welding trailer is almost ready

[gde]

I am almost finished with the Bobcat trailer. I designed it and built it all. The tongue comes off to help prevent theft. I have not decided whether I want a treadplate box on the front or if I will mount a compressor there. I have built hangers for the 50ft leads but don't have pics yet. The hangers are hard mpunted to the removable tray top and jut out towards the rear at a 45* angle. Tanks can be mounted in any of the four "corners" as well as in between the two wheels. It is a solid set up and I am pleased with it so far. It would have been done long ago if I was able to focus on it as opposed to everyone elses stuff.

[gde]

Some more pics

I'll post more when it gets finished.

[toolaholic]

you have certinaly mastered your craft. NOW CHARGE A LOT $$$$$$$$$$
you're worth it, and customers have to pay for all your hard work and money spent
at least that's how the oil co's work

[wrenchbender]

Extra nice and well built you should be proud of it.Looks like it's almost time to put it to work.

[gde]

Thanks fellas. I have used the Bobcat a few times but not the trailer. I really don't like ratchet straps for the trailer and tanks but they should do fine as long as I don't have the cylinders on the trailer while driving. I will likely build some sort of a collar that drops down over the top of each cylinder and then locks the cylinder in place to prevent movement.
The front section of the trailer with the treadplate was going to have an aluminum treadplate box (angled style) but I am thinking more and more that a compressor would be nice. I may try to make room for both. We'll see.

[Gorilla Weld]

Really nice! The aluminum rims scream, I take pride in what I do.

[gde]

That's funny, because the only reason they are on there (versus stock jeep wheels turned backwards) is because I got them all for $75 It was gonna be really crappy wheels but I lucked out a bit.

[Fishy Jim]

It looks killer. Great job.

One thing you might want to do is plug the ends of that square tubing that's exposed to the front. Over time those will get filled in with road crap and dirt.

I need to make a tray like that for over my mig. I keep piling stuff on it.

[jniolon]

GDE,

the trailer looks great and looks like it will pull and back well (long enough tongue)... couple of things to watch for... your jack stand is close to the coupler (just like mine) when you hitch up and rotate the jack stand to the travel position... make sure you have the crank 'back' toward the trailer.. in a tight turn it can get pinned against a bumper and bend the handle... almost did that already...

one other thing... you might want to consider making the two uprights that block the access doors on the machine removable... it doesn't look like you can open the doors... how can you change oil.??.. might just be the picture angle... but something I noticed... I took mine out for a test run/job yesterday and loved having that mobility... beats having to drag everything home and in front of the shop door to weld . still have to paint the 'jobox' and mount it up on the trailer... right now I'm carrying stinger and tools in the truck.. kinda inconvenient.. soon as the holidays die down that's the next job... and mounting up a couple of work lights on extendable poles out back... I'm sure you'll enjoy your rig..

later
john

[MIKE24]

WOW! Very nice setup. Look's great. About the tanks, weld a collar to the floor plate so it will not slide and then weld a bolt to the top of the upper rail so you can slide a collar over the top of the tank. Then you can lock it in place with a castle nut and pin for easy removal.Just a thought.

[Sberry]

I tend to agree there may be call for wantig the tanks on the trailer especially for short runs. Convenience is the name of the game. I forget all the things guys have but the type of rig and tool boxes have a lot to do with the amount of auxilary equipment. For occasional impact an electric works. I wouldnt haul air unless I needed it, maybe make a way to put it on the truck? Are you sharing hand tools, leads with the shop where you need to on/off load? If so I would keep the welder more bare and add some stuff to the truck. Leave the stuff that needs to stay with the welder like leads, rods, helmet with the machine so you dont need to drag it around and keep hand tools on the truck. I do general work,, 95% of the time I dont need a welder, a trailer like that makes sense, it takes up little storage but is handy when needed. I like it.

[Sberry]

I have a trailer setup similar, I bought an 80 cf O2 bottle for mine and used a 20lb lp tank. It kept the profile of the trailer lower as well as center of gravity and the lp was a cheap tank. For light portable work as long as I kept an eye on the O2 bottle fill it actually worked rather well and was a cheap setup I didnt have to rig on/off for semi occasional work. I had extra regs and torch around already, used it for years.

[Sberry]

If there was a next time I would replace building tool boxes with a ready made maybe and holders for 2 or 3 5 gallon buckets. Put a drain hole in the bottom, you could always use a lid and you could store stuff that didnt need to be secure. I like to have a couple buckets of scrap pieces wit a few bolts etc on the trailer. I have a bin on my truck for that, in the field it seems I can make a lot of parts while doing minimal cutting.

[Hotfoot]

Just cut some of those ratchet straps so they each just fit around the tank, fasten the ends to the trailer with fender washers/bolts.They work great. That's a sweet looking rig. Exactly where do you park it? What size is the hitch ball? Any dogs around? Do you have guns?

[gde]

Sberry, as far as what I need to take along and leave at the shop, I have enough regs and bottles (some 12 or 13 in total that I own) that I can afford to leave the O/A, Argon, and C25 on the trailer. I will keep it like that loaded and ready for jobs. I also have the 3035 spoolgun and adapter so I can MIG with it either Aluminum or any other wire. Extremely versatile.
The trailer does move well and is very balanced. I can move it around the shop easily with one hand. I will add a little more weight to the front for added tongue weight when more accessories are added, etc.
I have to get a couple of pics with the leads attached so you can see what it looks like loaded up.
As for using the access panels on the welder for oil changes, etc....I plan to pull the tray off and lift the unit out with a forklift. Takes no more than 5 minutes. I originally had full access to them but decided to add a little more tube as to be able to put more tanks aboard. Access is not a concern at the moment. I will only have this thing out and in use as needed. Most of the time it will be parked in the shop or adjacent building. I prefer to work out of the shop as I'm sure everyone else does. It sure is nice being able to take the shop with you when you're in a pinch or that "special" job calls for it!