# My New Gas Drive Welder



## Buffalo21 (May 10, 2021)

My latest project that is not work related. I bought a new Lincoln Ranger 260 MPX, gas drive welder with a 10,000 watt generator. That lead to a Harbor Freight trailer (#62665), which lead to me doing some work with the “W” substance, which then lead to a new trailer hitch on the van. It was an expensive week.

On Friday, Norm and I pick up the welder, checked 4 Harbor Freights for a trailer, then bought one. Half way through the assembly, I found out the spring shackles were missing, they (HF) at first told me I had to order them from parts, I said I was returning the trailer, it then dawned on them, they had already done the DMV paperwork, which meant the returned trailer was basically junk, they somehow found the shackles.

The trailer decking was a chore, I hate the “W” substance, so I was almost violently sick from the start of the job to the finish. On Sunday, Norm and I mounted the welder on the trailer, installed the trailer hitch on the service van, then made the virgin travel to the gas station to fill the welder’s gas tank, the brought it home, roughly a 3 mile trip, all went well.

Backing up the trailer is going to be a chore, its very short, you can not see in in the van mirrors and the back up camera is a joke. It will be a steep learning curve.

1 - the welder
2 - the welder
3 - the stand
4 - the stand
	

		
			
		

		
	







5 - the hitch on the van


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## G-ManBart (May 10, 2021)

That's a great welder, and nice setup!  I don't know how many hours you plan to run a month/year, but if there's any way you can manage it, I'd recommend running ethanol-free gasoline in it.  I run clean gas in all my small engines...they start easier, idle smoother and no worries storing them with fuel in them.  Adding stabilizers to ethanol gas helps, but not as much as totally avoiding the stuff!


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## John O (May 10, 2021)

If you put some tubing angled on the sides of the trailer then put markers in then for backing up it will let you see where the trailer is.


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## Nutfarmer (May 10, 2021)

Like your welder set up. We use a similar one that's blue on the farm. Moving it around with the forklift is getting old . That's for the inspiration .


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## Boswell (May 10, 2021)

that short wheel base is going to be a PITA for backing. Even with some sort of markers to see the trailer.


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## John O (May 10, 2021)

If you could find someone with a welder you could make an extend-a-tongue


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## projectnut (May 11, 2021)

G-ManBart said:


> That's a great welder, and nice setup!  I don't know how many hours you plan to run a month/year, but if there's any way you can manage it, I'd recommend running ethanol-free gasoline in it.  I run clean gas in all my small engines...they start easier, idle smoother and no worries storing them with fuel in them.  Adding stabilizers to ethanol gas helps, but not as much as totally avoiding the stuff!



I would agree on the choice of gas.  I use non-ethanol gas in all my engines under 50 hp.  As mentioned they start easier, run better, and they don't gum up when in storage.  When all the gas stations switched to ethanol blends it was a nightmare keeping small engines running.  At the time I had upwards of 20 mowers, trimmers, tractors, chipper shredders, snow blowers, etc., etc.  I was cleaning gas tanks, carburetors, and replacing fuel lines on a regular basis.  It got so bad I was buying several size fuel lines by the 50 foot spool.

When the non ethanol "recreational" gas was reintroduced things changed dramatically.  At first it was reintroduced in premium grade only.  Even at or over $5.00 per gallon it was less expensive and less time consuming than overhauling a dozen carburetors every year.  More recently a regular grade is available at many of the local gas stations.  It's still slightly more expensive than non ethanol of the same grade, but well worth the money.  Now cleaning carburetors and replacing lines is more of a rarity.


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## b4autodark (May 11, 2021)

Buffalo21 said:


> My latest project that is not work related. I bought a new Lincoln Ranger 260 MPX, gas drive welder with a 10,000 watt generator. That lead to a Harbor Freight trailer (#62665), which lead to me doing some work with the “W” substance, which then lead to a new trailer hitch on the van. It was an expensive week.
> 
> On Friday, Norm and I pick up the welder, checked 4 Harbor Freights for a trailer, then bought one. Half way through the assembly, I found out the spring shackles were missing, they (HF) at first told me I had to order them from parts, I said I was returning the trailer, it then dawned on them, they had already done the DMV paperwork, which meant the returned trailer was basically junk, they somehow found the shackles.
> 
> ...





Buffalo21 said:


> My latest project that is not work related. I bought a new Lincoln Ranger 260 MPX, gas drive welder with a 10,000 watt generator. That lead to a Harbor Freight trailer (#62665), which lead to me doing some work with the “W” substance, which then lead to a new trailer hitch on the van. It was an expensive week.
> 
> On Friday, Norm and I pick up the welder, checked 4 Harbor Freights for a trailer, then bought one. Half way through the assembly, I found out the spring shackles were missing, they (HF) at first told me I had to order them from parts, I said I was returning the trailer, it then dawned on them, they had already done the DMV paperwork, which meant the returned trailer was basically junk, they somehow found the shackles.
> 
> ...


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## b4autodark (May 11, 2021)

OK I'll bite, what's the "W" substance? Nice welder.


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## Gaffer (May 11, 2021)

b4autodark said:


> OK I'll bite, what's the "W" substance? Nice welder.


I believe he's referring to the termite food he used to surface his new trailer.


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## Flyinfool (May 11, 2021)

I have had an HF trailer, Extending the tongue 18 to 24 inches makes it tow a lot better.
Putting a piece of garden hose on the rear spring mounts gets rid of a lot of noise.
Take the hubs off, clean out the bearings and grease the wheel bearings, the factory puts something in there they call grease but it is no good.

Watch for tire wear, some of these HF trailers do not have proper to in and will eat tires fast. It is actually pretty easy to bend the axle to get things straight, or just make a new one with bearings spindles and hubs that are available in the USA.

For backing up the longer tongue also helps that. Getting some markers up high enough that you can see them also helps a lot.

Check the adjustments on the coupler carefully, Many people have had to add some washers between the coupler and the tongue or the bolts will clamp it down to where it will not go on or off the ball properly. I also added some spacers inside the tongue to keep the bolts from collapsing it.


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## Buffalo21 (May 11, 2021)

I wanted the shortest trailer possible, I’ve hauled a similar company owned unit around, for years. If I wanted a longer trailer, I would have bought a bigger trailer. I wanted a trailer, just large enough to hold the welder.


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## Buffalo21 (May 12, 2021)

I got the trailer lights wired today and tested. Now all I need is the accessory whip from the service van’s factory trailer package wiring plug to the plug assembly for the hitch.


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## Buffalo21 (May 13, 2021)

Today, I painted the trailer deck, with some well used 5W-30, giving it a nice light Walnut hue.


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## John O (May 13, 2021)

looks good


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## Buffalo21 (May 15, 2021)

I finished up the welding trailer/welder today,

1 - welded all four corners of the trailer
2 - mounted the folding/jacking wheel assembly to trailer tongue
3 - mounted the spare tire on the custom under deck tire bracket I made
4 - finished up the tire lock/anti-theft device

So the only thing I’m missing is the ballistic nylon cover for the welder, it will be here next week


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## Buffalo21 (May 15, 2021)

I have sent photos and an email to the NYS DMV, seeking clarification if I need to license the trailer, or as it’s undersized and welder specific, if it’s insured, is it okay to run as is, should hear back by Tuesday.


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