Quite honestly, you will NEVER have a trailer that does everything well.



Focus on what your needs are, try to foresee what you may want/need, get what you need.



There is a reason I have 5 utility trailers parked in the yard



 

^^^That  lol

You'll have a better idea on your second trailer Kitties.    

I started with a mesh 5x8 from Lowes last year. I use it for my side gig (mostly lawncare, some heavier hauling if clearing trees or something). I'm getting ready to upgrade to something better, I've got a 36" mower coming in 2 weeks, and I don't feel confident about it on that trailer. As of now, all I put on it are 2 mowers and small equipment, but the mesh is already sagging. There's also some smaller rust spots forming, and the trailer lives inside a garage unless I'm using it.



As another poster said, I can't fit an 8' 2x6 or anything. The gate takes about an inch away. I would have bolted wood to the mesh to correct the sagging issue.

If you don't mind spending the extra cash, an aluminum trailer will take care of the rust issues.  I found a used CargoPro years ago ( http://www.cargoprotrailers.com/cargotype.asp?CargoTypeID=7 ), about half of what a new one cost.  It has a plywood bed that's held up fine, but I did end up painting it and spreading sand on it to improve traction.  It's a tilt bed, but I ended up buying a tailgate ramp for it, the ramp is a lot easier to use for loading tractors or four wheelers.

From my experience they all bounce if you hit a bump too fast and don't have any weight on them.  Even with some weight on them they'll bounce if you hit the bump hard enough.  I had a four wheeler fall off the trailer once like that when I hit a frost heave.  That's another reason why the ramp is nice, keeps things from rolling off the back if things become unsecured somehow.

On a trailer built right the tailgate can be set up to extend out the trailer deck depending on how much weight you want to put on it.



Obviously placement of axle will determine if you are going to drag the heck out of it.



Ways to hold tailgate vary but some seem actually designed to use the little bar that holds the tailgate in place when upright to sit at a diferent position when flat.  Still gonna want to watch weight and I figured this was more for plywood and what not.



Tailgates can be really heavy, they tend to catch the wind depending on design, but if you set up some cinder blocks and wood at the right height and learn how to back into the right spot each time knocking the tailgate off might not be that hard.  The tailgate on the 6x10 my uncle I share is huge to me, but he takes it off like nothing cause he is old enough to be retired, dang smart, and does not muscle it.  He marked some spots so he knows where to back to and the thing is just about lined up, and this tailgate slides sideways to come off its hinges.  When upright it is a captured setup that can't slide sideways.  I don't know if I would have ever thought of it.



2 axles can be nice but tires can scrub when backing really tight.



I figure a decent 5x8 or 6x10 with one 3500lb axle will do all you want to do and as nice as aluminum is I would worry even more about it walking off to be recycled by thieves.



I rather like a long tongue on my trailers because for some reason I tend to just about want to jacknife em now and then.



A backup camera on these newer vehicles is awesome for hooking up your trailer.  Can also easily watch your clearance when backing and turning and what not.

Anything with a single axle will bounce.



Well, except my small flatbed. Made it from a 1975 F150 (my first truck). It glides nicely over bumps, but has a LOT of cushion. Almost too much.



 

I've had more than 1 offer on my camper flatbed



 

I'll try to keep this short.  I build all my own trailers.  Not because it's cheaper.  It's not.  I build them because I'm a picky bastard.

To start...  A 54" mower will fit on a 5' wide trailer with the chute up. I own a 54" JD zero turn and a 5x10 trailer.  It's tight and if given the chance, I would go with a 6' x 10' with a 3500 lb axle and a ramp.

Tilt beds suck.  They're just too steep and awkward when both loading and towing to be a good option.

Aluminum trailers suck.  With small trailers the weight difference isn't enough to matter when going down the road and aluminum will crack faster than steel will rust through.  

Avoid homemade unless you know what you are looking at.  

I like a heavy mesh floor for stuff like mowers and atvs.  You can always throw down a sheet of plywood if you need a solid surface.

I've got some build threads going on other sites showing what I like.  Google my screen name and trailers or message me and I'll give you a link.

Found your dump trailer, nice work.  I don't want to hijack this thread but can you share your calculations for the geometry/load on your scissor lift?  Or a link to them?  I want to build a dump box to sit on my current trailer and am lost on the lift.

IM if need be.

