BOOYAH!!!! I got a trailer!!!!!!!!!!! - Page 2

If you perceive any faults in the initial inspection, or have any questions, just ask, no doubt you'll get plenty of answers ; )

Whoo hoo! NA has a cooler puller now!

Whatcha gonna put your scrap in?

Sirscrapalot - 99 bottles of beer on the wall, take one down, pass it around...one less beer left for you all.

I carry one of those little floor jacks with a short strip of plywood for a pad in soft spots, good for the truck and the trailer. I also keep a safety stand with a plywood pad for it

Sides on that might not be easy, and I can't see it real good, but two ideas come to mind. Run the sides to the floor inside, that will close in the bottom too but also take a bit off your inside room. Or you could bolt some light angle (such as bed frame rails) to the top of your metal side rails and bolt plywood sides to that. Either one will present a question of how to secure the back, maybe bolt it to the rear gate. It isn't difficult to drill the necessary bolt holes, probably 3 on each side for the light angle and 2 in front, 4 or 5 smaller ones on the sides for the plywood and use flat washers on the wood side.
Either way, I'd look for a design that allows for relatively easy "on-off" for times when you need the top open

Is that a 6x8 New ? I just looked back at the pic, two foot sides might be another consideration, 4ft are gonna be hard to throw stuff over from the outside. Two foot half inch plywood would likely be the easiest, just some small bolts to the side rails would hold it

When I built my trailer, i used a thicker piece of wood on the bottom because that is what took all the beating but then again, yours has the steel edge. That was a really good deal you got. Mine was $300.00 and I had to put it together, buy extra wood, and I still need a spare

Originally Posted by Bear

That seems like a good way to go with it New, 1/2" exterior plywood, a 4x8 sheet would do both sides to two ft height. If your yard sells less than full sheets you could get a 2ft rip for the front. A 4ft 2x4 ripped in two, and cut at 2ft would give you 4 2x2 for your corners, just use decking screws to hold it together. At that height(2ft) with those 2x2 corners at the back should be rigid enough to not need a cross member. If you run a 2x2 all around the top it would stay straighter too.
You could use self tapping metal screws(3/16 to 1/4in hex head or torx) to anchor the front and sides to the frame(probly about 4 or 5 on each side rail, top and bottom, would secure it). You'll still need to drill through before you run the tapping screws in. That would secure it, but still be removable( then when you want it back on just use the same holes, same screws etc)

Everytime I look back at the photo I see something different. I thought it was channels too but it's all angles. Screws wouldn't work well, they'd be sticking out the other side, little 3/16 or 1/4 inch bolts would still work ok tho

I used carriage bolts

Originally Posted by scrapping4ever

I used carriage bolts

carriage bolts are designed for metal to metal. Although they're used in lots of places like that, when you pull those down into wood and the wood gets older and the bolts get harder to break they can be a pain to get out

Originally Posted by Bear

carriage bolts are designed for metal to metal. Although they're used in lots of places like that, when you pull those down into wood and the wood gets older and the bolts get harder to break they can be a pain to get out

I didn't think about that but then again, I don't think I'll be taking them off

If you don't want to drill holes in your frame, use square u bolts.

drilling 3 or 4, 3/16" or 1/4" holes in the rails will in no way compromise it's integrity. Your main concern with heavier loads will be the lone square tube tongue. I'd recommend using some diligence not to overload the front, or get into a slam stop if at all possible when loaded, and doing nothing to subtract from it, and maybe even re-enforcing it if possible.
When I was studying designs for the front of mine (I built it totally from scratch, using angles, bolts, screws, and welds, and it is as solid as a Sherman tank) I was at a Lowes or Home Depot looking at their trailers which were lined along the curb on one end of the parking lot. One was locked up with the rest, and I believe it was very similar to yours, excepting the tongue was bent up sharply in the space between the trailer and the coupler, from just such a thing

Be carefull to NOT overload that trailer. I can't tell what size wheels are on it but they only have 4 lugs. That tells me that it isn't rated to haul heavy loads. Also being a singal axel trailer if you stack things to high and you have a flat the load can shift and flip the trailer over. I don't mean to bust your bubble, I just want you to be carefull with it. Congrats and put it to good use.

Originally Posted by Bear

drilling 3 or 4, 3/16" or 1/4" holes in the rails will in no way compromise it's integrity.

I know it won't. I was thinking more along the lines of cosmetics, but who am I kidding. We are scrappers!

Hey NA, in looking at your trailer a bit closer...would it work to put your sides up and then come in from the bottom of those pockets with your "stake" and fasten into them with deck screws? If it works like I think it would, it would be fairly secure.

Originally Posted by IdahoScrapper

I was thinking more along the lines of cosmetics, but who am I kidding. We are scrappers!

Uhmmm...You are joking?...Right?
Somehow I didn't think so, and why you would be wishing to slur is beyond me, frankly I thought better of you than this, Idaho.
I had considered just letting it be, something like "New, I give up, good luck", and let it go, and was going to excepting for one thing. It was not a slur to me. but to every scrapper who ever fit a trailer, or anything else for that matter.
You used a term from the engineering department while suggesting methods of an amateur. Cosmetics?

Originally Posted by IdahoScrapper

If you don't want to drill holes in your frame, use square u bolts.

Square U-bolts on angle iron? Cosmetics? You might see a square U-bolt on an angle iron out in the field, but you'll never find such a thing specified on an engineering drawing. No, we're not engineers, but we're not slop either, and I think you'll find a thousand threads here advising us Not to be.

Why you'd find Square U-bolts, or 2x4s wedged into the frame, more visually appealing than direct bolts to the frame is another thing I can't figure, but then, I truly don't wish to know the method at which you arrived at this conclusion. Bolts, and vehicle frames just go together, look at any vehicle on the road.

There is nothing wrong with bolting directly to the frame. It's more rigid, more secure, and will be more durable than anything you have mentioned.

In my 40+ years of being a builder, I have long been aware of the hundreds of ways to do most anything. Some are definitely better than others, and sometime it doesn't make a bit of difference, but to slur one, while suggesting another, is uncalled for, especially when it definitely isn't any better, structurally, or architecturally.

The 2x4s will work fine, if properly done, long as the pocket brackets will accept a full one. It won't be as durable or as rigid, but will get the job done, and I suppose that's what matters

Good luck with it New