TS 4x8 trailer

[Mauleskinner]

Well, I'm getting close to starting...I'd be a lot closer, but my local Tractor Supply is out of the 4x8 trailers for a couple of weeks yet...

Looking through the archives here, it appears that the required mods for this trailer are basically welding the tongue in place, and probably putting some angled braces on the tongue, going under the front crosspiece and attaching to the side pieces slightly forward of the second crosspiece.

I'm planning for a tongue box of some sort in the future, so the angle braces would be necessary anyway.

Are there other issues with the trailer that I'd need to attend to?

Thanks!

David

[MrgrumpyNJ]

Make sure the tongue is centered on the frame. I found mine to be off by 3/4 of an inch on the front bracket
and 1/2 an inch on the back bracket. I also put gussets on each corner for leveling jacks
and some 2x2 steel in the front and back were the tongue mounts to beef up the frame a little.

Don

[Mauleskinner]

Thanks, Don!

I like the extended tongue and the corner gussets...I'll see what it looks like, but I'm guessing that running side braces to the tongue will add a lot of rigidity to the front, but I'll pick up some 2" square tube, too, just in case.

Might even be worth putting a 2" square tube across the very back as well, just to have a little bit of a "bumper"...just have to do it so that what it bumps isn't my shins.

David

[angib]

Adding a 2x2 in front of the front will be fairly obvious, and I think it isn't needed - the reason being that, although this cross-member is more highly loaded than the second one, it has the front wall of the teardrop body sitting right above it. Contrary to of lot of folks' gut instinct, that wall is stronger than frame underneath it.

But reinforcing the second cross-member is a sound idea - this one is pulled down by the tongue and anyway doesn't have a wall above it.

Andrew

[Mauleskinner]

Adding a 2x2 in front of the front will be fairly obvious, and I think it isn't needed - the reason being that, although this cross-member is more highly loaded than the second one, it has the front wall of the teardrop body sitting right above it. Contrary to of lot of folks' gut instinct, that wall is stronger than frame underneath it.

But reinforcing the second cross-member is a sound idea - this one is pulled down by the tongue and anyway doesn't have a wall above it.

Andrew

Yeah, that makes sense...the tear body is small enough and has just enough curvature to make it a fairly rigid box, and the box will support the perimeter framework. But levering the tongue against the center of the floor isn't going to provide that same strength, and would allow for an "oil can" effect, for lack of a better term.

David

[DougH]

I didn't reinforce before the build and now regret it. My 2nd crossmember got the bend across the trailer and cracked the weld by the tongue. I had it re-welded then bolted on a 2nd 1 1/2" angle iron to the crossmember and then bolted thru my subflloor. Hopefuly this has cured the sag and spread the load.

Sure would have been nice to lengthen the tongue, I can only get on a pretty narrow box. I just clamped over the tongue with U bolts and braced the sides with some L brackets and it easily holds the tongue box on.

[angib]

But levering the tongue against the center of the floor isn't going to provide that same strength, and would allow for an "oil can" effect, for lack of a better term.

Absolutely right - because we walk on floors every day, we tend to think they are strong, which they aren't - it's the walls at either end of the floor that are strong.

Rather than "oil can", I tend to use "trampoline" as it gives the idea of the soft, springy thing a floor is - but it's the same effect.

Andrew

[starleen2]

I posted this in another section, but it maybe useful again.

Quote:
Tractor Supply Co Model SKU #1000215 GVWR- 1500 lbs Tip: the trailer tongue mounts to the trailer at only two points with hardened bolts. When I built my camper using this trailer, it became oblivious that these two bolts were the only things holding the tongue bar to the trailer assembly. I guess this was a design feature to allow for a tilt bed feature. Upon the completion of the camper and the first trial run, I noticed that there was considerable movement between the two bolts and pivoting within the joint. The 2X2 angle iron on the frame was also flexing. Every movement of the camper made the two joints jump and pivot like a see-saw. To remedy this, I welded the points were the bolts passed through the tongue and angle iron connections. BE SURE TO REMOVER THE TRAILER WIRING HARNESS FROM THE TUBING BEFORE WELDING!

This eliminated the problem. Another factor is the 2x2 angle used in the construction. Our camper is wider than the 4-foot bed of the trailer. I had to use some runners to be able to mount the floor flush to the trailer (See details on website - weekended build). I believe that the HF trailers are flat on top and would eliminate this?? I am planning a third build and will probably use the same TSC trailer again with the same modifications

Also you may want to put a few bolts from the floor to the second cross piece where the end of the square tow tube is welded. At first I did not, thinking that it wasn’t a big deal until it cracked and had to be repaired on the road. The welder mentioned that IF I had put two bolts in to the second cross member, that it would have prevented any oscillation. This eliminated the problem. hope this helps

As you can see I have had the same problems - this is a weakness in the design of the trailer. With a few welds and some bolts you can eliminte these - now you can either have it done before your floor is down - or later down the road looking for a welder by the roadside - no fun

2 cents worth

[Mauleskinner]

I posted this in another section, but it maybe useful again.

Also you may want to put a few bolts from the floor to the second cross piece where the end of the square tow tube is welded. At first I did not, thinking that it wasn’t a big deal until it cracked and had to be repaired on the road. The welder mentioned that IF I had put two bolts in to the second cross member, that it would have prevented any oscillation. This eliminated the problem. hope this helps

As you can see I have had the same problems - this is a weakness in the design of the trailer. With a few welds and some bolts you can eliminte these - now you can either have it done before your floor is down - or later down the road looking for a welder by the roadside - no fun

2 cents worth

A bargain at twice the price!

I had read your posts previously, but apparently the part about the rear attach point of the trailer didn't sink in...glad you pointed it out again. Reinforces the need for reinforcement.

Thanks!

David