Pics, as promised:

 












 

The geometry was pretty straight forward.  Figure out dimensions of your parts and tweak until everything works out.  Calculating the amount of power was a bit of a guess as that math is over my head.  I've got enough experience building and repairing that my guesses are usually about right.

The easy way would be to locate an old wagon hoist and rebuild it.  I picked one up at auction for pretty much nothing and sold it for about $100.  I never got around to fixing it up.  

I built mine because I had a very specific list of requirements for fit and function.  Like I said earlier, I'm a picky bastard.

I rebuilt my 16-footer last summer.  To replace the wood decking (2x12's, in my case), you simply pop them in and out, believe it or not.  Well, OK, it's a little more complicated than that, but not much.

The concept is that if you bend the board up in the middle, it pulls the ends in... effectively making it shorter.  To remove the old boards, I just stuck a floor jack under the center of a board,  stuck a chunk of 2x6 in between as a spacer, and cranked it up.  Within a couple of pumps on the handle, the center of the board bends up enough to pop an end loose... then on to the next board.

To reinstall new boards, I built a T-shaped fulcrum from a couple more 2x6 scraps. Just one nailed to the other, a base piece and and upright that when set under the trailer, protrudes a couple of inches above what would be the deck level (you could also use the jack, for that matter).  Put one end of the new board in place under the metal retainer, lay the board down across the fulcrum, and mash the other end down.  When you have it bent down far enough to slip into the other end retainer, have a helper yank or kick the fulcrum piece out from underneath, and SPROINGG!! in pops the board.   Watch your fingers...  

It'd obviously be tougher with a shorter deck, since the boards don't have as much "flex" length.  Might have to go with 2x6's instead of 2x12's for decking so you can get a little more bend in the shorter length... but I honestly don't know.  Only one I've ever done was my 16'.

Absolutely. I used my 3/4 ton truck.



 

I like round top rails.  They make for a more sturdy trailer.  If you want to haul something loose like mulch, throw down a tarp about twice the size of the trailer.  Load mulch.  Fold the leftover tarp over the top and strap it down.

One of mine...

Looks nice.  The square areas near the front and back can be used as tie down points, or you could fab up some side boards that fit just inside the round rails, use the tie down points for a 2X4 to go into as a verticle support for your side board.  If a 2x4 will fit in them.

Goes without saying that the tarp method for hauling mulch works great, just make sure you put the fold on the forward part of the trailer.

 Thank you.  Your questions are far from dumb.  Half the features on my trailer I did not know I needed until I broke them on borrowed trailers.  The tongue jack on mine rotates out of the way and lights are recessed into the rear cross member.  Tilt trailer won't tilt if the weight is too far out of balance.  Unloading a 2000lb pallet with a pallet jack gets exciting on a tilt deck.  

I use the tilt rarely but it comes in handy when dragging a pallet without a pallet jack off the deck, ramps tend to cause problems in that instance.  The tilt also come in handy when winching loads onto the deck.  I've actually hauled compact cars on my 5x10 trailer.  The cars wheelbase is short enough to cause it to catch on the trailer edge when using ramps so tilt helps.

I also like the Bulldog hitch over the standard hitch.  If you use trailer infrequently or are easy to distract I think the standard hitch is easy to flub up and end up dragging the tongue a few feet, or worse.  The Bulldog is pretty darn obvious if you did it wrong.

Looking at the TSC trailer I would call the PJ dealer nearest  you.  This http://www.happytrailersales.net/2016-pj-77-x10-channel-utility-trailer-l7U%7CUl.html  Is beefier and is higher rated capacity for a bit more than the TSC model.  I realize it's wider but I bet you can get the same dimensions as the TSC for same or lower price at a local PJ dealer.  Tell them what TSC has offered and see if they match.

And as I mentioned earlier, that TSC tongue jack would  be a problem for me going over a curb or rougher terrain.  The TSC rear lights would be ripped off eventually.  

ETA:  The tube top rails do make it stiffer and look better.  To tie down a load use straps with hooks and hook back onto the strap on each side or add some short sections of http://smile.amazon.com/Mr-Gasket-3375-Anchortrax-Kit/dp/B001QVZ6AG/ref=pd_bxgy_263_img_2?ie=UTF8&refRID=12JGXAM98R1G5HECMBY7

Those angle pieces holding the round rail up on the tractor supply trailer are easy to hook onto.  I tend to wrap my ratchet strap around it and then hook it, the loop will hold the hook in place while you place the whole strap and get things setup.  You can also just run the end of the strap with no hook through the metal look part with the hook and then you have a loop that tightens down and that would be around the angle iron attaching the round pipe on top.



