SOLD 2002 Expr Trailers 4x6 custom Soft Road utility trailer $3300, OBO, Spokane WA

John E Davies

Adventurer
SOLD PLEASE DELETE THIS THREAD

2002 Express Trailers custom “Soft Road” aluminum trailer, $3300 OBO.

NOTE: These first two pics show stuff not included in the sale!

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Buyer must pay cash and pick up the trailer at my home in Spokane WA, or I will deliver within a 25 mile radius. Free and clear title. Please contact me here by Private Message. I will check PMs daily.

NOTE: Due to my kids growing up and moving away, lifestyle changes and the acquisition of my new Oliver travel trailer, I no longer need this utility trailer and I would like to free up room in the garage.

DESCRIPTION:

I needed a versatile, lightweight utility trailer for hauling bikes, camping gear and the occasional yard of dirt. I did not need a heavy rugged steel off-road trailer - I never intended to hammer mine, but I did need to be able to navigate rutted gravel roads and washouts to reach a campground, and it needed to tow without a care. This one works GREAT, is light and low maintenance due to the aluminum all-welded construction, and it turns heads wherever it goes. With two different adjustable length tongues (one ball, one off-road) you can easily haul a really long load like a ladder or canoe, and then remove the tongue for compact storage or theft protection.

Built as a semi-custom by Express Trailers (Parksville, British Columbia). Marine grade aluminum utility trailer, purchased 07/2002. GVWR 3000 pounds.

http://www.expresscustom.ca/expresstrailer.com/viewcategory.php?groupid=5

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The trailer has about 8,000 miles on it, some on gravel so there is extensive speckling on the front exposed parts. No corrosion, stored indoors always, never used in winter; this is a very cool trailer with lots of possibilities. It has had relatively little use in the last five years, but I did use it today to move some stuff and it was fine. It tows like a dream. If I were to keep it, I would rig up the parking brakes to a lever, swap out the existing axle and slipper springs for a Timbren Axle-less Independent Suspension, and go exploring!

For more info ask for the “Why Build It?” article plus a full Service and Maintenance history.

DETAILS:

Construction: 4 ft x 6 ft x 20 inch tall welded marine grade aluminum bed and chassis, 10 ft approx. overall, depending on tongue configuration. Heavy box tongue, reinforced with diamond plate on top of A frame. Continuous heavy duty running boards and fenders. Beautiful welds. Due to the design, 4’x8’ sheet goods longer than 6 feet will not lie flat.

Lid: Diamond plate aluminum with lip, front hinged, two gas struts, dust seals, lid guides, cam-type tensioning latches and high security lock. There is a full perimeter square rail on top, as well as a pair of Yakima 48 inch long round bars, for bikes, a cargo box, and/ or shovel and hi-lift jack. Additional light-weight cargo or bins will fit on top of the lid between or to the rear of the bars. Lid is easily removed in a few minutes using a ceiling hoist or two strong people. Bars are easily adjusted front to back. YAKIMA ACCESSORIES/ MOUNTS NOT INCLUDED.

Tailgate: Fold down, removable, reinforced aluminum with detachable support cables (makes a great kitchen work table). License plate is bolted to tailgate so it cannot get damaged.

Floor: ¾” exterior grade plywood, good condition.

Axle: 3500 pound GVWR axle, 2000 pound capacity slipper springs are installed. Standard 5 on 4.5 bolt pattern.

Rear bumper/ skid plate: custom heavy gauge steel. Original 3500 pound slipper springs are installed, as spares, underneath the rear bumper/ skid plate. Bumper protects rear of trailer and lights during backing.

Weight unladen (with 10 gallons gas and spare tire): about 450 pounds.*

Payload (with 10 gallons gas and spare tire): 1550 pounds on installed springs, 2550 on OEM springs. (VIN label lists GVW of 3000 pounds.)

Tongue jack: Swing up, manually operated with pivoting large diameter jockey wheel. Does not drag except in the most extreme situations.

Tires: 30x9.50-15 BFG All Terrain T/As on silver painted steel trailer wheels (good tread, no weather checking, but they need replacing due to old age), spare tire and wheel is mounted on the A-frame under a vinyl cover.

Brakes and hubs: Recently installed 10 inch Dexter electric brake assemblies with parking brake feature (which are not yet connected to a lever), recent hubs, bearings and synthetic grease.

Ball coupler: 4 inch dropped standard 2” ball coupler on light duty adjustable length tongue. TOW VEHICLE BALL AND MOUNT NOT INCLUDED.

Off-road coupler: Raised Treg offroad coupler on HD adjustable length tongue (adjusts 30 inches). Includes Treg tow vehicle parts to fit a 2 inch receiver. NO RATTLES – SILENT ON OR OFF ROAD.

Note: Coupler bars take about 2 minutes to swap, retained by a 9/16” Grade 8 bolt and also a standard coupler pin, or lock. Each has its own safety chains bolted on in front. Both are about four feet long and easily store inside or under the trailer, or take them away for theft protection. Receiver height is 21.25 inches to top of square hole, trailer level with 30 inch tires.

Lights: LED rear and side lights. No backup lights or license plate light.

Wiring: Upgraded wiring with dedicated ground wires for all lights and a marine terminal strip under the A frame. This makes the lights trouble free and easy to troubleshoot from the strip.

