Harvest Hauling: Enclosed Trailers for Alma Blueberries and Vidalia Onions
Two of Georgia's biggest specialty crops grow within an hour of our lot. Both of them have a few hard weeks a year when a trailer earns its keep.
August 11, 2026 · 5 min read
Drive east from Douglas and you are in Alma, the Blueberry Capital of Georgia. Drive northeast and you are in Vidalia, Lyons and Glennville, where the sweet onions come from. Both crops share a trait that matters for a trailer: a short, intense harvest window when product, crews, crates and equipment all have to move at once, and a long off-season when the trailer does something else. This post is about speccing a trailer that works hard for those weeks and stays useful the rest of the year.
What actually rides in a harvest trailer
Growers rarely haul the crop itself in an enclosed cargo trailer; that goes on refrigerated trucks from the packing shed. What rides in the trailer is everything around the crop: flats, lugs and crates going out to the field, harvest buckets, shade canopies for the crew, coolers and water, hand tools, and the small equipment that moves field to field. Packing houses use trailers to shuttle supplies between sheds and to haul market-ready product to farm stands and local buyers. Because none of it is refrigerated, the trailer's job is to keep it clean, dry and out of the sun.
Size and axle
A tandem-axle 7x14 or 7x16 covers most farm supply work. Crates and flats stack tall, so standard height is usually fine, but a wider door helps when the load goes in on a pallet jack. A ramp door beats barn doors here because most of what goes in is on wheels or a hand truck; our ramp vs barn doors post covers the trade. Operations moving a lot of product to farm stands and markets often step up to an 8.5-wide for the flat floor, which lets a pallet sit anywhere without fighting the wheel wells.
Floors, airflow and cleanup
Harvest trailers get wet, muddy and sticky. Blueberries stain and onion skins get everywhere. Order the floor with that in mind: a coated or sealed floor that hoses out, and wall liner to at least hip height so the walls wipe down. Roof vents keep the inside from cooking whatever is in it during a July afternoon in the field, and our post on ventilation and condensation explains why a closed trailer in Georgia summer humidity is a mildew problem within days. Plan on hosing the floor out at the end of each week during the season rather than at the end of the season.
The off-season job
The same trailer hauls the mower to the field edges, carries irrigation parts, moves equipment to the shop for winter service and takes the family camping in the fall. That is the argument for a plain, well-built 7-wide over a specialized build: it does the harvest job and every other job. If the trailer needs to do double duty as a farmers market stand, our farmers market trailer post covers what to add for that.
Buying as a farm
Farms buy trailers in the farm's name regularly, and financing in the business name is routine; our financing page has the application. A trailer bought for the operation is farm equipment for tax purposes, which is a conversation for your accountant, but it is one reason a lot of growers buy in the off-season and have the unit ready before the first pick. If you want a trailer on the farm before harvest, tell us when you need it and we will work backward from there.
We deliver to Bacon, Toombs and Tattnall counties regularly, or come see what is on the lot in Douglas. Give us a holler with the size you have in mind.
Frequently Asked
Can I haul produce in an enclosed cargo trailer?+
Short local runs to a farm stand or market, yes, with the vents open and the trailer out of direct sun when parked. It is not refrigerated, so it is not a substitute for a reefer on anything longer.
What floor is best for a farm trailer?+
A sealed or coated plywood floor that hoses out, with a rubber mat where the wet or muddy gear rides. Standard bare plywood will absorb stains and swell over a few seasons of washing.
Should I get a ramp door or barn doors for crates and pallets?+
Ramp, if anything goes in on a pallet jack or hand truck. Barn doors are fine if everything is carried in by hand and you want a full-width opening to back up to a dock.
Ready to roll?
200+ trailers in stock in Douglas, GA. Financing for all credit types.
