Big or small wheels / Mesh or Wood floor???

[Imperitas]

I thought this topic would have been covered by a search didn't turn up anything.

Anyhow, I have been looking a 5x8 and 6x8 trailers as I am about to buy a 2nd quad.

I have looked at the trailers that have the mesh metal floors and the same trailers with wood floors. I kinda like the mesh for the weight savings and that I can stop by a car wash and wash the quad off in the trailer on the way home. However, the mesh doesn't seem quite as sturdy and the small tack welds seem like they would break after only a short time.
-Anyone have an opinion to which is better and whY???


Also, I have seen the same trailers with the smaller, puny looking wheels, and some have the bigger car type wheels. The thought of my atv going down the hwy on those small little tires kinda scares me. Are the smaller tires ok for hwy use or is the bigger car like wheels they way to go???

Any advice at all is appreciated.

[jaybeecon55]

There are both pro's and con's for mesh vs wood decking. As you pointed out, the mesh is nice for cleaning, however, most of the small trailers with mesh that I've seen use a light guage mesh - unless there is an additional support runner under the areas where the ATV wheels will sit, this light guage mesh will "oil can" in time - making a series of dips in the mesh decking. It will never break through, but it doesn't look too good.

Wood decking also works fine for cleaning off the bikes, just make sure that there are some gaps between each plank. However, even a solid wood deck sprays off pretty easily. A wood deck needs a little more care - waterseal applied about twice a year will halp it last a long time.

As far at wheel size goes, larger is definately better. Those tiny wheels can spin at two to three times the speed of larger tires. This is usually not much a problem if you have good quality bearings and make sure that they are greased but if not, then the chances of loosing a bearing is pretty good. I've trailered a single axle with two quads and 8" wheels about 800 miles one way without incident, but I made sure that I checked the hub temperatures at every stop.

Jaybee