Same method also works for the round pipe but the loop can walk around so you have to pay attention to how you are attaching things so it won't want to walk.  For instance, coming off the front of the mower on a straight run to the front pipe should work ok for front to back movement but if the mower wants to work sideways that loop can go sideways.  Having other loops to prevent the sideways movement would then be needed.  Since it is a wood deck and you have plans for the setup that are sort of permanent it is easy to put wheel chocks or just 2x4s or whatever and screw them to the wood floor as tire stops.  And being a wooden deck I would be very aware of the strong areas underneath it and where an open span is at.  Will be fine for a bit but as wood ages it will sag more.  I would buy some white or grey paint and a bag of playsand and paint it to keep the wood lasting longer.



On ramps I agree they can be a pain to lift, but pay attention to tailgates.  That 4 ft gate should let you drive the riding mower up, but the mower deck might catch.  All depends on height.  My uncle has a zero turn and we have a 5 ft gate on it and it is a heavy duty gate.  No biggy for me to lift but I set my feet and use both arms and lift properly cause it is big enough I could see getting something strained if I just grabbed it while tired and heaved on it.  Some gates have assists, ours does not.  The trailers being sold with 4 ft gates that we looked at angled the back of the trailer down in a beaver tail to get the breakover angle down to where it was low.  We did not want the beaver tail and we don't care about a heavy gate, but I respect the sucker.



For you, 100 bucks or so should buy some aluminum ramps for loading a pickup truck if you buy something without a tailgate/ramp.  But that is also 100 bucks or whatever it costs.  I use my ramps all the time, so no biggy to me having em around.



As far as making sides and what not, lots of people use a lot of methods to do it.  The tarp method can work but I would still have boards for the front and sides to be held in place as the tarp is filled with mulch or whatever.  If I wanted sides on for a bit I would make some wooden sides that attached to each other and if needed get a piece of plywood for the tailgate/ramp to keep air from blowing in through it.  Basically a piece or pieces of plywood is put in place and you would have 3 or more to make the U shape you need for your trailer.  The front and side pieces would then have something on the inside or outside you screwed in place, or however you want to do it, so it becomes a more solid thing.  I have seen people also use stuff in the inside corners to pull the pieces together.  It all depends on what you want to do.  Since plywood comes in 8ft sheets if you had a 10ft trailer length you could go with a short 2 ft piece but I would make a couple pieces maybe 5.5 ft long so they overlap where they join.  I have scrap wood around so how I brace stuff is simply based on scrap wood and drywall screws or other stuff I have around to use.  If concerned about a load pushing out on the parts of the wood above the rails you can run straps around it, hook em together if they are not long enough and let the strap help hold the wood together.



I agree pj is a good brand and might price match it, but I can't knock the tractor supply stuff if they are willing to work with you.  That is usually how I get my best prices, I have a couple steel truck bed boxes I bought for storing stuff outside cause they got scratched at some point and were starting to rust and tractor supply clearanced em out.



I prefer the 15 inch tires since they are more common and it gives the trailer some height for when I want to pull it around the yard or over a curb or something.  A trailer can be dragged over all sorts of stuff, but I prefer to start with 15 inch wheels.



To some extent if worried at all about the wood floor on the one from tractor supply I would put down some 2x6 or 2x12 runners where the riding mower will be running its tires and if I was hauling other stuff it would also be easy to keep the weight on those.  



If you get something without a ramp a push mower is easy to put the front wheels on the trailer and then lift the back of the mower onto the trailer.  You don't have to stoop down and pick it up.  Ramps are for larger stuff like the riding mower.  But I usually cheat and back into a steep little back or a curb or sometimes put the wheels in a ditch and can often unload without ramps.  Works better for a 4 wheeler but sometimes works for a riding mower.



I agree on a flip up trailer jack and I like the ones with wheels cause you can move stuff around easier but I have forgoten to put them up as well as regular ones and have bent about all of em, or they were poorly installed and dragged at some point.  

You know how rare it is to find a lady that loves those anchor thingies?



Depending on the design you settle on, they make spring assist that can be retrofitted to some tail gates.

