Trailer advice

I was wondering if I could email some pictures of a trailer I bought to someone that could give me some advice. I bought a 12 foot by 6 foot rough dual axle trailer. I bought it for 400 bucks. I pulled it for an hour at 60 miles an hour and it pulled fine. (Other than I heard a popping occasionally when turning a real sharp corner.)

Anyway, whoever had the trailer replaced the front a frame with heavy I beams and kind of hodge podged it. It is very heavy. I am not against keeping ti, I am just wondering what you all would do.

I also want to make a back gate for it. Is there a way to do that without expanded metal? (It is 70 bucks a sheet for =BE number 9 here.)

Thanks for all your help!

(PS, I cant acess photo sharing sites from where i am currently.)

I'm not sure about anything without seeing it first-hand but, let me say this: in any turn the front axle will turn in a wider radius than the rear axle; essentially it drags the front axle to the inside of the turn or it pushes the rear axle to the outside of the turn (actually, it's both at the same time, trying to pivot on the mid- point of the two). If you have ever had a four-wheel drive truck like a Dodge or a Chevy or a Ford (part-time 4WD's) and not the full-time

4WD's like Subarus, Volvo's and such) you may have noticed that the system binds up in turns when there is good traction (a turn will cause a lurching/popping). It is possible that, as you turned, one axle was ahead or behind the other, instead of evenly balanced out in twisting force, and got to a point where it was really loaded up and then released causing the popping; check the tightness of the hitch and receiver. Also check out the structural integrity of the trailer; a "rough" trailer has probably been either abused or poorly built or both.

In north central Texas I pay 39 dollars for a four foot by eight foot sheet of 3/4 inch #9 here or 45 dollars, depending on which supplier I get it from. I have built a number of smokers with that used as flooring and grates (building three right now) and a motorcycle/lawn mower trailer, too and I can't think of a better material unless you can find some used and unwanted shaker screen from a rock quarry or crusher. We have a rock quarry nearby but I have yet to find a way to get their cast-off screens.

--HC