northern tool trailers
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northern tool trailers
by lee senn » Fri Dec 28, 2012 12:22 am
anyone have experience with the northern tool trailers. They look to be a cut above and they currently have their 5 x 8 trailer on sale for $449.00 with free freight. I have a trailer that I had custom built, many years ago, for my anticipated build but being a newbie I made so many goofs I fear that it will cost more to rectify them as to just by a suitable frame. Thanks for your help. Lee Senn
- lee senn
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Re: northern tool trailers
by bobhenry » Fri Dec 28, 2012 7:24 am
The single tongue ending just a foot or so into the second crossmember scares me.
In my 20 plus visits to gathering I have heard first hand twice about on the road tongue failuers.
Here is a post I made not quite a year ago.....
Hook up the frame and try backing it down a narrow alley or winding driveway. If this exercise make you want to pull your hair out , the tongue is just too damn short ! However lengthening it and attaching it at the same crossmember will further aggrivate your bending of the puney crossmember as you now have a longer lever to pry with. I have replaced , lengthened and reinforced the tongues on each and every one of the 4 builds I have constructed. I simply bolted the first one with grade 5 bolts. Andrew is correct drilling the crossmember further weakens it however if you are now running the new replacement tongue the full length of the trailer you are now sharing the down force load with 4 or more crossmembers. So the drilling is now doable as the down force is shared by multiple crossmembers. As a bonus you can shim down the rear of the tube and utilize it as a rear reciever for a bike rack. grill mount, rear cargo rack and other ideas. It seems the general concensus on the board is most stock trailer tongues are between 18 and 24 inches too short for good road manners.
If you really want to leave the stock tongue and have the floor help to contribute its strength you might concider a square bottomed "U" bolt or two thru the floor. Drill the holes thru the floor from underneath and then drop the u bolt or bolts in from above place the crossplate and install the nuts from underneath. This leave the smooth round rod under the mattress. I would add a shortl length of 1 1/2 to 2" flat stock to spread the concentrated load over the floor acting as a large "washer" to eliminate the crushing of the floor sheet goods
I used a Norco 5x8 ( very very similar to your NT 5x8 ) in the barn build. The second crossmember was bowed downward badly from overloading by the previous owner.
I immediatly purchased a length of 2x2x3/16 to replace it. After a time I found even that was not enough and was forced to truss the new member from underneath to avoid bending the new tongue ( now) at the first crossmember. Just my thoughts others will have ideas I am sure.
In my 20 plus visits to gathering I have heard first hand twice about on the road tongue failuers.
Here is a post I made not quite a year ago.....
Hook up the frame and try backing it down a narrow alley or winding driveway. If this exercise make you want to pull your hair out , the tongue is just too damn short ! However lengthening it and attaching it at the same crossmember will further aggrivate your bending of the puney crossmember as you now have a longer lever to pry with. I have replaced , lengthened and reinforced the tongues on each and every one of the 4 builds I have constructed. I simply bolted the first one with grade 5 bolts. Andrew is correct drilling the crossmember further weakens it however if you are now running the new replacement tongue the full length of the trailer you are now sharing the down force load with 4 or more crossmembers. So the drilling is now doable as the down force is shared by multiple crossmembers. As a bonus you can shim down the rear of the tube and utilize it as a rear reciever for a bike rack. grill mount, rear cargo rack and other ideas. It seems the general concensus on the board is most stock trailer tongues are between 18 and 24 inches too short for good road manners.
If you really want to leave the stock tongue and have the floor help to contribute its strength you might concider a square bottomed "U" bolt or two thru the floor. Drill the holes thru the floor from underneath and then drop the u bolt or bolts in from above place the crossplate and install the nuts from underneath. This leave the smooth round rod under the mattress. I would add a shortl length of 1 1/2 to 2" flat stock to spread the concentrated load over the floor acting as a large "washer" to eliminate the crushing of the floor sheet goods
I used a Norco 5x8 ( very very similar to your NT 5x8 ) in the barn build. The second crossmember was bowed downward badly from overloading by the previous owner.
I immediatly purchased a length of 2x2x3/16 to replace it. After a time I found even that was not enough and was forced to truss the new member from underneath to avoid bending the new tongue ( now) at the first crossmember. Just my thoughts others will have ideas I am sure.
Growing older but not up !
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