I hate my ramps.  Simple 6' 2x10's with a stamped steel bolt-on end piece to keep from moving around on the trailer when loading.  I'm not a small guy but those damn things just irritate me.  It's a time/resource management deal.  They are heavy and awkward enough to require more energy than they save by being useful if you add in time loading, unloading, securing and planning load placement to leave room for ramps.  

LOL  They don't fit under my lawn tractor with belly mower attached.  They don't fit between the mower deck and trailer side rails on edge.  Can't lay them diagonally behind the tractor and in the end they are only used for about 15 seconds... hate them.  If not for the need to load stuff with a forklift, I'd have a drop down tailgate/ramp.  Or spend a ridiculous amount and get a trailer where the whole deck drops flat on the ground.

A related time saver, get those stretchy bungee cords that have the ball on the end, to keep your straps organized in a small duffel bag.  I've seen people use tie-wraps or tape but these bungees seem to be the easiest and most cost effective.

Try this link, I think it works now.  It's the only link I could find with a price, for a similar trailer.  I also don't think TSC are powder coated, you mentioned rust on a new trailer.  http://www.happytrailersales.net/2016-pj-77-x10-channel-utility-trailer-l7U%7CUl.html

I like the wheel too however I learned a valuable lesson before getting one.  It may be obvious to most, but I'm not in that group.  It only works in Kansas(flat).  Any hint of a slope and it's going to go visiting the neighborhood on its own.

Another trick I learned on my own.  When the tongue is on the jack and pointed downhill.  If you weigh more than the tongue weight at that point in time and decide to rest your tired bones for just a second on the tail of the trailer.  You will find yourself with a sudden burst of energy as the trailer begins to move down that hill taking you with it.

When you are used to heavier trailers the intricacies of these little ones sneak up on you.  

He is somewhat correct in his response to Idea #1.  I prefer my trailers to be as rigid as possible so the suspension does the work.  I also don't like seeing the frame flex when I tighten down my straps.  Things that don't flex bend or break when overloaded.  Things that flex all the time fatigue and break.  It likely won't be an issue for you either way in the size trailer and payload you are looking at.  Just get a quality trailer and you'll be fine.

No real issues with what he said.  All my jacks are bolted on to the coupler (non-removable).  Don't worry too much about width.  My 5x10 dump trailer is almost exactly the same width as my truck (about 84" if I remember right).  Don't worry too much about the finish.  I prefer paint as it can be easily touched up.  Powder coat is technically more durable, but when it fails, and it will, it will flake off in pieces.  It can't be easily touched up as paint won't really stick to it.  All finishes will get sand blasted going down the road if you use the trailer much.

I've got trailers with rigid jacks, trailers with folding jacks. Doesn't matter, you load and unload the trailer when in the towing vehicle. I've even taken offmy ttrailer with folding Jack with a full load, no issues at all. It's really a moot point IMHO.

Finish does make a difference. If the tsc offering was rusting on the lot, that trailer will look like crap in a couple years.


You won't seal your trailer deck. Ever. I guarantee it. If anything, when new paint it with that new deck restore traction paint. Kind of like a spray on bed liner for your trailer.

This is a wheeled jack.  They work great if you are pushing your trailer around on a paved or concrete surface.  Dirt not so much.



Also one of those folding types.  They have their places, but generally I don't like them.  See the point where the pin goes in and out to fold the jack, That area has a tendency to wear out and your folding jack will decide it wants to fold all by itself.

We have one on the car hauler, comes in handy as it is a low trailer.  Ours is welded on and the pin section (where the pin secures the jack in the down position) has worn out, so it stays folded and I use a piece of 8x8 timber as a jack stand.  Just haven't gotten around to grinding off that one and getting a new jack.

If you think you are going to want a wheeled jack sometime in the future, you can always get one with removable feet (a pin holds the foot onto the shaft of the jack.)



With a single axel trailer you might really consider a redi-jack something like this.



Makes for lifting the wheel off the ground a whole lot easier.

When we bought our Car hauler the guy had some step ramps made up and gave them to us.  They came in handy, as we got about a hour down the road and had a flat.  With no jack to lift the trailer I just drove the first axle up on the step jack and changed out the flat tire.  The car hauler is a dual axel so this wouldn't work on your single axel trailer, but it's the same general idea.  Place it on the axel and pull forward slowly.


I think the old man is correct on most parts.  I don't like the trailers to flex, that is the job of the suspension.  I would go with the tube type.  But that is me.

This will be somewhat out of order but I will try to check back and cover everything.



