Everything above is true:
Clearance with a flat bed
Weight issues with a flat bed
Engine break down with a flat bed, no work
Cannot disconnect washer from truck, the units are " Married"
Trailer:
Can hold more equipment
Less wear and tear on your truck
Trailers suspension and frame is more durable for the weight
Can leave unit there with crew while you go to the movies :happydance:... uh sorry :smile2:.
Truck breaks down, another truck can take the unit
Problems with trailer:
Axles USUALLY are the weakest link. Always go 1 to 2 weight sizes up from what you think you will need. The reason is simple, you hit a pot hole at 60 MPH with 6,000lbs ( water at 525 gallon tank is about 4,500 with tank.... machine is about 800 lbs or more....reels, hoses, supplies, fuel add about 1,000 lbs to 1,500 lbs more or less and there is your 6,000 lbs). Trailers can weigh in at 2,500 to 5,000 lbs. You add that to your wheel load and you are at 8,500 to 11,000 lbs. Also, most of us did not use a cad program to balance our trailers. Meaning, one axle will have more weight than the other even with a tidier totter independent suspension. Only a non spring air ride or a rubber ride suspension is truly an independent suspension. This being said, one axle will carry more weight then the other axle, possibly over loading the one axle. Just take a look at you suspension between the tires. If the rocker is not even, then the weight is not even or the trailer is not level which is another set of problem, from premature tire wear to suspension fatigue. The weight on the ball should be 10- 13% of the trailer to prevent swaying, (fish tailing) down the road. A Class 4 (Class IV) trailer hitch usually has a weight carrying rating of up to 10,000 lbs gross trailer weight and 1,000 - 1,200 lbs tongue weight. This also must include downward pressures when you hit a dip.
My point here is that if you was at a total weight of only 7,000 LBS, I would recommend going with 3,000 lbs to 4,000 lbs higher then what you think you may need. I have seen trailers break the solid steel axle because someone hit a pot hole on the freeway. This type of a forced "in pack" snapped off the axle with the wheel still bolted on the hub. They were 2,500 lbs under the weight limit and it still snapped off. Going to the next size up is only a few hundred dollars more and is well worth it, especially if you are buying the next to the cheapest axles on the market. DO NOT GO Cheap with your axles. Pay the extra $300 to $500 and Buy American Made. You will thank yourself when you see the next guy broke down on the side of the road because he went cheap.
Another issue is finding someone who is competent to back it up, or to maneuver it in tight spaces. I recommend going to an empty parking lot, NOT A GARAGE, having cones laid out on the white lines of the stall, also the stall across and backing it into a space while not hitting any cones on the sides, back or the cones that are placed in the stall across from the stall you are trying to park in. In a few days, you will get parking in tight spots down to an art. Oh, and do not turn your head looking back. This is a bad habit. Use the 3 mirrors that you have. That is a more precise way of parking.
Well, thats my 2 cents !!!