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Strengthening trailer

nosliw

nosliw

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i picked up this trailer for $1,500 a few days ago, and it needs to be a little tougher. i don't feel comfortable rolling my CUT up on it.

ideas? what do i do? gussets? angle or boxed steel? where? no idea where to start. i know i'm going to be knocking off that pintle-hitch. rattles around like crazy, real irritating.

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boxing the frame wouldn't be a bad idea. add a few more crossmembers....

whats the gcw on the trailer/axles?? thats whats gonna determine how beefy you wanna go. the mroe weight you add to the trailer the farther down the payload capacity goes.
 
i don't know anything about it. the axles are 5 lug, so probably 3500lb?

it has 4-ply radial tires (2,000lb) shitty tires on it, so i don't think the guy loaded it very much or very often.

so box around the perimeter? cool, that gives me a good start.

my John Deere 990 MFWD w/loader + implements is all the heavier it will probably see for a while unless i've got a special project going on.
 
Two 3500lbs axles= 7000lbs GVWR - weight of trailer (1500lbs) = 5500lbs available load. JD990 shipping weight of 2600lbs allows you to pack 2900lbs of accessories as long as each tire can hold 1750lbs at max pressure.
 
After looking at the pictures again, I would weld four D-rings to tie the tractor down. Then I would winch it up a tree while the tree huggers are not looking and undercoat the crap out of it. Then check the wheel bearings and seals. Then drive it till the wheels fall off in about 7-10 years.
 
cool! yeah, i'm ordering some flush-mount d-shackles as we speak.

so i shouldn't need to reinforce the frame beyond the boxed-steel around the perimeter? or should i not bother?

thanks
 
i don't think i would bother with it if the 990 is all you're going to put on it. maybe some native lumber for the floor would. getting the proper tires and keeping them inflated is more important in my opinion. boxing the exterior and maybe adding an extra cross member where the tires end up being parked while you're hauling would just be icing on the cake.
 
aketay said:
After looking at the pictures again, I would weld four D-rings to tie the tractor down. Then I would winch it up a tree while the tree huggers are not looking and undercoat the crap out of it. Then check the wheel bearings and seals. Then drive it till the wheels fall off in about 7-10 years.
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When you weld the dRings on, I would place them so that they are in line with the cross members underneath so when you pull something down tight you would be using the frame of the trailer to help strenghten it. You can never have enough tie downs on the sides I think, I have a small 5 X 8 and I have something every 18 inches so I can capture anything I put int the darn thing. Nice looking trailer though and it does look built strong
 
Agreed on the pintle. That appears to the a burned out steel plate and it's very dangerous. I've seen where those home-made deals will shear right off where the main body of it welds to the tongue. Go with the ball mount, as suggested. Burn out the front plate and slide in a real tongue back to AT LEAST the main frame part of the trailer so you don't produce a cantilever all the way out at the tip. Take the tongue back to near the first axle if possible, so you're pulling on several cross members instead of just the first one and the "V" made at the front.

Boxing the frame will only add weight and not much strength if that's what you're looking for. If you want to add strength, you'll need to add strength, you'll need to add plates to the top and bottom of what appears to be a C6 or C4 channel frame. However, I don't think you'll gain much because I'd guess the trailer was made with the maxumum strength in mind based on the axle rating.
 
it's got brakes on both axles. i greased the bearings a little while ago and the shoes look good.

just scrounging around looking for the parts to make it a normal ball-mount...:crazy:
 
nosliw said:
it's got brakes on both axles. i greased the bearings a little while ago and the shoes look good.

just scrounging around looking for the parts to make it a normal ball-mount...:crazy:
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any trailer supply woud have it, I see them at northern tool. I would do a 2 5/16" coupler.
 
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