Sometimes you have to tow items that are too heavy to lift onto your trailer. In some cases, a ramp can help you to get the items up onto the deck, but ramps can be too steep, or it can be difficult to line the cargo up with the ramp to move it onto the trailer. In these situations, a tilt trailer may be more practical. The powered deck of a tilt trailer can be lowered down at an angle, allowing you to easily load your cargo onto the trailer without having to worry about ramps at all.

Like all types of trailers, tilt trailers have advantages and disadvantages and are not right for every situation. Before you invest in a tilt trailer, you can determine whether it will meet your needs by weighing its pros and cons.

The Pros of a Tilt Trailers

You may want to consider a tilt trailer if you haul a wide variety of items. While a drop deck trailer may be limited in the situations it can handle, a tilt trailer has a wider range of applications and can haul a wider variety of items. A few examples of items that you can load and haul on a tilt trailer include:

• ATVs
• Motorcycles
• Riding lawnmowers
• Snowmobiles
• Tool chests

This is not an exhaustive list of all the items you can haul with your tilt trailer. Essentially, as long as you can push or wheel your cargo up onto the deck while it is tilted down, and it is within the high weight capacity, you can use the trailer to haul it.

If you try to push heavy items up onto a ramp to load them onto a trailer, there is a risk that they could fall off and get damaged. A tilt trailer protects heavy objects from damage because it is wide enough that you can roll them directly onto the deck. Not only does this prevent damage to your cargo but it also helps protect you from an injury that could occur if the object fell off the ramp or from overexertion of trying to lift or push the object.

Another advantage is that tilt trailers allow you to use all the space available on the deck to carry your load. When you use a trailer with a foldable loading ramp, some of the space on the deck has to be spared to accommodate the ramp.

The Cons of Tilt Trailers

All types of trailers have their downsides, and tilt trailers are no exception. For example, rust on the mechanism that allows for the tilting motion can prevent it from moving at all, negating all a tilt trailer’s benefits. To prevent this from happening, you have to oil the mechanism properly as part of routine maintenance. Compared to other types of trailers, tilt trailers require more maintenance.

Because of their extra capabilities, tilt trailers also cost more upfront to purchase compared to other types of trailers. You may have to budget more than you anticipate to be able to afford it. Therefore, you need to evaluate the specific benefits that a tilt trailer has to offer and whether they are essential to your hauling practices. If you cannot justify spending as much as you would have to on a tilt trailer and performing the necessary maintenance, you may have to satisfy yourself with purchasing a less expensive, more limited trailer instead, such as a drop deck or flatbed trailer.

Reasons To Buy a Tilt Trailer From Millroad Manufacturing

While tilt trailers offer a great deal of versatility at baseline, you can further customize them to meet your needs when you purchase from Millroad Manufacturing. Find out more about the different options we offer.