On the jack for the trailer, I am in east tn where there are lots of hollers and ditches and what not.  If that jack is hanging down it will probably be a mid point if you are going into a slight ditch or up a steep driveway, my grandma has a driveway that has scraped a ton of bumpers on vehicles over the years.  If the bumper on the station wagon is dragging, that jack sitting lower is trying to dig into the road.  That jack is a single pressure point as well, I can get over dragging parts of the actual trailer frame or something.  That jack is a needed item for the trailer and easy to bend.  As far as the fold up ones being wiggly, I almost always use the trailer jack when it is empty.  So yeah it wiggles, so does the tailgate.  It should not wiggle much and as long as I bought a decent trailer jack it is fine.  Now I have used the jack on a loaded trailer and it had a wheel on the end of the trailer jack.  Rolled the whole trailer sideways away from my broken down pickup and over to a friends pickup who came to get me and my junk and we left the dodge for someone to come tow to a repair shop when they got free.  This was a little single axle trailer so yeah it worked pushing it around in the nice big flat asphalt parking lot of a big gas station.  I agree that they can try to roll away from you but I have had plenty of trailers with standard trailer jack landing gear, just a flat piece of metal, try to slide around and move on me if I was messing around on a slope of some sort.





On round vs angle I would want an engineer to explain which is better, and then I will still go with angle unless someone is giving me an awesome deal on the round stuff.  I have bent and damaged my trailers, so far just me, and no one has ever hit or hurt my trailers for me.  If I damage some angle iron it is not a big deal to me to bend it back if it is a little bend and maybe add some bracing.  If I really hurt it, cut it out and replace it.  It totaled then totaled.  Dent a round tube.  Now what ?  I don't know what it takes to hurt its ability to do its job but I am going to wonder about that weak point of a dent in a round tube now.  With these little trailers and how I use em I don't think we are getting to where the trailer frame is going to fail and kill the bus full of nuns.  I can see hurting the axle or tire or tongue or trailer hitch or tow vehicle.  I have not really hurt any of my stuff in a big manner, just some dents and chipped paint and what not.  



On the metal V angle coming off your pic with the round top bar a ratchet strap will hook on a leg of that V.  And slide to the bottom and try to fall off the trailer while you go hook up the rest of the strap.  Take a wrap around the V and hook onto a leg of the strap and pull it tight.  The wrap will move when you tighten up on the strap, but it will keep the hook on the leg of the V while you go hook up the rest.  There should be youtube videos on how to strap stuff down properly.  You want to hook onto the actual frame of the mower and not around the wheels.  To some extent you could look up how car haulers put a strap over each wheel and set up for that, but I don't think that is what you meant.  You don't want to trust a tire not to lose pressure and you don't want to trust a mower deck or anything else that is not the actual frame of the mower.  On the back should be a good spot where people set up to tow a little yard trailer or something.  On the front most mowers have some metal with holes in it for this or that, you want to watch how you hook up so you don't bend anything if it is not sturdy in all directions.  An example, one riding mower I had was made with little flat pieces of metal that I guess could hold something like a baby snow plow or something.  They were very strong pulling straight.  If I tried pulling sideways they were not braced and would have bent.  I also tend to add a big strap from the middle side of the trailer around the back of the trailer and over to the other middle side of the trailer.  This keeps the mower pulled up against the front bar, I tend to always load up on the front bar on my trailers when hauling riding mowers.  I want to strap my mowers down so if there is an accident that mower will still be attached to the trailer.  I don't know if I manage this, but I sure the heck have backup straps on stuff.  Where people are talking about rolling up the excess strap and making it pretty, I go tie it off to the trailer or something.  It is just one more safety item if a strap were to fail that tie off keeps it on the trailer.



Decking if cared for should last a long while but decking can get damaged or not get treated well and blah blah blah.  As I said, I buy stuff used and abused and piece meal it.  I like that you can just unbolt some stuff and replace a board if one got damaged or something.  I hated hearing people tell me you cut the metal off and weld it back when done.  Just seemed odd on a trailer dude wanted real money for, and a decent stack of real money.  I am back and forth on the finish of the paint and rust on tractor supply stuff.  I would go to tractor supply and get what I wanted with a lot more spray paint as well as a can or two of rust convertor, and maybe a little more off the price.  Take it home and spend a couple hours going over it with a fine tooth comb and fixing its paint issues.  Towing will have rocks and stuff thrown at it so expect to need to check it over one or twice a year and touch up paint chips.  I don't go nuts on it, I might drink one whole beer and use less than a 1/3rd of a spray can and with a few trailers I still don't come close to using a whole can of paint for touchup.



