Rash of broken trailers

[Sberry]

Probably works 2 minimum wage jobs just to feed them critters and keep spare gas in that 5 gallon can,,, looking for Mr Right,,, the one that enjoys mowwing hay and shoveling way too deep **** while she is at the barmaid job. Lots of them sturdy though,,, built rather manly if you dig the type.
Like if I played my cards right I could be cozied up in that rusted horse **** filled 5th wheel for the weekend,,, ya,,, my idea of a good time.

[Sberry]

My idea of roughing it is do do without in room hot tub at Holiday Inn. Getting to spend the weekend in this horse trailer,,, scrounging up pop cans to gas this beast,,and changing a couple tires with cords showing to ones not much better,,, with a 4 way and bumper jack,,, I think not! Unless she owns one of the horses at Churchill downs you can count me out.

[Sberry]

I can only imagine the condition of the trailer after seeing the truck. Odds are 3 to 1 you could find a service worthy tire on a pickup you would think????

[davido30093]

The homebuilt was a flatbed with mobile home axles and a very strong frame

I have refused several times to use a mobile home frame and/or axels for an over the road trailer. They are nortoriously very weak. They are designed for limited weight and for very limited use. They are designed for limited speed as well. Be safe, do not use a mobile home frame for a trailer that you are going to pull on the road with any kind of a load, especially not an older semi rusted one.

[Blacksmith]

The frame on a mobile home is kind of like a built in box. Theyare designed for at least two trips, from the factory to the dealer's lot and from the lot to the mobile home park. Build the frame too well and you have to cut corners somewhere else.

[bandsawguy]

not to mention the house sitting on it is part of the structure.

[usmcpop]

The frame on a mobile home is kind of like a built in box. Theyare designed for at least two trips, from the factory to the dealer's lot and from the lot to the mobile home park. Build the frame too well and you have to cut corners somewhere else.

We need to get the EPA involved. They should at least survive a third trip to the scrap yard.

[JohnT]

The closer we can engineer something the cheaper it can be made and while it may be adequate when new,,, when properly loaded, maybe limited use, add some rust, years, potholes and bumps and the thing fails.

Amen!

I think in the past people tended to just throw a little extra steel at a design to make it robust and to allow for overloading, rust and all the beating and banging that a piece of equipment gets in hard use. High steel prices and the desire to cut costs has led to lower safety margins in the design of equipment.

I have an older 16ft bumper hitch tandem flatbed that I believe is the handiest thing I've ever owned. The A-frame for the tongue goes almost to the front axle and is securely welded to every structural steel piece it passes.

A neighbor owns a similar looking trailer, factory built. He asked if I could weld some flanges to the frame so he could install tracks for motorcycle tie-downs. I was amazed to see that his trailer tongue pretty well ends where it attaches to the front cross support (3" angle) on the frame. Any load on the tongue is going to try to twist the crossmember, and putting that kind of load on 3" angle in that direction seems crazy.

[Roadrider]

I agree with much of what has been posted above. I am still in the process of building my own trailer, there is another thread on this web site, (scrape metal trailer, in the home hobby section) of my build. Here is a little background, I spent seven years as an rv tech. (I have looked at a lot of trailers and how they were built.) I enrolled in a (600 hour) welding class at a local vo-tech and became comfortable welding before doing anything. After leaving the rv business, I became a otr driver, started pulling a box, then went into flat beds, pulling steel. I am currently working on a degree in automotive technology,(nothing fancy just had a chance to get some formal training) When I decided to build my own trailer, I purchased and read multiple books on trailer design, which convinced me to use a steel bed to unitize the frame and add reinforcement, much like adding sheathing to a framed wall will add strength. Now, I am not saying I am any type of expert, but I do know what I can and cannot do, I believe that to be the answer. Issues of a home made trailer are many, poor design (why did you build it? How much weight will be on it? What type of load?) Underestimating how much stress is on the frame and especially on the tongue, (making the tongue to short will cause trailer sway and difficulty backing up) Under building the tongue, poor welding, etc, etc. I also think a lot of people who pull and or build these small trailers don't understand, st trailer tires are speed rated at 55 mph. The other day I was passed by a guy in a half ton pick up pulling an empty car trailer, he must have been doing better then 75 mph, tailgating the car in front of him, then suddenly switched lanes to pass him. In one of the books I mentioned about trailer design, the author cover's tongue failure. For that reason, if you look at the photo's of my build, I added a center member and a stiffener to the tongue. I would not want to count on only a few welds to have to carry a load and have to hold the trailer together at the same time. A few people made comments about the trailer being heavy enough to load heavy equipment on, well, in my mind it's not. To me, overkill in design and building is everything, I don't want to feel a bump and look in the mirror to see somebody swerving to avoid my trailer or its load as it's coming apart. And, God forbid, anything worse. I build outdoor tables on a seasonal basis, mostly the trailer will be used to haul them to their new homes. Many people on here have many years of experience fabricating and welding. I welcome any and all comments and concerns concerning my little project, you might just see something I don't.

[Thomas Harris]

told this one before on this board and got semi-chastised for it. A friend of mine was using a borrowed trailer to haul a very light canoe to MI upper peninsula. The towing was done with a small pick-up with a camper top. Well the driving got really foggy, so the driver decided to take a break at a rest area. He went to leave the rest area and decided on the ramp he wanted to check something in the cab before merging. To get out of the lane he went slightly off the ramp and unknowingly jack-knifed the trailer when backing up. Well, he then proceded to merge onto the highway and drive about 100 mile to the next rest stop. When they stopped, my friend, (not the driver), walked behind the truck and noticed...uh, the trailer and canoe are missing. All the truck had was the coupler attaced to it. Never noticed because the load was so light. They got the trailer back at the rest stop the next day as someone had reported it to state police. Apparenntly the owner of the the borrowed rig had painted it real perty. Right over all the severe corrosion and all. No person was injured and a good lesson was learned. But can you imagine looking at the back and finding the whole trailer and it's load gone? That's the stuff towing nightmares are made of.

[Hotfoot]

Does anyone still have the link to the Red BBQ trailer that failed on the way home from picking it up new? It used to be one here, but I bet the manufacturer shut that down by now.

[Roger]

After changing wire reels this guy starts welding on his trailer with his welder. Good Old SP100.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pbFSM...eature=related

[canoecruiser]

Last year I rented a trailer from a nationwide chain to haul a Honda Civic behind my F-150. Gave it a quick glance and it appeared OK.

When I returned it I noticed a cold-lapped weld that was painted over; the gap was wide enough that the paint didn't bridge the distance. Further snooping disclosed several more. Fortunately it was fairly new and the Civic is light. Just give it a few years' corrosion and.......