ebinmaine 67,508 #1 Posted June 23, 2023 (edited) **** Formerly titled "BOUGHT IT!! Thoughts and advice on this trailer?" **** I've decided to use this thread as the build documentation because there's a fair amount of good information already here. Used to be a camper obviously. Supposedly a 20 ft deck. I know at minimum every piece of wood needs to be replaced and I would put four new tires plus a spare. Price is right.... Edited July 2, 2023 by ebinmaine CHANGE TO BUILD THREAD 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ri702bill 8,323 #2 Posted June 23, 2023 (edited) My son-in-law bought the lower half of a 2 wheel popup camper, once the body was removed & scrapped. By design, the weight is somewhat evenly distributed from the factory. Once it is a flatbed, all bets are off. When they were moving to their present house from their first, he overloaded it with the 1500 lbs + of rock from their koi pond placed up front and furniture at the rear. He managed to distort and buckle the two C-shaped tongue rails where they join the front rail - leaving about 2 inches of ground clearance. He repositioned the rock and got home. The fix was to heat and bend the rails back, add a heavy cross brace in the middle of the triangle and add a "backbone" from a section of 3 inch iron pipe from the center of that brace, thru a hole in the front rail and into the second rail. My son welded it all up - no more bending issues. He also replaced the original springs and axle to a heavier unit that positioned the wheels outside the frame rails, not what is shown to give more load space. I have borrowed it on occasion, tows well. If it is priced dirt cheap, and the springs, axles, hubs are all good - it might be a good start. Does it have either elecrtic or surge brakes?? If it does and they do not work, it can get expensive to fix... One more - does it have a clean title and a previous registration??? The DMV will want one or both. Here, you have to jump thru hoops to register a built from scratch homemade trailer, as I posted before.... Bill Edited June 23, 2023 by ri702bill 4 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Handy Don 12,232 #3 Posted June 23, 2023 3 minutes ago, ri702bill said: elecrtic or surge brakes Is there a readable info plate on the tongue for load rating and other data? I’d really want to look at the structural members under the wood for: a) adequacy to support loads across the flooring (not just at the edges), and b) anything that has compromised them (rust, bending, etc.) The heavy front beam signals it was designed for a pretty heavy tongue weight. I’d also want to track down the wiring that I see. The stake pockets have been added...adequately? @ri702bill’s comment about brakes is also on point (and in your wheelhouse, right?) 3 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
SylvanLakeWH 25,561 #4 Posted June 23, 2023 I would think the camper frame was baked into the design for rigidity / strength. Removing that would change the dynamics of the design of the bed. I would jack it up and spin tires to check bearings. Look closely at frame - cracks / past bends fixed etc.Appears the frame is lighter gauge than typical for a flatbed of that size... 2 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ri702bill 8,323 #5 Posted June 23, 2023 6 minutes ago, SylvanLakeWH said: Look closely at frame - cracks / past bends fixed etc.Appears the frame is lighter gauge than typical for a flatbed of that size... Strong points, all. As mentioned, the house ontop added to the rigidity of the lighter gauge frame that was "reduced" to lighten it. Definetly inspect the underside (not just for wasp nests!!) - a structural "field fixed" repair could be a show stopper. Is there any evidence of it being in an accident - I would measure diagonally each side to check if it either a square or a parallelogram.... 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ri702bill 8,323 #6 Posted June 23, 2023 (edited) I spotted a potential issue - maybe... Look at the shape of the front beam - is it just a cantilevered angle?? Are there stiffener gussets behind it.? That must flex a lot taking off or stopping..... makes a good arguement for a central "backbone"... Edited June 23, 2023 by ri702bill 2 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ebinmaine 67,508 #7 Posted June 23, 2023 3 minutes ago, ri702bill said: I spotted a potential issue - maybe... Look at the shape of the front beam - is it just a cantilevered angle?? Are there stiffener gussets behind it.? That must flex a lot taking off or stopping..... That's how All the old campers are that I've ever seen or owned. All good stuff people. Keep it coming. 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ebinmaine 67,508 #8 Posted June 23, 2023 1 hour ago, ri702bill said: One more - does it have a clean title and a previous registration??? The DMV will want one or both. I don't need either one of those things here 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ebinmaine 67,508 #9 Posted June 23, 2023 Bought it. Wiring is a little bit cobbled but he claims it works. One or two of the five tires is maybe usable as spares. Frame and suspension looks good. It does have brakes but he hasn't used them for several years. Can't really tell if the frame is straight just laying on the ground but it looks good. 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ri702bill 8,323 #10 Posted June 23, 2023 (edited) 19 minutes ago, ebinmaine said: Can't really tell if the frame is straight That is where the "X" diagonal check comes in - I would be OK if they were within 1/4" or better over that length. Used that method for making custom machine skids for years...And the 3-4-5 method to check if a specific corner is square - or not. Are you familar with the last method?? Edited June 23, 2023 by ri702bill 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Jon Paulsen 290 #11 Posted June 23, 2023 Please be very careful towing, sir! If you get a lot of weight on tandem axle trailers, they can try and go straight when you don't want to. And this can vary with where you place the load. I always feel like the handling is best if forward loaded a bit more than the recommended 10 -20% or whatever. Take the lower traffic routes whenever you can. 