Welding Trailer Drawing

[FluxThis]

Well not to long ago my 2001 F250 Super Duty was stolen from in front of my house, 2 days before Christmas to be exact! Thats one of the down sides to living here in Mexico, lots of crime! But cost of living is cheap and shop rent is cheap!

Any way it's time to move on... Since the theft of my truck I recently made a deal with a guy in San Diego and got a new (to me) trailblazer 301G and a 13hp Honda air compressor.. But haven't had much of a chance to get my new toys out on the road and get them working with out a truck to put them in.

I have been working on some designs of building a welding trail to put the gear on and towing it with my Cherokee for right now.. This is going to be a longer than I would like build due to lack of funds right now..

So the basic plan is to build the frame work from 2x2 square tube and plate it with 3/16 steel dimonand plate. Build a few tool boxes from the same plate steel.. MOunt the TB, the AC, and tourch set.. Would like to add a mount for a vise and a chop saw using the trailer hitch mounting system, to help prevent theft! Thinking about a small rack to carry some tubes also.. Most of the work here so far is fence or gate repairs. But there's been a ton of big tractors around with all the new houses and roads being made so I would imagine that maybe some hevy stuff might come my way once I'm mobile again..

I've been searching around for ideas and have a few if mind.. Here is a start to my poor CAD skills, well this isn't made in CAD but actually Google Sketch Up.. I was turned on to it from another member here and have been playing with it for about 2 hours now so don't expect much..

Oh, I have the basics for the trailer.. Springs, axle, coupler, light kit, rims and tires, plate and title! Got an old used trailer from Craigslist for $50.00, title says it's 2500lbs cap!! Pretty good score I think.. Wish I took a pic of it before we tore it apart.. Best of all plate are good till 2011!!!

I'll try to keep posting updats as I go but never remember to get the camara out during a build..

[farmersamm]

There's crime here too. They steal your cows, or they shoot 'em if you piss 'em off.

2x2 sounds light, but what I guess is really important is how the weight is going to be distributed, and how much money do you want to spend.

I guess you'd have to consider how much it would be to upgrade to heftier tubing vs. a possible disaster.

There's an awful lot of trailers out there made with 2" angle iron that haul a lot of weight. The square tubing has to be stronger than angle iron.

A side rail would hugely increase the strength of the trailer. 12" side rails would almost turn the damn sides into 12" beams. Be good to hold the stuff on the trailer too.

Take a look at some light built angle iron trailers, they always have a side rail. It adds to the strength.

Side rail. Side rail. Side rail

Signed: Well meaning idiot

[mrmikey]

2 x 2 tubing is good, depending on the spacing of the crossmembers you'd prolly get away with 1/8" checker.
IMHO I'd use 1/8 or even 14 ga. for the toolboxes unless you plan on using them as a work bench. Using 3/16 for everything you're using a lot of your capacity for the trailer alone before you even outfit it.....Mike

[arc-newbie]

can't wait to see your progress, dont be let down by your efforts from only 2 hours using sketchup, this program is awesome, here's a drawing I plan on making later this year, I myself tried using cad programs but could not get my head around all the technicality associated, then I came across sketchup and now the sky's the limit for a free 3d modeling program.

[Annamel]

Most trailers i build I use 3" or 4" chan. Always seems to work out in strength and looks for me. Also it makes a simple way to bend the front in for the tounge just by notching and bending in.

[FluxThis]

Another quick pic before I go to the shop.. I need to move the welder back more.. The air compressor is going to be mounted in the front of the welder, closer to the tounge and want to make sure the weight is correct.. More to come later..

Thanks for the comments also! Any suggestions are welcome!!

[machavis]

Sorry to hear about your loss. Here is a pic of my old welding set-up. The trailer is 6' X 12' I used 2X4 rect tubing for the frame with 2" X 2" X 1/4" angle cross member every 16" 1/8" diamond plate flooring. For the tongue I used 3" channel. Mounted 2 60" underbody utility boxes for storage. good luck and have fun.

[FluxThis]

Thats a nice set up.. I want to try to keep mine small, I was first thinking that 4' x 7' was good but now after laying out the trailer base with the mock up welder on it, I think 5' x 8' is goning to be a litter better for my needs..

My shop space is limited and the trailer, when not in use needs to be chained up inside the shop..

Samm,

I think the side rails are going to be a must to make it a little stronger..

[Finney]

This is one of mine.

[FluxThis]

That looks like a good size. What size is it?

[FluxThis]

Well haven't had much time to set up the trailer design.. We have been pretty busy here at the shop, heck, it's 6:49 PST and I'm still working on a SAT night! Can't complain, it going to help me pay for the rest of the items I still need for the trailer..

The plate here in Mexico is costly.. 4x8 sheet of 3/16 is 1870.00 Pesos, about 150.00 US dollars.. I guess thats not to bad.. When I here prices in pesos I always think it high until I convert it over to dollars..

Post something up soon when I get more time to play with Sketch it.. I need to move the crossmembers and haven't figured out how to move them easily..

[Stampeder]

Fluxthis:
Check this out:
http://www.millerwelds.com/resources...elding+trailer
for a great welding trailer design.
Also, there is a good series of posts on this forum from Gary ? who lives around Austin, TX on building a welding trailer. He sent out his plans for it as well. He did all the math on it as well, calculating moments, etc. That's why I really like his. Also, he did great work on building it.

Good luck on it. Post lots of pictures.

Cheers.

[FluxThis]

Originally Posted by Stampeder

Fluxthis:
Check this out:
http://www.millerwelds.com/resources...elding+trailer
for a great welding trailer design.
Also, there is a good series of posts on this forum from Gary ? who lives around Austin, TX on building a welding trailer. He sent out his plans for it as well. He did all the math on it as well, calculating moments, etc. That's why I really like his. Also, he did great work on building it.

Good luck on it. Post lots of pictures.

Cheers.

I seen that one, it's really nice... But looks a little small for my needs... But thanks for sharing!