Non-Braked Utility Trailers

A non-braked utility trailer is an open-deck trailer rated to 750 kg, towable in South Africa without a trailer braking system. We stock them on 2 m, 2.45 m and 3 m decks, with 13 or 14 inch wheels and drop sides all round.

The 750 kg rating is the reason this category exists. Stay under it and the trailer needs no brakes, which removes a service item, a cost and a weight penalty. It is also the class most licence codes cover without any further endorsement, so most buyers can hitch one up and go.

Deck length is the only real decision. The 2 m deck handles garden refuse, a load of bags, a household move in stages. The 2.45 m deck is the compromise size, long enough for building materials and short enough to reverse into a suburban driveway. The 3 m deck is the one we sell most of, and it is the size most people should buy if they have anywhere to store it.

Construction is common across the range. A 2.5 mm hot-rolled steel floor is laid over 75 x 38 mm U-channel, with 50 x 50 mm square-tube drop sides on all four faces so you can load from any side or slide something long straight through. Suspension is 5-blade leaf on the 13 inch models and 8-blade on the upgraded 14 inch models, which is the version to choose if the trailer lives on gravel.

Two build tiers share this category, which is why similar decks carry different prices. The lower-priced units are lighter-duty builds for occasional loads. The dearer ones come from a nationally distributed range and publish tare, GVM and payload on every listing, so you know what the trailer weighs and what it may legally carry. The duty cycle decides.

Options that get chosen most often are mesh side extensions for bulky light loads, a fitted PVC cover, and a spare wheel on a bracket. Once you are regularly loading past half a tonne, move up to the braked range.