If you make truss sides it will haul the 8n if you have adequate suspension (axles, wheels, tires, springs etc) A friend has made several car haulers (for hauling sports racers) with nothing heacier than 2X3 16 guage steel tubing - using 4 spindles and wheels from small cars (suzuki/Geo and Chrysler K Car) solidly mounted with no springs. The first one is well over 10 years old and still going. ANd just because the max tube length is 10 feet does NOT mean you cannot make a longer trailer.
If he doesn't know any more than you are giving him credit for, he shouldn't be buying a used trailer either, without someone who knows something looking at it.
I suspect he knows more than you are giving him credit for.
Why only 10 feet? make the trailer sides double height in the middle, with about 4 feet or more of tubing under the joint between two lengths, where your suspension fastens and you can go 20 feet. (I wouldn't, but you could).
The only thing I cant seem to get around is buying an axle. I want to do this cheap. But other than tryign to find a mobile home axle, I dont see any other way. I thought of buying spindles and "making" the axle, but when you add bearings, hubs, etc you end up pretty much the same price as a pre made one.
As far as making the thing over ten feet, I know it is possible. I could probably butt weld two pieces together and put a gusset on each side. I am not real confident in being able to do that though and having everythign perfectly flat, etc. For one, all I have to cut with is a chop saw at home. It does the job, but leaves alot to be desired as far as cutting perfectly flat.
One thing I was thinking, what about building a 10 foot or slightly longer, and adding a two foot or so dovetail? Maybe because of cost installing one axle, and latter adding another as can be afforded.
Addmitantly, the most I will use this for is hauling mulch, gravel ocassionally. Picking up trees to plant. There is a "once a year" possibility of having to take the 8n somewhere if it needed repaired. It weights 2500 lbs.
To be honest, money is only part of it. I like building things. It has been awhile. I have built small trailers to pull behind law mowers for a sprayer. I built a small trailer for my jon boat. I guess I just like to make stuff.
Black Iron tubing is just flat metal bent into a tube and welded at the seam. If I were going to make a trailer out of it which I won't, I would be sure to match seam to seam on the inside of the weld. Cutting the tubing at a 45 degree angle and joining them seems to work the best. You have to bevel the edge a bit to weld through the tubing without burning through. Welding in one pass will be the strongest weld and it's not easy with tubing. Tubing is harder check if the weld is good since you can't turn it over to see if the weld went through. Try cutting a piece up and welding a square. Grind it down so it looks nice. Then use a big hammer and bend in the sides. If the welds don't crack or break then you might have a shot at it. I used black iron pipe to build my welding / fabrication table and it worked well. The first welds were not good which became apparent very quickly - watch your toes.
That doesn't sound right. My Enco (cheap) chop saw cuts smooth and square as long as it's set up properly. I make straight joints by clamping both pieces to another piece of the same stock and tack-welding. Look at the sawmill track:
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Structural steel is sold in 24-foot lengths. Sometimes they will cut a piece in half for free. If you make trusses only one piece on each side has to be the full length.
A book on steel-tube aircraft welding will show you how to make strong tubing splices and joints. The main trick is cutting angled ends on the sleeves that reinforce the splices, so any possible weakness at the weld line is spread out lengthwise.
Rent or borrow? Have any friends who work in construction?
If I climb up on my roof and look around my neat suburban neighborhood's back yards I can see one landscaping and 2 construction- equipment trailers, a dump truck, a flat bed wrecker and a deuce-and-a- half.
stryped wrote in news:ce5965f5-cca9-4479-8ee1- snipped-for-privacy@s50g2000hsb.googlegroups.com:
Check your local fish-wrapper [newspaper] for Farm Auctions.
Last summer, my cousin bought 2 axles (complete with hubs, springs, etc.) at one for ~$20 total.
An alternative would be to haunt the junk yards in search of 2003 or later GM or Dodge dually rear axles (10K GAWR) which would allow you to build a tandem-dual configuration that'd be good for up to 10 Tons. (You'll need good brakes on THAT one!)
For the track joint I bolted the splice plate to one section, butted the next section up to the first, then clamped another piece of 3" channel beside then like a splint to hold them straight. The two track sections together are 16' long and my welding table is only a small drainage grate, so I had to jack up the outer ends and line everything up by eye.
I tacked the splice plate to the second track section, loosened the clamps to check if the joint had stayed straight, clamped everything back together and ran the beads.
You could use the inside corner of angle iron to hold two pieces of pipe in line.
The angle cuts can be aligned by tack welding a piece of angle iron to the pipe, with the pipe running inside the V of the angle iron. Then it can be readily indexed in a horizontal bandsaw vise, or in an abrasive chop saw. The angle method also works well for marking a parallel line down a round piece of material.
RJ
This -should- be a link to trailer plans. Northern sell the wheels, axles, and other necessary fittings at good prices, but watch out for the shipping charges.
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Off the record, a shop teacher told me that 2" square tubing was better than round stock for smaller home-made trailers because it's easier to cut and weld the joints and attach the wood.
Commercial trailer frames are often channel iron or sheet bent into a channel. I've found a really good deal on channel at a place that sold used industrial shelving. Unlike pipe or square tubing it has a strong and a weak direction so you have to understand the forces on it.
The angle cuts on the ends of pipe are difficult to align and a 3" fishmouth joint won't be easy to cut. I clamp on a piece of angle iron near both ends of the pipe and try to line them up by sight. If the cuts aren't aligned or the joint has large uneven gaps the welded frame is likely to warp.
I'll bet they won't weld scaffolds, ladders, stairwaiys, railings, bicycle frames, antenna towers, clothesline poles, or any other usefull bits then either. Must be Canadian Politicians or something -
You tack weld the joint in 4 or 5 places, staggered, and then when you weld it, it doesn't twist and buckle and chase all over the place from heat, so it stays (more or less) straight.
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