Thread: Trailer build II... the long haul.

ok Change of plans going to be making a steel one now.
are the sizes you have in your first post good for an allround trailer? ill be using it to carry dirt and it will have a camper bolted to it a few times a year.
Is the 75x50 just used for Draw bar or the outsides of the chassis as well?

Thanks Josh

Most are 40mm square frame with anything from 50x40mm R.H.S., to 50mm angle, to 75x50mm R.H.S. Drawbars.

I've used 75x50 for the rear cross bar as well to enable me to recess the No.plate and light. But I had to reinforce it as I cut a fair chunk out of it.

Wow, 1st of May since the last update. Shame on me.

Then again, there hasn't been much done. Though I have tidied up and re-arranged stuff in the shed a fair bit.

I needed to get the trailer mobile, as I have just taken a deposit for another trailer that a forum member wants built. So when I start that, I'll be starting another thread.

It's not much, but getting the springs on means I can fit up an axle, and move it around more easily.



Setting up the rear hanger...


Spring in, ready for axle.

Gidday Yonnee
Mate Ive been told several conflicting things with regard that spring setup so thought okay heres a bloke that ACTUALLY makes the things so...

Mate with that final picture how do you work out its spot? You fit the one with the bolt first right then the other one and weld that plate in place on the U shaped bit?

Next were do I loca... mmmm okay someone else just asked that axle question eh?

aah buggar it I'll just start to welding the frame work up and when Ive done that bit I'll post some pics and ask the questions maybe that will make some sence eh?

Ooh Im making a heavy duty subframe for a pommy camper thats got thin ali frame and a next to childs toy size axle and wheel set up that really doesnt go real well with the 4x4 in that the kitchen section which hangs of the ???? end ends up 2in from the road!!!... anyways thats what Im makin!! 4inx2in RHS Im a usin!! got the axle an hubs an springs all in the shed just gotta get some clear weather and time and she'll be jake mate

Cheers
Shane

It's OK Shane, I know what you're asking without pics.

Usually, once you set up the front hangers, the rears are set up with 10mm of the spring hanging out the rear of the hanger. This is so the when you're reversing and you hit a bump, you don't push the spring out of the hanger.


Look forward to seeing your own progress.

Yonnee,

May I ask: Ref the placing of wheels and axles and your "you must allow 1/2 inch rule". Question is this rule still the same for twin-axles?

Question: I have studied tow ball hitches and they always "look highly unsteady to me" because they are round and ball-like and slippery looking. Am I wrong in thinking they could do with the top 3/4 of an inch sawn off and the top of a ball hitch should be flat and smooth to maintain or increase towing stability? I see them as devices for pulling the trailer along, and the "round bit on top" is not needed. Whats your views on this. I have enjoyed your articles and posts and have opened a scrap book to paste your advice in.

Bob. [New member interested in trailers and their construction]

Originally Posted by Ain'tMisbehavin

Yonnee,

May I ask: Ref the placing of wheels and axles and your "you must allow 1/2 inch rule". Question is this rule still the same for twin-axles?

Yes. The same rule applies to most trailers with any number of axles. The measurement is taken from the front of the main body of the trailer (excluding the drawbar) to the centre of the group of the axle(s). So in the case of a tandem (twin axle), the rule applies to the centre hanger, and in a tri-axle it applies to the centre axle, etc.
However, the rule does not apply to all trailers. Certain circumstances where the load being carried on or in a trailer is such that the weight of the load is centred toward the rear of the trailer, and requires the axle(s) to be placed further back. Eg; Boat trailer, Horse Float.
Also, the reason that all trailers aren't built with their axles as far back as possible, like a semi-trailer (prime mover), is that the structure of the rear of most tow vehicles does not allow for an excessive tow ball load.

Question: I have studied tow ball hitches and they always "look highly unsteady to me" because they are round and ball-like and slippery looking. Am I wrong in thinking they could do with the top 3/4 of an inch sawn off and the top of a ball hitch should be flat and smooth to maintain or increase towing stability? I see them as devices for pulling the trailer along, and the "round bit on top" is not needed. Whats your views on this. I have enjoyed your articles and posts and have opened a scrap book to paste your advice in.

Bob. [New member interested in trailers and their construction]

Bob,
I'm not quite sure what you mean by "highly unsteady".
Firstly, lets get our terminology straight. Here in Australia, the coupling is the connector attached to the front of the trailer that connects the trailer to the tow vehicle. The tow ball is a removable ball with its own threaded shank that attaches to the towbar tongue.
The towbar tongue is a removable part of the towbar that the tow ball bolts to, and is major cause of 'towbar shin', an affliction usually seen in most carparks.
The towbar is the part bolted securely to the tow vehicle.

Now, when towing a trailer, the connection between tow vehicle and trailer requires quite a large range of movement. Not only does it have to turn corners, but it must be able to endure the same loads when travelling undulating hills, humps, bumps, mounds, driveways, cross-overs, gutters, etc. Hence, this is why the tow ball is a round ball, and the coupling is designed to sit neatly over this ball while allowing the wide range of movement required.
Our tow balls here in Oz usually do have a small flat section on top, mainly for stamping the towball size (there used to be a range of tow ball and coupling sizes available until they were standardised in 1988, although they're still allowed to be used on vehicles before this date). I don't know how this effects towing stability. In my opinion, towing stability comes from how the trailer is built, its axles placement, and the where the load is placed in the trailer.

Thank-you for your kind comments, and I hope you continue to enjoy my articles.

Yonnee.
(Peter)

Once more thank you Yonnee for your expert advice. I'm grateful for what you say, as you may have guessed when it comes to trailers I'm pig-ignorant, I make up for this by having to run faster than anyone else when it comes to learning things. Thank you.

Bob.

Any time Bob.
I've already helped one bloke on the other side of the country, now it's the other side of the world.

I've had a couple of other jobs on the go at the moment, a Dusty enclosure for a Forum member, a Trailer for another Forum member, and clearing a bit of the shed to start an engine swap.

But I did manage to find my Orminoid Bitumen paint and paint the top of my chassis yesterday. Hopefully this will keep any rust from forming between the chassis and the floor where you can't normally paint. I'll look at marking and painting the floor sheet along the same points before I weld it in.

I know I may be resurrecting an old thread, but did this trailer get finished, I was enjoying reading and the piccies.

Nope. Not finished, just on the backburner... big time.

But if you've had a good read, this should answer some of your questions for your trailer.

great write-up yonnee & thanks for the detailed pics..... step by step makes repairing/ changing/rebuild a lot easier

Im looking forwrad to seeing it when its all finished

billy

Originally Posted by billymm

great write-up yonnee & thanks for the detailed pics..... step by step makes repairing/ changing/rebuild a lot easier

Im looking forwrad to seeing it when its all finished

billy

So am I Billy... so am I.

It's on the backburner at the moment, as I'm in the middle of another build for one customer, and some modifications for another, along with a vehicle that's just let its timing belt go, and another that needs to be got to roadworthy for sale, and a deck that needs to be tiled...
I'm lucky to find time to go to my day job!!!