With all the talk on trailers latley i though i would share my latest kit trailer project. My current trailer was in need of some attention as the surface rust was kicking in and it was not big enough to store all my kit.

I bought a cheap MIG welder for 500bucks and tought myself how to weld.Being a chippie i understood how to build something square and true it was just my welding that needed improving. After a few night of practice on off cuts i'm really happy with the end result. I got the ali nose cone made up but every thing else has been done in the last few days.

So far the front has been extended and i have welded up the frame. just waiting on the sheeting now.

Mods so far.

Awesome build

My tips (maybe too late for number one, but mentioned for others benefit later):

Use Fertan to kill rust if using a secondhand trailer. It works waaaay better than Ranex etc

Don't bother riveting sheets on, just use Sikaflex. You have to seal it anyway, so Sikaflex will do both attaching and sealing and it is fkn strong. Anything Bunnings will try and sell you to 'do the same job' (apparentyl) - won't.
But get fresh stuff, it is even just a tiny bit gone off it will be a bugger to squeeze out with a normal caulking gun. A mate with a caulking gun going at same time as you will ease the forearm pump a lot

+1 on the Sikaflex. Have used it to attach body kits to cars, no screwing and works a treat. Also reduces opportunity for rust to attack due to no drilled holes.

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Mark _australia said...

Awesome build

My tips (maybe too late for number one, but mentioned for others benefit later):

Use Fertan to kill rust if using a secondhand trailer. It works waaaay better than Ranex etc

Don't bother riveting sheets on, just use Sikaflex. You have to seal it anyway, so Sikaflex will do both attaching and sealing and it is fkn strong. Anything Bunnings will try and sell you to 'do the same job' (apparentyl) - won't.
But get fresh stuff, it is even just a tiny bit gone off it will be a bugger to squeeze out with a normal caulking gun. A mate with a caulking gun going at same time as you will ease the forearm pump a lot

Mark b4 i started i cut the old top off (can be seen in the back ground of pic 1) and had the base and box sand blasted and painted to marine spec. No rust now.

I will think about not riverting the sheeting on. i had planed on using an adheasive as well as rivets

Sounds tops Bender

Hey forgot to ask - what's the void (?) under the front edge on the drawbar? (Where the little square of checkerplate goes down from body to drawbar)

Just wondering if you had some idea for a hideyhole / toolbox / whatever

Thats a bloody impressive overhaul - great job

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Mark _australia said...

Sounds tops Bender

Hey forgot to ask - what's the void (?) under the front edge on the drawbar? (Where the little square of checkerplate goes down from body to drawbar)

Just wondering if you had some idea for a hideyhole / toolbox / whatever

Spare tyre

Nice work!

A mate (and breeze member, although not a regular poster) is currently building a trailer to match all trailers.

It will fit;

- an 'A' class cat (as in catamaran)
- a laser (sailboat - as in olympic class)
- windsurfing gear for him & his wife (3 boards, various sails & rigs)
- 2 mtb's & 3 kids bikes
- camping gear
- other misc gear to take family on long-range trips towed behind his 4wd

...and of course bunk beds & cooking facilities for a family of 5!!!

I'll try to get him to post some pics.

On the topic of welding, I've got to get a new welder for some further refinements to my trailer. Have used a simple arc welder in the past and while a bit 'agricultural', it ultimately did a sound job. $60 on special for a 100a unit from Supercheap seems mighty attractive.

My work is probably not serious enought to warrant a traditional MIG unit with the hassles/cost of gas bottles etc.

Key question is whether these new gasless MIG units (that auto feed a flux-cored wire) are worth the premium over a basic arc unit? Are the results any better? Can you weld thinner? I've got to say the main downside I found with the arc welder was welding sub-2mm material without blowing holes in it.

Cheers...Mark

Top effort, I would like to think I could do the same but I reckon it would look like a trailer build by the Cat in Cat in a hat! All wobbly and trailer cop bait. However, what was the original size of the trailer ie 6x4 8x5?

Did you do anything regarding the clearance from the ground as it looks higher than a normal trailer, I also like the fact that you could sleep in it!

Well done mate!

GT

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eckas said...

On the topic of welding, I've got to get a new welder for some further refinements to my trailer. Have used a simple arc welder in the past and while a bit 'agricultural', it ultimately did a sound job. $60 on special for a 100a unit from Supercheap seems mighty attractive.

My work is probably not serious enought to warrant a traditional MIG unit with the hassles/cost of gas bottles etc.

Key question is whether these new gasless MIG units (that auto feed a flux-cored wire) are worth the premium over a basic arc unit? Are the results any better? Can you weld thinner? I've got to say the main downside I found with the arc welder was welding sub-2mm material without blowing holes in it.

Cheers...Mark

Mark I have been using a cheapo bunnings 90 amp gassless mig to build my ute canopy (pics in the trailer thread in the WA forum) Been doing 1.6mm thick welds without too much trouble but it has taken a fair bit of practice(I only taught myself to weld with this project) And it just does up to 4mm. From what I have read on other forums if you want to weld much thinner than 1.5mm TIG is the go.

