, but walk me through this and then let's go through the aluminum one and show people that and then make sure that we are comparing and contrasting because we need this to be an educational video, not a sales video. We want to make sure that the audience can understand what they're looking for when they're in the industry. So, walk me through it, William. >> Yeah. Well, on this particular trailer on the Cargo Max, it's it's hard to compare cuz this is the only one in the industry that's got a one-piece molded polymer bed. >> Okay. Yep. >> Um it's kind of a standalone trailer. It looks different. It basically functions the same, but it's got a cosmetic appearance to it that it's kind of a traffic stopper or a show stopper. Anytime I'm at a gas station with one of these, somebody's got to come up and ask me about it from a cosmetic standpoint. They never do that on the style that everybody does. >> Mhm. >> But so, you know, from that standpoint, it's it really stands out in the crowd. The ultra durability of it of this bed is over an all-aluminum frame. >> Okay. >> Okay. >> We don't do any steel frames. It's all aluminum, full welded on all sides of every weld. We use a rubber torsion suspension. If you look down there, you'll see that it's a a galvanized axle instead of a painted axle, so it's high quality. >> Okay. So, look at the axles and you're going to want to make sure cuz a galvanized is where they hot dip this thing in What is it? 800° >> I don't know the temperature cuz I never get asked that, but yes, they galvanize it. It's much more long-lasting than a a painted version would be. >> Right. And I'll look up the process and put that in here. >> First, the steel is cleaned in a series of chemical baths that strip away the oil, grease, rust, and mill scale leaving behind bare raw steel. Second step is next it's lowered into a kettle of molten zinc, heated to roughly 830° F. Third, then the zinc doesn't just coat the steel, it actually bonds with it, creating a tough protective layer that's part of the metal itself. And the reason why this is so important is because it creates a sacrificial shield that will protect the steel from rust for decades. typical axle. So, and the axle is where the rubber meets the road, so to speak. It It really is one of the most important things to look at when you're looking at this. >> Yeah, and most people just don't do what you just did there. >> And I'm going to jump in here before we keep going too far. As we look at the wheels, these are not upgraded wheels. This is the standard that FLO offers. So, you have different wheel and rim options as well, as well as the tire rating on the wheels themselves. Make sure you look at the load rating of the tires because that's going to affect the overall performance of how a utility trailer holds up. So, it's the axles, it's the rims for aesthetic purposes, and the tire rating itself. >> And while while people are looking down the other thing you want to look for on your trailer is the wiring system. >> Okay. >> So, our wires are all run through an automotive conduit, and they're inside the trailer frame. And there's a lot of the the lower cost versions that may have wires actually dangling around that you're going to have fall off and get >> So, your your wiring is inside of this framework? >> It's inside. You I mean, you can see where it has to come out of the tongue into the tube. And then back here comes out of that tube into that tube, but it's 99% all within the trailer frame. >> So, it's protected? >> It's protected from the elements, and it You know, if you take it off-road, or you're in the woods, or out out hunting, or whatever, you're not going to catch your wiring and rip it off. >> You very rarely see that, Don. I mean, realistically, you guys, I've I've only seen that on a higher end trailers where they ever have it enclosed like that and very few and far between if that. >> LED lights which I think are pretty much standard in the industry. Maybe there's some real low end that have LED or incandescent but I think LEDs are are pretty standard. But one of the things we do is we mount the light inside of the extrusion so that if you were to back your trailer into something you're not going to hit the light, you're going to hit your frame. You're not going to break it off. >> you're protected here. >> Yeah. >> The light is actually not flush, it's actually >> It's indented. >> It's indented so you got to legitimately have something hit it just like that to be able to break that light. >> of them are mounted on the outside. >> Yeah. >> So they're really easy they're exposed, right? You can back it into something and they're easy to damage. >> Okay. So look at where your lights are mounted, look at your wiring, those are important things. The galvanized or the axles are good. >> Other quality like right here for example. You can see how we actually polish that up. This There's some labor that's involved. One of the things I've noticed in the industry right now with cost cutting is they've stopped deburring edges. What I would call critical edges where somebody could >> Yeah. >> literally cut themselves on that. >> Absolutely. It seems like a little thing but it's not a little thing. >> And and you don't notice it unless you look for it. If you If you were to you know rub your finger on that hard on some of the competitors, yeah it's not good. >> And we're going to jump in here because not all ramps are made equal. Besides the deburring factor now this is a double bi-fold ramp. Is that the right way to say it, Don? >> I think you could just go with bi-fold. >> Okay. Bi-fold. Yeah, I guess double bi-fold would be the Polish way of saying it. >> I know some smart Polish people so I don't I don't know. The reason why we've we have it bi-fold standard, some of them they don't and they're really high. >> Mhm. >> And even though this looks like it would let all the wind pass through, it's amazing how much wind drag you can get even up a wrong ramp if it's up 6 7 ft in the air like you see in some of them. >> Two other things while we're on this side of this trailer that I want to show, and that is these uh back jack stands. >> Yeah, there's some some rear jack stand supports that you can use to I don't need to put it all the way together, but essentially, that just makes it so that when you're loading heavier equipment on that ramp, it's not pulling up on the back of your vehicle and possibly popping the tongue off off the ball