Trailer for lugging your stuff around to shows?

Sam & Oliver

Sam & Oliver

I've never owned one, but they are a bit expensive.  Someone told me to make sure the wheel bearings, axel and wiring was in good shape if buying used... as well as any cracks in the fiberglass.
 
I'd be getting it wrapped with the company colors and logo, so I don't mind what color it is to start with... but is a 5x9 a good starting size?  I figured I Would need to bring about 20 cases of product, a table, ez up, chair and the other artifacts of setting up a booth.  Also figured I could use this as a storage device when NOT at a show.
 
Are there pitfalls to using a trailer at a show?  (limited space, restrictions) - do some ban trailers?  As I only have a Challenger as a vehicle, I wanted to get a detachable hitch for it, and a trailer since I can use the car as an attraction (since it is a show car anyway) and get vinyl work on the car to promote and attract (if they let me park the car next to the booth) - this is the typical setup at car shows for vendors... they set up the booth/area and park their show vehicles on one or both sides to lure people towards them, then park the trailer behind their tent area for easy access to cargo.
 
I understand some venues may not allow cars parked on the grounds if it's tight for space, but I wanted to have that option.
 
Sort by date Sort by votes
Hauling was one of those unexpected things for me at 1st. Fortunately I had a small wagon, but rapidly outgrew it.

My friend's dad willed me a van, which as you know I've since replaced with the Transit.

I considered a truck/trailer when I didn't think if be able to get a good value on a used Transit, but they were expensive, and for what I do, not as practical.

Many of my FM's are "park behind your booth" - truck/trailer is too long for that.

For festivals it's not as much of a concern because you'll be parking off-site.

Other considerations are the wear & tear a trailer will put on your vehicle. I know HP isn't an issue for you, but it's not great on a regular vehicle to pull that much weight. Figure sauce weighs ~8-9 lbs/CS. At a strong festival you might move 50-60 CS in 2 days. That's ~500-600 lbs, plus your tent, tables, cooler, signage, handwashing set-up, shirts, etc. All told you'll be hauling ~1000 lbs - which isn't ideal for a passenger vehicle on a regular basis.

And, as you mentioned, quality trailers are not cheap.

That all said, it's not a bd solution. If this is a "once in a while" thing you might want to shop around for a beater pickup truck - you might find one for a hell of a lot less than a tow-behind trailer.

A good question to ask yourself on purchases like this is "how much hot sauce will I have to sell to pay for this?"

That reality check keeps me from buying a lot of things. :rofl:
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
There are many sizes out there. Knowing what your space needs is important. What do you consider being the largest item being placed in the trailer?
 
   Some of our local markets have the space to where you can drop off your trailer at your selling location and simply park your wheels elsewhere. This way all your stuff is there and in case of inclement weather quick stowaway is readily available.
  In our surrounding area a used 8 footer runs between 1200-2700 and can be found at many auctions or even something a tad smaller could fit the bill without being a burden on your drivetrain like below.
My regular transportation is my F150 4x4 so hauling generally isn't a issue for me. (although you tend to be the family couch/fridge/rider-mower mover...haha)
 

Homesteader 4x6 Single Axle Enclosed w/ Single Rear Door $1,399.00
Homesteader_4x6_Single_Axle_Enclosed_w_Single_Rear_Door__vMuduk.jpg

 
Ultimately it's about your budget and overall needs but in the same breath appearance to some people means alot when buying from someone.
   I realize this is just a consideration for you but the more info the better the judgement.
 
 
OhoHeat
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
I imagine that 6' would be cutting it way too close and it really doesn't allow for expansion if needed in the future but if a smaller or mid-sized vehicle is being used one has limited options.
  Personally I wish I had the problem of deciding this as I can't even think about going fulltime with the items I enjoy making. Can't give up 20+ years and pension :(  to pursue a wonderful dream.....come on lottery....hahahaha
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
OhioHeat said:
Can't give up 20+ years and pension :(  to pursue a wonderful dream.....come on lottery....hahahaha
Click to expand...
Most don't go full time.

