A trailer on a smallholding is probably the most useful and frequently used piece of equipment. Small farmers can find modern farm trailers, both single axle and double axle, in both tipping and fixed models, with top-of-the-range tipping trailers being able to tip to either side as well as backwards.
These “three-way-tip” units are a boon when working in confined spaces such as stable yards, feedlots and barns. One can dump the load precisely where required without unnecessary moving and positioning. They are, however, expensive, and require a relatively large tractor with hydraulics to operate. So for the average smallholder they are overkill.
Quadbike trailers
There are trailers that can be towed by quadbikes, but which can also be used with garden tractors and bakkies. These come with either single or double axles.
Smallholders can do very nicely with one of the old SAR&H station baggage wagons. These sturdy little two-axle drawbar trailers were made to withstand the less-than-tender ministrations of the Railways in the days when people and parcels moved by train. Many still exist and come up for sale on auctions etc and you will find yours being used to carry bricks, compost, fencing material, feed, manure etc.
You can fit the sides with poles to turn it into a high-capacity hayrick. You can put a couple of 210 litre water drums and a high-pressure pump onto it to give you a handy makeshift firefighting unit in winter.
Single axle or double axle? Much will depend on the unit and the price, but a double axle trailer on a smallholding has advantages. Firstly,one can hitch and unhitch it from the tractor without having to worry about a dolly wheel to hold up the drawbar. Secondly, it is more forgiving in load distribution, its two axles giving it better stability. (A badly loaded single axle trailer can make a small tractor unstable if the load is too far back, for example).
Main Image: Trailer from QuadMaster ATV Implements.
To read about other equipment and machinery for your plot click here. To subscribe to SA Smallholder click here.