5x8 Chassis Tutorial/Guide/Howto?

Ask questions about Harbor Freight trailers, or questions about building your own...

Postby bg » Sat Mar 04, 2006 7:57 pm

madjack wrote:Julie had a few problems on the way home...she may not feel much like posting about them right now................... 8)


Ruh-roh :(
Bobby(, Kim & Wayne)
bg
500 Club
 
Posts: 985
Images: 8
Joined: Fri Aug 20, 2004 11:11 pm
Location: Saginaw, TX

Postby madjack » Sat Mar 04, 2006 8:16 pm

bg wrote:
madjack wrote:Julie had a few problems on the way home...she may not feel much like posting about them right now................... 8)


Ruh-roh :(


...check your PM's.......................................................... 8)
...I have come to believe that, conflict resolution, through violence, is never acceptable.....................mj
User avatar
madjack
Site Admin
 
Posts: 15128
Images: 177
Joined: Thu Dec 02, 2004 5:27 pm
Location: Central Louisiana

Postby bg » Sat Mar 04, 2006 8:46 pm

I'll expand on the problems once my head clears. I just feel like a bit of an idiot right now.

:cry:
Bobby(, Kim & Wayne)
bg
500 Club
 
Posts: 985
Images: 8
Joined: Fri Aug 20, 2004 11:11 pm
Location: Saginaw, TX
Top

pics on the way

Postby oklahomajewel » Sun Mar 05, 2006 8:59 am

HEY No worries, this is supposed to be fun, right? :lol:

Got home okay, just minor things. I've "talked" to bg about it, and it's no big deal. Just good to know for the next time!

The build goes on, the sun is starting to come out today and I will try to get the deck and floor started. I'm having a little problem getting my second workshop door open all the way but that will be something to work on today too ! haha ....

Pictures, yeah ... they're coming... check later.

Julie
Some things are way over my head !! ...but it keeps me looking UP!
oklahomajewel
3000 Club
3000 Club
 
Posts: 3693
Images: 82
Joined: Fri Jul 22, 2005 11:12 am
Location: McLoud, OK
Top

Postby bg » Tue Mar 07, 2006 5:29 pm

As Ira would say "Shift Happens" And in this case it was literal.

I don't have any pictures from Julie, but by her description and the pictures I have... It all makes sense.

Image

From what I can tell, the welds in the two circled areas failed. Both were a case of insufficent weld and weld heat (joints were 1/8" to 1/4").

So uh, Maybe an extra 15 minutes and she would had a much more peaceful drive home. My fault entirely. :oops:

I'm working on the howto as I can, I should have plenty of time when I'm in Baltimore in 2 weeks.
Bobby(, Kim & Wayne)
bg
500 Club
 
Posts: 985
Images: 8
Joined: Fri Aug 20, 2004 11:11 pm
Location: Saginaw, TX
Top

Postby mikeschn » Tue Mar 07, 2006 5:36 pm

BG,
Can I suggest some design improvements?

For example, change the tongue to a 50* tongue, incase the person wants his/her tongue jack centered...

Also consider using a longer piece of tubing if you are running a straight piece down the middle. Weld it to one of the cross members near the axle.

I'm sure there are more suggestions... there is a lot of knowledge on the forum. Anyone else have any design improvement suggestions?

Mike...
The quality is remembered long after the price is forgotten, so build your teardrop with the best materials...
User avatar
mikeschn
Site Admin
 
Posts: 19202
Images: 475
Joined: Tue Apr 13, 2004 11:01 am
Location: MI
Top

Postby bg » Tue Mar 07, 2006 5:39 pm

Big disadvantage to an A-frame coupler is in my experience the jack will drag when pulled by a small car.
Bobby(, Kim & Wayne)
bg
500 Club
 
Posts: 985
Images: 8
Joined: Fri Aug 20, 2004 11:11 pm
Location: Saginaw, TX
Top

Postby asianflava » Tue Mar 07, 2006 5:48 pm

bg wrote:Big disadvantage to an A-frame coupler is in my experience the jack will drag when pulled by a small car.


Even a swing away jack?
User avatar
asianflava
8000 Club
8000 Club
 
Posts: 8412
Images: 45
Joined: Mon Aug 02, 2004 5:11 am
Location: CO, Longmont
Top

Postby angib » Tue Mar 07, 2006 5:53 pm

bg wrote:From what I can tell, the welds in the two circled areas failed.

Were these joints welded both sides (ie, front and back)? Access from the back would be a little tight under the flange of the angle.