I'm one of the crazy ones - it occurred to me that I'd never get anywhere with it on a part time basis so I went all-in.

Ah well - I guess I could always get another job In project management if I had to. Man I hope it never comes to that.
;)
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
don't forget, the ez up doesn't have to lay flat.  6 feet long and 4 feet high can store about 7 feet, 3 inches on a diagonal, either across the floor of across the side.
 
I can't haul a 10 footer with my car.  I may have to get a used trailer and wrap/vinyl it up to look nice, then sell it if/when I decide to expand.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
Heck yeah, why not? Trailers are handy to have around for all kinds of things. I've bought a couple of them just to move, then sold them for a profit after I was done with them. You can't go wrong if you get one for a good deal. They're not like cars. They have very few important parts which are cheap and easy to service/replace.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
It's about capacity at this point for the hot sauce biz unless you really do have a rural-suburban situation that could utilize a trailer.  An old beat-up truck with canopy can have the same carrying capacity of a MiniVan.  Vans trump SUV's till day's end for capacity.  SUV with a small trailer= Same capacity as a MiniVan or FullVan.  Trailer = more wheels, more fuss.
 
Unless the vehicle can be OnSite (parked at your booth at the FM which is usually not the case, and the graphics can pay off by being seen..) ...Buying a fancy schmancy Blinged Out Trailer is a waste of money until a certain level of business is attained or you are attending a lot of BIG-time functions where your vehicle is judged before the main event cooking comp is judged.... 
 
 
I've done the FM out of the back of a truck and out of a van, both with the vehicle in the booth and with the vehicle removed.  Don't know if your current car is rated to pull a trailer, the next best option IMHO is a van of some sort.  Mini-van or cargo-van... you can find a minivan (which you can stuff a WHOLE LOT OF SCHTUFF_INTO ) for very reasonable prices.  If you can park the vehicle in the FM spot, the tailgate of the van does work for rain protection and tie off the umbrella or canopy.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
salsalady said:
.  Vans trump SUV's till day's end for capacity.  SUV with a small trailer= Same capacity as a MiniVan 
 
 
 
Click to expand...
 
Say what? You must be talking about one of those little glorified station wagons (or "crossover") type of SUVs?
 
I used to rock a full size 1 ton van for work. That thing was great, but no 4wd was a deal breaker. If 4wd 1 ton vans were common I would have one.
 
The nice thing about a trailer is being able to drop it in the driveway and go about your business without hauling all that crap around when you don't need it. For the price of a really nice small trailer you could either get a really nice small trailer, or you could get an old POS minivan that I wouldn't trust to get me from A to B. Not to mention the extra insurance and maintenance and such of having a second vehicle.
 
Something tells me if Kalitarios' daily driver is a (show car) Challenger, he's not going to dump it for a minivan...
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
Let's face it: dude needs a practical vehicle.

Kalitarios - if you have any inclination of growing your business, get a business appropriate vehicle.

Sure, you can get a tiny trailer and install a tow package on your showcar, but it's not practical, undersized, not scalable and will put significant wear & tear on your fancy car.

Instead of spending $2-3k on a trailer/tow package, consider buying a POS truck or minivan and you'll have a practical rig for whatever FM, festival or show you're doing.

Right now you're shoving a round peg into a square hole & looking for a sledgehammer to force it in. I think it'd be a huge mistake when you can spend the same amount of $ and get a business-specific vehicle.

Don't mean to rant but I also believe in cutting to the chase. I get the whole 'wanting to do something on the cheap', but you're talking about launching a business here. Like I said - I very quickly outgrew my subaru wagon (like 3 markets) and moved into a POS van. That provided a ton of flexibility that a car+trailer would not afford me.

Don't take my word for it. Do your own SWOT analysis - consider The ramifications of spending the money on a small trailer then outgrowing it. Then you've gotta buy something bigger. I'm assuming you're not starting a business to not grow, right? So if your sauce takes off and you need greater capacity, will you be able to tow more behind your nice car? Do you want your nice car getting kicked around festivals or markets?

