Thread: Trailer Chassis Modification

Long drawbars are not a bad thing....the drawbar on my little box trailer is almost as long as the tray.

There is no specific rule or formular for proportions of a trailer except that it is required that the axle is at the centre or rearward of the centre of the tray on a normal trailer.

be aware of one thing......firewood is heavier than a lot of people think...particularly when you start stacking it up....I would go for a solid floor or you may get zipped for dropping crap on the road.

10 x 5 will be plenty big enough.

remember if you have a roof and high sides that will eat into your payload.

running the axle sprung over should not be an issue.....lots of trailers and most trucks are spring over axle.......you will need to fip the axle and turn it arround so the brakes face the right way.

Welcome to the forum.

Thanks guys.
Heres a pic.

Hi and welcome to the forum. The best thing about a longer drawbar is easier to reverse. The limiting factor on the load of your trailer will be the capacity of the springs. Do you know what brand the caravan was, as it may help in finding the load capacity. At 10x5 it will be to big for the springs, as I would suggest that going by the frame size, the capacity would be about 1000 - 1250Kg. which is about the capacity of a heavy duty 6x4 fitted with brakes.
Kryn

Thanks kbs.
I think you are spot on with the original capacity.
I'm thinking of making it 10ish x 4ft.
Ill attempt to get brakes working.
It may only get "lightly" loaded, so I think itll be right with payload.
If I go with the roof idea I may make it de tachable and leave it at home.
I think there are 8 leaves in the springs.

8 leaf springs sounds promising. how about the axle? what shape and dimension is it?

could be a fun conversion : )

The good thing about having it that size, is that you can get full size sheets of board in the trailer without having overhang. Plus you can put on a tinny, bikes etc for a good weekend away. Just remember to watch your loading, over loading and not to much fore and aft, as these will affect steering, braking, handling etc. Once finished, I would be inclined to load it with the approx weight capacity and watch where the tyres/springs are in relation to the guards or similar, so that you won't over load it.
Kryn

Originally Posted by meadow street

8 leaf springs sounds promising. how about the axle? what shape and dimension is it?

could be a fun conversion : )

The axle is round and measures 60 - 65mm.

Definitely has 8 leafs also.

A few more pics

8 leaf springs and a 60mm axle that starting to like like a 2 tonne trailer.

it looks like its a drop axle too...that can be good or bad.

are those springs 50mm wide and that axle definitely solid?

cheers

I reckon theyre 50mm springs and pretty confident axle is solid.
If I do the axle under will this create a problem for the drop axle setup?
Also what size rims could/should I go to?

I don't think that springing over the drop axle will cause you problems.....its just that drop axles are usually fitted to lower the trailer bed.

as for the rims......if it is a 2 tonne axle it will probably have landcruiser rims which may be 15 or 16 inch rims...though I have seen some weirdo special 14 inch rims with land cruiser stud pattern.....this is also done to lower the bed height.

people often put low profile pasenger tyres on 15 inch landcruiser rims to keep a trailer low...getting sufficient load rating can be interesting though.

SO...do the hubs have 6 studs.......I doubt that a trailer that old would have 5 stud landcruiser pattern.

by going to a typical high profile 4wd tyre you may gain some inches in the whole process.

cheers

If you want to keep the tray low for loading etc I'd use falcon stud pattern and bearings as they are just a bit larger. I use 2wd Hilux rims fitted with light truck tyres as they are the same stud pattern.
Kryn

Hes already got an axle complete with hubs and brakes...I doubt he will want to change stud patterns.

Just as a matter of interest....falcon stud pattern is compatable with 5 stud 2wd toyota and 5 stud mitsubishi....but the offsets vary.

cheers