Kaufman Trailers:

[1693TA]

Starting to look at new for an RGN type trailer and these seem to be reasonably priced and can be customized when built. I'm needing an RGN trailer with pullouts for agriculture implement hauling. There is work for it, but I've not found anything I'm willing to pay for in the used market, so starting to look at new.

From their internet website it looks like I can get a decent 35T rated trailer with the pullouts option as they offer the package:

Detachable Gooseneck Ag Trailer - 30' Well | Order Now

35 Ton Detachable Gooseneck Ag Trailer. This 30' well trailer is perfect for hauling your agricultural equipment.

www.kaufmantrailers.com

I've not talked to them at all but if I was to go someplace along the route of a new trailer it would be a 35T rated and I'd have it set up for a pin on, or "flip" third axle. Don't really need that now but it would be something easier to have added upon build rather than later. I don't know the about a need for a covered gooseneck so really not looking there.

Any experience with either the trailers, or the company. I like doing business with the small business myself.

Thanks,

 

[1693TA]

"Jet" is another brand I'm going to be looking at. Cousin has three of this brand and all have served well in his operation. Two he purchased new and the third from a retiring farmer. As Truck Shop and I were discussing earlier they seem to build a pretty decent hopper trailer.

 

[bam1968]

I have a friend that bought a new 50 ton Kaufmann about 5 years ago. He and his brother farm and have a dozer and an excavator. They don't do much custom work mainly just for personal use. So it gets pretty limited use but he is very happy with the trailer overall. FWIW the equipment they have does not even come close to it's rated capacity though.

 

[1693TA]

Thanks Bam. That is the kind of info I'm looking for. Implement dealer is nearing end of run owning trucking equipment and them, and two others along with much of their customer base is willing to contract me and my equipment for the heavier/larger hauling purposes. This in turn would serve my personal needs also and justify the cost of the trailer, licensing, and insurance(s). I cannot justify the cost as a personal asset without an income producing backing.

Nothing I have or would pickup would exceed the needs of a 35 ton rated trailer with a "flip" rear axle. Implement dealer always says I can have a stall to park out of the weather too.

My experience with the Kaufman brand was limited to car haulers and their "hot shot" rigs pulling them from the salvage pools. The brand was plentiful in Chicagoland in those days in the three, and four car variants. Always heard good reviews of those trailers however.

Thanks,

 

[1693TA]

Talked to both Jet Trailers, and Kaufman today having received quotes for both products. Both manufacturers are willing to customize to desire but in attempt to compare "apples to apples" I kept the inquiries similar to both parties. As best they could, selections above a basic trailer are listed as line items.

Both have returned pricing quotes for their products so I need to present these figures to the parties affected to ensure this is going to all hold together.

 

[Tags]

The place I work for has a Rampant 50 ton. It is considered an “off brand” trailer, seems very well made and serves our needs and was priced substantially less than the major brands. A local equipment hauler looked at it before we purchased it and said for our needs it would be fine. We do not move equipment everyday, sometimes not even every week with it. We also have a tandem axle 35 ton gooseneck deck over with hydraulic ramps that we move our smaller stuff on. The biggest excavator we have is a 300 and it seems to handle it well. May be worth a look.

 

[digger doug]

We have Rogers Brothers trailer company nearby, extreme west end of Pa (within 5 miles of the state line) and only 10 miles south of I-90.

ROGERS Trailers - Construction, Dedicated and Mining Trailers

ROGERS Trailers: fixed gooseneck trailer, detachable gooseneck trailer, tag along trailer, lowbed trailer, lowboy trailer, equipment trailer, construction trailer, paving trailer, heavy hauler trailer, front loading trailer, rear loading trailer, blacktop trailer, specialized trailer.

www.rogerstrailers.com

 

[1693TA]

I have heard of both of those names. One of the heavy haulers that worked with Daily Express had one of the Rampant trailers but didn't keep it too long going to a Talbert like he had prior. Don't think he had any problems, just liked the Talbert design a little better. Rogers is an old name in heavy hauling and there are a few around here, but I don't know anything about them.

 

[Truck Shop]

Guy here that does custom implement hauling-binds and rubber bands- has a Aspen, spendy
but he likes it allot. IIRC it's a 35 ton with slide outs.

