Building my own trailer - need some advice

[mmcmdl]

I'll add my $.03 to this . You don't want to have a blowout with a single axle trailer with ANY kind of weight on it . I was towing my Kubota FEL home from New York and had a blowout at 75mph . The Suburban took me for a ride I'll never forget . I sold that trailer , bought a Bobcat trailer with dual axles , brakes , breakaway chains etc etc etc . I added a 13,000 lb winch on the front and carried a 10,000 lb dock plate around with the trailer . I've moved well over 10,000 lbs on the trailer easily with the F-250 diesel with no issues at all . I'm talking 3 Bridgeports , 16 in lathes and other equipment on one haul . The $1000 I spent on the trailer was money well spent and gave me peace of mind traveling down the highway . My neighbor has it now for towing his Bobcat but it's always available for me if the occasion arrises .

Bottom line , I'll never use a single axle for anything other than hauling scrap to the dump. It's not worth the risk .

 

[Klym999]

I have been towing everything from ATVs on a single axle trailer to heavy duty skid steers on dual axle equipment trailers for at least 40 years now. At first I was using 1500 series trucks but as I progressed to heavier weights now my preference is a 2500 series truck. My experience is when your trailer weight exceeds the weight of your vehicle regardless of towing capacity it is like the tail wagging the dog. I have had some hairy experiences towing which is why I moved to a heavier duty truck. Your project and ambition to build a trailer from scratch is commendable. I think once you acquire the steel, axle and all the required materials you will have spent more money and effort then necessary and still have a substandard trailer. My best advice is to look for a used dual axle heavier duty trailer. Trust me there will be plenty of welding opportunities and modifications you will want to make to it to suit your wants and needs. Ready to go trailers of that flavor around where I live in Michigan start about $3500. I found a used 10000 lb equipment trailer for $1300. I remade the ramp/ hinge and retaining bar system. Repaired and welded new fender mounting brackets. Replaced a couple of tires (it came with 4 spares) Rewired the lights and added electric brakes; luckily the drums were already there. In all with my effort and materials I am into it for about $2000. You would be easily into it for that kind of money not to mention all the effort you will have to expend. Just my advice from a guy that has been towing for a long time. Time is a valuable commodity to me as I get older I just hate wasting it!

 

[epanzella]

KLM999,
I agree that if you can buy exactly what you need that is the way to go but thru out my life I've needed lots of trailers and factory selections were usually lacking in quality, features, or both. It's never been about the money and more often than not my homebuilt trailer exceeded the cost of the nearest factory equivalent. If you look at the boat trailer I built in post #53, that cost me substantially more than a factory trailer for a 25 ft boat but it has the quality and the features I need. The body is a tilt bed and the winch stand has a 9000lb Ramsey winch. When retrieving all I have to do is walk down the trailer gang plank and hook the winch cable onto the bow eye of the boat. Flip a switch and the boat retrieves itself, guided by the V-shaped rear of the trailer and the rollers. The body tilts to what ever angle it needs to be and comes back to battery when the boat is fully retrieved. I'm 75 years old and together with my wife of 110 pounds, we take this boat everywhere and launch it a cupla times per week thru out the season. Obviously there was no way I was gonna find a factory trailer that would do this and getting in the water to wrestle with a 25 ft boat is not an option for me. My feet never get wet.

 

[durableoreo]

Last year I bought a 5x8 utility trailer and upgraded the heck out of it while teaching myself how to weld.

You need to stop and think. Based on what you've written, it's liability followed by delusional potential liability. A trailer is not a learn-to-weld project. If you're going to build a bigger trailer, the advice of an engineer is needed. If you're not the kind of person an expert witness would find a credible welder, use a design that doesn't involve you executing the welds.

I see that you're taking others' advice badly, taking a defensive attitude. It can be hard to accept criticism but the collective wisdom of so many old men will turn out to be right in the end. Maybe your end, in this case.

 

[verbotenwhisky]

It's obvious that experience of others is not wanted. I resisted commenting but finally think I need to ad my bit to the pile in the corner. Just to provide some background, I do have enough experience to comment. My own pickup (F250) was equipped with load equalizing bars & anti sway (fishtail) and extra heavy tires. I pulled a Bobcat & dump trailers w/breakaway. I also used a similarly equipped F250 to pull 38' mobil homes from a manufacturer to dealers for several years. 400 miles! Pushing the limits for an F250. It wasn't the weight, it was the wind. Single and tandem dump trucks with pintle hooks & assorted trailers. And my favorite a tri-axle Mack pulling a 3 axle lowboy loaded high & over width. I had close calls with almost every one. It happens in 1000s of miles & years of doing it, or on your first trip! Usually at the worst possible time. Plan for it. About hauling water, keep the containers full! Free surface quickly adds to instability. Do not stack water, the free surface in the top container will really cause instability even at very slow speeds. We had a 6,000 gallon trailer used to haul water on heavy construction sites. That thing would wag the Mack's tail if not filled to the top. The weight of the water always shifts to the least desirable side and there isn't anything you can do, in time, once it starts. Buy a trailer! A GM 1500 pickup is a lot less than an ideal tow truck in spite of what they say it can pull (in a straight line.)

This is my world, not on the farm currently but....

Each bail is 1200 Pounds, 27 bails total on this load, 2500 Dodge Cummins.

 

[mmcmdl]

but the collective wisdom of so many old men

Hm.............I resemble this !

 

[verbotenwhisky]

Hm.............I resemble this !

There is only 1 thing worse than getting older........ Not getting older....

 

[vtcnc]

"teeter tottery".

New word alert!


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[GrifterGuru]

New word alert!


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Loving that comment

 

[deakin]

in the 60's tampa fl hillsborough high school my brother had shop class and welded up some jack stands
younger than him i would not get under a vehicle with those. i chewed bubble gum back then and knew what it looked like.
teacher should have been fired or prosecuted for letting kids take them home. could be he didn't know any better
but a lot of us survived the 60's and drinking out of a water hose