Trailer Chassis: What Do You Think?

[Eagle]

Mike,

It has a tongue not unlike Andrew's. I was concerned about the 1 x 1 inch tubing, since I read that 2 x 2 was what you were using. I figure for $75, I could not go too wrong. However, if you and the gang have any reservations, I will pass.

Thanks again for the advise.

Eagle

[Eagle]

not unlike the TRAILER Andrew was so kind to provide a picture of.

Eagle

[mikeschn]

Greetings,

The big question: it is made with a lot of 1 x 1 steel. It appears to be about 1/4 inch thick. (It is raining and could only take so much soaking)
The wheels appear to be about 13 inch ones. Lot of rust but for an asking price of less than $100, do you think this would be a good start or would I be buying a pile of rust?

Eagle

My first thought, is for $99 more, you can get the 1175# trailer, and everything is new, there is no rust, the bearings are ready for the road, the tires have all new rubber... in short, no headaches or extra expenses with the trailer.

That'll free you up to play with the really important stuff... the teardrop body itself. Will it be round? square? pop-up? slide-out? vintage looking? modern looking?

So, doesn't that sound like more fun?

Mike...

[angib]

So Andrew, what kind of a coupler do you have sitting on your tongue?

If you look carefully at the front of the chassis, you'll see a short length of square tube welded on top of the two angles. There are several reasons for this:
- 50 deg couplers are not available in Yurp;
- it 'converts' the A-frame chassis to a low cost straight tube coupler;
- it bumps the hitch up a coupla inches, which is welcome.
Andrew

[BrianB]

Busy trailer shopping day today. This morning I stopped by a shop down the street where I always see someone in there welding. I showed him the trailer I want and he flat out said no because of the liability.

Later, I stopped by a local trailer manufacturer (just about every utility trailer you see in town has their logo on it), and the guy almost stroked out when I showed him the picture of the trailer with 1x1 tubing. "I've been doing this for 37 years and I know what works" he says. Even after I told him the most weight this thing would ever see is 1500lbs (with two fat people in it), he said the minimum he would do is 2x2s for the frame and a 3x3 tounge for ~$800, in which I almost stroked out.

I like the idea of someone who knows what they're doing building the trailer, but it seems like he's trying to overbuild it. A 100lbs chassis is very appealing, but not if it's going to flex so much that it'll tear the trailer apart.

Last option is to get one of these Carry-On trailers that Lowe's carries and grinding off the crap that I don't need. They have one that has slight damage to the railing that they'll take 10% off the price for. Still, that's $650.

Hell, maybe I'll just learn to weld.

[Chuck Craven]

Hay BrianB do you have a vocational school close by?
If they have a night school, adult classes that is a good way to learn.
Even some high schools have adult night classes in welding or metal work.
Chuck