By Chris M. (Argomaster9000) on Unrecorded Date: Edit

For all those who are considering a REALLY good trailer for their machines, here's what we did.

We bought a custom 7' x 14' trailer, dual axles, steel flooring, loading ramp, 1 foot high steel walls. Now, what we really wanted was an enclosed trailer, but those cost over $5,000 CDN with the dual-axle combo. In our opinion (me and my dad's), single-axle was out of the question for an expensive toy like the Conquest, so it had to be dual. Since this little hauler was brand new and custom-ordered, we told the manufacturer that we wanted a skeleton going over the trailer itself. A skeleton you ask? Yes... It looks like a roll-cage for the trailer. Ridiculous? No... This roll cage, according to my dad's idea was the ultimate idea for an enclosed trailer. What he ended up doing was covering the "roll cage" with plywood and painting it black (to match the trailer itself). The plywood itself is bolted onto the steel rollcage and goes outside the steel walls, so that no water comes inside the trailer. Before painting it however, he also sealed all the little spaces between the plywood boards with industrial rubber sealant to make it weatherproof. He then painted it and double-coated the roof with a similar seal for protection against the elements (snow, rain, sun, etc.). The under-side of the trailer has rubberized coating for rust protection. (This is an excellent idea not just for trailers but cars as well as it really helps in rust prevention.) He also added safety lights on the top back (red) and front (amber) of the cover which looks REALLY nice (like an 18-wheeler, but not as many!). There is also lighting inside the trailer itself which really helps. The back has a professional door with a latch and is covered by the loading ramp which is even safer because if for some reason the latch opens (which is nearly impossible), the loading ramp will immediately stop it.

What we still want to do (after winter) is to cover the entire plywood with black steel sheets like the ones you see on enclosed trailers and add aluminum steel borders on all the edges. This is for weather proofing and style. Now you ask, why we did this? Well, since the manufacturer designed the "roll cage" for us, they designed it so that it fits into the frame of the 1 foot high steel walls. This way, the entire top can be removed and used as a mini-garage/storage for the Argo, while the trailer can be used for something else.

The entire trailer looks quite professional, even without all the finishes we still want to add. It doesn't look overly "LARGE" or too tall (like the ones used for horses), as the top is a little short (about 5'6"), which you can of course change according to your needs. Our goal was to have a dual-axle, enclosed trailer with a removeable top that still looked very professional and we've designed just that, for a relatively low cost. Indeed, he put quite a bit of effort into it, and it really paid off as the trailer looks really good (professional).

The space inside it is plenty. We can drive the Conquest right in, including with the tracks on. We also have a trailer for the Argo (the dual-axle floating one), but it must go on it's side at the front of the trailer. If the trailer was a bit longer, it may also fit without putting it on it's side, but we did not want a long trailer (one of our objectives).

This is a very heavy-duty trailer. I'm not sure about it's weight (I can check), but we have absolutely no problems pulling it anywhere. We own a 1997 Dodge RAM 3500 Turbo Diesel, ext. cab, dual-axle. So it's essentially a 6x6 pulling an 8x8 on a 4x4! HAH!

I'd love to hear your comments or suggestions. I may also post a picture of our trailer/argo/truck combo in my profile if interested.

By Dave Johnston on Unrecorded Date: Edit

OK...Need some advice before I do something stupid.
I got a 1999 Ford F 250 SD.. QUAD CAB SHORT BED.
The bed is wide enough for my Argo. Just a smidge over 5 feet but I can handle it. Wheel wells are an issue. Length is 8 feet with the tail gate down. Argo is 10 feet long. I figure with the motor in the front, not a problem. I heard about the ARGO tipping on the wheel wells and punching out the rear window so will make a RAMP inside the bed to maintain the angle up entry. Plan on using the winch to lift the front of the ARGO up until the wheels make contact, then driving/wenching up the ramp inside the bed. Tie down to bolts in the bed. I MUST be missing something... Do I need some 12 inch wide ramps to the tail gate or can the wench handle it? Has ANYONE attempted to carry their ARGO in a short bed pickup?... If I can make this work, I can sell the 12 foot long, 6 foot wide trailer and spend the money on more Argo toys.

By jerry smith (Deerhunter) on Unrecorded Date: Edit

Dave- watch out when loading your argo into a pickup that you don,t bend the tailgate. I had one of the cables break on my ford when I was loading the bigfoot and now I,am looking for a new tailgate. jerry

By Ramrx on Unrecorded Date: Edit

I have been planning on building a simillar trailer. Do you have any pictures? How did you build the back door?

By Tim O'Keefe (64.223.37.139) on : Edit

Dear Dave:
You guy's have to come back to RI soon. I had a blast last time, even though Tim broke a chain. Did he fix it yet? I have some work to do on my Argo too. I can't wait till all the snow melts, it will be so muddy!!! I love the riding in the mud, don't you? Is Pete having a ride in NJ? Next week the snow should be melted don't you think? Give me a call when the snow melts if your machine is up and running OK? I am having a problem with my clutch.

By test (66.139.76.153) on : Edit

test

By david berger (Davidrrrd) (152.163.100.201) on : Edit

hi tim o, yes tim s has just compleated his rear sproket instalation and convertion to the realy good o-ring chain on the main drive chains,
so we should see you again soon.
mines just got to have the starter relay put in, and maybe some more bolts to hold the uper body together. and maybe...........