Boat Trailer build

[nbaffaro]

Wheels,
1/4" is way over kill. Truck frames are made from 1/4". All your gaining is weight. You'll have to go up an axle size just to carry the weight of the frame.

I'd recommend that you not build it from 1/4" tube, now 1/4" c channel is a different story.

 

[PSG-1]

BCOWANWHEELS » Yesterday, 19:51[/url]"]mine is going to be 1/4" completely

Should make one helluva trailer for a semi truck, but a little heavy for a boat. :mrgreen:

If you were building it from aluminum, you would need to use 1/4" since aluminum has 1/3 the strength of steel. But if you're building it from steel, it's way overkill for a boat, unless it's a really big boat.

 

[BCOWANWHEELS]

i,ve built a bunch of trailers in the past, my springs are rated for 1750 lbs each, my spring mounts are 1/4" thick so it isnt logical to mount it to 1/8" steel and it wont weigh a ton also as only the 3x3 tongue and the outside rails will all that is going to be 1/4. all x-members are 1/8". if you want a 1/8" trailer why dont you just pickup a used trailer there everywhere for cheaper than you can build one.

 

[PSG-1]

OK, I mis-interpreted you when you said you're building the whole thing out of 1/4" Using 1/8" for crossmembers and 1/4" for the longitudinal parts makes more sense, and won't be too awfully heavy.

 

[Timbo89]

Reason why I don't buy a used one is its going to have to be set up for my boat. Its going to have to be most likely re wired, new bearings spindles and going to cost me 200 to 300. All my metal is going to cost me less then 200 and that's having them do the cuts at 3 bucks a cut. I don't have a chop saw for metal. I like building things that I can take pride in and say hey I built it not bought it. Same was for when I built a S10 with fully rebuilt dana 60 king pin front axle and a 14 bolt full floating rear with disc conversion. Sat on 44inch tsl's and never once took it out. I got bored with it and sold it before I was done. I built a full plate front bumper for it out of 1/4 inch plate and it is heavy but stout.

I wil be using some of it to fish plate some of the joints like where it v's to the tongue


Simple reason I like to build my own stuff if possible

 

[BCOWANWHEELS]

I understand,I also enjoy building things. it all started in 1964 when I built my first car. a T-bucket which i still have. the list is too long to tell everything. now I,am just a broken down old man and want to go fishing. enjoy the build as all you can do when its done is pull it around lol.
regards
bob

 

[nbaffaro]

BCOWANWHEELS » Tue Oct 22, 2013 12:20 pm[/url]"], my spring mounts are 1/4" thick so it isnt logical to mount it to 1/8" steel

That hurt my brain. I don't see where you are getting that. 1/8" wall tube is really strong stuff. Some of that strength is from its shape. A spring mount has to be thicker because it is shaped differently and it has a 9/16th hole drilled through it. The logic of of attaching dissimilar thickness parts doesn't really hold up.

To the OP, your on the right track. Only suggestion I might add it to see if you can't get the main frame sides bent. I have no idea on the cost but it might be something to look into.

 

[Timbo89]

Progress for today. We would have had the whole frame done but the place i went to didnt have the 3x3x3/16" in stock and has to order it. So far for what i bought today it was $172 that includes them cutting it. go mocked up the front to find out the angle we needed on the connecting end but going to wait and double check it before we cut. All but one measure came out exactly and it was 1/4" off was this measurement X everything else was spot on. Im ok with that everything was measuring at a 90 when i went back and checked all corners.

 

[Timbo89]

 

[Timbo89]

I have another picture but it will not let me post the picture it keeps saying size limit. i have resized it but it will says size limit. its just a picture of another welded corner

 

[Timbo89]

 

[BCOWANWHEELS]

them mig welds look good to me.......

 

[Timbo89]

 

[Timbo89]

Sorry I deleted the old ones and it messed them up.

 

[Timbo89]

BCOWANWHEELS » 24 Oct 2013, 16:14[/url]"]them mig welds look good to me.......

Thanks. The welds have some etching on the sides a bit but nothing too serious. They are flat and hot. I did the curly q's since the c way was burning through on how hot I had it set at.

 

[PSG-1]

It's better to run a little hot than too cold when welding, to guarantee you're getting penetration with the welds, and not cold-lap. Looks like it's coming together. It will be a nice trailer when it's done.

Since you're dealing with plain steel, I would highly recommend a treatment of Ospho when you get it done, particularly in the areas of the welds, as this is where it will begin rusting first. Not sure if you're going to paint, or cold-galv the trailer, but regardless, you should cold galvanize the areas of the welds, as some added protection.

 

[Timbo89]

Yea I'm going to prime it with a clean metal primer and after that I'm going to tractor aupply and getting some tractor paint to give it a few coats of the durable paint instead of rattle bombs

 

[PSG-1]

Rattle bombs...LOL

I refer to cans of spray paint as 'brain grenades'

:mrgreen:

 

[Timbo89]

That they can be. I had my pops go get the 3x3 3/16" today that I ordered. A 7' piece is 48 lbs so 1/4 would be stupid heavy. I have a idea for routing the trailer wire but not sure if I wanna do it. My plan is to drill a hole through the cross bars and weld a small pipe through it for the wires to pass through and running down the side just put some of it spaced out every foot and run it through that. Or weld a flat washer end on end and run a grommet so it don't chafe the wire and short out

 

[PSG-1]

As long as you weld both sides solid where the pipe passes through the cross member, it shouldn't allow water intrusion into the cross member. You could always weld some 1/2 nuts every few feet along the underside of the longitudinal members of your frame and pass the wire through those, I've seen it done that way, even on factory trailers.