trailer steel question

[limptera13]

well i have a good oppurtunity to get some free square tubing from work, probably enough to build a trailer out of but not sure if its strong enough, its 1 1/2" square tubing and the metal its between 1/8-1/4 thick, i basiclly wanna weld up my own square trailer and id have enough for plenty of crossmembers then the only thing id have to buy is a new axle.

[madjack]

limpy, the first thing to keep in mind is the fact, with a properly constructed tear, the greatest strength is in the body of the tear which is a "torsion box"...is such cases the steel is only needed to connect the the axle to the body and tongue...I wouldn't use that steel for the tongue however but rather something heavier...in other words, yes you can use it for the frame but something heavier will be required for the tongue.....
madjack

[limptera13]

i have a highly assorted selection of steel, what size steel would u select for the tounge?

[madjack]

...ask a dozen folks and get a dozen answers...I prefer a "Y" type of tongue arrangement with 2x1/4" tube for the center tube and for the angle pieces you can use something similar or a bit lighter..."C" channel or angle would be OK for these braces...run all 3 pieces back to the second crossmember at a minimum...if you look in the index at the top of the page you will see a "Trailer Tutorial" with a lot of good info on frame building.......
madjack

[limptera13]

ya i just checked that out after i posted, well im doin a lot of research before i comit to building this, and its getting closer n closer to happening