FAQ'S

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 track 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 won't 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 pickup 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 pickup 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.

The ¾ and ½ top trailer are great for catching wild cows that have to be roped and dragged into your trailer. You don't have to worry about threading your rope through the sides of the trailer and etc. so you can just flip it up over the lazy L and drag the critter into your trailer.

The one thing to remember when selecting your rear gate option on this type of trailer is that since you have no bow over the top of the trailer in the back to help support a heavy gate I would recommend the butterfly gates because they are not as heavy as the single swing gate and you don't have the whole weight of the gate hanging back there on one corner of your trailer with no support over the top. We will not put a swing/slider on the rear of this type trailer as that gate is way too heavy to have on one corner of this trailer with no bows over the top.

I would not recommend a 6'8" wide trailer or going more than 8' open in the back. The wider or longer you go on this type trailer the harder it is to hold the back end of the trailer together without any bows over the top. Another thing to think about is if you are going to be roping wild cattle and dragging them into your trailer chances are they are not on the highway or along a good county road. They most likely are in the roughest hardest to get to places that they can get to so you shouldn't be going back into that type of rough country with the 6'8" wide axle so I would use a 5' wide or 6' wide axle for that type application with the butterfly rear gates. Although we have built 32' X 6'8" wide 3/4 top trailers for customers in the past I just don't see this as a good idea.

Here at our ranch we have a 16' X 6' wide single axle trailer on a 5' axle (we can pull this trailer with a half ton pickup) to go get the wild ones in or to help a neighbor. Then we have a 24' X 6'8" wide trailer on a 6' axle to use around the ranch day to day. Then if we are weaning calves and hauling them to market or to another ranch we have a 32' X 6'8" or my new trailer is going to be 32' X 7'. We can go 7' wide on a 6'8" axle without putting a fender on the inside and the cost to get the extra 4" is pretty minimal and it makes the cattle load & haul easier.