Boat Trailer build

[Timbo89]

Here is the plan

My trailer is going to be in the area of 17' in total from end to ball. Im going to be making it all out of mild steel 2x3@1/8" thick and the tounge 3x3 @3/16 thick. My tin is a sea nymph 14r at 13'7" and 47" bottom 59 or 57" at the widest point on top. I wanted to be able to put steps around the fenders and put a plastic type of board on the bottom for easy loading. Im also going to put bunk boards for loading it back straight.

Does anyone have any ideas as to what else i sould do. This is the first trailer im going to be making but not the first full fab job ive done. I have a lincoln 175 thats awesome and 72/25 mix.

First boat ive owned too.


I will be starting to get it all layed out and tacked up wednesday. Im off that day so will have time to work on it. This will be coated with primer and semi gloss black paint. I have the lights winch and jack of the old trailer and will be using the axle since it is brand new. I will extend the axle that i have already and be replacing the springs

 

[Timbo89]

Here is my tin

 

[Ranchero50]

Seems you should be able to find a decent used trailer for about half the cost of materials to build one.

 

[Timbo89]

I wish I was able to but a used trailer is around 200+ needing work. I have tons of lakes around so a lot of boats. With 48' of 2x3 its 177 w tax and all the pieces cut so they are nice and straight.my axle is brand new with new tires and rims. I'm budgeting 300 of everything includes new springs mounts and all

 

[PSG-1]

That layout is just about the same as my jetboat trailer, except mine is made from aluminum I-beam and 3" sq aluminum tube. But all the dimensions are about the same.

 

[Timbo89]

Thats some nice work on the trailer. I have a liner in my mig gun for aluminum but have never messed with welding it. Im very confident in my work just not really sure on where to set up the lower boards under the boad and i got a idea of how the ones on the side go, and rollers right now it sits on one but thats it and its on carpet 2x4 skinny side up. Ive been reading around and want to use a plastic type board and counter sink the bolts for the bottom and covered bunks on the side.

 

[Timbo89]

Does anyone think that the 1/8" 2x3 with be too thin I will be using a 3/16" thick tounge if it matters. The current trailer is 2x3 with a 3x3 tounge not sure on thickness. I dont think it will be but again first boat and ill be adding a front and rear deck with maybe a bigger outboard.

 

[nbaffaro]

1/8th wall will be plenty and 3/16th for the toungue will be over kill. My 5200lb trailer was all 1/8th.

I personally wouldn't buy or build another tube trailer. Mine rusted in half from the inside out. C channel is much better. Not as pretty but less prone to rust issues.

 

[Timbo89]

I've thought about that a little bit and ill just make sure not to leave any areas for water to enter the tube . Fully welding all joints/ corners and I have half a sheet or ill buy some 1/8" plate and nuild my brackets off that soground don't go through the tube and leave a chance for water to enter.

I'm using 6" oval led and amber marker lights right where the it v's

 

[PSG-1]

Timbo89 » Yesterday, 20:51[/url]"]Thats some nice work on the trailer. I have a liner in my mig gun for aluminum but have never messed with welding it. Im very confident in my work just not really sure on where to set up the lower boards under the boad and i got a idea of how the ones on the side go, and rollers right now it sits on one but thats it and its on carpet 2x4 skinny side up. Ive been reading around and want to use a plastic type board and counter sink the bolts for the bottom and covered bunks on the side.

A teflon liner in the MIG gun works better for feeding aluminum than the steel liners, but not by much. Because aluminum is a soft wire, it doesn't perform well when you try to run it through 15 feet of liner, which is why the spool gun is preferred.

But if you have to do it with a MIG, here's a few tips from someone who has been there and done it.

Use ER5356 wire, not 4043. First, 4043 is not rated for marine applications, and exposed to saltwater, the weld will dissolve over time. Second, 4043 is much softer, which means it's a lot more susceptible to jamming and bird nesting in the drive rolls.

Always keep your gun lead as straight as possible, this reduces friction on the wire as it passes through the liner. Any bends, kinks, etc, WILL cause it to jam, it's not a matter of 'if' but 'when' Worst case scenario is when it jams so bad you can't get it out of the liner, and have to throw it away and put in a new liner.

Even so, if you're doing a lot of aluminum, you'll still need to replace the liner after about every 5 1 lb spools of wire, as the wire puts grooves in the liner, which increases friction and causes jamming.

