My wife was right. In 2016 when I got permanently exiled from a 35 year career in telecommunications and I.T., I sold off several possessions in order to keep the roof over our heads. One of those possessions was a utility trailer I owned in order to sweeten the deal when I sold my snowmobile. My wife didn't think I should let the trailer go and stated I would later regret it. Yup... I did and missed it more than the sled itself which was itself one sweet ride. It was 15 years old with low miles and a fresh top end, electric start, studded track, reverse, and heated seats and grips. I had modified the trailer to also carry the sled which it did perfectly and that clinched the sale.
 |
| My 45th Anniversary Edition Polaris 2000 700 XC. *Sniff* no more |
So after getting a substantial sum of back overtime pay, I went trailer shopping again. The other things I use my trailer for is forest management from the road in front of my house, moving large items, and carrying my canoe with kayaks to and from bodies of water. I had looked around before and never found what I really wanted for a decent price. I started looking again and have had a bitch of time finding what I want. I came across an internet ad for Big Tex trailers, and found a local dealer. I called CT Trailer in Bolton and they had a brand new leftover trailer that was larger and heavier than I wanted but at a discounted price of $3995. They were going to close before I got out of work, so they said I could come by and look at it in their lot after hours then call them the next day. I looked at it and thought it was huge, but the price was unbeatable. I also looked at some aluminum trailers that had on site and jotted down some model numbers to see how much more they were out of curiosity.
When I called the next day, the saleswoman I originally spoke to was off. The salesman I spoke to said the Big Tex trailer I was looking to buy should not have been on the inventory because it was already sold. Since I had looked at the aluminum trailers I inquired about an Aluma 7210 they had on the lot. YIKES.... $5299.00 but was the size and capacity with the features I wanted. Plus it is all aluminum construction instead of a wooden deck like the Big Tex had. I went down that afternoon with the intention of buying it and taking it home. Unfortunately, my wife had other plans. She called me to see when I was coming home just as I was walking into the showroom. I went out with the salesman to give it a good once over and decided to take it. Because I did not have time to process the whole sale, I gave them a 10% down payment and told them I'd be back next Saturday the 6th to finalize the sale and take it home.
Saturday the 6th (bum knee and all) I went to CT Trailer to pickup my new trailer. The saleswoman I originally dealt with over the phone was there and I must say, quite the hot cougar (younger than me but older than MILF status). I did the paperwork and paid the money, which meant I was leaving with a fully registered trailer sporting a brand new license plate. I went outside with the saleswoman to get it ready to take away. Uh oh.... a problem developed with my hitch. I had a 6" drop hitch in my receiver, which was perfect for my old trailer, but too low for the new one. She said the too low angle will wear out the tires unnecessarily. "No problem, I have a level hitch with a 2" ball in my truck box" I said all proud of myself. That hitch was made by Toyota and came with our 2005 4Runner we had bought new and traded in back in 2019. I had never tried it in my Tundra tow receiver. The way it was made it would not go in far enough for the locking pin holes to line up. Now I look like an idiot. OK, they have some level hitches in the accessory store, they would just move my 2" ball onto it. Nope. The Toyota ball has a larger shank and was not even close to fitting. Another $50 for a whole new hitch and another 2" ball. OK it is hooked up and level, and all the lights are working fine. I had tested my truck's trailer electrical connector previously to make sure it was all good.
 |
| The new hitch and ball. I already had the locking retention pin |
I have large stainless steel lock-nut rings on the receiver because unless the trailer safety chains have monster size hooks, they don't fit in those angled slots. That was the case with the new trailer's safety chains that had snap hooks on the ends. I also wanted to purchase hitch locks, so back into the store to pick out what I wanted.
 |
| A ball lock and a hitch lever pin lock |
Because I bought a brand new trailer I got 10% off all the accessories, but it still all cost me another $144.38 for every thing. The whole deal for the trailer, registration, sales tax, and the accessories was $5960.56 which I plunked down on my rewards VISA card. I will pay the entire balance when the bill comes next month and use the points to get gift cards like I always do.
I extended and re-adjusted my tow mirrors, put on my headlights, and made the uneventful trip home. At only 450 pounds empty, I didn't even feel the trailer back there. I share a driveway with my neighbor, and I pulled in and up their driveway and then easily backed into mine and all the way up to my garage. It tracks and maneuvers like a dream.
 |
| Parked in my driveway. GVW is 2200 pounds |
 |
| From the other side. Dimensions are 10' x 6' with 24" high removable sides |
 |
| Heavy duty tie-down points in all four corners |
The tie-downs will allow me to trailer "The Beast" to the Honda dealer in the event something happens that I can't drive it there.
So the anti-theft locks I put on really won't prevent theft. The hitch is bolted onto the trailer tongue, where it was all welded steel on my old trailer and these locks worked fine. All someone had to do was unbolt my hitch and toss it aside, bolt on a new one, and drive away with my trailer. See what I mean below.
So here is my solution; a 20' tow chain I had in the barn wrapped around a 2' diameter pine tree and threaded around the trailer tongue, secured with a "Level 9" Master padlock. The trailer would be destroyed cutting the softer aluminum around the chain and lock. The hitch locks are there also. Will a determined thief with all the time in the world make off with my trailer? Probably. The hope is that the run of the mill petty thieves that sometimes pop up in our area would look at this mess and go elsewhere.
 |
| Current view from my Blink Outdoor camera |
I had contemplated parking the trailer and chaining it to the telephone pole down the driveway in a better and flatter spot, but here by the pine tree puts it in camera range. It won't be used every day so secured, under video surveillance, and out of the way is fine.
