scrape metal trailer

[Ohio Mike]

You're going to need some serious axles under it, that thing is going to be monster heavy! My 15K rated commercial trailer has 6" channel frame members and 3" channel cross remembers on 24" centers. At 20' long it scales out at over 3000# empty. Mine sits on two Dexter axles with electric brakes on both.

[Roadrider]

Sidecarflip...yes that is one of the axels. I will be using 2 3500 pound axels with 4 1750 pound rated springs. Brakes will be added. I Am shooting for a 7000 GVWR from the DMV. The frame is basically complete. I used 88 feet of 6 inch channel weighing 8.2 pounds per foot that's about 722 pounds, the deck Should be about 490 pounds (1/8 sheet @ 5 lbs sf) the frame and deck hopefully will be around 1200 Lbs. The bed is 14 foot long, the tongue is 4 foot from the first cross member and 7 1/2 feet it's full length it goes back to the third cross member. I plan to use the trailer for general purpose. I don't intend on carrying anything real heavy like a car, the free steel pretty much made the decision for me about the size, I Am Just having fun building it. ??? 1/4 ton truck?didn't know there was such a thing...tow vehicle is 3/4 ton dodge HD quad cab long bed

[Roadrider]

Ohio Mike, what's the weight rating on your axels, 7500? I think this trailer might be too short to put a car on, but like I said in an earlier post this will be interesting to see how this project plays out, I am pretty much taking this step by step with no experience building trailers. I really don't have anything that heavy to carry or have any type of equipment other then a lawn tractor. Hopefully the trailer will handle anything I can throw at it. But we shall see

[Roadrider]

Still have not decided what size tires to use. The axels are 5 bolt 4.5 pattern, thinking about 15 inch 6 ply? Any thoughts?

[Roadrider]

Sidecarflip, you would put three axels under a trailer that short? 18 feet from tongue to tail, wouldn't that tear up the tires on the first axel in turns and backing up? Where would you place the center axel?

[Sandy]

................I plan to use the trailer for general purpose. I don't intend on carrying anything real heavy like a car, the free steel pretty much made the decision for me about the size, I Am Just having fun building it............

Just food for thought. I've got a similar trailer, little lighter frame, 16ft long and 76 inches between the fenders, 3500lb axles. Measuring my two older pickups and the wifes SUV they are all about maybe 2 inches or so wider at the tires than the trailer .. That's a good deal as far as I'm concerned. I don't plan on hauling any vehicles and the width will prevent anyone from using it for that. Some cars or small cars my fit, I dunno. In that case they should be within the weight limitations..

What I have hauled on it is a small tractor/hoe which weighs in at 5900lbs and tail heavy to boot. If a guy was going to make a steady diet of hauling the small tractor/hoes you might think about fudging the 60/40 on the axle spacing a little. A bunch of their weight is on their axx end.

Great work so far.

[Ohio Mike]

They're either 7200 or 7500 lbs rated with eight bolt hubs. The tires would be ST235/80R16 LR-E minimum. Keep in mind you're carrying better than 10% of the trailers gross as hitch weight. Its too much trailer for my truck, I can't come close to fully loading it and stay legal however I wanted the strength.

There are two things to consider when purchasing or building a trailer. One is overall capcity you are going to haul and the second (which many people forget) is the weight density of the load. For example I can haul a tractor/truck etc on a 7,000 "car hauler" style trailer because the weight is spread out. Now consider hauling a milling machine at 5,000# but its foot print is 5'x5' square. That weight will sit on 3 cross members assuming they're 24 on center.

Personally I would use two axles on a trailer that small, but I would go heavier if it was me. What you need to consider is how much the trailer is going to weight when you're done. I don't know what your C-channel is but my estimates show you're well over 1,000# just in frame.

[whateg0]

Mike,

He went over the weights of the materials a few posts ago. Something else to consider, though, is that heavier axles means a heavier trailer, if only by a few hundred pounds. It's also more expensive to maintain that trailer with the heavier axles, and costs more to build. I don't recall seeing any specific purposes for this one, other than the lawn tractor.

A car really is easier on the trailer, but not because it is spread out. In fact, it really isn't always. It's just displace over a different set of crossmembers. It's still only 2-4 depending on placement; they just aren't adjacent. Moreover, the weight of a car is located in two places straddling the axles, which can cause the trailer to bow, though again, probably not in this case. The thing that makes a car a nicer thing to tow than a piece of machinery is that it is sprung. This means that the dynamic loading on the axles is effectively less, as the car's suspension absorbs much of the impact. In fact, often, the car's suspension absorbs most of the impact, depending on how tightly it is secured, and in which direction. A mill, for example, is dead weight.

Just my 2.3¢.

Dave

[Roadrider]

Hey guys thanks for the kind words, lots of good information here, I will be soaking up as much as possible. Sandy thats good to know.

[FabPeddler]

what process and machine are you welding that up with?
just curious,

looks good so far

bending keeps one flexible

[Roadrider]

I have two welders, both stick one is a Hobart Tigmate, the other I bought from Sears about 8 years ago it's a 240 amp ac/dc that is capable of running 5/32 rods, I am surprised it is really a good little welder.

[Roadrider]

Just an up date on the trailer project, I took it to a cat scale today, it came in at 2,020 pounds with a tongue weight of 380 pounds.

[Fireman]

Looks real nice. Did you put the ramps on pipe hinges to be able to slide the ramps and change the width ? Id be proud of that build for sure. Not as easy as it looks, getting the frame rails square to the tongue and the axles square is all very hard without the proper jigs. I have built several and it is very rewarding. But man is everything so expensive these days. Good job on the recycling.

[Roadrider]

Thanks Fireman, it took a lot of measurements and string lines to ensure it would tow straight, but it was worth it. I really took my time setting the axel's and squaring up the tongue. The ramps are mounted on a pipe hinge for side to side adjustment and also because they weigh about 85 pounds each, the ramps are also made from the same channel, I wanted solid surface ramps so I could load my tool box. Plus, I am getting to old to keep lifting this stuff by my self, so I wanted to leave them on the trailer. I salvaged 6 pieces of 6 in channel 16 feet long, for a total of 96 liner feet. That provided the main rails, three cross members, and the ramps. Some was just too bent to do anything with. The young guys that would operate the high reach machines in the warehouse didn't like to look up when changing isle's and made a habit out of hitting the channel connecting the row of warehouse rack's together. The safety committee decided it was dangerous to have damaged steel holding the racks together (they were never replaced, just removed, go figure?) So, one mans trash is another man's treasure. I went to a local junk yard looking for rims, I got four 14 inch 5x 4.5 rims and tires for $50 and a case of beer, I just couldn't beat the price. The rear tires are 225-70-R14, the front are 205-75-R14, eventually I will change them all to 205-75-R14, and just use car tires on it. I figure the paint is just going to get beat, so I painted it with a roller and brush and Rustoeleum. I still need to buy fenders and a few more rope rings. I am going to add small wood sides about 10 inches high (removable) so I can carry mulch, stone etc. Tomorrow I head over to the DMV to get it registered.

[TPK]

Looks really nice. Wish I could find some trash/treasure like that. The price of steel here in Colorado is steep right now, about $5 a foot for 2 inch angle iron.