Retrailer (building a good trailer from scrap / other trailer parts)

[P-hack]

cringing at the rolling resistance of that trailer

[oil pan 4]

Originally Posted by euromodder

With an empty weight like that, you usually don't really want tongue weight due to traditional US aft wheel positioning.

Trailers that heavy are designed to be just about balanced on their multiple axles, or with turning wheels up front and a tow boom that moves up & down.

Like this :

The farm trailer style like in the picture could work for moving shipping containers but it would be a slow going move. You wouldn't have to worry about axle weight at all.

[freebeard]

I'm thinking of something like the front dolly with a third axle and a longer boom, eliminating the weight of the other 2/3 of that trailer (it is shiny though). The container is inherently stiff enough it doesn't need all that support.

And electrically steered axles for parallel parking.

[oil pan 4]

Its been slow going but I have the first trailer almost finished.
Got it sand blasted and primed. I am putting the deck on.
This one is a little 43''x49'' unit rated for 1000lb.

After all the holes get drilled for the decking bolts its all coming off and I am going to paint it dark blue, because that is the color paint I have.

[freebeard]

It's looking good. What are the 12 holes above the hitch and on the front corners for?

There's a metals recycler between me and the train yard, I should stop by and ask if they sell as well as buy.

[oil pan 4]

The holes where the hitch should be are to attack a bolt on ball coupler.
The holes on the corners are hard attaching points, then there are a few holes along the frame to run wires and install the turn signals and running lights.

They should want to sell anything they have. The scrap yard here really likes to resell stuff locally or else they have to truck the scrap 7 hours south of here to a steel mill in mexico.

[oil pan 4]

Here is the finished version. With 1300 pounds of shingles.
Painted it orange instead of dark blue, didn't think I had enough blue paint to get full coverage.

[oil pan 4]

Tear'em down and build them up.

From this one I think I am almost done with the tear down. I cut out about 200 pounds of bent metal and broken welds, all cross members, tongue and hitch.

I am going to add at least 400lb of reclaimed steel, adding about 2 feet of length.

I am reusing the axles, springs, wheel assemblies, most of the frame, fenders, about half of the original wood, some of the wiring, even reusing the old U-bolts I had to cut as tie downs.

This is after the chain saw got it.


Miller 625 plasma cutter, impact wrench


A few more hours of plasma cutting and grinding.

[CFECO]

Old camp trailers are a good place for lightweight trailer chassis. The pop up tent trailers usually have high load rated, small diameter tires too, though they have to be carefully maintained for long term high speed use.

[oil pan 4]

I never did post the finished picture of that gigantic trailer I was building.
Well here it is. The deck is 18 feet long and 99 inches wide, just under the legal width limit.
Hauling 3,200 pounds of crap.



And yes a good portion of that trailer was made from what you see all cut apart in my drive way. The sides, the axles, springs, tires and some of the old wood (not shown).
I absolutely gutted it. The original trailer weighed 900 pounds, when I got done with it the empty weight is now right about 2,000 pounds.