ATV Adventures: Product review — The PJ single-axle channel utility trailer
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- While the pictures of this trailer are red, I took a gray trailer that was too dirty for pictures after I was done using it.
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- While the pictures of this trailer are red, I took a gray trailer that was too dirty for pictures after I was done using it.
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- Lynn Blamires
Having pulled trailers with ATVs for 30 years, I love a good trailer. It doesn’t take much to see that a lot of people love trailers — even people without pickup trucks.
I am amazed at the variety of trailers available and what I see being loaded onto and into them. Travel trailers, fifth wheels and an endless array of utility trailers are available in all sizes. I even have a garden trailer I pull behind my ATV. Just writing this article has made me more aware of utility trailers — they are everywhere.
I have a 22-foot-by-8-inch trailer that I use to haul up to six ATVs. The twin axles are under the trailer so it sits high. However, now that I have UTVs, I don’t need the width or the height.
I went to Wasatch Trailer Sales in Layton. Jake told me that they are introducing a new utility trailer with some very nice features and offered to let me try out a 14-foot-by-83-inch trailer for this article.
The decking is made with Blackwood Rubber Infused Lumber. Rubber is infused to the entire top of each treated piece of lumber, solving some age-old problems with trailer decks. The rubber has a rough surface to prevent slippage, especially in wet weather. This is truly a maintenance-free deck.
A heavy-duty single-axle trailer, it comes with a 3-foot fold-up gate. The end of the trailer slopes down in what is known as a dovetail that facilitates loading low-clearance equipment like riding lawn mowers. The gate lifts in place and locks in an upright position to help secure the load.
The heavy-duty label comes from the fact that it has a 5,200-pound axle. That means that subtracting the 1,720-pound weight of the trailer, 3,480 pounds can be safely loaded and transported. The wheels are mounted to the side of the deck instead of underneath which lowers the center gravity. The radial tires mounted on 16-inch rims are also a benefit. A spare is mounted on the side.
Another feature of this trailer is that the railing can be removed for those times when you want a flat bed. It also has a locking toolbox mounted on the front and a 7,000-pound trailer jack. It comes in red or gray. I chose gray, so what does that say about me?
PJ Trailers also feature Ready-Rail. This is a rail system that allows the customizing of the trailer to specific needs with bolt-on accessories. The rails have holes to add such items as a bench vice, a cooler rack, tie down rings or a bed divider.
Loading up my Kawasaki Teryx4 S LE UTV was easy with the spring-loaded ramp feature. We were headed for the San Rafael Swell and fun at the Swell Jamboree in Huntington.
The trailer pulled easily down Interstate 15 and onto the dirt roads to the trailheads in the Swell. It was also easy to maneuver in parking lots.
I was amazed at the grip my tires had on the Blackwood Rubber Infused deck. Even if the tie-down straps became loose, my Kawasaki didn’t slip at all.
After riding for two days on the amazing trails in the Swell, we loaded up and headed home. I put just under 600 miles on the trailer and I had a hard time turning it back in. I was so impressed with the Blackwood Rubber Infused deck, especially after having to replace a deck on one of my trailers.
In taking the trailer back, I needed to ask some questions to write this article. I got a chance to see how customers were treated.
Wasatch Trailer Sales is one busy place representing 22 different trailer manufacturers — you can get any kind of trailer you want. In the 15 minutes I waited to talk to a sales rep, three trailers were sold and paperwork delivered. The customers were told to wait outside while their trailers were brought around and hooked up to their vehicles. Also in that time, the receptionist took four calls to have sales reps call back.
Customers had to wait, but when it was their turn they got all the attention they wanted. It is easy to see why they are successful. When you go, take plenty of water, keep the rubber side down and when you need a trailer, talk to Wasatch Trailer Sales.
Contact Lynn R. Blamires at quadmanone@gmail.com.