Utility Body Trailer-Update

I dragged home the utility body yesterday. Since the frame had been cut off in front of the cab, leaving only frame sticking out for some distance..it was a problem getting it home. So I took a piece of heavy L steel, and an old ball hitch, along with my Lincoln Weldpack 100 mig and a long extension cord. I welded the L steel under the frame (causing a nice grass fire in the process..only realizing when I smelled my t shirt on fire... then welded the hitch to the front of the L steel. Making repeated passes, running the poor lil welder just as hot as it would burn. I only had to go 1/4 mile, and put plenty of safety chains in place..and unlike a certain spare tire carrier a couple years ago..the lash up held just fine. In fact..after towing it home..I walloped it with a sledge hammer..and it held after repeated blows of a

12lb sledge. So maybe Im getting a smidge better..or I used up some Karma points..shrug...

Anyways...here are some pictures

Utility box itself is right at 7' long, by 6'6" wide, with an open center of 48" (not counting bumper..which will get a big vise and a big chain pipe vise mounted on it.

Since the frame has dual axles..there are two extenders into the open box, that I really dont like. I cant lay a full sheet of anything 4' wide inside, so may wind up cutting them out and welding in matching metal. As you can see in Side1.jpg....the axle is plenty far back behing CG and there is a decent amount of room under the wheel wells..that I may lower it another 4-6". I can bounce on the bumper..shocks are likely shot..shrug.

Ive also considered that the body is nearly a foot wider than my pickup truck..and I really DONT need a 4x7 cargo area..and was considering taking a plasma cutter and slicing down one side of the bed..removing one whole box side, then taking out a full 12" of bed, then welding the whole box side back on, making the trailer a full 1' narrower. I could probably get away with removing the outside dualies then too. Shrug..just a thought.

Any pluses or minus's to this idea? Other than of course..not being able to move a 4x8 sheet of something laying down...which I really cant do now..with those wheel well thingies sticking out.

Whoever mounted the bed on the truck was a metal butcher..really really shitty job and needs to be redone at best. Fortunately I can bust it loose and pick the whole thing up with the overhead crane and let it hang while I either build a new trailer frame or redo what the original nitwit did, and at the same time, lower it down a smidge. 56" to the top of the bed..so while not too tall..taller than it really needs to be. Looks to be about 12" of clearence above the tops of the tires to the bottom of the boxes in the wheel wells. Though I dont know how much she will squat when I load it up.

Any suggestions, comments, etc etc are more than welcome at this point. Im open to better or different ways of turning this into a trailer..or building a whole new trailer to drop it onto. The steel for a new trailer is not a problem..a new axle..well..thats outside the budget at the moment, unless I can scrounge one up. Probably a 5' axle would do it if I went to single tires.

Gunner

14" tires. "I think this is because of your belief in biological Marxism. As a genetic communist you feel that noticing behavioural patterns relating to race would cause a conflict with your belief in biological Marxism." Big Pete, famous Usenet Racist

One approach to 4 foot wide stuff and wheel-well-bumps which I have seen is to deck over the bed at the level of the top of the wheel-well, and either mount a huge sliding drawer (sounds expensive, but if the right scrap shows up, who knows) or simply store long things in there (so you can reach them from the back). The decking need not be solid or permanent - one approach is a few pockets on the sidewalls to hold two-by-fours at wheel-well-top level.

I sure like the idea of pulling the entire body off the frame as a start. From your description of other approaches, they seem to be a similar amount of work. Get everything out in the open.

"Ive also considered that the body is nearly a foot wider than my pickup truck..and I really DONT need a 4x7 cargo area..and was considering taking a plasma cutter and slicing down one side of the bed..removing one whole box side, then taking out a full 12" of bed, then welding the whole box side back on, making the trailer a full 1' narrower. I could probably get away with removing the outside dualies then too. Shrug..just a thought."

Before you do this, you might want to remember your talent for finding and acquiring various pieces of equipment to bring home. Some of them with a footprint large enough to require that large of a cargo area. Just a thought

Also, you are remembering to keep the hitch centered if you do cut the width down to size------Right, I know you know this (grin)

Excellent Idea!

Gunner

"I think this is because of your belief in biological Marxism. As a genetic communist you feel that noticing behavioural patterns relating to race would cause a conflict with your belief in biological Marxism." Big Pete, famous Usenet Racist

You mean they arent supposed to go down the road sideways? Ayup..that cargo size does have some use..but Im planning on pultting on a ladder/conduit rack..and loading it over the side with a forklift will be a no go once I do Gunner

"I think this is because of your belief in biological Marxism. As a genetic communist you feel that noticing behavioural patterns relating to race would cause a conflict with your belief in biological Marxism." Big Pete, famous Usenet Racist

From looking at the pictures, I think I would: Change the dual wheels out for singles Cut out the wheel well extenders and weld in plates to give a flat floor and walls. Lower the body as much as possible. With single wheels, it looks like the wheel wells in the box sides would give you a foot or so of distance to lower and still keep suspension travel space.