Look at the tire and rim on the trailer and write down the size and how many lug nuts hold it to the trailer hub.  Common would be 15 inch tire, I forget the size of mine but common little trailer 15 inch tire, and 5 lug nuts.  Went to wally world and they had a new one in perfect shape for maybe 100 bucks out the door.  Not sure what tractor supply or trailer dealer would want, worth asking but shop around cause lots of places wanted 125 for what wally world had at 100 bucks or so.



If making sides to haul stuff like mulch or dirt the overlap on the sides will seal that seam.  If no overlap I figure I would also have extra force and damage right on those edges.  I sometimes make stuff, like my ramps, with high quality wood and proper bolts and might even sometimes paint em.  My ramps are pressure treated 2x12s and maybe 10ft long or so, forget what length I bought but at least 8 ft but I think they are longer than a regular pickup bed.  Common ramp kits are for 2x10s or whatever and I bought a kit for actual 2x12s so the ramp ends fit right.  Yeah they are sort of a pain but mine double as trailer sides if I want to haul stuff that does not need ramps and as I said I use em around the yard for other stuff.  So if I got some plywood and made sides I would make em to last.  Might even keep em out of the weather a bit as well.



Ok, looked at pic of your orange mower.  Are you a vol fan?  Anyway, most ratchet straps have a loop of metal behind the hook on the end of the strap.  Take the end of the strap you normally feed through the ratchet mechanism and put it around your bumper and then through the metal loop in back of the hook.  You should now have a solid loop of strap around that bumper.  Bumper looks ok strong but not super strong.  I kind of see a loop for each side of bumper and pulling sideways and forwards.  With the steering linkage and stuff you have to be careful about a strap around the front tires and what not unless you do it like a car hauler would strap car tires down, and your trailer won't be set up for that.  I also don't know if you will put mower all the way forward or not, with little trailers and little loads I always pull stuff all the way forward like a riding mower cause I tie it off to the front tongue of the trailer.  I then tie the back as mentioned someplace above in this huge post.  You would want a car floor mat or piece of carpet or something to protect the bumper and trailer if they are going to rub.



As to width of trailer, I am big on getting what I want but I also have owned and driven all sorts of stuff over the years.  I call my jeep wrangler a go cart because it is the smallest vehicle I have ever owned and it is cool in that way.  I mentioned I like trailers the width of the vehicle because they track better.  I have towed stuff max legal width before you have to get an overwidth permit and all that fun stuff.  You use your mirrors and keep it between the painted lines and go on down the road.  But it took more attention than something the width of the vehicle.  Sit in your vehicle and start messing with your 2 side mirrors, if you have one on each side.  Most folks have them set so they show a lot of the side of their vehicle.  Move em out so if you move your head to the right, for the right mirror, you then barely see the side of your vehicle.  Once you set these go drive somewhere with well marked edge lines and lane divider lines.  It will show you how much space you have on each side of your vehicle.  I naturally hug the edge of the lane, right edge, when driving normally.  Give me a trailer the width of my vehicle and I move over 6 inches or so so that tight turns don't have the trailer off the edge.  Give me a trailer way wider than my vehicle and I just watch my mirrors and wind up about middle of the lane with an even space on each side of the wider trailer.  It becomes natural once you do it for a bit.



Could always go rent a u-haul car trailer and get to know your limitations on things with someone elses trailer.  They will even sell you their insurance.  



If I missed anything ask again, I can't say when I will go through the whole thread since I am probably working a double shift tomorrow and that means lack of sleep for me.

Just to clarify, that link I posted to that wider trailer was for price comparison mostly.  You should be able to get a narrower model for less which would put it in line price wise with the lower quality TSC model.

Check the PJ dealer in the next town over.

I don't want to appear to push you toward PJ though I have had great experience with each model I have used.  But I definitely want to steer you away from TSC and other BigBox products.  I think you can see the difference in quality for yourself now.  I think Croft puts out a decent product but have limited experience there. This 6x10 is $1630.   Their 5x10 tube top with spring assist tailgate is $1465, the angle iron with no spring assist is $1300.  (But I don't like their jack )

There are others,  usually regional throughout the US.  You can spot the crap now, ugly welds, poor paint, used tires, weak jacks, flimsy tailgates, loose fenders, sketchy wiring, questionable deck attachment...  Check out names on trailers driving down the road, nice stuff stands out.

