Which steel?

[Section 8]

I am building a military type trailer (truck bed like, 24 inch high bed rails, 68"x59" outside measurements) I will be using a 1000-1500 pound Torflex axle, but since I don't even know which steel to start with to estimate weight, I am stalled as far as planning this thing.

Which steel should I use for the frame to keep it together with some mild abuse? Would 2" square by .083 wall be good or should I go heavy and do 1/8 wall? i will be doing a ladder frame 44" wide (axle mounting width) with a cross every 20 inches, with "wings" added on front and rear of the tires to finish the width.

As a side note, does anyone know how, or know of a reference for cross sectional area for steel tubes? Either the measurments are nominal, or I can't geometry myself out of a paperbag.

Thaks.

[Leon]

My choice would be to go with .120 wall. If you are going to give it some abuse, .120 will hold up better. 2x2 .120 is 3.0684 lbs per foot

[Section 8]

Thank you!

Hey thats a great set up in your avatar (chevy wagon and swoopy TD with whitewalls)

[angib]

Yeah, 2"x2"x0.12" is still pretty light if you're building something tough, but then 1500 pounds isn't very heavy. If you wanted to build something really strong, 3"x2"x0.12" is better than going over 0.12" thickness on the 2"x2" tube.

Online Metals gives the weight per foot of each section they sell, so you can look them up there (under "A36 - HOT ROLL TUBE - SQUARE" - or on my tongue strength page which also gives their approximate strength.

Andrew