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Big Bend Trailers
Bar Stirrup Enterprise
(Serving the West)
Tom Babb
(559) 730-
© 2018 Big Bend Trailer. Design by Epic Print & Promo
Big Bend Trailers
Bar Stirrup Enterprise
(Serving the West)
Tom Babb
(559) 730-
© 2018 Big Bend Trailer. Design by Epic Print & Promo
Here are some things to think about before ordering that new trailer. Ask yourself, “what is the main purpose of my new trailer?” Do I just need a tough trailer to use around the ranch or do I need a trailer to haul a lot of cattle to market and from ranch to ranch?
Here are some facts to remember, most trailer manufacturers (including Big Bend) offer 3 axle widths (or trailer frame width), a 5’ wide, a 6’ wide, and 6’8” wide axle. If you are going to use your trailer exclusively on the ranch and have super rough country like the mountains of West Texas, New Mexico, Arizona, or Colorado, or muddy fields, or sandy country you will probably want a 5’ wide trailer so that the trailer will tack inside your truck tracks. The only drawback with a 5’ wide trailer is that a horse or bull can’t turn around in it, but Big Bend offers a custom axle so you can order a 6’ wide trailer and have it come on a 5’ axle. This does add an additional cost and there is a 6” fender on the inside of your trailer, additionally your sort gate is around 10” higher off the floor of the trailer than your standard center gate so it can open up over the fender and be flush against the side of your trailer. We bolt a rubber mat onto the bottom of the gate so a calf want try to go under the gate. The 5’ wide axle is the trailer you want to use on rough ranch (muddy or sandy) 4 wheel drive type of country!
The 6’ wide trailer is a good compromise as it will get back in fairly rough country and track in a dually wheel pick up tracks so if you are running a dually pickup then there is no use in going with a 5’ wide axle as the 6’ wide axle tracks in the dually wheel pickup. You can get around the ranch and it is wide enough that you can haul a good amount of cattle or horses in it. Great all around trailer and what most of our Dad’s and Grand Dad’s have used on our ranches for years. It is good for all types of jobs and a good middle of the road trailer.
The 6’8” wide axle is the widest axle allowed on the highways by law, the tires measure 102” from outside of tire to outside of tire. This trailer should only be used on the highway or good county maintained roads to haul livestock to market or from ranch to ranch and shouldn’t be used on 2 track ranch roads no matter if you have a dually pickup or not because it is tracking 4” outside of a dually wheel pick up tires on each side. So if you use the 6’8” wide axle on your two track roads you are going to beat your trailer up and you will start having cracks in your welds and etc. Stop and think about it you have the same width size axle on your trailer as an 18 wheeler cattle truck has on it so you shouldn’t take it back into rough country that you wouldn’t ask your 18 wheeler cattle truck to go back into. A great alternative to the 6’8” wide trailer and axle is to go with the 6’8” wide trailer and then go with the custom axles (6’ wide axles). You get the best of both worlds there, you have a trailer that is wide enough that cattle can stand sideways in (so you can haul more head in it) and yet you can use it on the ranch without beating up your trailer. I have a 24’ by 6’8” trailer on 6’ axles that I have used for several years and the fenders are only sticking in 3” on each side and they really don’t bother anything and you don’t have to worry about cattle getting down if you load them too tight like you do on the fender that sticks in 6” or more. To me this makes the most sense for a ranch trailer that is going to be used on the ranch and some highway use too as you are not compromising any amount of load that you could haul in a straight 6’8” wide axle and trailer. You will have a trailer that will last you a long time.