Thread: Designing a tradesman toolbox

I wouldnt design it to look like a big question mark, hard to fit the wheels on

Being serious though, electric brakes are great!

I would only match the wheels tyres if you intend travelling long distances and are worried about flats. If you stick with a Light Truck tyre you will save fuel and the trailer will be easier to manouvre.

Unfortunately the pics arent showing up on my pc.

duel axle 8x5 tradesman trailer

Definetely the way to go I recon. Duel axle shold tow nicely, especially if loaded up. Less rocking on the ute. Get a decent jocky wheel for it. Harder to push around once detached from the vehicle, but hey nuthins perect.

extended draw bar on the trailer?

Yes I recon so. Bosses tray ute has the same issue.

Would i be better of with electric brakes?

Absolutely. U can adjust your trailer braking from the drivers seat. I'm a convert myself after seeing how well the horse float pulls up with them.

Assuming u are gunna take an air comp out on site. Somewhere dedicated to put it? Was gunna suggest on the drawbar but it might interfere with the pull out drawer.

ah, I'll try the pics again.

yeh i would like a compressor box on the draw bar but i think i will be struggling to open the ute drawer as it is, let alone with the box in the way.

other thing i suppose i'll need, is to have the ladder racks support posts widened, so it leaves room for the drawer to open between.

keep the suggestions coming please i need to get this right the first time.

thanks all

Hey Chippy, and Welcome.
Hopefully you've found your ideal trailer, but this might help others.

Firstly, definately go the Electric Brake route. You won't regret it. If anyone ever tells you they dont like Electric brakes on a trailer, either their trailer brakes aren't setup or adjusted right, or they have the wrong controller, PERIOD!

There are trailers out there that have a section left uncovered as you want, but this is usually left at the rear. The main reason for this is because most trailer manufacturers have a standard trailer that they attach a tradesman top to, and the axle location is setup for the empty 8x5. If you put an 7x5 tradesman top on this trailer and have the space at the front, then not only the weight of the top, but the load you put in it will upset the balance of the trailer, causing it to try and swap ends with you on the road.

Personally, I would utilise a longer drawbar to accomodate your rear draw system on your ute. 5 foot's ideal, but 6 foot might be even better for you. Make sure they use 100 x 50mm with minimum 3mm wall thickness.

The spare tyre would be better inside the drawbar instead of on top. However, the mounting has to be a bit stronger to do so, and sometimes a little more complicated. Some suspend it from a bar across the top of the drawbar, but this can be awkward to remount as you need 4 hands to hold the spare while you locate and tighten the bolt. A better system is a cradle mounted under the drawbar to allow the spare to be slotted in between the drawbar from the top, but this requires more steel and more time, so most manufacturers opt for the easier way out of mounting it like in the photo.

I do like the adjustable width with that ladder rack setup in the photo above. Just thinking, you could have a centre one as well that was removeable and turned 90 degrees when not in use so that it didn't interfere with your doors opening, but would better support large sheets of whatever you wanted to carry, but would also allow you to carry stuff that wasn't quite 7 foot long.

As Dazzler said, matching the wheels and tyres on your tow vehicle is more for you own convenience by only having to carry the one spare, or if you intend to travel long distances with it, and you intend to keep the tow vehicle for a while, or you just like things to match. Trailers dont really require traction for steering and accelerating, so a cheap 14" light truck tyre is all that a trailer needs for weight carrying, as it can get expensive to outfit the trailer with matching 4WD wheels & tyres, unless you already have them. And 6 stud hubs and drums are dearer as well.

Hope this helps.

Y.