Troll trailer build (1 Viewer)

[Trollhole]

I've got about a hundred of these portable racks left to sell out of my warehouse. I was looking at them today and thought to myself they would make a great base for an off road trailer. What do you guys think? Thoughts on how to make this look good. Parts to use for axles and such?

They are 40.5" wide by 94.5 long. I think they could certainly be cut down on length. I think the width is perfect. The posts could be cut and welded to make the shape of the old M101 trailers. I bet I could build the whole trailer for under 500. What do you think?

 

[titanpat57]

I need exact measurements before the creative juices can flow....also, what is the metal thickness?

 

[skersfan]

I would guess 083 thickness. Not really strong enough for a frame, but if plate was welded to cross members it could work for a normal trailer. 083/065 bend/dent very easily for a frame.

What are the demesnions of the bottom. I could see it being made into a trailer, with plating, but it looks to be only 2 to 3 foot wide and 4 foot long. Hard to tell in the photo.

Give us real dimensions and we give you a better idea I think.

But I see positives either way.

your design for the tongue is not good, the main tube needs to go to the second cross member and plated at the corners of the angled part of the tongue. Other than that could work.

 

[Trollhole]

I would guess 083 thickness. Not really strong enough for a frame, but if plate was welded to cross members it could work for a normal trailer. 083/065 bend/dent very easily for a frame.

What are the demesnions of the bottom. I could see it being made into a trailer, with plating, but it looks to be only 2 to 3 foot wide and 4 foot long. Hard to tell in the photo.

Give us real dimensions and we give you a better idea I think.

But I see positives either way.

your design for the tongue is not good, the main tube needs to go to the second cross member and plated at the corners of the angled part of the tongue. Other than that could work.

The rectangular metal is 3"x1" It isn't thin stuff either. I haven't cut one open but can see it partially ad it looks to be .125 thick. These portable racks are designed to hold 5k easily and we load them down with 5k or more all the time. I know because my forklift has a 5k rating and we sometimes pick the back wheels up moving the racks around. Total rack probably weighs 200lbs.


Dimensions of the rack are 40.5"x 94.5" To me that seems a little long. I was thinking of making the footprint 63.5" I agree the main tube should go down to the center of the trailer and there should be gussets. My drawing was just a base mockup to see what y'all thought of the footprint.

I don't think there would be any issue with them being a trailer and being able to hold the weight and abuse.

Also just so everyone knows. These things are all over the place. Every used racking company has them sitting out in a yard somewhere. Might be an easy way to get a base for a trailer very cheap. I'm selling all of mine I cannot use for $35 each.

 

[rusty_tlc]

The rectangular metal is 3"x1" It isn't thin stuff either. I haven't cut one open but can see it partially ad it looks to be .125 thick. These portable racks are designed to hold 5k easily and we load them down with 5k or more all the time. I know because my forklift has a 5k rating and we sometimes pick the back wheels up moving the racks around. Total rack probably weighs 200lbs.


Dimensions of the rack are 40.5"x 94.5" To me that seems a little long. I was thinking of making the footprint 63.5" I agree the main tube should go down to the center of the trailer and there should be gussets. My drawing was just a base mockup to see what y'all thought of the footprint.

I don't think there would be any issue with them being a trailer and being able to hold the weight and abuse.

Also just so everyone knows. These things are all over the place. Every used racking company has them sitting out in a yard somewhere. Might be an easy way to get a base for a trailer very cheap. I'm selling all of mine I cannot use for $35 each.

Just FYI you could probably get more than $35 each for them as scrap metal.

Edit:Never mind scrap steel is down to $175 a ton.

 

[Trollhole]

So what do y'all think is a good spring setup? I want to go with a leaf spring for this. Any good economical places online to buy trailer parts for?

 

[Corprin]

I picked up my axle from TrailerParts.com Online Store who had the best price at the time. Welded on the spring perches at the right distance and bolted her on.

You could also check at your local farm supply if you want to buy "local".

 

[rusty_tlc]

You could always buy the trailing arm kit from Adventure Trailer.

 

[ntsqd]

snippage....
your design for the tongue is not good, the main tube needs to go to the second cross member and plated at the corners of the angled part of the tongue. Other than that could work.

