Comments on: Preview: The Tow-N-Stow

By: Ed

Ed — Sat, 05 Sep 2009 01:18:57 +0000

I cringe at the idea of having to title and pay property tax and/or insurance on a storage shed…

By: Toolmonger » Blog Archive » Craftsman Fold-Up Utility Trailer

Toolmonger » Blog Archive » Craftsman Fold-Up Utility Trailer — Mon, 08 Jun 2009 16:52:40 +0000

[...] couple days ago Benjamen previewed the upcoming Tow-N-Stow trailer. However, the $2,500 price tag and the odd choice of pairing it with a stationary storage unit got [...]

By: modernman

modernman — Fri, 05 Jun 2009 19:00:34 +0000

wow this makes a lot of sense, for about 3 seconds. I like the idea of being able to store a trailer upright in my yard without bring the property value down, but not at that price.

By: Brau

Brau — Thu, 04 Jun 2009 07:41:45 +0000

The manufacturer obviously forgot to include poles so the trailer can be used as a tent. It would make a lovely portable Creche too (Statue of Jesus sold separately)!

By: TL

TL — Thu, 04 Jun 2009 00:31:36 +0000

As somebody who lives where the local HOA has problems with trailers, this would be a neat solution. At least it would be at $600. For $2500 I’d rather buy an old truck.

Those who preach the “rent a truck” mantra apparently have never tried to do it on the first Saturday of the month. Three hour waits for the Home Depot rental truck are common as are having everything under 35′ reserved at the local U-Haul(s).

By: Tim B.

Tim B. — Wed, 03 Jun 2009 14:55:39 +0000

Wow… awfully pricey. And the inconvenience of ‘unloading’ the cabinet every time you want to trailer… Definitely defeats the idea, in my opinion…

But even so - if storage space is the issue, and towing is so infrequent, you could just as easily get away with a cheapie Harbor Freight fold-up one… The smaller ones take up less of a footprint than this particular one, and cost less than 1/5th the price…

(Full disclosure statement: this from the guy who bought a $800 truck from CL instead of the Harbor Freight trailer =) )

By: MeasureOnceCutTwice

MeasureOnceCutTwice — Wed, 03 Jun 2009 00:19:28 +0000

And how many times have you seen somebody who only uses a trailer once or twice a year trying to back up with one? They are a menace! (No offense to the competent drivers)

By: Benjamen Johnson

Benjamen Johnson — Wed, 03 Jun 2009 00:16:36 +0000

@Pencilneck:

I don’t disagree with you, but you failed to factor in the time and hassle it takes to get the truck from U-haul. Add a half hour to get it and another half an hour to drop it off. That’s time you could be working.

That’s being generous. It took my friend and I over three hours to drop off a U-haul because the lot he got it from was full, they kept sending us to other U-haul lots. At each lot they kept saying they won’t take it but another lot across town will.

Plus do you think they are going to be happy with you using it to transport a yard of soil?

By: Pencilneck

Pencilneck — Tue, 02 Jun 2009 23:55:16 +0000

Wow, epic fail.

“Whether you have hauling needs once a year or once a week, Tow-N-Stow is the smart solution.”

OK, lets run the numbers here for that “once a year” person, like myself… I can go to U-Haul and get much larger truck with the big sticker that says “RENT ME FOR $19.99″. Of course it cost more to drive it off the U-Haul parking lot, but lets say it comes up to $40. At $40 per use, I’d get about 62 years worth before I hit the $2500 price of this shelf w/wheels. 62 years. Say I haul 4 times a year, that still gets me about 15 years for the same $2500.

By: russ

russ — Tue, 02 Jun 2009 20:59:16 +0000

I’d get a truck for the same price, comes with an engine. Here’s one example.

http://charlotte.craigslist.org/ctd/1201258276.html

Looks nice, plus you don’t have to tow it all of the time. My brother has a similar one with 250k on it.

By: Dano

Dano — Tue, 02 Jun 2009 20:38:36 +0000

Its cheaper to make friends who has a pickup truck.

By: Dave

Dave — Tue, 02 Jun 2009 20:19:10 +0000

Maybe if you…

Nope.

But maybe if you…

Nope.

Can’t make it make sense.

Wait! What if you have an HOA that will allow an external storage unit but won’t let you store a trailer?

Ah, that makes sense. But not at $2500!

Dave

By: Michael

Michael — Tue, 02 Jun 2009 18:30:22 +0000

Seriously? I have to agree with ek and Josh. Please post a list of all people who have purchased this thing - somebody needs to have a serious talk with them.

By: ek

ek — Tue, 02 Jun 2009 17:48:21 +0000

uhhhh WTF????

By: Toolhearty

Toolhearty — Tue, 02 Jun 2009 17:40:20 +0000

(checks calendar) Nope, it’ June not April. This must be real. (shakes head)

By: Josh

Josh — Tue, 02 Jun 2009 17:34:04 +0000

At $2500 you could buy a trailer and a used compact truck to tow it with.

While I geive props on the ingenuity, actual function is horrible.

By: Jim German

Jim German — Tue, 02 Jun 2009 17:22:13 +0000

I don’t understand the point of spending $2500 (plus another couple hundred on a hitch) on a trailer like this when you can just rent a truck for a couple of bucks when you need it instead. Even if you used it enough, a folding trailer seems like a much better use of space for the occasional hauler.

By: FredP

FredP — Tue, 02 Jun 2009 16:58:24 +0000

The minute you “store” this trailer by using it as a cabinet, you’re hosed. What are you going to do the next time you want to use it as a trailer? Empty everything out, do your trailering, and then put everything back in it? This is a solution searching for a problem.