Andrew
User avatar
angib
5000 Club
5000 Club
 
Posts: 5783
Images: 231
Joined: Fri Apr 30, 2004 2:04 pm
Location: (Olde) England
Top

Postby bg » Tue Mar 07, 2006 6:33 pm

asianflava wrote:
bg wrote:Big disadvantage to an A-frame coupler is in my experience the jack will drag when pulled by a small car.


Even a swing away jack?


Swing aways are fine, this is what I'm talking about.

Image

angib wrote:Were these joints welded both sides (ie, front and back)? Access from the back would be a little tight under the flange of the angle.

Andrew


Should have been that or welded ALOT hotter on the front, on the back the two vertical flanges of the angle used to support the tongue should have been welded along the vertical. Somehow I missed that. I basically gave it to Julie with no real strength on the tongue, But it held fine to my 200+ lb weight. The trailer I posted with the A-frame coupler has had 1000+lbs on the tongue and held fine, other than the jack sinking into the mud.
Bobby(, Kim & Wayne)
bg
500 Club
 
Posts: 985
Images: 8
Joined: Fri Aug 20, 2004 11:11 pm
Location: Saginaw, TX
Top

Postby asianflava » Tue Mar 07, 2006 7:00 pm

Gotcha on the jack. :thumbsup:

When I took a welding class (a long time ago) we would have to chuck our project into a vice and bend them to failure with a big pair of channel locks. We would also have to take a hack saw to them to check for penetration. There was no way you could get one past the instructor. It was pass/fail if the metal broke before the weld, you could move on to the next project. If your weld broke, try it again.

This was just gas welding, after a few gas projects welding steel brazing brass we moved on to TIG on aluminum. 2 TIG machines for the whole class meant that you didn't get much torch time though.
User avatar
asianflava
8000 Club
8000 Club
 
Posts: 8412
Images: 45
Joined: Mon Aug 02, 2004 5:11 am
Location: CO, Longmont
Top

Postby bg » Tue Mar 07, 2006 7:19 pm

I'm going to run a few coupons in the morning and see if maybe I had a bad batch of rod or something.

I think it's that I was rushing because I was tired, then my phone rang and I got out of the 'groove' -- literally
Bobby(, Kim & Wayne)
bg
500 Club
 
Posts: 985
Images: 8
Joined: Fri Aug 20, 2004 11:11 pm
Location: Saginaw, TX
Top

Postby doug hodder » Tue Mar 07, 2006 10:43 pm

BG...what prompted the design change from photo posted on 2/22, clamped up and ready to weld to 3/7 frame done... angle flanges are completely different? Doug
doug hodder
*Snoop Dougie Doug
 
Posts: 12625
Images: 562
Joined: Tue Dec 14, 2004 11:20 pm
Top

Postby bg » Tue Mar 07, 2006 11:07 pm

My vertical/horizontal bandsaw decided to throw a fit and wouldn't operate correctly vertically to let me notch the angles. I could have done it with the angle grinders, but at the same time notching requires ALOT of skill and patience, kinda put it out of the league of what I wanted my guide to cover.

The butt joint should be plenty adequate. I've built a smaller lawn mower trailer like that and it's been fine, and It's probably seen heavier loads than Julie's trailer ever will.

Doing the joints like this was my original intent, but with the saw on the fritz, and having already spent too much, I made do with what I had.
Bobby(, Kim & Wayne)
bg
500 Club
 
Posts: 985
Images: 8
Joined: Fri Aug 20, 2004 11:11 pm
Location: Saginaw, TX
Top

Postby madjack » Wed Mar 08, 2006 2:29 am

BG...a couple of thoughts...did ya consider putting some sort of gusset where the tongue meets the frame...a single point attachment in that area doesn't seem best to me dur to torsional forces...also, the butt joint in the corners is OK I guess, but a little work with a sawzall/jig saw or some sort of cutting tool for a notch out would have allowed a larger welding surface and if done on the crossmembers it would have allowed for the frame to be flush arcoss the top of the entire frame, negating the need to install spacer for the floor to sit flush...I can't really tell in the pics but how did you attach the axle...did you box the angle that the axle tabs attach to or just sit the angle on its edge sitting atop of the axle brackets...
madjack 8)
...I have come to believe that, conflict resolution, through violence, is never acceptable.....................mj
User avatar
madjack
Site Admin
 
Posts: 15128
Images: 177
Joined: Thu Dec 02, 2004 5:27 pm
Location: Central Louisiana
Top

PreviousNext

Return to Trailer and Chassis Secrets

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 1 guest