 

[MG84]

I’ve bought 3 Kaufman trailers over the years with the most recent being a 22k tandem dual pintle hitch. They are a very good trailer for the money, I’d gladly buy another. I’m only 2hrs from their NC factory so you see a lot or their trailers around here.

 

[Steve Frazier]

I own two Kaufman trailers myself and have bought two for my employer as well. Best bang for the buck I've found and they will do nearly any customizing you're willing to pay for. My trailers aren't near as heavy as what you're looking at, 25K and lighter but their build quality is on point. I'm really impressed with their wiring harness, it's all sealed with zero crimp connectors.

 

[1693TA]

I think I am close to ruling the Jet brand of trailer out. Their initial quotation was quite a bit higher than the Kaufman, and Jet does not seem to be as "customizable" as Kaufman seems to be. I happened to see one of the Kaufman trailers at at truck stop the other day and talked to the driver for a bit. Although not an agriculture trailer, he does have swing out extensions and hauls general lowboy work. Though he didn't have it with him, the trailer was set up for a third "flip axle" just as a new one for me would be. Said he's really not had any problems other than the original wiring harness was bad, and paint could have been better initially. Kaufman shipped him a new wiring harness complete that was updated and sealed under warranty. This one is a repaint but was blasted prior to remove the original coatings for the most part and a new white oak deck installed. From what I could see it was not rusting badly and had above average care given to it. This trailer was new in 2006.

On the slightly negative side the fit and finish is not, (or was not) up to what a Talbert, Fontaine, or most of the other name brands of trailers are. The welds are strong with good penetration, but look to have been done by semi automatic means meaning "by hand". Several of the fillet welds on the neck were interrupted in travel which again is not detrimental but doesn't look as good as something lain down by automated welding procedures. That is a cosmetic thing only. I did notice a couple of strengthening gussets welded not quite 90 degrees to their base having a slight acute, (or obtuse) angle in the transition. Again this is not really detrimental to strength, just shows the amount of manual operations incorporated into building their trailers on a production type schedule.

I was into the implement dealership yesterday and they have received a B&W "Turnover Ball" in bed hitch I'd requested last week to install into their 3/4 ton Chevrolet pickup truck. I will install this later today. We are on the same page with pressing this truck into the gooseneck trailer pulling unit and selling off the F-650 truck I'd put together for them a couple of years ago. That F-650 truck is just too expensive to license and hard on fuel, (V-10 gasoline) to have only the single purpose it's allocated to with the limited usage it sees. They have to bill at 4mpg where I will probably get double that loaded with a pickup averaged out with the runs I do.

This whole scenario is what is driving the possible acquisition of a new agriculture trailer. I have a meeting tomorrow morning with another implement dealer we work closely with that is also looking to downsize in expenses and evaluating contract hauling. Yet another, (though not formally) may cabbage onto the idea. If I can get several parties to obligate their hauling to me, I'll expend the funds for the trailer as have a pulling unit ready. This trailer of course would serve my personal and growing needs also.

 

[MG84]

I’d agree with your analysis of Kaufman’s fit and finish, although I will say they have gotten better over the years. Everything is soild, good welds, good paint, wiring is excellent(as long as you get the sealed harness) but you will find little things that could use attention. For example on my new 22k trailer one ramp would catch when sliding it side to side, a minute with the grinder and it was fixed. Also the axles needed adjustment to get it to track properly, everything was welded square, but they just installed them as they came from Dexter without adjusting the alignment screws on the bottom of the spring plate.

That being said, I’ll gladly do a little Q.C. myself to get a solid trailer for the price they are selling them at. They would take care of any of that stuff under warranty, but it’s quicker to just fix it myself than drive 2hrs down there and back.

 

[1693TA]

I spoke with Kaufman yesterday morning again and I have come up with a wet kit for the trailer they would install. This one is virtually new, the price is right, and Kaufman would have no problem installing the pony setup as it meets their specs. I called them first to ask about the system requirements.

Did get that gooseneck hitch installed. No problems really as they are pretty straight forward. First GM product I've done with the bed still attached and think I'll go back to popping the bed clear of the frame again for the next one. So much easier to do that way. Going to deliver a new mini excavator this morning over to Vincennes, IN so should be a nice checkout cruise for the hitch and truck.