I think the dual wheels will add to the rolling resistance and make it cost more to tow. If you don't need the weight capacity, why mess with them.

I think that lowering the center of gravity will make it tow better. I have messed with a couple of trailers that had a lot of weight up high and they make for a bouncy ride.

Having the floor lower will make loading heavy stuff easier too.

Having the full 48" wide floor seems too useful to give up to me.

Good Luck, Bob

Good points all.

Ive got a guy possibly bringing me the rear end out of a fullsized Dodge or Chebby pickemup truck along with matching rims. So Ill have them on hand to play mix and match with. Id rather a solid axle..shrug..but...scroungers cant always be choosers. By going to a single..I can indeed cut out the wheel well extenders and make her square inside.

Thanks!

Guner

"I think this is because of your belief in biological Marxism. As a genetic communist you feel that noticing behavioural patterns relating to race would cause a conflict with your belief in biological Marxism." Big Pete, famous Usenet Racist

What do you think about house trailer axles? They can be had very cheaply or free and usually come with the springs and brakes. I have a utility trailer rolling on one and other than the crummy tires, it looks pretty much like any other axle to me. Are there easy ways to put normal hubs on them so you can use real wheels and tires? Can you get normal tires for 14 1/2" rims?

I was looking in the Northern tool catalog and they have spindles with brake flanges ready to weld to your axle for $20 or $30 depending on size/capacity. Re-use the springs and spring hangers from the old axles and you have a place to start pretty cheaply. Schedule 80 1" pipe for the crossbar?

Some of the front wheel drive minivans I have seen look like they might have a usable solid rear axle, might be light on capacity though.

Good Luck, Bob

Will DMV let you register a homebuilt trailer using a differential as an axel? They used to but I believe I heard that they have disallowed this for new conversions.

You also might want to look into getting some small airbags. This will allow you to adjust your suspension according to the weight of your load.

SNIP

Just my thoughts but I think you are quickly overloading the Mazda.

Try to get an idea of the weight of the utility bed before investing a lot of effort into converting it. The chassis looks to be an early Toyota "1" ton. There are some helper springs added also.

A 3500# trailer axle with electric brakes would be simple and safe...but not cheap. (Less than half the weight of the truck rear end. And easier to pull.) The mobile home axles could carry the load but the tires are crappy and you can only get 7/8/9 x 14.5. Used are cheap. New are expensive. There is also the task of truing the wheels using the clamps. And narrowing the axle.

--Andy Asberry recommends NewsGuy--

I would NOT swap the duallie axle for a regular pickup rear axle - they are not full-floaters and the insides of the pumpkin become a liability. With a full-floater you can yank the axle shafts and make plates to blank them off, pull all the guts out of the pumpkin and drain the oil - then your only maintenance is greasing the wheel bearings, which are your only failure point. And you still have the rear brakes - a surge coupler gets you service brakes, and a scythe-handle pull out of an old Chrysler gets you parking brakes.

Dismount rims aren't necessarily a liability - crawl under the neighbors' coach and get a few extras. If the rubber isn't rotten from sitting they'll be plenty strong for that 1-ton trailer even as singles, they usually run 12-14-16 ply tires on mobilehome axles.

Probably 2-1/2" (3" OD) Pipe, but it's not quite that simple because you have to make sure the spring u-bolts and spring perch plates fit. IIRC, all trailer axles are supposed to be welded together with a slight amount of toe-in for stability, and a slight negative camber to make up for the inevitable sag.

Not nearly strong enough when you consider the body weight.

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Im not for sure that this was originally a dualie axle. One guy told me today he thinks its got aftermarket wheels and whatnot. The outside wheels bolt not to the axle..but to the rims of the inside wheels. You can unbolt the outside wheels without removing the inside wheels from the axle. Ive never seen this before. But thats not saying a hell of a lot..a wheeled stock mechanic Im not.

I just ran outside with a camera and a flashlight..and found a SECOND set of parking brake cables and yoke, hanging. See pictures From what I can tell..there are actually cables going into the drums..so they either changed the axle at some time, or busted a parking brake cable and simply stuck in another set without removing the old ones.

