[Oslo]

Can anyone provide a review of the dual-use raft trailer Sawtooth Welding out of Nampa Idaho offers? It looks like an all-around great trailer for the price.

Page Title

thanks

 

[TOMATS52]

They look a lot like a "rapid rig" trailer sold by Cascade Outfitters. That one is over $3K. Perhaps Sawtooth Welding is making a competitive trailer? I've seen rapid rig trailers around and they are the bomb if you have a lot of stuff and need to haul a couple boats. From the web ad, the Sawtooth trailer may have a beefier axle too?

 

[Oslo]

It does look like the cascade trailer. One of the big differences, besides price, is the top locks. You can also change anything since they're built to order.

I'm sold, I haven't been able to find a trailer in Colorado that I like. I just need to figure out where to raft on the way back from Idaho.

 

[Osprey]

Yeah, I wonder how long it will take before a lawsuit comes up with that one.

*

I have a Rapid Rig and it is awesome, but mine was built by the designer before he sold the plans to Mirage to build for Cascade.** I like how the on the Sawtooth they added full sides, winch and a full top versus the rails.* The elongated tongue with motorcycle mount is cool.** Mine has a winch but the Cascade one doesn’t, and the top rails over several years start to kind of leave rail spots in the rubber.* No big deal but it happens, the full mesh top looks better. **The full sides should be better for gas mileage, although then you can’t add/remove small items from the trailer without opening the tailgate and crawling in there, same with the top.* Pros/cons I guess.

*

What I would change on the Sawtooth though versus mine is that they mounted the tail lights low instead of up high to stay out of the water, a fully rigged boat with fishing frame is heavy to get up that high on the deck, you want to get it down in the water if you can without getting the hubs in.** Mine also has a torsion axle, I’m convinced that’s the way to go, no more springs to deal with and soaks up the rough roads.** The deck looks nicer in the Cascade but oh well, mine is Trex anyway so no maintenance ever.* They have been creeping the price up at Cascade over the years, but they do put it on sale every year.*** The Sawtooth looks like a nice rig too.**

 

[Osprey]

Sorry, I don't know why my phone always puts all those weird asterisks in there.

 

[Oslo]

Thanks for the reply.

I think I'll ask to have the lights put higher up..that's a good point. I'm having an access door put in front of the wheel so I can pull stuff out. I've also asked if he could make the gate "lock" half open so it'll be lower when winching a fully rigged boat onto the deck.

 

[Hatch]

Thanks for the reply.

I think I'll ask to have the lights put higher up..that's a good point. I'm having an access door put in front of the wheel so I can pull stuff out. I've also asked if he could make the gate "lock" half open so it'll be lower when winching a fully rigged boat onto the deck.

Did you end getting a trailer from these guys?

 

[Hatch]

Thanks for the reply.

I think I'll ask to have the lights put higher up..that's a good point. I'm having an access door put in front of the wheel so I can pull stuff out. I've also asked if he could make the gate "lock" half open so it'll be lower when winching a fully rigged boat onto the deck.

Did you end up getting a trailer from these guys?

 

[Oslo]

I did..and so far I really like it.

 

[duct tape]

I've talked to Randy at Sawtooth and the guys at Mirage/MEI Trailers where they previously made the trailer sold by Cascade (who may not be carrying it anymore this year, although it's still shown on their web site).

There are some nice additions with the Sawtooth version and both have a 3500# axle, but I'm a little concerned with Sawtooth using a leaf spring vs. the Mirage torsion bar.

Any comments?

 

[Learch]

I'm a torsion axle fan. They can have more belly clearance and they are very smooth riding and eliminate a lot of noises on bumpy roads. They are sensitive in tandem axle setups to level, they do not equalize between each other like leaf spring tandem setups do. That is a pretty good looking trailer for less that 2 grand. I look at some of those trailers and wonder how much it would cost me to duplicate in my garage, and it doesn't seem like I'd save much money. I think a 5x12 box would be plenty for me, 12 feet seems kind of long.

 

[duct tape]

Even for a 16' Hyside?

 

[Hatch]

I did..and so far I really like it.

Very cool!!! What additions/modifications did you end up with? Were they pretty easy to work with?

 

[Oslo]

- 5'x10' instead of 5'x12' box - I have garage storage limitations. I also didn't think I needed a 12' box. In the picture below, I push the boat up another foot.
- 4' tongue instead of 5' - Once again, storage length considerations.
- I had them weld metal mesh in the tongue triangle so I could put "stuff" up there
- 2' access door in front of the tire well. The door is in the picture...you can't really see it, but it is large, lockable, and very easy to access coolers/dryboxes/anything out of the trailer.

Randy was very easy to work with. Let me know if you have any other questions.

 

[duct tape]

I just talked to Randy and if you want a torsion axle instead of a leaf spring it is only a $175 option.

I added the motorcycle ramp option on the tongue, for shuttles, and some recessed d-rings down the middle for dirt bike tie downs.

Jon

 

[Learch]

Even for a 16' Hyside?

My 14 fits on an 8 foot deck fine, 3 feet of overhang seems okay to me. Even if you got rear ended the raft would probably high enough to be missed. You Can offset the raft towards the front too.

 

[Osprey]

awesome deal, glad it worked out. I can't see your picture but that looked like a heck of a trailer for the money. It is just so nice and makes it so easy having a good quality trailer.

 

[otisfireboy]

Did you guys travel up to get the trailer or have it shipped??
Are the prices still correct on their website, how long was their turn-around?



It's time to pull the trigger
My Specs so far:
-5x10 (14' Aire)
-motorcycle carrier
-mount lights up high
-gate lock half open
-side access door (pass side)
-Adjustable (up/down)/removable winch

anything else you guys would do different:roll:

Can't wait for a new trailer!!!

 

[Oslo]

I drove up in a day, spent the night, picked up the trailer in the morning and drove home. It didn't work out to get on the water while I was up there.

I didn't have the lights mounted higher, the lights he uses are water proof (even though after seeing them I don't think they'd take being under water very long) but there isn't much space to mount them higher due to the back gate lock.

Having the gate "lock" half way down didn't happen either. I'm still trying to figure out a fix for this issue. The back gate supports the top deck, so if the gate is half open and the raft rolls onto the deck, the back would flex and you'd have to muscle it up to close the gate.

I've only used the trailer a couple times at the end of last season and the height of the trailer deck is an issue. While winching the raft out of the water, it hits the roller really low and gets stuck. It's easy enough to have someone in the back pull the raft up 4 inches and then continue winching, but I'd like to be able to get it on the trailer solo. I'm thinking of having a second, lower bar made to kick the raft up to hit the roller at a better angle. I hope that all makes sense....

I'd probably have two doors installed, one on each side. I can't say enough on how nice having that access is. You don't have to drop the gate to get at anything.

One thing I didn't think of, but there isn't a license plate mount. Not a big deal, but I had to rig something for my plate.

I'm looking forward to using it this season....come on snow pack....

 

[otisfireboy]

Right on, thanks for the intell!!

What do you think of a reciever hitch mounted under the back of the gate? Would it effect the clearence too much? Thinking you could make something that could slide into the reciever serving as a lower roller to assist getting it to the upper one?? Does that make sense? I am wanting to self load as well.... If you don't mind me asking what was your finial price?:wink:

Snow pack great here in the Yampa basin, not worried at all!!