Buy a trailer (instead of a pickup truck)

[NH scrap]

Originally Posted by freebeard

If I were building a trailer what I'd like to try would be like a log truck trailer, a dolly on a telescopic boom. Except it would be three axles of your 15" wheels for a low deck height and the boom would be sized to carry a 20 or 40' shipping container. The I would need camper jacks with angle-iron brackets that clamp into the corners of the container to off/on-load it.

What do you think the dolly would cost (I'm thinking about moving empty containers)? The boom would need to extend from 15 to 25'. Maybe a lodgepole pine?

Ultimately, I'd like to get an aluminum 40' container and cut it down to 32' to get an R-license, taper the ends according to good aero protocols and add wheelboxes and permanent independent torsion axles. When I move out of what I'm in that could very well be my new residence. I'm thinking the uninsulated aluminum box and insulate and panel it myself.

i have hauled containers
they sure do push a bunch of wind
if you get pulled by DOT & they don't think your trailer is safe you have big trouble. some of those guys are cool & some .....watch out!

if i was looking for a container to live in i would get an old reefer container
they are built tough & are already insulated.
add a door & a couple windows & you are good to go.

[RedDevil]

Originally Posted by NH scrap

if i was looking for a container to live in i would get an old reefer container
they are built tough & are already insulated.
add a door & a couple windows & you are good to go.

And you'd have A/C. Boy, would you have A/C!

[freebeard]

i have hauled containers
they sure do push a bunch of wind
if you get pulled by DOT & they don't think your trailer is safe you have big trouble. some of those guys are cool & some .....watch out!

My plan would be to snow 'em with a lot of aerospace detailing, dimpled speed-holes, etc.

The ends with the corner castings and heavy doors would be cut away and the remaining tube would be tapered on the ends according to sound aerodynamic principles. But it really should spend most of its time on a bearing post with a rudder so it acts like a big weathercock, or on pontoons in some sheltered body of water.

if i was looking for a container to live in i would get an old reefer container
they are built tough & are already insulated.
add a door & a couple windows & you are good to go.

There's an intermediate step but I can't remember the name to give an hyperlink. It is a truck van body on a container floor. It's got the [lower] corner sockets to fit into the shipping infrastructure, but they can't be stacked 5 high. What does that tell you?

I'd start with uninsulated because there exists vacuum-bubble insulation with 10x the R-value of what we think of as insulation. Lined with White Southern Pine for it's outstanding thermal mass performance. And I can build a 6" thick solar heater/night-time cooler on the roof.

[NH scrap]

Originally Posted by freebeard

My plan would be to snow 'em with a lot of aerospace detailing, dimpled speed-holes, etc.

The ends with the corner castings and heavy doors would be cut away and the remaining tube would be tapered on the ends according to sound aerodynamic principles. But it really should spend most of its time on a bearing post with a rudder so it acts like a big weathercock, or on pontoons in some sheltered body of water.


There's an intermediate step but I can't remember the name to give an hyperlink. It is a truck van body on a container floor. It's got the [lower] corner sockets to fit into the shipping infrastructure, but they can't be stacked 5 high. What does that tell you?


I'd start with uninsulated because there exists vacuum-bubble insulation with 10x the R-value of what we think of as insulation. Lined with White Southern Pine for it's outstanding thermal mass performance. And I can build a 6" thick solar heater/night-time cooler on the roof.

i think what your talking about is what is called an intermodal container

i know about A/B foam insulation is that what your talking about?

[freebeard]

I think you are correct. Thanks for making me look the insulation up.

Insulative paint - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

It turns out it's a paint additive. Some advantage over conventional insulations, but it wouldn't stand alone. It was declassified by NASA in 1996 so that covers the aerospace, now all I need are some speed holes.

I visited a container dealer today. It turns out aluminum boxes still have steel edges and corners with flat aluminum panels and T-ribs instead of corrugations. They come in used and heavily used, with a 2x price differential. He'd never seen anyone add a hitch and wheelboxes instead of using a trailer.

[NH scrap]

Originally Posted by freebeard

I think you are correct. Thanks for making me look the insulation up.

Insulative paint - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

It turns out it's a paint additive. Some advantage over conventional insulations, but it wouldn't stand alone. It was declassified by NASA in 1996 so that covers the aerospace, now all I need are some speed holes.

I visited a container dealer today. It turns out aluminum boxes still have steel edges and corners with flat aluminum panels and T-ribs instead of corrugations. They come in used and heavily used, with a 2x price differential. He'd never seen anyone add a hitch and wheelboxes instead of using a trailer.

you can also buy a container used only 1 time.
if you dig a little online you can find out what ports sells off containers
i know the one in northern NJ does also baltimore MD
on the west coast i think longbeach sells them direct
buying direct cuts out the middle man.



good luck

[theycallmeebryan]

Just thought I'd chime in with some pics!

I tow my bikes and other random crap behind my 99 Saturn SL 5spd with 205,000 miles on it! I still get in the 30mpg range while towing!

The most i've ever towed at one time is 2 motorcycles with 3 passengers in the car. Talk about

Here's my ducati and some furniture pieces. Notice the harbor freight wheel chock.


I tow my dirtbike all the time:


Here's building it. Parts laid out:


And here it is finished (less the plywood):

[oil pan 4]

Those trailers are kind of flimsy but they have good paint, only problem is the contact points at each bolt together point breaks the paint and causes rust to get under the paint almost everywhere.
That is why I tore mine apart and welded it together.
A northern tool trailer will last several years on the east coast with its constant rain before it gets really rusty.
Also when I welded my trailer together I welded every seam front and back so that when I go back to the east coast the rain water cant get in between joints and rust it out like before, even if the paint fails.

[cRiPpLe_rOoStEr]

Not exactly intending to hijack the thread, but got to share this one...

[Sean.Heihn]

Originally Posted by oil pan 4

Those trailers are kind of flimsy but they have good paint, only problem is the contact points at each bolt together point breaks the paint and causes rust to get under the paint almost everywhere.
That is why I tore mine apart and welded it together.
A northern tool trailer will last several years on the east coast with its constant rain before it gets really rusty.
Also when I welded my trailer together I welded every seam front and back so that when I go back to the east coast the rain water cant get in between joints and rust it out like before, even if the paint fails.

I have a Harbor Freight 40x48" kit trailer, and the paint sucks. Started fading immediately after putting it together and started chipping off after about a year. Has only been used a handful of times, but it is stored outside. I'm considering welding it together, or at least repainting it. The original paint was applied directly to the steel with no surface prep or primer.

I've been using it without it being registered and luckily haven't been pulled over. I decided to not test my luck and looked on the MN DMV website to see how much registration costs. It doesn't have to be titled, that's good, but I got to the registration and it says the tax is $120 a year, that's almost as much as the trailer cost. But I dug around some more and found out that trailers 3000lbs gvw and under cost $55 to register for its lifetime and only require a $2.50 sticker, no plate. So glad, otherwise I probably wouldn't have registered it.