Today we built a trailer. Done 3-15-2009

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Codeman

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Nov 16, 2007
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Location
Ozark Foothills of Se Mo
Well like I said in my other thread after getting a good look at my trailer with the boat off it scared me. It was a pile of junk, literally.

Here is what I had.

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It was rusty, crusty, broken, and not really heavy enough for the boat especially after I get done. So it was time to rebuild/ start over. Here is what was left after we got done this morning.

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We saved the tongue, the axle, wheels and tires (brand new), and the VIN plate :wink: . Thats it.

Ok I ordered up 2 24' sticks of 3" x 1 1/2" Steel tube. I drew up a plan, and we cut the pieces to size. Out of 48' of tube we had one 3" piece left over.

Cut pieces ready to go.
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We used this large steel table to build the rear box section of the frame, we clamped everything up nice and tight so it stayed square.

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We also had to widen the axle just a bit to match the new frame width.

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The old leaf springs were shot so I picked up a new set from the local trailer builder.

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Broncoman finishing some of the welds on top.

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And here is what I towed home just a little while ago. Started at 9:00AM and finished it up around 7:30PM. Long day. I'll finish welding on the mounts for the bunks and the guide ons this week and hopefully be able to test fit the boat by this weekend.

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Wow great work =D> Looks like you have a pretty sweet shop set up. I love welding, but unfortunately I have no welder....some day I will be building a sweet rig. I cannot wait to see your boat complete, I have no doubts that it will be awesome. Keep up the great work!
 
Nice job an dgreat play by play action shots


Keep up the great work and keep posting - cannot wait to see this with the boat on it
 
Nice work.I'd upgrade the wheels to 12 inch at least maybe 15inch.As long as the trailer is,you won't have to worry about the tow vehicle being in the water,even with the extra height of taller wheels.
 
ben2go said:
Nice work.I'd upgrade the wheels to 12 inch at least maybe 15inch.As long as the trailer is,you won't have to worry about the tow vehicle being in the water,even with the extra height of taller wheels.

Well hindsight is I wouldn't have bought these if I had realized I was going to go wider with the trailer, it would have been a clearance issue, now the plan is to go to 12" wheels and tires. Anyone need to buy a set of 8" wheels? Less than a 100 miles on them. :)
 
Codeman said:
ben2go said:
Nice work.I'd upgrade the wheels to 12 inch at least maybe 15inch.As long as the trailer is,you won't have to worry about the tow vehicle being in the water,even with the extra height of taller wheels.

Well hindsight is I wouldn't have bought these if I had realized I was going to go wider with the trailer, it would have been a clearance issue, now the plan is to go to 12" wheels and tires. Anyone need to buy a set of 8" wheels? Less than a 100 miles on them. :)


Sounds like a plan.I'd take the original wheels but shipping would kill the deal.
 
Waterwings said:
Nice work and step-by-step pics! 8) .

You gonna get it powder-coated, or just regular prime and paint? What's the total length of the trailer? Looks really long in the pics.

Just prime and paint. Right now the length is around 24'. The the winch mount needs to be slid back about 24" at this point to be at the front of the boat. I'll be cutting some off the tongue when I put the new coupler on. I don't want to change anything till the boat is on it so it all fits right.
 
Codeman said:
I'll be cutting some off the tongue when I put the new coupler on.
[/quote]
I would advise against this, at least for the first few trips. The one part of my project that dad did, I wasn't going to be home, so I left him measurements for the tongue length, and he would weld it on for me. Once I got back into town, I immediately started painting, and didn't measure the tongue. Apparently, he bought extra length, welded it on, and was going to allow me to cut it off exactly where I wanted it, but forgot to tell me. So, I completed the put together, and realized the dang trailer is too long, but I left it, and am glad I did. For the nice paved launches at the larger lakes, the extra length just allows the car to be far enough out of the water that you can step from dry ramp to the tongue, and not have to scramble on the tire, then step around to the bumper, while holding onto the roof rack, then catwalk down the tongue. At some of the not so nice launches, I am definitely glad I have the extra length. At Lake Acworth, I would sometimes wish I had a bit more, but I have enough if I back in all the way. At Aubrey, it is all I can do to get the boat off, even putting the truck tires in. And, this is a boat with 12 inch tires, underslung springs, and a 5 foot tongue in front of the boat. Another plus, is I can get pickup tailgates, and SUV barn doors open no matter how the trailer is turned, when hooked up.
 
Broncoman has been arguing this point to. Right now all I plan to cut is enough to get into nice square tube for the new coupler. The old coupler is welded on on and the tube is smashed a little on the end.
 
OK boat is on the new trailer, fits nicely.

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As you can see the tongue is a little long, 6' from the hitch to the front of the boat, too much for me. I plan to cut off 18"-24" and see what that gets me.

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I made up some tie down brackets to close the ends on the tube.

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I still have a ton to do. I have to weld on the braces for the side guides, paint, prime, wire, carpet the bunks, etc. , etc. I'm never going to get done. LOL

I leave you with my little helper.

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That really looks good. I would agree with cutting some out, I think that it would look better. Keep up the good work.
 
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