hitch. >> So, that's something else to look for. And then, as we look at the actual ramp itself, there's another thing too that I want to point out, and that's this right here cuz this is designed to help you haul material. >> Yeah, this lower part, you can see this that kind of solidifies between the first two or three rungs. >> Yep. >> We call that the gatekeeper. It's an option. It's great if you're hauling aggregate, anything that could be loose and fall out the back. So, we went ahead and put that on the one that you're giving away in your promo deal. >> And that's an option with Flo. >> Right. >> But, if that's something if you guys are going to be hauling loose material, make sure that this because otherwise it's just going to blow straight out the back. There's There's not going to be any wind resistance. >> Especially if it's anything that could be bolts and rocks and stuff like that, you got to be careful. >> Yep. >> Other things that we did, I was telling you earlier, Stan, that we've got one of these trailers on the road in Canada, and this guy drives it back and forth a lot to his his cabin a 150 mi away on the rugged roads. Much of it is um washboard gravel, and we'll bring it in here every now and then and look at that frame and find out where stress cracks could start. >> Okay. >> And it helps us learn where okay, we can we can make this stronger or that stronger. It's actually led to different gusseting underneath here. And it it's really our way of staying completely in tune with the real world and harsh harsh environments so that we can make sure we're delivering something that's going to last for decades. >> So, as I'm looking at it, Don, when I look at this weld, I see that you have it aluminum welded all the way around. >> Right. >> Are you telling me that other companies don't do that? >> I think there's a lot of them that might weld two sides instead of four on a lot of tube. Um we we just make it a habit here. It's basically if it's structural on the frame and it can be welded, then it is. >> I've seen trailers where they're welded and it looks like I welded it. And that is not bragging rights. >> You're not a good welder? >> I suck at welding. My dad had me do all the welding when I was a kid. [laughter] And so, when you're forced to do something, you tend to hate it. And so, my welding was all right, I'll just burn it until it's until there's enough glob on it. And I've seen trailers actually built like that. I did one where down in Iowa where it was a Horizon trailer versus another company's trailer. I'm not going to say the name of it. I think it was started with a P and ended with a J, but I don't remember any of the other letters in the name. >> you. >> And >> [laughter] >> that thing that thing just it was everywhere. It was flak everywhere. It was just something something to behold and not in a good way, Don. >> sure you could be a great welder if you wanted to, you know, if this didn't work out for you. We could teach you. >> [laughter] >> You know, we've been welding stuff for 43 years. Lots of trailers. We build tens of thousands of aluminum dock sections every year as well. So, we've got outstanding welding talent on board. And I'll be honest, we have some of it some of the more repetitious ones are are done with automated machinery. >> Can we look at the aluminum trailer because this is, you know, we've looked at the unicorn, but this is where guys if they're looking at a utility trailer. And as we look at this, Don, what are the features that we need to point out? I mean, here's something else that you guys do different that nobody else does. It's right here. Will you demonstrate that for me, Don? Grab that rack and just shake the heck out of that thing like you hate it, will you? >> Yeah, one of the things we noticed that is if you do this with most trailers, >> Mhm. >> it will rattle horribly, which means when you're going down a road that's rough at all. And so, when we were looking at coming out with a high-end all-aluminum utility trailers, we said, "We got to do something about this." This is basically a problem in Right? I just I just removed these. They're basically bolt parts. >> Yeah. >> And you can see the difference, right? And this what this is is it's a a ramp so that you can take the other one off that side and you can side load an ATV and you can load, you know, a side-by-side or other ATVs or whatever equipment from the rear. But it's a small thing like that where the the noise of it was driving people nuts when we talked to people about what they liked and didn't like about like about their trailers that were out there. >> Yep. >> So, that simple little feature right there is a stand I don't know anybody else that that does that. Um side steps as a standard. Most of these utility trailers don't have a side step on them. And you know, people are buying them, they don't even really think about it and they don't get in it. But as soon as you get home and you pull your UTV in and you're trying to get out, you know, I'm still fairly agile, but I'm [clears throat] I'm going to step on the step every time. >> Right. >> You know, there's just no doubt about it. It's just a lot easier >> Creature features actually go a long way. If this is going to be a trailer that you're not going to be trading in like you trade in your underwear. Like if you are dedicated to using this thing for the long haul, it's those little things that make it a more comfortable, enjoyable experience. But if you're just going to use it for a year or 2 years and and hump it and dump it, then you know, then you're going to cut corners and you're going to be cheap on it. I want to look at the axle on this one, Don. >> Yeah. Yeah, you galvanized it. You passed the test. >> Yeah, that and this one's a demo that I don't know how long it's been in service. I could probably see, but the employees use this one and it it gets a lot of use and you you can see that axle still still looks really good. >> So, this is a used trailer, so >> was It's a It's a 2019. >> A 2019 trailer is 7 years old. >> It's getting northern Minnesota wear and tear by 200 people on a regular basis. >> So, this isn't just used by one person. You have 200 people that regularly check this out and use it with no concern about how they put it back. Because they don't own it. It's like a race car, right? >> Or a rental car. >> A rental car. They're just driving it like they you know, like it's their worst enemy. >> Another feature,…