This only took me about a day to build

http://i1216.photobucket.com/albums/...er/trailer.jpg

its a 4x8 A-frame utility, and its load capacity is about a half ton, or a little over.

i was pricing them in the area, and ended up buying this trailer kit from harbor freight on sale and with a coupon for 20% off, it came to about $250 for the frame, plus then i bought the wood for the decking and the sides. my dad helped me deck it, because i only have metal working tools, and he only has wood working tools. the picture is taken in the same garage bay of his house that my radiator video was filmed in.

i read a lot of reviews about it, and if i need to load it a little more than i should, i have to take the wheel wells off or they will rub into the 12in tires. also, i need to keep the receipt in case the wheels are unbalanced from this kit. its a big kid erector set, and it was fun to put this thing together

i plan on sealing it with some leftover deck sealer i have from doing my mother's deck a couple weeks back, just so i can leave it outside. this is my first trailer, but it makes sense to own one, as it basically doubles my load size, and keeps my truck bed empty for those random road side pickups. what do you guys/gals think?

Good looking trailer!

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Originally Posted by Filthy

http://i1216.photobucket.com/albums/...er/trailer.jpg


this is my first trailer, but it makes sense to own one, as it basically doubles my load size, and keeps my truck bed empty for those random road side pickups. what do you guys/gals think?

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absolutely agree every scrappers list of essential tools should include a magnet, a scale, and a Trailer. without these three it doesn't really matter what other tools you have in your arsenal at some point one of those three will be absolutely necessary to get the job done correctly

Sweet! Nice job man

Sweet! Congrats! now go fill it up and make some money to pay for it!

Cool! Nice lookin rig :)

Looks great, but don't fall victim to the temptation to overload it. 4 X 8 X (what is it, about 2 feet deep?) wouldn't be much for a homeowner to fill with mulch, but it is a lot of cubic feet to fill with metal. It's hard to tell how beefy the frame is, but I'd be particularly careful about putting that whole half ton of load up near the front of the bed. It's a pretty good span between the axle and the hitch. (Just thinking this way because the kind of stuff I dig up is mostly ferrous, and could well weigh 100 lbs a piece, and half a ton would only be ten pieces. It won't look very full, but it'll be heavy. Your experience may be different.)

it is 2 feet deep. i split a standard sheet of plywood for the side walls. building it for scrap iron, i know it was a bit much for the walls, but i'd rather they be high than too low.

i deal with mostly light iron as far as ferrous, which can get bulky before really adding up to a half ton. if it were cast iron or HMS, i would most likely keep the load small and maybe even just load up the truck. the idea was to keep me from having to make a trip to the scrap yard with only 200lbs of light iron because i was running out of room to pile it up. i can just use the trailer as another one of my "bins" and hook it up when it gets "full" (weight, not volume)

http://www.harborfreight.com/media/c...mage_18794.jpg
this is what it looks like before the decking

nice work !

Looks sharp and sturdy..job well done

Good to know you've thought it through.

(Plus, this is the internet. You never know who might be lurking out there, reading this thread and thinking "Whoo-hoo! I can build me one of them.", and then go out and load it up with cast iron radiators til they're spilling over the sides... )

Does the tailgate open? Do you lock your coupler? He's right about overloading the front. When I was building mine, and looking for ideas, while idling along a row of trailers parked along one end of a home building center parking lot, saw one with a single square tubing tongue that was bent horribly upwards, and that alone caused me to add several more angle irons from the tongue towards the axle for added reinforcement.

When you get a known load, you can also mark the sides, either leveled in from the top of the tires, or using a framing square on the side of the trailer to the top of each tire, placing a mark on the side of your trailer with a number beside it for the weight at that point. I first did that using some bags of cement I bought on sale, and stacking them evenly in the bed of my pickup, each time I removed another 200 pounds worth, I marked each shock, from then on, any heavy load in the truck & I'd watch those marks

I wish I had the space for a trailer...I have serious envy. Unfortunately I have to be creative with my loads and eat up more than I would like in gas with more frequent trips....

Nice trailer, I've built all mine, or at least rebuilt them, always more pride in something you built and can set it up to better meet your needs.

Nice job on the framework. I thought about going with the same exact one. I ended up buying bigger but don't regret it. You will make your money back many times over.

Install some heavy duty leaf springs and you can really load that trailer up. Good looking trailer though.

thanks, i took it out for a test run last night, just around the block. and i registered it with the state this morning. i look forward to getting some good use out of it.

the leaf spring idea had occurred to me, though im not sure where to begin with something like that, and it may suit my needs as is quite well. thank you all

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Originally Posted by Filthy

thanks, i took it out for a test run last night, just around the block. and i registered it with the state this morning. i look forward to getting some good use out of it.

the leaf spring idea had occurred to me, though im not sure where to begin with something like that, and it may suit my needs as is quite well. thank you all

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Check Tractor Supply or a farm store, they usually have trailer repair and replacement parts and accessories. You might find one of their tongue jacks to be a handy addition too, there's a side jack or a center one, not sure what tongue yours has, the center type jack bolted right into my trailer tongue, which I bought there also. I think the side jack simply straddles a rail somehow. Some have wheels too, i didn't get a wheel on mine, but it might be easier for moving the tongue a bit for hooking up. I recommend always keeping that coupler locked, on or off your vehicle

thanks, bear. why do you recommend keeping it locked off the vehicle, i probably would out of habit, but you made me curious

ive seen the bold on tongue jacks, too. and the side jacks with wheels. probably come in handy rather than using and moving bricks all the time

because things can disappear very quickly. One guy on here dropped his right in front of his house, on a busy street, came home and it was gone! The first thing I do when hooking up, or unhooking, is to put the lock on that coupler, even though my trailer sets well off the road, through two gates, and behind the barn, not visible from the road. In addition to this, when I raise the jack, I wrap each safety chain around the handle in opposite directions and around under the tongue and lock the chains together there. (haha, right after I built it I'd also lug a big old mule plow under there, and wrap the chains around it too lol) Takes about 2 minutes to lock, but makes the chances of anyone readily removing it almost zero. Anything you can do to add to the time it would take someone to drive away with it will increase the chances of it staying in your possession ; )

Very nice Filthy!!! I love it!!

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Originally Posted by Bear

because things can disappear very quickly. One guy on here dropped his right in front of his house, on a busy street, came home and it was gone! The first thing I do when hooking up, or unhooking, is to put the lock on that coupler, even though my trailer sets well off the road, through two gates, and behind the barn, not visible from the road. In addition to this, when I raise the jack, I wrap each safety chain around the handle in opposite directions and around under the tongue and lock the chains together there. (haha, right after I built it I'd also lug a big old mule plow under there, and wrap the chains around it too lol) Takes about 2 minutes to lock, but makes the chances of anyone readily removing it almost zero. Anything you can do to add to the time it would take someone to drive away with it will increase the chances of it staying in your possession ; )

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Absolutely Bear, I always keep my trailers locked up, ...sled, boat, car trailer (16' steel deck), ...still working on a 5x10 trailer(or maybe larger) yet :)