Major repair job - feedback appreciated!
Hi all,
After having my trusty old 6x4 box trailer stolen a while ago, I was shocked to see how much these are going for second hand. However I managed to pick up an old one with a fair bit of rust for $10, so have set about making it a self-education project. I want to do this as cost-effectively as possible, and my main concern is not having a trailer load of soil collapse on the freeway at 100km/hr.
So, one TAFE "intro to arc welding" course and $40 ebay arc welder later, the project status is thus:
1. cut out the rusted floor and the one badly rusted cross-support. Ground out most of the rust and blasted everything with phosphoric acid (to buy me some time, as this thing thing will be an hour here-and-there over many weeks project). The bottom and lower sides of the sheet steel was worst affected. The angle iron structural components seem pretty good.
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The cross piece that I've cut out I intend to replace with a piece of 40x40x5mm angle iron. For the floor, I'm leaning towards marine/structural ply, and some lengths of pressure treated pine bolted around the bottom sides of the inside to cover the rust holes in the sheet steel.
The construction seems a bit odd? There is an angle-iron frame for the drawbar, front, and the two diagonal pieces go under the floor, but they don't quite join up with the lengths of angle iron over the leaf springs. Is this for flexibility, or should I connect them together with some 20cm or so lengths of angle?
Any advice or warnings appreciated! Unless I get a strong "don't proceed with this project!" I will post pics as I go.
Thanks!
Mike