If or when this welder claps out I will be upgrading to about a 150-180 amp unit that can run gas or gassless. Instead of renting full size bottles of gas you can use smaller disposable bottles available from many sources including ebay. Used a gas setup at work the other day and it was so much easier and better

Since I have taught myself to weld I feel i can build just about anything. This website has been a great help

www.mig-welding.co.uk/

Nice work on the trailer Bendy looks massive

With practice you should be able to weld 1.6mm tube with a standard arc welder - use about 50A and a 2mm rod, and make sure the edges of the two pieces have a good fit (no gaps is the main thing).

Gasless MIGs are not much good compared to the real thing so I'd rather practice lots with arc than buy a cheap gasless MIG that doesn't work well or an expensive MIG

Besides - MintoxGT, like I have said b4 you don't have to weld. Buy aluminium square hollow section and the plastic joiners. Click it all together like Lego, only a hacksaw and an afternoon needed. Then sheet it with 0.8mm sign sheeting, glued on with Sikaflex. No weld, no rivets, indestructable and can't rust.
More expensive than welding up steel tube off the tip like I did though...

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BundyBear said...

eckas said...

On the topic of welding, I've got to get a new welder for some further refinements to my trailer. Have used a simple arc welder in the past and while a bit 'agricultural', it ultimately did a sound job. $60 on special for a 100a unit from Supercheap seems mighty attractive.

My work is probably not serious enought to warrant a traditional MIG unit with the hassles/cost of gas bottles etc.

Key question is whether these new gasless MIG units (that auto feed a flux-cored wire) are worth the premium over a basic arc unit? Are the results any better? Can you weld thinner? I've got to say the main downside I found with the arc welder was welding sub-2mm material without blowing holes in it.

Cheers...Mark

Mark I have been using a cheapo bunnings 90 amp gassless mig to build my ute canopy (pics in the trailer thread in the WA forum) Been doing 1.6mm thick welds without too much trouble but it has taken a fair bit of practice(I only taught myself to weld with this project) And it just does up to 4mm. From what I have read on other forums if you want to weld much thinner than 1.5mm TIG is the go.

If or when this welder claps out I will be upgrading to about a 150-180 amp unit that can run gas or gassless. Instead of renting full size bottles of gas you can use smaller disposable bottles available from many sources including ebay. Used a gas setup at work the other day and it was so much easier and better

Since I have taught myself to weld I feel i can build just about anything. This website has been a great help

www.mig-welding.co.uk/

Nice work on the trailer Bendy looks massive

My MIG ca be used with gas or gassless. I have been using it gassless. It seems to go alright. For what i need i cant see the point to go and buy a bottle of gas. My welder is a cheap chinese brand (BOSS) for $550 i got the welder, trolley stand, automatic helmet, gloves, apron, two 2x 1/2KG rolls of wire and a grinder.

Mintox, My trailer was custom built 4yrs ago the box is 1500widex 400deep and 2400 long.

Bender, From your photos it looks like you don't have a door at the front of the trailer?

I highly recommend such a design so you can easily access the otherwise wasted space around and under the noses of your boards at the front of the trailer.

I recently posted a lot of photos of the trailer I designed and built (well helped my brother-in-law build!) here: www.seabreeze.com.au/forums/Windsurfing/Western-Australia/Windsurfing-Trailer/

-Mart

Looks great Bender, look forward to seeing the finished article. Hope you go well getting booms in and out of the top, I have trouble with mine due to the door top getting in the way.

Trailers finished. My young bloke wanted to know where his kit was going to fit

Bender you idiot!

The baby seat for trailer mate the bl00dy baby seat!

Now the drives will be quite, spose you could put a baby monitor in the trailer for when bub decides to speak up

I'm kidding...... For thiose against treating babies like luggage, by the way we had our second 6 weeks ago, a little girl called Giorgia

I like the height profile, not too high and should be kind to the towing rig, I agree with a door at the front of the trailer, you may need to but another bub in there

Well done and looks the goods, I would be very happy with that!

Cheers Gt

You could at least treat the trailer to a nice new number plate, that one looks a bit shabby

Looks the goods mate - you've done well , nice neat finish

Hey Bender, The trailer looks fantastic. Thanks for the post - I've been thinking about upgrading my box trailer and this has inspired me all the more. I really like the spare tyre idea (I've been carying mine around my waist after a very limited winter sailing season ).

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eckas said...

On the topic of welding, I've got to get a new welder for some further refinements to my trailer. Have used a simple arc welder in the past and while a bit 'agricultural', it ultimately did a sound job. $60 on special for a 100a unit from Supercheap seems mighty attractive.

My work is probably not serious enought to warrant a traditional MIG unit with the hassles/cost of gas bottles etc.

