Trailer Weight

[bobhenry]

I'll just hand him my baby book. Pictures from day one all the way through the build ought to convince them I really really built it,,,,

[RichAFix]

This may be a really dumb question but in Wisconsin you aren't required to register a trailer, so what happens if my unregistered trailer just happens to be driving through another state that requires such a thing? Is it governed by the state you live or the state you are driving through? I guess I never paid much attention to it, and perhaps I got lucky but I have towed boat/snowmobile and utility trailers all out of my state and never had an issue. Did I just get lucky by not getting pulled over?

[2bits]

I registered mine just as a utility trailer, I'm not suggesting you do anything different than you want or need to to, but my point was is that she asked me if it was under 1000lbs which makes believe regulations/fees increase over this amount. Might want to call and find out if any of that matters and make "sure" your's weighs in under that amount. Why say it is 1100# instead of 900# which it could cost more and/or put you in a different hassle bracket.

[Muggnz]

I plan on taking mine to the local dump to get it weighed. They weigh everything going in & out. We only have to pay the difference. Which I'm hoping to make close to ZERO. And by doing the same with only my car, I will know how much it weighs. Or close enough to keep me happy.

Although I'll probably take along some rubbish, as I'll have a few offcuts to throw away.

david

[BigAl]

We only have to pay the difference. Which I'm hoping to make close to ZERO.

Nice plan! Think I will do the same.

[afreegreek]

weighting too long..

[legojenn]

They also want proof that I own the trailer so I have to have bills of sale for the material I used to build it with.This they say is to prove that I didnt steel the TD and I didnt steel the parts.
John

Wow, I'm surprised that Alberta is so bureaucratic. I thought that Quebec was the fussy province. My trailer was registered in a matter of minutes. The province was more interested in proof that the PST was paid more than anything else.

[xddorox]

They also want proof that I own the trailer so I have to have bills of sale for the material I used to build it with.This they say is to prove that I didnt steel the TD and I didnt steel the parts.
John

Wow, I'm surprised that Alberta is so bureaucratic. I thought that Quebec was the fussy province. My trailer was registered in a matter of minutes. The province was more interested in proof that the PST was paid more than anything else.

I asked a plate for a less than 2 000 lbs homemade trailer and they gave it to me. $67 one time fee. No papers or nothing. I think it's the last thing not complicated with vehicle registration here in Quebec.

[zipz71]

Similar story here in Ontario. $35 one time fee. Weigh ticket required if over (I think) 1500 pounds. But I have heard of people needing one to prove they are under. The dump here weighs them for free.
In my case I weighed it after the frame and floor were built with 3 bathroom scales and then piled on the rest of my material until I maxed out the scales and guessed at the rest. I did this so that I could make changes if I felt it was too heavy. While renewing my car plates last year I inquired about what I needed to register a homemade trailer. They were happy with an estimated weight and less than 5 minutes later I had a plate.
I had it weighed before I put it away last fall. It was about 100 pounds heavier but with the added weight of a battery and some other things I figure my original guess was pretty close.

[cracker39]

I would think that would completely destroy a home scale.

This site explains how to safely weigh heavy objects with the bathroom scale. I've done it this way.

http://www.rv.net/forum/Index.cfm/fuseaction/thread/tid/17951479.cfm

Let's say it is a TD and you know it won't weigh over 1200 lbs. Using the method as shown in the diagram on that web page, with a 1:4 ration of balance, one side of a 1200 lb trailer should weigh less than 600 lbs. With the 1:4 ratio on the beam, the scale would register less than 150 lbs and you'd multiply that by 4 to get the weight of one side. Double that (or weigh both sides if the one side of the trailer has something heavier on it) and add the tongue weight and you have the total weight.