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ebinmaine 67,508 #12 Posted June 23, 2023 13 minutes ago, Jon Paulsen said: Please be very careful towing, sir! If you get a lot of weight on tandem axle trailers, they can try and go straight when you don't want to. And this can vary with where you place the load. I always feel like the handling is best if forward loaded a bit more than the recommended 10 -20% or whatever. Take the lower traffic routes whenever you can. Absolutely all true. I tend to like a slightly heavier than average tongue weight. I'll be doing some research on what it takes to get the trailer brakes working for when the loads are up there. 1 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ri702bill 8,323 #13 Posted June 23, 2023 Back to my question earlier - electric or surge style brakes. Advantages ans disadvantages to both... 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ebinmaine 67,508 #14 Posted June 23, 2023 Electric on this one sir. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Jon Paulsen 290 #15 Posted June 23, 2023 It will be interesting to see how you like the electric brakes. I've used them before but never had a trailer with brakes. Last big thing I towed way my 67 Index milling machine, from Louisville to an hour North of Indy. It wanted to go straight all the time. Back then there was a spot on the route where I had to ghetto sweep across about 5 or 6 lanes of Interstate in Indy, from an on ramp, across traffic to the next exit. That was a bit spooky. Lucky we avoided the heavy daytime traffic. If I had to repeat that trip today, I think I'd go around Indy and take the very long time penalty Bad neck bones. 3 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ri702bill 8,323 #16 Posted June 23, 2023 Good. Surge brakes are for the most part yesterday's news ( and may have been banned from new production). They were self contained hydraulic and worked just fine in theory. A gizmo in the hitch applied the brakes per the amount the tow vehicle was stopping - in a straight line. The more the tow car slowed, the more the trailer pushed the gizmo - the more the trailer brakes were applied... what could go wrong??. A trailer out of control trying to pass you. As the trailer jackknifes it senses less push and lets up on the trailer brakes.... Not good... 2 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ri702bill 8,323 #17 Posted June 23, 2023 5 minutes ago, Jon Paulsen said: to an hour North of Indy That sounds like Peru or Kokomo..... 1 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Jon Paulsen 290 #18 Posted June 23, 2023 16 minutes ago, ri702bill said: That sounds like Peru or Kokomo..... About an hour to the left of Kokomo but that's pretty close. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ebinmaine 67,508 #19 Posted June 23, 2023 12 minutes ago, Jon Paulsen said: It will be interesting to see how you like the electric brakes. I've used them before but never had a trailer with brakes. Last big thing I towed way my 67 Index milling machine, from Louisville to an hour North of Indy. It wanted to go straight all the time. . I drive commercial trucks during the week. I stay OUT of trailer trucks but do move some Heavy Stuff occasionally. Having a fair amount of crane training, I do have a better than average understanding of the major difference between static weight and dynamic weight. I've towed using both electric and surge brakes. I'm not a fan of surge brakes because I drive pretty conservatively and they don't activate well with my slow style. When using electric brakes I prefer to run them a little tight. Let the trailer pull back some. 3 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Handy Don 12,232 #20 Posted June 23, 2023 6 minutes ago, ebinmaine said: When using electric brakes I prefer to run them a little tight. Let the trailer pull back some. Our camper had electric and it was reassuring to feel them come on just a bit quicker than the auto brakes. 4 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Jon Paulsen 290 #21 Posted June 23, 2023 Did you get it home yet @ebinmaine ? Sounds like we should be asking you the towing questions Keep safe, brother. 2 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
8ntruck 7,004 #22 Posted June 24, 2023 The last couple of car hauling trailers I have rented from U Haul have been equipped with surge brakes. We have been using one to haul our 2019 Cherokee between our Michigan and Misourri locations in the spring and fall. Our tow vehicle is a 2015 Ram 1500. Driven gently, we've not had any issues. 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ebinmaine 67,508 #23 Posted June 24, 2023 1 hour ago, Handy Don said: Our camper had electric and it was reassuring to feel them come on just a bit quicker than the auto brakes. Absolutely 1 hour ago, Jon Paulsen said: Did you get it home yet @ebinmaine ? Sounds like we should be asking you the towing questions Keep safe, brother. 'Tis home. Hopefully Sunday we'll tear into it a little. 2 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
SylvanLakeWH 25,561 #24 Posted June 24, 2023 (edited) Hey look at it this way, if you find it ain't road worthy it would make a nice trailer for... what's that tractor named...??? uhm... oh yeah... Colossus... Edited June 24, 2023 by SylvanLakeWH 5 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ebinmaine 67,508 #25 Posted June 24, 2023 2 minutes ago, SylvanLakeWH said: Hey look at it this way, if you find it ain't road worthy it would make a nice trailer for... what's that tractor named...??? uhm... oh yeah... Colossus... 1 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