Jerry can mount: Two, red steel, one on each side in front of the axle, fit standard NATO 5 gallon cans or 6 gallon water cans. With stainless tie down rings, straps and steel cables for security. CANS NOT INCLUDED.

Motorcycle rail: 6 inch aircraft aluminum rail for motorcycle. Requires removal of tailgate for motorcycle rear wheel clearance. ATV RAMP NOT INCLUDED.

Chainsaw mount: Byte-Tyte aluminum bar scabbard mounted to tailgate, lockable if you drill your bar. Bar oil drips onto the ground, not inside!

Interior tie downs: Full perimeter Mac’s aircraft style adjustable tie down system inside trailer (except tailgate). Four fixed removable aircraft tie downs down low on side walls. Includes eleven 3000 pound rated rings. OTHER TIE DOWN ACCESSORIES NOT INCLUDED.

Guide rods: Rear fiberglass, with orange tips, for visibility while maneuvering. Quick detach, one spare is included.

Prop rod: solid aluminum bar for lid safety while loading.

Lock: High security disc lock secured lid to bed.

Secondary license plate mount: an additional mount is available down low in case you are travelling with the tailgate removed, where the plate is normally located.

Thanks for looking,

John Davies
Spokane WA
 
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John E Davies

Adventurer
Thanks for the kind words. This trailer has turned heads continually since I have had it, and I would appreciate if viewers would pass on this link to people they think might buy.

Here is a shot from yesterday, before I washed it, with my three week old 2013 LC 200.... it looks great IMHO. I hate to sell it but my kids are uninterested, I have moved on from this kind of trailer, and I really need the garage space.

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John Davies
Spokane WA
 

Matt.H

Adventurer
John, hook it to a truck heading east bound on I-90 and I'll be there to pick it up at the docks in Boston. Okay:bigok: ?

Matt
 
How much weight can the lid/rack support? I'm wondering if it'll take two large adults and a RTT. Thanks!

(Edited to remove my other question which I saw you already answered when I re-read your post, thanks.)
 
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John E Davies

Adventurer
How much weight can the lid/rack support? I'm wondering if it'll take two large adults and a RTT. Thanks!

(Edited to remove my other question which I saw you already answered when I re-read your post, thanks.)

Thanks for the interest. Another member PMed me with this exact question, here is my response to him:

I am reluctant to say the trailer would be OK for a tent with two adults and two kids in it. The roof is not intended to carry nearly that much weight, plus you could not open the lid with the tent erected. The safe load is probably about 150 pounds max. If you left the tailgate down, you could access some of your gear with the lid down, through the rear.

The gas struts require some muscle to get the lid open a foot before they can take over and assist with opening. I always carried heavy weight objects as far forward as possible. The bikes and Space Booster in the pics extend over the hinge to partly balance the load.

With a long tent extending far back it just won't work satisfactorily.


EDIT FOR THIS POST:

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With all those bikes located over the hinge, much of the weight is sent down to the front wall and structure, and the lid is easy to open. If they were mounted farther back, it would be tough.

In addition, if you located the front of the tent so that it extended a couple of feet forward of the front hinge, it would contact the spare tire and prevent you from fully opening the lid.

None of this is to say that you _couldn't_ put a tent there:

1: If you installed Timbren independent suspension and bigger tires you could remount the spare to underneath the frame, where the axle used to be, and then that would be a non issue. It would still be awkward as hell to get into the "trunk", especially when the tent was erected. The lid must be raised at least two inches to allow the tailgate to open (it overlaps).

2: If you built a raised tent platform that cleared the lid in the open position, you could access the cargo area partially, other than having to work around the platform supports (you might have to drag bigger stuff all the way to the back). The platform itself would have to be removable so you could remove the lid. A big negative of this approach would be the very high CG. The trailer does have a low CG because the structure is so light, but adding 150 pounds six feet off the ground would ruin that, unless you were carrying a ton of stuff in the bed. If it were empty, you could flip it pretty easily.

I normally carry ballast to make it ride smoothly when unloaded. Two full jerry cans, water and/or gas, is enough. It is pretty bouncy otherwise. With a couple of hundred pounds of gear it is fine. The tires are Load C and I usually have just 18 psi in them, to provide a little extra ride softness. Obviously, if you are going to really load it down (concrete pavers, dirt) then you need to pump them up to carry the load.

So, anything is possible, but "turn key" the trailer isn't suitable for a RTT. The reason for the design is versatility. Putting a RTT ruins a lot of the possible ways you could use the trailer. Maybe that would be acceptable to the new owner..... at the very least, I would mount the RTT with quick release latches so that it wasn't on there all the time.

I hope this helps, any other questions? I do like to talk....

John Davies
Spokane WA
 
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That's kind of what I was afraid of, and I don't think it will work for us. I really need a variable-height rack, to carry low and deploy high. Disappointing, since we are relatively close and drive through your area periodically. Good luck with the sale!
 

John E Davies

Adventurer
That's kind of what I was afraid of, and I don't think it will work for us. I really need a variable-height rack, to carry low and deploy high. Disappointing, since we are relatively close and drive through your area periodically. Good luck with the sale!

If you removed the lid and used it as an open trailer, you could have a low/ high rack as you mentioned, but your gear would remain exposed.

Reinstall the lid as needed when the trailer was not used for RTT camping.

Not ideal.

John Davies
Spokane WA
 

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