Metal Recycling Entrepreneur
I found on craigslist a tandem axle 20ft camper. They want $200 for it so I was thinking about offering them $100 and converting it into a trailer. I know a few people on here have done this. Was it worth it? Any tips or advice in doing so? Would you do it again or just spend the money and buy a car hauler or skid loader trailer? I can get rid of the waste for free and have access to a welder/plasma cutter.
Experienced Scrapper
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Does it have, or do you need a title for it? If you can title it in your state then I would say go for it. You can make at least 1/2 your money back on the aluminum and other items in it.
If that was here and it had a title (PA requires a title) I would pay the $200 for it, it would make a good car hauler if you can stiffen it up and put some planking on it.
CMHN Recycling
Metal Recycling Entrepreneur
A title would be nice. I'm not too sure if it has one. I believe that I could if need be licence it as a home made trailer, but this costs more. I am friends with the person in town who deals with the licencing, so I will talk to them first to make sure.
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Shop around for a car hauler and price them out then figure your costs to convert that one and shazam you will have your answer. Don't forget to take the scrap into consideration.
Recyclable Material Merchant Wholesaler
Certified Zip-Tie Mechanic
"Give them enough so they can do something with it, but not too much that they won't do nothing."
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If I had the cash that trailer would already be in my yard and any other like it.
Metal Recycling Entrepreneur
Just called him and will be looking at it tomorow. Thanks for the replies. The cheapest car hauler on craigslist was 1500 and it wasn't much. I sceond guess myslef allot and just needed some reasurance that it wasn't a stupid idea.
Experienced Scrapper
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If you do get it and make a car trailer out of it, take lots of pictures and share with the rest of us. We love a good build every now and again, and pictures are the bomb.
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It amazes me that people will spend thousands on enclosed cargo trailers, yet you can score a sweet deal like this and do what ever you want to it and have money to burn...nice score, don't let it get away.
Experienced Scrapper
We have converted (4) camper trailers into excellent flat-bed type trailers and one mobile home into a long trailer that we now call our Heavy- Hauler. I definetely think it's worth all the work. There is a couple major considerations you might want to consider.
A lot of the older mobile home axels have what are refered to as Dayton Wheels although the duty rating and weight capacity is really good on these, a lot of States no longer allow these type of wheels being used on trailer anymore. It's easy to tell if it's a Dayton, instead of traditional Lugs & Nuts, the dayton utilize these heavy clips / clamps that hold the rim to the Hub, usually 4-5 of them.
The other main consideration is the over-all condition of the frame, most camper trailers are made really well with fairly thick steel frames, but there are a few here and there that were made with extremely light duty frame-work. But if you are able to cut steel and weld a bit you can beef up any old frame with extra braces etc.
Well good luck with your project.
GreenTruckR
Metal Recycling Entrepreneur
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I have recently aquired a 16 footer and also intend to convert it into a car trailer.
Good luck with yours!
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A dual axle is a good score, you know at least 1 axle has electric brakes and if you have a big load the electric brakes on the trailer are invaluable. Sure saves a lot of wear and tear on your truck braking system. I always set my trailer brake just a little heavy, that way when I'd hit the brakes you could feel the trailer brakes pulling the truck down slightly. Minimizes jackknives where the trailer tries to eat up the truck.
P & M Recycling - Specializing in E-Waste Recycling.
If you enjoy your freedom, thank a vet.
Metal Recycling Entrepreneur
I just got back from picking the trailer up(parked it out at a farm). Sorry guys I forgot my camara I'm in a hurry to get home to my parents for christmas. I will get pictures after the holiday. It is a 1979 Wilderness. The bed is 19ft.
In Minnesota you do need a title to rebulid a trailer of this size. It was too large to be labled as a home made trailer. We found the title inside the trailer, so that was not a problem.
The trailer is in real rough shape, but the frame is in perfect condition. The wheels are also really nice and have allot of tread left. The frame doesn't look all that strong and will need to be beefed up. The guy also threw in a really nice Reese weight destributing hitch. It also had allot of aluminum pans and other things inside.
I will take pictures throughout the process when I start. It will most likely be later this winter.
Last edited by dmm2442; 12-22-2011 at 04:55 PM.
Experienced Scrapper
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W00T, I see a trailer build coming on. Bring on the pics.
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That weight dist. hitch cost 2-300 new easy...what a great deal.
Metal Recycling Entrepreneur
It was awesome that he thew the hitch in. I was keeping my fingers crossed as soon as I saw it sititng on the front of the trailer, and all the pieces were there so it is complete.
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That weight dist. hitch will make a loaded trailer pull like a dream. No tail wag, and if your tongue heavy you can use those bars to pull it back up level.
Metal Recycling Entrepreneur
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I added top rails to beef up the frame on my RV conversion. Also cut the spindles free from the old axle tube then extended them with new tube to make the trailer wide enough for a car or truck to fit onto the deck.Originally Posted by dmm2442
Last edited by gustavus; 12-23-2011 at 02:01 AM.
Metal Recycling Entrepreneur
Nice work gus. I hope my trailer turns out as nice as yours.
Metal Recycling Entrepreneur
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I'm sure that it will, forgot to mention that the trailer with battery and winch tip the scales at 1100 lbs, the heaviest load was an old WD9 tractor. When I loaded that tractor the trailer lifted the rear wheels of my 3/4 ton off the ground until I managed to get the beast forward enough to put some weight on the tongue.
The cross members would blow you mind, used 3 x 1/4" flat plate with 1 1/2" flat plate welded onto the middle making it a T-bar, the cross members are proximately 40" apart, the 3" is face up welded low enough that the installed planks are level with the trailer outside rails.
The outside rials are 4" channel with the face towards the inner side of the trailer frame, this allowed me to install my lights inside the rail for protection plus gave me a flat surface to weld my cross members onto. The rails for the hitch were extended for added strength.
Metal Recycling Entrepreneur
Ok thanks for the tips gustavas. The outside rails on my trailer are the same 4" channel iron . My original plan was to take some smaller channel iron and weld it inside of the 4" to make a full tube until your idea of the top rails. What did you make your ramps out of? I have an old battery shelf(3"angle iron on both sides) that is very sturdy. I was going to convert it into ramps(I'd have to get a picture of it for it to make sense). Did the cross members flat plate work out or would you do that differently? That would probably be the cheapest way. I was also going to look for a junky old trailer that I could cut up for the steel all I have is angle iron. Also any estimate on what the tractor weighed?
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