Welder trailer??

[tinksdad]

My original plans called for an HF (or similar) mini trailer to build my slightly smaller "TD for one". I came across this for a lot less than the HF and it looks a lot more sturdy. The person selling it says it's about 49" between the tires which would work fine for my slightly smaller trailer. The pics show that it needs a lot of cleaning and re-painting, but I expected that if I bought something used. I can't tell from the pics and he didn't know the length. I Googled Pipeliner Welders to try to find some specs on size to no avail. Does anyone have any knowledge of this type of trailer?

The axle is all ready mounted on top of the springs so I won't be able to lower it any more. The springs also look welded in place, so moving them might be a chore as well. My main concern is how much am I going to have to overhang the rear and tongue to get the 78" overall length for the cabin.

I guess I'll find out when I go look at it over the weekend, tape measure in hand. But if any body can cast some illumination before then, it would be greatly appreciated.

[angib]

That looks like a good choice - I guess it might be made from 1/4" thick channel which would push its weight up, but apart from that it's probably the most sensible used trailer anyone has started with.

Moving the spring hangers, to get the balance right, is perfectly possible with a bit of grinding and a bit of welding, and access is so much better now that it would be better to get that sorted now rather than later. If it's a regular 8ft teardrop body you want, then having the axle 34-36" from the rear of the body, or at most 38", is recommended. If you won't carry much weight in the galley, you could even up that measurement by 2", though by then you may have to repack the teardrop for towing, putting any heavy stuff right at the front of the cabin to get the hitch weight safe.

49" between the tyres sounds just right if you want narrower tyres - at least 1" per side is a sensible clearance for a spring axle.

It's hard to tell, but it looks like this trailer didn't have a conventional coupler before, so it might take a bit of welding work to adapt it to take one - an ideal time to sort out the axle, if it needs it.

'Pipeline welder' trailer sounds like a description, not a trade name, to me - but then whadda I know, I'm a furriner...

Andrew