Utility body album and new photos WheelsXXX

When I start cutting Stuff off the frame, pulling the gas tank and so forth..Ill leave the hooked up parking brake cables and yoke alone. They are currently too long..hooked together under the cab, but will wrap em up...and cut out the old ones that are hanging. Looking under it..the upper shock hangers are only about 5" below the bed so I may not be able to lower it much if I keep it on the existing frame.

Any idea of how to find out what brand/model truck this frame came from? That would tell me something about the axle and dualie wheels issue.

I hate mobile home wheels. Hard to find, hard to deal with. Id rather get a seperate axle and hubs and use something common if I have to go that way.

Probably 400-500 lbs as a rough guess, not counting the frame of course. Its not one of the really heavy ones. I was looking for an aluminum one..but they are scarce as hens teeth and Expensive. Ill find out when I pull the bed off the frame next week or the week after. Im almost out of acetalyene..need to fill the tank before starting to cut stuff off, though I could use the Sawzall.

I gave the guy $20, and 3 Fairbanks beam scales..1000lb shipping scales. One in kilos, 2 in lbs.

In return, I got the utility body, 4 tires on volkswagon rims (old style)..a Greenlee 767 hydraulic pump and cylinder, a couple dozen various size knockouts up to 4" (many duplicates) , I think Most of the studs for the knockouts to cylinder,(not sure if Ive got the proper adapter for the 1/2 & 3/4 EMT ones.... a OTC hydraulic hand pump rated at 10,000 lbs and a very elderly trailer hitch.

The scales didnt cost me anything..they were being tossed, but were in good working shape. Actually got 4, but am keeping one. The three were in my way..so it was a win win.

Got any old Greenlee chests kicking around for the hydraulic knockouts?

Gunner

"A prudent man foresees the difficulties ahead and prepares for them; the simpleton goes blindly on and suffers the consequences."

- Proverbs 22:3

Gunner wrote in news: snipped-for-privacy@4ax.com:

See if you can find a Dexter axle - commonly used on RV-type trailers - since they can carry (depending upon model) up to 10,000 lbs. and use normal truck- type wheels.

Failing that, check with the local junk yard to see if they have any spare axles.

If the bottom of the service body is FLAT, then all you'll really need is two measurements: the width between the inner surfaces of the wheel wells and the width of the trailer. With these, you can pick up whatever (with tires mounted) will fit.

If you can find a solid FRONT axle that'll fit, these, usually, drop down by

4"-6" from the spindles and, if wide enough, may permit lowering the bed by that amount.

Dad once made a trailer axle by pulling the axle halves from a pickup rear end,then welding them to a tube that Uncle Bill turned to replace the diff. The half drive axles were mated with a smaller tube with a plug in it. I don't know the bearing arrangement or how he adjusted the fit. He used it on a trailer with a 180 gal. homemade tank for av gas and a Kohler powered centrifugal pump with hoses we'd pull to crop duster strips. It worked fine and eliminated a bunch of weight, plus allowed more clearance with a lower deck.

Pete Keillor

Congrats Gunner....you're going to have lots of fun doing this trailer.

I would strongly recommend that you keep the bed as wide as you can. We live in a 4' x 8' mininum world and since you are a handy fellow you will need this footprint more often than you think.

TMT

Gunner wrote:

True enough.

Guys..is this what I want?

"If I'm going to reach out to the the Democrats then I need a third hand.There's no way I'm letting go of my wallet or my gun while they're around."

"Democrat. In the dictionary it's right after demobilize and right before demode` (out of fashion).

-Buddy Jordan 2001

Something along those lines would be perfect.

But note that while the image has straight spindles this particular one has drop spindles. Depending on the tire size you use (probably in the ST225R15 range to get the load on a single) that could put the tires too high, and hitting the top of the fender well is bad.

If you leave the existing frame rails and swap in a complete axle and spring kit like that, the straight spindles will put the ride height where you want it. Drop spindles are more for boat trailers, where you want the frame (and bunker boards) as low as possible.

The one in the photo has a backing plate flange for brake addition later, which you WILL Need Now if you follow your usual commute over the Grapevine pulling this puppy fully loaded with that little Mazda.

ISTR a "country" song entitled "Wolf Creek Pass"... ;-)

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I once actually went over Wolf Creek Pass, with 900lbs of Nitramon cans in the back and 150 Static Masters in the front seat....and IRRC...about 200 Water Works Boosters with the Nitramon. I was working for Bendix Geophysical at the time.

A load I really stayed awake driving..... Nope..scuse me..White Horse Pass..

Gunner

"If I'm going to reach out to the the Democrats then I need a third hand.There's no way I'm letting go of my wallet or my gun while they're around."

"Democrat. In the dictionary it's right after demobilize and right before demode` (out of fashion).

-Buddy Jordan 2001