Achto 27,502 #1 Posted December 31, 2019 Shortly after Jim's @WHX24 plow day I was cleaning up my trailer to get it ready for a fresh coat of sealer on the deck. While I was cleaning I noticed this nice little surprise. Last weekend I pulled the deck off to get a better look at what had happened. Well things looked even worse on the under side. Seeing this reminded me of a car trailer that I looked at that was built out of tubing that had the same issue, Nitro boat trailer were built with tubing and also had the same issue. Lesson in life, don't buy or build a trailer with steel tube construction. Well mine is unusable so nothing to do now but turn this. Into this. Stand by for the building of my new trailer. 9 2 1 5 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ebinmaine 67,265 #2 Posted January 1, 2020 3 minutes ago, Achto said: Stand by for the building of my new trailer 1 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
MikMacMike 479 #3 Posted January 1, 2020 YAY Yippi its welding time! And then design time! Then its the test....ho oh.... BOOMTWEEK and TADAaaa Gears n beers yuppers Gears n beers! 3 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
new2horses 287 #4 Posted January 1, 2020 Wife and I occasionally get stopped on a bridge, with opposing traffic still moving. It freaks her out when the bridge moves. I always explain that the movement is good, because without it the bridge would break. Your pictures of this trailer point that out very well and your decision is a wise one! Happy New Year1 David 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Mickwhitt 4,584 #5 Posted January 1, 2020 We have a two decked bridge near us in Sheffield, the Tinsley viaduct. At over 3,300 feet long it's a big un. Supposed to carry six lanes on the top deck and six on the lower one. Built in 1965 from steel it has been reinforced a few times. Now it only carries 4 lanes top and bottom. It expands 3 feet between summer and winter. Sit in traffic on the bottom deck and boy does it bounce! Not my favourite place to be lol. I think all the others like it fell down or were demolished, we decided to spend over 82 million pounds (14 times the original cost) making it less strong than originally intended. 1 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
squonk 41,020 #6 Posted January 1, 2020 Might as well build a sleeper on it since James won't let you sleep in his fancy pants toy hauler! 6 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Pullstart 62,783 #7 Posted January 1, 2020 How long, how wide do you plan on going? Was the crack a structural fail or rusted from the inside and too thin? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Sparky-(Admin) 21,300 #8 Posted January 1, 2020 That one looked to be a 4x8...sounds like the perfect time to go bigger 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Achto 27,502 #9 Posted January 1, 2020 32 minutes ago, pullstart said: How long, how wide do you plan on going? Was the crack a structural fail or rusted from the inside and too thin? Trailer was 6' x 10' . My plan is to make it 6.5' x 12', it won't hold any more tractors than it did before. They will just fit more comfortably. The tube rusted out from the inside, causing the failure. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Pullstart 62,783 #10 Posted January 1, 2020 What will your means of structure be this time? I beam or C channel possibly? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Stormin 9,981 #11 Posted January 1, 2020 A man I knew who built trailers as a side line, using box section, would drill two holes. One in to top and a smaller one in the bottom. He'd then fit a bung in the bottom one and pour old engine oil in the top one till the box section was full. Removing the bottom bung to drain the oil out. On the trailer he used himself, he would do that once a year. 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Achto 27,502 #12 Posted January 1, 2020 43 minutes ago, pullstart said: What will your means of structure be this time? I beam or C channel possibly? Outside frame will be 4" C channel. Cross pieces will be 2" angle. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
MikMacMike 479 #13 Posted January 1, 2020 30 minutes ago, Achto said: Outside frame will be 4" C channel. Cross pieces will be 2" angle. Thats the way to do it......That way the dirt n sand wont collect, stay wet and rust it, plus far easier to clean too, I also like to scuff the paint on uderside and spray on any one of the rock guards in cridical areas. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
PeacemakerJack 10,738 #14 Posted January 1, 2020 Awesome to see this one underway Dan! Happy News Year buddy! Looking forward to what cool horse hauler ideas you come up with as you build this... 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
19richie66 17,500 #15 Posted January 1, 2020 That would have buffed out Dann @Achto 4 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Pullstart 62,783 #16 Posted January 1, 2020 Best. Joe Dirt. Line. Ever. 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
953 nut 55,062 #17 Posted January 2, 2020 10 hours ago, Achto said: The tube rusted out from the inside, causing the failure Tubing should have a couple holes in each piece to allow condensation/rain water to drain and air to circulate letting it dry 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Achto 27,502 #18 Posted January 2, 2020 (edited) A late start today + a few issues leaves me with less progress than I would have liked. I did get the most difficult part finished though. In order to make the trailer wider I needed to extend the axle. I consulted with a number of people before attempting this and this method seem to be the most common suggestion. Unless I could find a tight fitting tube to slide over the axle. After much thought and a bit of sphincter puckering I went ahead & cut the axle in half. To bridge the gap I used 2 pieces of thick wall angle iron. In this pic the first piece is ready to tack in place. After every thing was burned together I feel this will be a very strong joint. Other than this I was only able to get the out side frame rails cut to size. Hopefully I can make better progress tomorrow. Edited January 2, 2020 by Achto 6 3 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
WHX?? 48,762 #19 Posted January 2, 2020 On 1/1/2020 at 7:50 AM, Sparky said: ..sounds like the perfect time to go bigger He's always gotten a couple shorts and a couple of longs on it for shows & this trailer has been to a lot of shows. We always figured you get four to a show your ok unless is the feature and that don't happen often. If it does he resorts to this …. 2 2 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Lane Ranger 10,945 #20 Posted January 2, 2020 15 minutes ago, WHX24 said: He's always gotten a couple shorts and a couple of longs on it for shows & this trailer has been to a lot of shows. We always figured you get four to a show your ok unless is the feature and that don't happen often. If it does he resorts to this …. Seeing this big trailer reminds me of the story I read (or heard cause I can't remember) of the new Wheel Horse Dealership that was located in a Kentucky Town in the mid-1960's. The dealer had decided to take in a lot of inventory and was having a hard time selling his tractors as the local folks had not seen them in action. He was starting to get worried about return on his dollar for his investment. The Annual July 4th Parade in Town gave the Wheel Horse Dealer an idea. He decided he would load up his red Wheel Horse tractors on a larger flatbed semi-trailer. But the brilliant idea he had was to have that flat bed trailer pulled through the long main street 4th of July Parade with a Wheel Horse tractor pulling the whole load! Needless to say, his business was busy for several weeks after the parade selling tractors after the Town folks saw that little red tractor pulling that load through Town! Now for those that don't believe this there is a photo of this out there somewhere as I have seen it! 2 1 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
WHX?? 48,762 #22 Posted January 3, 2020 You sayin them tractors on Dan's load for sale Lane?!?! 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Achto 27,502 #23 Posted January 3, 2020 1 hour ago, WHX24 said: You sayin them tractors on Dan's load for sale Lane?!?! Now you know better than that Jim!! I'm one of those nuts that don't get rid of anything. Heck, I got underware that are older than my kid, & he's 27 5 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Achto 27,502 #24 Posted January 3, 2020 Progress report for today... I still feel like I'm running behind but I should be done handling the heavy C-channel. Lots of measuring, drilling, measuring, leveling, measuring, & a little welding. I now have the main frame welded together. 6 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Achto 27,502 #25 Posted January 4, 2020 Finally feel like I made some progress today. Up until this point I've been flying solo on this project but today I had to get some assistance to get it tilted on its side. Oh I tried to pick it up myself but then brains kicked in and I decided that it was a bad idea . 4 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
