best faltbed

[ripp_jr]

yes what would yall say is the best aluminum flatbed out there today most of my fellow drivers say its a reitourner im looking to buy a flatbed soon was just wondering thanks

[GMAN]

A friend of mine swears by East. I have known of a couple of owner operator's who love their Reitnouer. There are several good brands around. I think much of it has to do with personal preference.

I would say it has much more to do with the $10,000+ difference in price!!

[Mackman]

EAST

I never pulled a flatbed expect a lowboy a couple times. But when it comes to dump trailers or dump bodies east is the best. IMHO. So i think there flatbeds would be good. Like steve said which is the truth east dump trailers are alot more then the others. But hold re-sale alot better.

[rank]

features, price, condition are all that matter IMO.

[arky]

We pull mostly East and Reitnour at Maverick. I like the Reitnour's myself, but they do have some negatives. They have a lot more bow to them than the East which can be a hassle loading steel beams or anything that fills the length of the trailer and doesn't flex. What happens is unless you really block up the ends, the forklift has problems getting out from under the steel after he sits it down. The Reitnours also have grooves that run full length of the bed. Our chains seem to fit really, really well into those grooves and can be a pain in the azz to get out. I have learned to avoid this scenario somewhat but you can completely avoid it.

You might want to talk to someone who has pulled a Chapporel (sp?). I've seen a few of them on the yard but never got the opportunity to pull one yet. I really liked the looks of them. They look to have a little less bow than the reitnouer and they have no grooves to hang the chains up.

With all that said, if I were buying used, it would come down to finding a trailer that was in good condition at the best price. I'm guessing that you'll get good service out of most any of them if they are in good shape and you keep them that way.

Arky

[Doghouse]

I just bought a 48'/96" Chaparral and it seems like a very well built aluminum trailer. I was going to get a Benson, but changed my mind. I'll post again here after I use it for a few weeks,..to test it out.

[rank]

I PREFER COMBOS.

[special k]

The company I was leased to had a bunch of Chaparals and the only issue they seemed to have was the floor was screwed down and the screws would back out and the floor would lift especially at the back. They ended up going to Benson's with the floor welded instead of screwed. Other than that they seemed like a decent trailer. If you're in the rust belt I would get a trailer with the least amount of bolted together sections. IMO those are good places for corrosion to start if you're going to keep the trailer for a long time.

[DaveP]

We pull mostly East and Reitnour at Maverick. I like the Reitnour's myself, but they do have some negatives. They have a lot more bow to them than the East which can be a hassle loading steel beams or anything that fills the length of the trailer and doesn't flex. What happens is unless you really block up the ends, the forklift has problems getting out from under the steel after he sits it down. The Reitnours also have grooves that run full length of the bed. Our chains seem to fit really, really well into those grooves and can be a pain in the azz to get out. I have learned to avoid this scenario somewhat but you can completely avoid it.

You might want to talk to someone who has pulled a Chapporel (sp?). I've seen a few of them on the yard but never got the opportunity to pull one yet. I really liked the looks of them. They look to have a little less bow than the reitnouer and they have no grooves to hang the chains up.

With all that said, if I were buying used, it would come down to finding a trailer that was in good condition at the best price. I'm guessing that you'll get good service out of most any of them if they are in good shape and you keep them that way.

Arky

Just kind of lightly crack it (like cracking a whip) with a light twist and it'll pop out every time ...

Oh yeah....ya gotta yell "dammit" real loud.

[mike3fan]

I just bought a 48'/96" Chaparral and it seems like a very well built aluminum trailer. I was going to get a Benson, but changed my mind. I'll post again here after I use it for a few weeks,..to test it out.

If we waited around for you to start and give us your experiences we would all be retired......