Steelmaster 35 MT 30.15

At a gross weight of 3,500 kg, an unladen weight of only 650 kg and a payload of 2,850 kg, a length of 4.96 m and a width of 2.00 m, the unusually low unladen weight for a steel trailer stands out: it suggests a slender frame built from thin-walled section steel rather than a massive solid-steel design.

At a gross weight of 3,500 kg the trailer stays in EU class O2. With a payload of 2,850 kg, more than four times the unladen weight, even lashing of the load matters especially, since a light frame forgives uneven loading less readily than a heavier construction.

Buying a steel trailer built this light means closely checking the welds at the frame joints for fatigue cracks, since thin-walled sections react more sensitively to repeated load than solid designs. Equally important is checking for surface rust at points of damaged paint, since thin steel rusts through faster than thicker material. A test drive at moderate speed also shows whether the light chassis tracks straight without swaying under partial load, and because so few thin box-section members carry the whole load, any dent or earlier repair weld is worth examining closely with a straightedge for hidden distortion.