Is it okay to use a trailer that has rails?

[FenixBuilder10]

Hello All,

I have a trailer that is free to me, the only drawback is that is has rails.

Is this okay to use? Does anyone have pictures of their build that has rails?

I am sure it is just user preference but I want to see some examples to give myself some confidence.

TIA!

[saywhatthat]

Yes. if you cut the rails you turned to weak crap. That's a trust trailer the rails give it a lot of the strength

[Tom&Shelly]

That's a trust trailer the rails give it a lot of the strength

"Truss trailer"?

Tom

[tony.latham]

Obviously, those rails are to add stiffness to the trailer when hauling a refrigerator or some such chunk of mass that is much smaller than the trailer's frame.

Cut them off. When you bolt a teardrop cabin to it, it'll add the stiffness back in. Just make sure to use a minimum of three bolts per side.

Tony

[saywhatthat]

Tony the first time I've ever disagreed with you cutting those rails off is a bad move . If you do it take and box that bottom part in with the extra metal you cut if not you're just asking for problems. Don't even waste your money buying Insurance because they will sit there and say you've done an unsafe modification to the trailer and they ain't going to pay for nothing. Go hook it to the back of your tow vehicle now go to the very back jump up and down . All that railing is tied to frame not in a few spots that can rip louse. The frames you Tony use are a lot stronger then that angle iron
you may never need the rigidity that the original frame has but when you need it you need it all just like brakes you may never need them but when you need brakes you need them
being involved in several RV repair shops is the cost of repairing it is what I look at.
also by leaving the rails on you have side inpack protection. Also if you make the pod removable you still have a little trailer that you can use

[MickinOz]

How the heck are you guys forming opinions and offering advice without even a photograph of the trailer under discussion?

[tony.latham]

The frames you Tony use are a lot stronger then that angle iron...

I realize that. But I'd cut the rails off. You build strength back in with a well-built teardrop cabin. Properly built, they are a torsion box. You and I disagree.

I insure mine in case it's stolen or in a wreck. I'm not connecting the dots from one of those incidents to an adjuster figuring out the trailer had been modified.

Tony

p.s.

How the heck are you guys forming opinions

Those utility trailers are common here.

[Staryder61]

How the heck are you guys forming opinions and offering advice without even a photograph of the trailer under discussion?

I'll up ya one on that question Mick.. I was going to ask for a picture.. to get a better idea of what he had..

[saywhatthat]

[quoteHow the heck are you guys forming opinions and offering advice without even a photograph of the trailer under discussion?][/quote]
I would bet 90% of the trailers here in the United States that have that angle iron side rails made from cheap Chinese Steel that you can bend with you hand. Do you have faith that the pod you build is going be stronger than then what some engineer designed to be the very minimum because of cost. do you live in a place that does inspections will it pass after modifying. Do you want to make it weaker than a Harbor Freight trailer at least uses c channel

[tony.latham]

Then ask your shelf is that pod going to...

You and I disagree. Let's leave it at that.

Tony

[friz]

How the heck are you guys forming opinions and offering advice without even a photograph of the trailer under discussion?

It may be cultural. You have to acknowledge that hotrodding, (modifying stuff, sometimes without any obvious benefit,) and talking out one's "backside" are highly regarded American traditions. I refuse to apologize for either.

Sent from my SM-S906U using Tapatalk

[MickinOz]

talking out one's "backside" are highly regarded American traditions.

Sent from my SM-S906U using Tapatalk

[Staryder61]

How the heck are you guys forming opinions and offering advice without even a photograph of the trailer under discussion?

It may be cultural. You have to acknowledge that hotrodding, (modifying stuff, sometimes without any obvious benefit,) and talking out one's "backside" are highly regarded American traditions. I refuse to apologize for either.

Sent from my SM-S906U using Tapatalk

My first laugh of the day friz..

[MickinOz]

[quoteHow the heck are you guys forming opinions and offering advice without even a photograph of the trailer under discussion?]

I would bet 90% of the trailers here in the United States that have that angle iron side rails made from cheap Chinese Steel that you can bend with you hand. Do you have faith that the pod you build is going be stronger than then what some engineer designed to be the very minimum because of cost. do you live in a place that does inspections will it pass after modifying. Do you want to make it weaker than a Harbor Freight trailer at least uses c channel[/quote]

Careful son, that cheap Chinese Steel came from prime Australian Iron Ore.
A guy over here "liberated" some from the local factory, and had a lot of trouble welding it.
The look on his face when I told him his problem was obvious - you need cheap Chinese welding rods to weld cheap Chinese steel - was priceless....
(I was taking the mickey, because the company supplying the fabricated steel flues and things had sent over a petit young woman who crawled inside the flues and welded the inside. She was producing amazing welds in those cramped conditions that sure had the local boilermakers talking. Talking radiographic testing of all welds, too.)

You have perhaps misunderstood the question - how is it you think you know what the OP actually has?
Having said that, I'm with Tony on this one, just a bit.
If you can bend those side rails with your hand, how much strength are you deleting if you cut them off?
I've seen a couple of early trailers that are basically timber frames with the springs bolted to them.
Illegal now, I think, but I believe if you did have an overly flexible chassis, bolting the right size piece of plywood to it would work wonders.
Here, we can get decking ply up to 170mm thick.
I wouldn't use any thing that thick of course, but an inch of F14 grade structural plywood would certainly stiffen up your Harbor Freight style no problems apart from the extra 100 lbs.

[tony.latham]

how is it you think you know what the OP actually has?

'Cause I've looked at a lot of those trailers from various manufacturers when I was building a utility trailer. (And no, I didn't use angle.)

This is where I draw the line... the ol' Pico Light concept:

https://www.tnttt.com/Design_Library/The%20Pico-Light.htm



Tony