Car Mate Trailer
This is a 5'x10' Car Mate utility trailer; model SST with a steel floor and a tilt bed. I bought this trailer during 2007 in anticipation of putting a fiberglass tonneau cover on my truck. I still wanted some sort of open-top means for transporting bulk materials such as mulch and manure. I selected Car Mate mainly because my dad had a similar 5'x8' and I liked his. My original intent was to order the trailer with the optional 23" sides, but the dealer had a bunch of standard trailers (with 13" sides) left over from 2004. I got a good deal so I just bought what was on the lot.
The trailer is also handy for collecting brush and yard waste.
I put together a homemade tailgate. The back of the trailer has a channel on each side for accepting 2x lumber. The tailgate lifts vertically in and out.
I also added a pivoting tongue jack. Note the pin on the right for locking down the tilt bed.
There's a heavy-duty D-ring at each inside corner...
...but I also added a dozen tie-down cleats around the perimeter. I cleaned out three Walmarts to get all the cleats.
There are two things I don't like about this trailer. First, the tailgate channel is included within the overall length of the trailer. That means that this 10' trailer has 10' minus 1.5" of useable inside length with the tailgate in place. This is one reason why I bought the 10' trailer as opposed to the 8'. I can use my tailgate and still carry standard 8' building materials. Second, the trailer makes a lot of noise when it isn't loaded down. Without a load the trailer has almost no tongue weight. Combine that with a little bit of play at the tilt pin, a little bit of play at the drawbar, a steel floor, and the trailer makes a lot of racket. Another reason I bought the 10' over the 8' is that I have more flexibility to shift my cargo forward to get more weight on the tongue.