Key question is whether these new gasless MIG units (that auto feed a flux-cored wire) are worth the premium over a basic arc unit? Are the results any better? Can you weld thinner? I've got to say the main downside I found with the arc welder was welding sub-2mm material without blowing holes in it.

Cheers...Mark

Something to consider with gasless MIG is the fumes are more toxic! Wear a mask and don't weld inside.

Does look very good mate! Top job

Only one thing - put another chain on it and cross them over.... meybe even take a link or two out (?)

precious cargo, can't be too safe when it has $10K of gear in it.

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Mark _australia said...

Only one thing - put another chain on it and cross them over.... meybe even take a link or two out (?)

precious cargo, can't be too safe when it has $10K of gear in it.

Actually, I believe current thinking is to only go one long chain to reduce the chance of a capsizing trailer taking the whole car into a roll as well.

It your trailer is gonna roll you are that far outa shape that the car is going to have issues also, whether one chain or two..

In a minor bust up like the towball / hitch fails, one long chain will cause the draw bar to hit the road, dig in and the trailer will end up on the roof of your car. Those minor problems are way more common than the first scenario and I'd rather not have a long chain which makes a minor problem become a major one
IMHO

I can only speak from my own experience:

We were going downhill at speed on the ball-bearing gravel road above Red Bluff at Kalbarri in a Pajero with our SideWinder dune buggy sitting top-heavy on the top of our old 6x4 trailer when the old trailer-hitch jumped off the ball and dropped into the cradle of a pair of short crossed chains.

Immediately the trailer started swinging side-to-side going into a speed wobble that started rocking the rear of the 4WD side-to-side. Our driver first sped up to try and kill the speed wobble then slowly put the brakes on and the trailer draw bar swung forward like a battering ram and smacked into the rear bumper multiple times, putting some lovely dents into the plastic/metal.

Thankfully he brought it under control and we came to a halt without major damage.

Would we have been safer if the draw bar was attached with a longer chain allowing it to drop onto the road and be dragged along slowed and stabilised by the friction with the gravel (or tarmac) rather than going into a potentially lethal speed wobble? Perhaps it would have been better.

Would the 4WD have been better off without the battering-ram smacking into the back of the vehicle? I think so.

Would the draw bar have dug into the road and flipped the trailer up over the vehicle? Probably not.

Personally, I'd rather incur a few tarmac scratches on the bottom of my trailer hitch rather than dent my car or be flipped into a potentially lethal roll-over by my trailer. I've already had the sobering experience of winching back onto it's wheels a rolled-over caravan that had almost flipped its tow-car thanks to speed wobbles on the road into Coral Bay.

It's all hypothetical until it really happens, long chain, short chain, double chains crossed. Just make sure you have it chained to start with. A lot of these incidents will go pear-shaped before the chains come into play. It usually comes down to overloading, incorrect loading/weight distribution, driving too fast or a mixture of imperial/metric ball and hitch.

Personally I prefer two chains crossed, it gives you half a chance of the hitch settling into the cross and giving you time to ride it out without something biting into the ground. Yeah you will smack the hitch into your bumper a few times, it's happened to me once, it stuffed my plastic bumper but that was better than losing the trailer and it's load all over the road or into oncoming traffic.

I've come across one crash where a bloke borrowed his neighbours Nissan Navara and car trailer to recover his broken down Camry. He winched the Camry on backwards leaving the trailer too heavy at the rear, effectively lifting the Navara up by the tow ball. First downhill at 100 km/hr he got the wobbles and lost control, he went into a sideways spin and rolled the Navara, completely writing it off, gawd knows how but the trailer stayed upright, connected to the Navara and didn't get a scratch on it or the Camry.

Then there was the dude on the back road from Williams across to Collie stopped on the side of the road looking all confused. It was in the middle of nowhere so I stopped to see if he was alright. He said he was towing a tandem axle trailer but can't find it. WTF! I saw him again a few hours later, he had to back-track 30-40 km's to find it. It has popped off the ball (no chains) and neatly rolled off the road, no damage just sitting there waiting to be hitched up again.

^^^ at least the first one, maybe both, should not have happened. Ball weight = 10% GVM of trailer.

Can't believe people who have a fully laden trailer and then lift it easily up and onto the ball. Asking for trouble!

Non of them should have happened, first one was my fault, I was only about 20 or so and learnt the hard way that there is a difference, albeit really small, between imperial and metric towballs. I now have a health respect for the humble trailer.

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Mark _australia said...

^^^ at least the first one, maybe both, should not have happened. Ball weight = 10% GVM of trailer.

Can't believe people who have a fully laden trailer and then lift it easily up and onto the ball. Asking for trouble!

Cant believe some guy lost his tandem job, and was 20 k's or so back

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Chris6791 said...

Non of them should have happened, first one was my fault, I was only about 20 or so and learnt the hard way that there is a difference, albeit really small, between imperial and metric towballs. I now have a health respect for the humble trailer.

About 1/8"

sure that helps.