And finally, use a slightly oversize contact tip. If you are running .030" wire, you should use an .035" tip. Reason being, aluminum has 3X the thermal conductivity of steel, as such, it expands as it heats up, and being this close to the arc, this is inevitable. With steel, not a problem, you can run the same size tip as the wire. But with aluminum, it can expand and jam in the tip, so, that's why you want to run a tip about .005" oversized. Get a tip drill, as well (not a torch cleaner, get an actual tip drill, they work much better) You'll need that to restore tips that get jammed with wire. Usually, the tip drill will get it working again, but sometimes, the tip is FUBAR and has to be tossed in the round file (sh!t- can)

As for the bunks, I'm not sure what setup you're going with, but IMHO, the runner boards should be turned so that the flat side bears against the hull, not the skinny side, this spreads the weight out over a larger area.

 

[PSG-1]

Timbo89 » Yesterday, 21:28[/url]"]Does anyone think that the 1/8" 2x3 with be too thin I will be using a 3/16" thick tounge if it matters. The current trailer is 2x3 with a 3x3 tounge not sure on thickness. I dont think it will be but again first boat and ill be adding a front and rear deck with maybe a bigger outboard.

1/8 will be plenty strong, especially if you are using rectangular tube, which is considerably stronger than square tube. Most steel trailers for boats up to 21 ft are 1/8.

Now, if you were building it from aluminum, 1/8" would be insufficient, you would need to go with at least 3/16"

 

[PSG-1]

Timbo89 » 18 minutes ago[/url]"]I've thought about that a little bit and ill just make sure not to leave any areas for water to enter the tube . Fully welding all joints/ corners and I have half a sheet or ill buy some 1/8" plate and nuild my brackets off that soground don't go through the tube and leave a chance for water to enter.

I'm using 6" oval led and amber marker lights right where the it v's

If you put your trailer lights up on guide poles, they will last like 10X longer than being on the trailer where they get immersed when you launch. Any other lights or accessories you mount to the trailer, weld brackets and attach to these, or use U-bolts, rather than drilling any holes in the trailer frame. Run the wires for your lights along the frame, toward the inside so they're not visible, and secure with zip ties, or zip tie pads. As long as you weld all your corners water-tight, you shouldn't have any issues with water intrusion.

 

[nbaffaro]

This is getting slightly off topic but my aluminum trailer doesn't have a single aluminum weld on it. Most aluminum trailers don't have anything welded. Mine is completely bolted together.


At least your thinking ahead for the grounds and wires. Those are the exact places mine rusted. At the holes for wires and lights.

 

[PSG-1]

nbaffaro » 43 minutes ago[/url]"]This is getting slightly off topic but my aluminum trailer doesn't have a single aluminum weld on it. Most aluminum trailers don't have anything welded. Mine is completely bolted together.

Most of them are bolted together, so that cross members can be replaced if they fail from electrolysis corrosion. But as a welder, I hate bolts, they put people like me out of business!

 

[Timbo89]

The current trailer the boat is on it is galvanized and is the same size I'm going to be using. It is all bolted nothing welded. I like the idea of welds

 

[BCOWANWHEELS]

i favor 3x3x1/4" for tongue ( to keep it from bending easy) and 2x3x3/16 or (preferably)1/4" for sides where leaf spring mounts as the spring mounts are 1/4" thick 2x3x1/8" for x-members .gosh it costs alot to build a nice small tin boat trailer now. I figure close to $1000.00 for a nice rig counting all the bells and whistles. you can buy trailers cheaper but there not the quality as you would build for yourself. this 1k is me building it. I,am scared to find out what my powder coater charges..........

 

[Timbo89]

I'm not building a car hauler just a tin boat trailer. That would be one heavy trailer if all made out of 1/4". If they make a trailer all bolted up it sould be plenty strong enough if I weld it all up

 

[PSG-1]

1/4" is a bit overkill for any part of the trailer except for the axle tube. This is where you DON'T want to skimp, use the heavier tube.

I can't tell you how many trailers I've seen with axles made from 1/8" tubing, and sometimes 1/8" U-channel, often with the axle rusted completely in half. Might as well use beer cans for the axle, it would be just about as strong.

 

[Timbo89]

I'm going to use the axle that's under the old frame its brand new with brand new tires and rims

 

[BCOWANWHEELS]

mine is going to be 1/4" completely