Cargo trailers come in two basic forms: open trailers with a flat deck and low or mesh sides, and enclosed trailers with walls, a roof, and locking doors. The right choice depends on whether your load needs to be locked or covered, how heavy it is, and how you load it. Open cargo trailers cost less for the same capacity and load faster. Enclosed cargo trailers protect and secure what you haul and double as storage. This guide compares both so you can match the trailer to the work.
Key takeaways: Choose enclosed if your cargo needs to be locked up or kept dry. Choose open if you haul bulky material, load equipment by driving it on, or want the most capacity for the money. Open and enclosed trailers are sized differently, so compare usable space, not the size in the name. Both types can be financed at NC Trailers, and rent-to-own is available on both.
What Is a Cargo Trailer?
A cargo trailer is any trailer built to haul goods, equipment, or materials rather than a vehicle or livestock. Buyers use the term for both open and enclosed units, which is why two people asking for a cargo trailer can mean very different things. Settling which type you mean is the first step in narrowing the choice.
Open Cargo Trailers
An open cargo trailer has a flat deck with low sides, mesh sides, or no sides, usually with a ramp gate or tailgate at the rear. Landscape and utility trailers are the most common version. They haul mowers, mulch, furniture, ATVs, and dump runs, and they are the trailer most people picture when they hear the word trailer.
Enclosed Cargo Trailers
An enclosed cargo trailer has solid walls, a roof, and lockable rear and side doors, so the cargo rides inside a box. Enclosed trailers are the highest volume category at NC Trailers. Contractors, mobile detailers, motorcycle owners, and people moving a household buy them because the trailer locks, keeps weather off the load, and works as rolling storage.
Open vs. Enclosed Cargo Trailers Compared
The biggest differences between open and enclosed cargo trailers come down to protection, loading, weight, and cost. The table below summarizes how each type handles the factors buyers ask about most.
| Factor | Open cargo trailer | Enclosed cargo trailer |
|---|---|---|
| Security | Cargo is visible and must be locked down individually | Locking doors keep cargo out of sight |
| Weather protection | Cargo is exposed unless tarped | Walls and roof keep rain and road grime off |
| Loading | Fast access from the gate and sides | Through the rear door and side door |
| Weight | Lighter build with fewer parts | Walls and roof add weight |
| Cost | Less for the same capacity | Higher price for the enclosure |
| Storage | Not suited to overnight storage of tools | Doubles as lockable rolling storage |
Why Sizes Are Quoted Differently
Open and enclosed cargo trailers are not measured the same way, and this trips up a lot of buyers. NC Trailers explains that enclosed widths are given in feet to the outside of the walls, while open utility and landscape trailers are usually quoted in inches of usable deck width. A 6x14 open trailer may have a 72-inch deck. Compare the space you will actually use, not the size in the name, when you weigh one type against the other.
When an Open Cargo Trailer Makes More Sense
An open cargo trailer is the better choice when you haul loose or bulky material, load equipment by driving it on, or want the most hauling capacity per dollar. NC Trailers puts it simply: if the load does not need to be locked or covered, every open deck option is on the table, and open trailers cost less for the same capacity.
Loose Material and North Carolina Load Rules
Open trailers handle mulch, gravel, debris, and odd-shaped loads that would be messy inside an enclosed box. They also come with a legal duty. Under North Carolina's G.S. 20-116(g), no vehicle may be driven on a highway unless it is loaded so its load cannot fall, blow, drop, sift, or otherwise escape. For trailers licensed at 7,500 pounds or less carrying rock, gravel, or stone, the statute allows a few ways to comply, including keeping the load six inches below the tops of the walls or securely covering it with a tarp. Plan on a tarp and straps if you haul loose material in an open trailer.
Equipment With Wheels
If you load mowers, ATVs, or other wheeled equipment, an open trailer with a mesh ramp gate is hard to beat. NC Trailers points out that the gate folds up for travel and drops flat so you can walk a mower straight on. Single axle handles light homeowner duty, and a tandem axle makes sense once you carry a zero-turn, a walk-behind, and fuel, because you want the brakes and reserve capacity.
When an Enclosed Cargo Trailer Is Worth the Extra Cost
An enclosed cargo trailer earns its higher price when the cargo is valuable, weather-sensitive, or needs to stay loaded overnight. If the answer to "does it need to be locked or covered?" is yes, NC Trailers steers buyers to enclosed.
Security, Weather, and Rolling Storage
Locking doors and solid walls keep tools and equipment out of sight and out of the rain. That turns the trailer into storage, so a contractor does not unload tools every night or pay for a storage unit. The flat walls also give a business a surface for graphics, which open trailers cannot offer. For contractors, that combination of security and visibility often settles the decision.
Tradeoffs: Weight and Door Height
Walls and a roof add weight, and that weight is pulled on every trip. The gap narrows with material choice, since NC Trailers notes an all-aluminum enclosed trailer runs 300 to 500 pounds lighter on a 6x12 than a steel-frame build. Height is the other catch. The rear door opening is about six inches shorter than the interior height, so measure the tallest item you will load before picking a size.
How to Decide Between Open and Enclosed Cargo Trailers
Three questions settle most cargo trailer decisions. Answer them in order, and the right type usually becomes obvious before you look at a single model.
Three Questions to Ask
First, what is the heaviest thing you will haul, in pounds? That sets your axle rating and GVWR. Second, does it need to be locked or covered? A yes points to enclosed. Third, how will you load it: by driving on, walking it on, or by hand? That decides between a ramp gate, a rear ramp door, or an open deck. Once you know the GVWR you need, check what your truck is rated to tow, including tongue weight.
Paying for Either Type
NC Trailers offers trailer financing on both open and enclosed cargo trailers. Rent-to-own through Hometowne Capital is also available on both enclosed and landscape and utility trailers, with no credit check to start. You rent for six months or more and purchase at the end of the term, and the rent-to-own program for enclosed trailers explains what to bring to the dealership.
Find Your Cargo Trailer at NC Trailers
Open cargo trailers win on cost, loading speed, and loose material. Enclosed cargo trailers win on security, weather protection, and storage. NC Trailers, a North Carolina trailer dealership with lots in Thomasville and Winston-Salem, stocks both, so you can stand next to each type before you decide. If you are a landscaper weighing the two, our open vs. enclosed landscape trailer comparison goes deeper on crew setups. Browse enclosed cargo trailers in stock or open landscape and utility trailers, then apply for financing to see what fits your budget.
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