 

[1693TA]

Smooth sailing on that mini excavator delivery. Kind of lengthy with the twisty, windy roads of Indiana. This delivery was NE of Vincennes, and SW of Terre Haute, IN about 40 miles. IN 41S was a speed trap south of Terre Haute and I seen no less than eight traffic stops with none being a collision.

Truck really had no problems at all and I do believe the economy is better on the pickup than the F-650 offers; especially on the return trip.

Going to upline this information later in the morning as it will be used in evaluating disposing of the larger truck.

 

[1693TA]

Nobody caught that error, or didn't care. Terre Haute, and Vincennes are almost directly in line with one another in a vertical plane. The delivery was southeast of Terre Haute, and northeast of Vincennes.

Sorry for the mistake.

 

[1693TA]

Had an impromptu meeting at the implement dealer yesterday morning and one of the other dealerships probably cannot be counted upon to risk involvement with/in this new trailer purchase. Not that it matters too much as two are confirmed and willing to put some money up, but the more the merrier in this scenario. I'll continue the search but would like to have a total of four parties involved to spread the burden.

My daughter scans FB each night as I don't have that medium, and I search craigslist and several machinery sights looking for a good used trailer with pullouts to start with. Everything I find used exceeds half the cost of a new Kaufman so to me the purchase of the new trailer will be justified.

 

[MG84]

Had an impromptu meeting at the implement dealer yesterday morning and one of the other dealerships probably cannot be counted upon to risk involvement with/in this new trailer purchase. Not that it matters too much as two are confirmed and willing to put some money up, but the more the merrier in this scenario. I'll continue the search but would like to have a total of four parties involved to spread the burden.

My daughter scans FB each night as I don't have that medium, and I search craigslist and several machinery sights looking for a good used trailer with pullouts to start with. Everything I find used exceeds half the cost of a new Kaufman so to me the purchase of the new trailer will be justified.

As a general rule I’ve given up on finding used trailers, everyone I find needs tires, brakes, lights, deck boards, etc. Even some of the ones that look decent in the pic had lots of little issues, people tend to just let trailers go. I was finding lots of 25’ 10-12t pintle hitch trailers in the $5-8k range, but every one of them needed at least some work (often a lot) to be serviceable. My Kaufman was $11k new so it was a no brainer.

Not sure if you are aware or not, but you can browse facebook marketplace without an account, you just can’t respond to them as the phone numbers are usually hidden. I don’t have a FB account but I do find things on marketplace all the time, then have my wife, BIL or one of my friends message them for me and get a phone number.

 

[Oxbow]

I have no experience with Kaufman. From what I have read and anecdotal information from other folks that haul equipment they are a mid to low end trailer, but far better than Witzco. For every day commercial hauling manufacturers like Aspen, Trailking, Cozad, etc. are obviously worth the high price or they wouldn't sell, but for moderate use - and especially since you are entering into this market without knowing for sure what your revenue potential is, it may make sense to go with a mid-range manufacturer. If things pan out you can always upgrade at a later date. You might also look at Felling based in Minnesota. They appear to be very well made but do not have the name of the big manufactures.

I have a 96 Aspen 50 ton to haul our equipment and occasional for hire hauls. Even as old as it is, it handles our 345D excavator with ease, which weighs 96,000 without the counterweight on. Even close to max rating the deck has a touch of camber.

One word of caution:

I'm sure you are aware, but if you don't have it, you must get your authority and cargo insurance to haul for hire if you cross state lines, and you may have an intrastate authority that is required depending on the state. We have a local contractor that was hauling an excavator for one of the dealerships that hit an overpass. I believe they ended up buying that excavator immediately as they would have ended up paying for it anyway because their insurance only covered rented/owned equipment. We carry $500,000 cargo, and often have to bump that up temporarily when hauling new equipment for hire. Our construction insurance handles anything we rent or own.

 

[BC Placer gold]

As a general rule I’ve given up on finding used trailers, everyone I find needs tires, brakes, lights, deck boards, etc. Even some of the ones that look decent in the pic had lots of little issues, people tend to just let trailers go. I was finding lots of 25’ 10-12t pintle hitch trailers in the $5-8k range, but every one of them needed at least some work (often a lot) to be serviceable. My Kaufman was $11k new so it was a no brainer.

Same thing up here, asking price way too high for clapped-out junk….

We were looking for a small deckover bumper pull trailer (14k); finally found one locally, less than a year old used a couple of times for half price of new…but took a couple of years to find.