Open or enclosed landscape trailer? - GopherHaul Lawn Care Business Marketing Forum Show

http://www.gopherforum.com When most landscapers start up their business, they tend to start with a truck only. Then later they may add an open trailer. At a certain point you may be asking yourself whats better to have, an open or enclosed trailer and why?

Thats the question one of our new forum members asked and he quite a few responses I think will help you make up your mind as well.

Brandon: Hi everyone my name is Brandon and I am the president of my own landscape & maintenance corp. I have been in business for 9 years and hope to find continued success long into the future. I was wondering if anyone could provide me with some positive and negative attributes of an enclosed trailer as opposed to an open utility trailer to move lawn care equipment from job to job? I have an open trailer now and I am thinking of making the switch over to an enclosed one.

Keith: I can think of a few pros and cons of the top of my head. Pros: - Ability to lock. - Protection from rain. - Larger area to put name/logo/phone number. - Looks more professional. - Possible increased slipstreaming giving better gas milage (offset by weight, Im sure). - Ability to put shelves/storage areas. - Protects cargo from rocks kicked up by your truck. - Winter storage. Cons: - Increased cost. - Increased axle and tongue weight. - Inability to load from top (leaves, mulch, dirt). This is the biggest negative I can think of. - Doesnt air out well when mower has wet grass or fuel fumes. - Reduced freedom of movement when you are quickly grabbing a trimmer, etc.

Chuck: I run enclosed trailers currently. It is added weight, & its like dragging an 8′ wall behind you so fuel economy suffers a bit. But I think the added security, & having a huge billboard behind you all day offsets the negatives.

I have gone to many estimates & when I pull up they say Oh yeah, Ive seen you guys all over town you stay pretty busy huh? The fact that they recognize the rig & that Ive been around a while adds instant credibility.

So many guys run trucks with no decals or only little magnets & open trailers. I pass them all day long & they all look the same. So that seems to make a big difference.

The biggest negative I have found is that here in Florida its damn hot. So when we run these machines for 8-11 minutes at a time & load them up, drive 2 minutes & repeat all day they dont really get to cool down. an open trailer would at least let air blow past them. I have offset this by running full synthetic oil in all my mowers to add some protection against the added heat & we usually end up throwing the trimmers in the back of the trucks between jobs.

I will stay with enclosed trailers & if not I would have my truck professionally wrapped to make it more recognizable.

I think it depends on where you currently store your trailer. If you park your trailer on your driveway at home and need to unload all of your equipment each night into a garage, that is going to take a big bite of time to load it in the morning and unload it at night. So consider these all of these factors. Constantly strive to make your business more streamlined and profitable.

If you are in need of free lawn care marketing material for your lawn care business, please visit our site at http://www.gophersoftware.com. We have hundreds of free lawn care logo, flyer, door hanger and web templates you can download and use for your lawn care business. We also have free lawn care business contracts, estimate and proposal forms. Download our trial version of Gopher Lawn Care Business Software. Gopher will help your lawn care business schedule and invoice more customers in less time, allowing you more time to grow or enjoy your life. Check out my lawn care business blog at http://www.lawnchat.com and my lawn care business forum at http://www.gopherforum.com

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[seahorse1945]

You could add low vents to get some cooling inside the trailer -No matter what you use in the crankcase, periodic lube-oil analysis by a chem lab that specializes in small engines is a good idea ( to see if overheat is hurting oil) ,  and also ; especially if your lawn equipment is carbureted- (where you are likely to have some fuel washing down into the crankcase and diluting the crankcase oil) - you'll get excess wear if the fuel is run too rich or ignition out of tune (black exh smoke )

[guitardavid79]

Open or enclosed? This is obviously a budget problem. Nothing more.

[hicktownpa1233]

im switching to enclosed and abt the fumes and stuff thats y they got vents

and im getting to new mowers and a 16 ft inclosed

[hockeykidd177]

if u hav`e an open trailer u culd leave it in one of those portable sheds and not have to take the equiptment of

[lringstad]

Have you got a twitter feed?

[CedrikTheManiac00]

i cant understand how people can mowec lawn there whole life. must bo so boring. mowed lawns is not landscaping is maintenance

[lukepools]

talk into the microphone...

[2066241]

My dad always mowed lawns and of course i have always wanted to do it so when i turn 16 I alreday have the truck trailer and some tools but im gointg to get a big ztr mower and a couple nice weed eather i already have a brand new echo so i might stich with that but really al i eed is a blower!

[RM250D8rzr]

make sure you get a white trailer or silver. black trailers are alot hotter in the sun.