What about renting a van? I have a market neighbor that gets a van from u-haul - they have a regular job and they sling product on weekends. They figured out that $19.95 a day was more practical than buying a van, and they get a reliable means of hauling a ton of stuff every week. And unlike buying a trailer or vehicle, if they don't have a market that weekend they don't spend a penny.

Before you go jumping into anything you might consider that option - do some markets with it, figure out your capacity requirements by doing the markets and then make a decision about what kind if solution will be the right fit.

Until then you're throwing darts blindfolded - potentially very costly darts.

Good luck. :cheers:
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
Without the EZ up, I was able to pack into my car:
 
1 6' folding table
1 directors style chair
1 medium sized cooler (12 bottles of water and ice plus room for the Cinder Ranch trial)
4 big bags of tostidos
cleaning supplies
tablecloths, matts
signage
that box thingy I made
12 3-pack boxes (white hot sauce boxes filled)
6 cases of product
box of business cards
bowls for the chips
bowls for the disposed spoons
bowl for the spoons
flags
flag poles
stands for said flags
a carpet for under my car in the show
cleaning supplies for the car
myself.
 
I had room to pack in about 10 more cases before things would get hairy.  I could also squeeze in a 4' folding table (or 6') as well bringing that total two.
 
It was a 30 minute production to unpack and setup my car as well as the table.  IT took me 23 minutes to pack it all back up again at the end of the show.
 
If I had decent foot traffic I could see myself selling out of product with what I brought today.  But poor foot trafic flow and the vendors getting stuck BEHIND a building didn't bode well.
 
But a great 1st try.
 
Also: no ez-up.  If I had one I would have to put it in the front seat or balance it in the back.  People were impressed with what I had in my car haha.
 
I can see myself looking like this at one point:
 
http://youtu.be/j41kt99-bkU
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
Kalitarios said:
6 cases of product
Click to expand...
 
You're hoping that at some point very soon your sauce dramatically outsizes your EZ up. 
 
A CS is about 1 cubic foot. Sauce takes a lot of space and is heavy. Expansion/growth = more sauce, while everything else stays more or less constant. 
:cheers: 
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
Do you really want all that wear and tear on your car?  When it rains you'll be packing up wet stuff, you must count on a canopy and weights, broken bottles do happen, much more cases of sauces, packing stuff in and out there's a chance to catch and rip the upholstery or carpet with the table hinges, etc....
 
 
$1,500-$2,000 will get a decent mini-van that you can leave packed up.  Strictly a work vehicle.
 
Good Luck~
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
FeistyParrot said:
Also avoids spouse telling you off because you may have inadvertently put a couple of "dings" in the shiny paint whilst trying to hoof in a heavy wet canopy....just sayin ;-)
Click to expand...
Voice of experience there???  ;)  :lol:
 
 
Speaking of Dings in the car....which can happen when your market neighbor's plywood display blows over, or their canopy goes flying, or the neighbor is trying to load their canopy (which isn't in a travel bag) into their car and the metal foot rakes down the side of your car, or some kid is running between the cars and trips and a soda goes flying through the open window of your car.....   :banghead:  
 
 
FM vendors are not like car show attendees who baby and cherish the vehicles.  
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
I was in a similar situation. Ended up leasing a Chevy Silverado. Love the truck and flexibility it provides. But I also have a 5x8' trailer that we use during BBQ comps. It's also my daily driver but I work from home for my day job.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
salsalady said:
Do you really want all that wear and tear on your car?  When it rains you'll be packing up wet stuff, you must count on a canopy and weights, broken bottles do happen, much more cases of sauces, packing stuff in and out there's a chance to catch and rip the upholstery or carpet with the table hinges, etc....
 
 
$1,500-$2,000 will get a decent mini-van that you can leave packed up.  Strictly a work vehicle.
 
Good Luck~
Click to expand...
 
s'what I've been sayin! :dance: 
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top