Thread: Building an enclosed motorbike Trailer

Jeez you wrote all this in one breath didn't you?

Ok, I may not have been very clear or just overly wordy as no-one has given any advice and I am sure some-one will know what to do. I have attached a couple of Pics of what I would like to use. Essentially, can I use these joining systems for either Aluminium or gal SHS beneath the sheet or should I just learn to weld and use traditional steel welded box.

Steel Corner Bracket and Joiner Plate

Description
The Metal Mate galvanised steel corner and joiner plates have been specifically designed to allow easy joining of 20mm and 25mm square steel tube. The plates provide an incredibly strong join which is made very easy by using self drilling screws or rivets. Maximum rigidity is obtained when used on both sides of the join. Flanges make alignment very accurate.
Features
Very easy to achieve perfect and very strong joins in 20-25mm square steel tube
No need to weld and could be re-used if required
Can be used in a variety of situations to either repair or build projects in a multitude of ways
Make butt joins 2 or 3 way corners, angled brace, combined tee and brace joins
Galvanised for corrosion resistance

Aluminium

The DIY system for creating precisely what you want. A smart way to make a variety of useful items out of Connect-It for the home, studio, garage, office or anywhere. Eg .

Garage -

work benches, shelving/storage racks, tool boxes, frames

thanks

I reckon it could potentially work, but it obviously depends on the design at the end of the day. Also I would rivit the cladding to the frame rather than rely only on adhesive, my experience with sikoflex on my trailer guards is that it eventually came apart even with the rivits.

I cant help thinking you would be better off getting a little mig welder and building a steel frame instead though. Mig is an easier process to master than arc welding and is a very hand toy to have. Little welders are also fairly cheap... like this one.

Welders : UNI-MIG Minimig 180

I started out with something similar to this and it still gets a run occasionally as its portable.

Hi Gallegos,

Thanks very much for taking the time to reply, I thought my post must have been invisible. I have since conducted a fair bit of research with manufacturers, and the fastening systems aren't really rated for what i proposed, though they stated it could be done, but hasn't yet. That was enough to deter me. I agree that i probably should get a welder and get some practice and take the time to build my own frame. The only other thing I was now thinking of is the Coolroom paneling (bondor to be exact). I have seen that it has been used on this forum, and after speaking to the distributor in Brisbane, i think it sounds like the go. I will still put some steel framing inside to help with building racks etc so the welder is still going to happen. I have 2 more questions if anyone can help:

I am thinking of dropping the frame size down to 100x50x5 Drawbar, and 75x50x3 for chassis rails with 50x50x3 for the cross rails and outriggers. Will this be enough strength for the trailer to support about 1100kg which includes the paneling and contents. There are no side rails, i was thinking of putting the paneling straight on the deck using channel. Will the walls provide and rigidity needed.

Also, is it vital that I use rocker roller suspension. I know where I will be putting the load in the trailer, so is slipper going to be ok.

thanks

Corkster

I worked with a guy who used freezer panel to build a bike trailer and he reckoned it was a lot heavier than he expected so he didn't recommend it. Also you are probably aware it is quite expensive... If you are building a frame anyway why not go for plain colourbond sheet?

100x50x5 seems extreme for the drawbar but then I'm generally surprised how conservative people are here... 100x50x3 would seem to be what a lot of people use but 75x50x3 would probably be fine.

Morning gents, I am ordering my trailer this week 12x5 tandem (deck extended to outside the guards) and just wanted to get an opinion on the chassis sizing. I went and looked at some hire car carrier trailers which take a lot of abuse, and also looked at some new stock sitting at a couple of trailer places, and I saw that many of them had 50x50 cross members and 75x50 chassis rails. I don't know the thickness, but imagine it would have been 3 or 4 mm. So I was thinking I am going to big and getting to heavy with 100x50 or 75x50. To carry around 800 kg payload, (4 bikes, water, camping gear) do you think that 100x50x3 drawbar, 100x50x3 chassis rails and front and back cross members, with 50x50x3 cross members spaced at 550 would be sufficient. Also, I am considering going back to slipper rather than rockers as price is now a factor and they are $318 cheaper.

cheers

Corkester

Hi there

I would have replied earlier if I had been checking this forum.

Using the size steel for the drawbar and chassis you are talking about will make it too heavy (albeit very strong), and it is overkill for what you are doing.

I would use 100x50x3 for the drawbar and make sure you make it nice and long, and run it back to the front spring hanger. When I do trailers I like to put a toolbox or jerry can holders on the drawbar so leave room for that if you deem it useful.

For the chassis I would go 75x50x2 on the side rails, front and rear rails, and for all cross members i would use 50x50x1.6 or 2. You will find it will be way strong enough. You could even go 50x25x1.6 or 2 for the cross members. Once you add the sides on, it will brace up the trailer massively.

Slipper suspension will be ok so long as the axles etc are rated for the extra weight. I built a fully enclosed race car trailer and the chassis builder used slipper as he says they handle a lot better.

With regards to welding, as above MIG welding for a newbie is way easier provided you get a few tips to start with. I started out just like you, very handy with wood etc, but no idea with welding. Now I build heaps of things from steel using a mig welder.

A trailer built out of coolroom panel may seem quick and easy to build but it will still have drawbacks. The biggest one being it will be easy to damage the inside of it, plus there is no easy way to hang items off onto it. The enclosed motorbike trailer I built was using RHS frame, Alupanel sides, with mesh on the inside. The mesh not only protected the panel when things fell over etc, but it was perfect for attaching/hanging things anywhere using bungee cords and tie downs.

Let me know if you have more questions. Bike trailers are my interest

The red trailer below is my motorbike trailer which has wall frames the panel sticks to, the white one is for race cars using composite panel and is totally frameless for the walls.

Thanks Surfin. Your red trailer is exactly what I want to build, it is a cracker though just a little bigger than what I will build. I have sent away a quote for the new sizing you gave me so should hear back tomorrow. In the meantime, a mate of my cousins who is a professional caravan builder has offered to knock up the chassis for me for $550 if I supply all the bits. Just doing the sums and I would only probably save about $500 which I equate to warranty, paint, not having to muck around getting vin numbers and rego etc and the ability to complain if it isn't done right. So I will probably still go the way of professional trailer company. I might however take him up on his offer and get the whole frame work done and save myself the time of learning how to weld. I will still get the stick and mig welders and learn for future projects. Another mate of mine with a 14ftx7' single axle bike trailer is trying to twist my arm to going single axle for manoeuvrability, he reckons the extra saving can go into a set of 17" wheels to match the 4wd and a 50mm axle. Any thoughts.

Cheers

Corkster

That red trailer started life as a caravan, hence why it was so big.

A tandem axle trailer is certainly harder to move around compared to a single axle. With tandems, once unhitched from the car, you'd be lucky to move it back and forth, but never anywhere else. At least with a single you will have a chance to push it around if need be. If you went single axle, you'd need to be sure the axle, tyres bearings etc are up to the task of the weight at hand.

Another advantage of single axle is the weight. There is a surprising amount of weight in a tandem axle setup