Idea #1.  I can't argue with flex.  They say flex flexes while stiff, snaps.  However I don't like flex much.  I want a stiff tongue made out of channel not angle and stiff rails I can crank ratchet straps on.  As I said, I've put cars on mine.    A TSC trailer would not carry the same load.  If it will flex under a ratchet strap, it will flex enough while moving for the strap to loosen.     Not to mention if you crinkle a tube rail you either crashed, dropped more than your mower on it or it was too thin to begin with.

With what you have said, I don't see you wearing out any quality trailer in your lifetime.  I'm not exactly gentle on mine, I don't slow down for bumps and regularly do 75 on the interstate with 3000lbs on it.  After 8 years I replaced the tires and the axle($100) I had never adjusted or lubed. I've hauled this trailer probably 30,000 miles

Idea#2  Personal preference really.  I drag my trailer over curbs which when the tow vehicle drops down, anything under the tongue is a hazard.  Also a few fuel station driveways around here have really bad approach angles, my hitch ball hits the ground at these and I'm in a slightly lifted 4x4 Durango.  You will notice the occasional long grooves into and out of driveways.  

The wiggle in the jack is not a worry if you ask me.  It's not going to collapse if it's a Bulldog brand which is pretty common.  The only time you will use it is when the trailer is not being used or is stored, to keep the coupler out of the dirt.  Mine is simple to operate, pull a pin, rotate jack post, reinsert pin.  Another pet peeve is stepping over the tongue and getting my knee, foot or groin stuck, banged or cut on the regular jack.  The fold away jack is much more streamlined.  I'd argue with you for a bit over the jack.    

Nowif you find a trailer that meets all of your criteria, the jack can be worked around.  If my trailer is unloaded I can rotate the jack and lift the coupler off the ball without need to raise or lower the jack.  If yours is tucked all the way up you'll have to crank it a bit anytime you disconnect to keep the coupler out of the dirt.  I can take a photo of it if you wish.  The pin on mine is the same diameter as the hitch pin, the hole will not be wearing out.  Nor will the mount, it's beefy.  TSC sells the Bulldog jacks, you can check them out and then compare to the built trailers.

Idea#3  Stay in the middle of your lane lady.    Women are better drivers you know.  I know I wander in my lane so I focus extra when I have a wider trailer.  Pay attention but don't panic over it.  Based on your attention to detail, by the time you get it home you will wonder what you were worrying about.  

Idea#4  A 2x piece of lumber takes a long time to rot unless you live in  Washington or maybe Kentucky.  There is a better sealer than Thompsons, I can't remember the name.  Paint it your favorite color with some sand tossed on it every decade or so.  New boards in ten years will probably be $100 or a few hours sealing, up to you.

If ongoing maintenance is an issue, rust will be your problem before you ever get close to wearing it out.  Get powder coated.  Powder coat does get sandblasted going down the road but you won't be using it that much and paint rots just by sitting in the sun.  Park it on an incline so snow melts off the deck quicker.

There are all sorts of tie down ideas for your mower, use some "E" or "L" track and straps or purpose built ATV restraints http://www.etrailer.com/Trailer-Cargo-Control/Erickson/EM09160.html?feed=npn&gclid=CjwKEAiA9om3BRDpzvihsdGnhTwSJAAkSewLW0rKWNNfRZq4FBwTqIPNAmiD35lE-8bPNrcxVTZIyxoCWIjw_wcB  i don't know how strong your handholds over the mower fenders are but I'd be trying to use those as a tie point.  Get some cheap cloth webbing rock climbing runners to protect your paint and plastic.  A quick loop on each side and you have perfect tie points.

My mower bounces all over creation due to lack of points to tie to on the mower and the fenders on the trailer are in the way of the rail.  I'm thinking of putting an anchor in the middle of the deck for the rear of mower.  The front wheels wedge against the front trailer rail and straps down from axle to deck.

I'm more limited since I need to drag things off of the trailer deck.  Pallets hang up on tracks and rings.  I may route a channel on either side of the deck to recess "L" track flush with the deck but have yet to do so.  I need to do several mods but never think of them until I'm in the middle of loading.  

Don't forget to pick a couple of cheap white LED lights and switch to tap into the electrical and shine on the deck.  Night use is so much nicer.

I think you can't go wrong with either a "Big Tex" or "PJ" trailer for what your planning to use it for. My only advice would be that "Bigger is better"......I have only owned three trailers, but I have always seem to find that I was needing a bigger one than the one I had.

Our first trailer was a Big Tex that we got for our ATV's to haul them from town out to the ranch. We had just bought two ATV's and needed a trailer to get them back home. I really wanted to get a trailer that would fit both ATV's on it (12' to 14'), but the one trailer place near the dealer only had 8' trailers, so we ended up having to put one of the ATV's into the back of the truck. It worked out OK, but it was a pain in the butt to have to take the trailer off to load/unload the ATV into or out of the truck. I did like the Big Tex trailer as it had the ramp style loading gate. The floor was 2x6 wood plank and the sides were the pipe tubing rails, which was nice as they didn't cut into the tie down straps. It didn't have a jack stand at all, instead it had a simple bracket welded on the bottom of the tongue for setting on it top of blocks.

As others have mentioned, shorter trailers are hard to back up and with the high rear end on our Chevy Avalanche, that made it much worse as I couldn't see the trailer at all if I had our other ATV in the back of the truck.

Here is a pic of our Big Tex set up:



Eventually we were able to store our ATV's at a friend's ranch. They had a large 16' car hauler style trailer we could use, so we ended up selling our Big Tex trailer.

Our next trailer was a fully enclosed Haulmark that was 10' long. It had a loading ramp style door and the neat moveable tie down system inside that was great for motorcycles. It had a fixed jack stand with a removable wheel, but I did manage to scrape the jack stand a couple of times on some driveways. We used this trailer a lot for moving furniture out to New Mexico and I did haul my motorcycle with it a bunch. It still was not long enough for both of our ATV's, so we ended up selling it as well.





Our third (And current) trailer is a 14' PJ that has a fold down loading ramp and removable side ramps. It also has a jack stand that swivels. So far this has been a great trailer. It can fit both of our ATV's on it and still have a little room for a cargo box to carry tool/gas cans, etc....

As I mentioned earlier though, bigger is always better. We recently got a Polaris Ranger, so now what we have to do is to put one ATV sideways across the front of the trailer and then the Ranger will fit into the remaining area. Our other ATV is carried in the back of the pick up, which works fine for me, but it involves the need for a separate set of ramps. There have been a couple of times that I have hauled 16' boards, so a longer (20'+) trailer probably would have been better. If I was to get a longer trailer, I would go with a tandem axle car hauler style.

Most small trailers are 4 flat.

That said I have a T-supply trailer 5x8 I believe and it works fine.  Its all painted steel so you do have to deal with the corrosion factor.  If you want aluminum be prepared to pay double.  We live in the rust belt with extensive salt use and I use my trailer in the winter.  It will be good for 5 years before you have to start taking a wire brush and paint to it.  I am going to try to do mine every other year from here on out so its not such a huge project.

Once the fenders start to rust out you can get plastic fenders for not to much.  A few bolts will hold them on and no more rust. I use a cheap folding jack attached to the tongue.  My lights started giving me issues once the trailer was 5+ years old so I bought a LED kit for not to much and they have worked great for the last two years.

A wire brush and black spray paint go a long ways and keep things looking OK.

I tow with my Jeep Patriot so nothing to crazy but it has hauled everything from snowmobiles to UTVs to firewood.



I tend to be very budget minded when it comes to stuff like this, though when it comes time to replace, I woud like to think I will look for an aluminum of similar style with actual grease fittings...  But truth be told I will probably buy another T-supply just like I have.  

Most of the big box store trailers don't have grease fittings for the bearings, its the packable kind which is just so~so in my opinion.

I am sure my trailer will make it well past 15 years old before I have to even consider replacing it though.  Maintenance is key.

ETA/ my trailer is a 2009 which I think I bought around 08~09 so its getting older.

As far as wiring goes I would have some one who knows vehicle electrical take a look.  I have done much with many vehicles electrical and lightly systems and if you know what your looking at you can clean it up and make it work in no time at all.

Think simple.  Figure out what type of tail light system your vehicle has.  Then figure out if it comes with factory powered trailer lights..  Once you have that down you can determine what needs to go or re-done.  

Take some pictures, I am sure some of us on here can tell you what needs to go, is good to go, or needs to be replaced.