Just in case there's confusion about this, the tongue should be UNDER the main part of the frame, not spliced through it as is so commonly done. Under is how even the little 1/4t mil. trailers are built, so this is worth paying attention to.
The best book on the topic that I know of is too inexpensive to not have.
Amazon.com: Trailers : How to Design and Build. Volume 2. Structure (9780914483328): M. M. Smith: Books

As far as using those stands as the basis for a trailer frame, I'd say go for it if their design doesn't cause compromises detrimental to the expected uses of the trailer.

 

[bhmmapping]

looks like a perfect base to me.

If I ever get around to building a trailer I will probably order from here:
ABC Trailer Parts - Trailer Axles - Trailer Axle Kits

 

[Trollhole]

So there are really no prefered springs. Just something that will hold the weight? I was thinking about going with an axle that had drum provisions just incase someone wanted to add them later. It's only like 20 more. Is this possible to do? Advantages to going one type of spindle? Certain number of lugs and spacing?

 

[cruiserjunkie]

Most hubs are interchangeable now so I would use whatever works best for you.

 

[rusty_tlc]

So there are really no prefered springs. Just something that will hold the weight? I was thinking about going with an axle that had drum provisions just incase someone wanted to add them later. It's only like 20 more. Is this possible to do? Advantages to going one type of spindle? Certain number of lugs and spacing?

Spring choices are leaf, slipper, and trailing arm with coils/air bags. Lots of opinions on which is best. (Imagine that!) IMHO If I were building an off road trailer I would go with a trailing arm/coil set up. It's the IFS of the trailer world. I've followed Spressomon and his Adventure Trailer over many miles of trail and that set-up works great in almost all conditions.

I would absolutely choose and axle with an e-brake. It is the one thing I have wanted on every trailer I've ever owned and never had. Off road it can come in very handy if you get in a hard place and need to drop the trailer to get out, in camp it is nice if you need to park the trailer on a grade. It would even come in handy in my sloping driveway.

Spindle size is determined by the weight capacity. The common wisdom says to go with a spindle/hub that can accommodate a lug pattern that matches the tow rig. I wouldn't spend a lot to modify an axle to match my tow rig but since you have the choice why not?

Hope this helps.


BTW when are you going to get started with the blue wrench and post some pictures, slacker.

 

[ntsqd]

I think "ITS" is over-rated. No doubt that it works well, I just think it's excessive overkill. Since humans rarely ride in trailers ride quality concerns are more about not breaking the eggs in the cooler than avoiding rider discomfort. Regular trailer springs are woefully ill-equipped to work well off road. They're designed to have a very high spring rate so that they don't change ride height much whether loaded or unloaded, and so that they don't need a damper. Trail use takes them outside of their design environment and they fail there. Air springs have a negative in their unfortunately not uncommon enough failure mode, but they are nice since ride height is easily adjusted. Trailers don't need to articulate, they rotate about the coupler instead. Long wheel travel in a trailer leads to stability problems. So can poorly damped soft springs.

What I would build for trailer suspension linkage given the need:

 

[Trollhole]

No modding until the new year plus I'd like to figure out what parts and what system I want to use before I start cutting it all up.

 

[ClemsonCruiser]

No modding until the new year plus I'd like to figure out what parts and what system I want to use before I start cutting it all up.

Have you considered a torsion bar axle set-up? Seems like a good compromise between the leaf sprung and trailing arm design. And are comparably priced to the leaf sprung packages.

Trailer Torsion Axles

also a good read on trailer suspensions here: http://www.adventuretrailers.com/suspension.html

 

[rusty_tlc]

I think "ITS" is over-rated. No doubt that it works well, I just think it's excessive overkill. Since humans rarely ride in trailers ride quality concerns are more about not breaking the eggs in the cooler than avoiding rider discomfort. Regular trailer springs are woefully ill-equipped to work well off road. They're designed to have a very high spring rate so that they don't change ride height much whether loaded or unloaded, and so that they don't need a damper. Trail use takes them outside of their design environment and they fail there. Air springs have a negative in their unfortunately not uncommon enough failure mode, but they are nice since ride height is easily adjusted. Trailers don't need to articulate, they rotate about the coupler instead. Long wheel travel in a trailer leads to stability problems. So can poorly damped soft springs.

What I would build for trailer suspension linkage given the need:

When the trailer starts bouncing around that motion is transmitted to the tow vehicle, it's about more than keeping the eggs intact.
BTW Anybody who says a trailer suspension won't benefit from damping has never towed one in Saline Valley.

Three link with a panhard is a good idea.

Have you considered a torsion bar axle set-up? Seems like a good compromise between the leaf sprung and trailing arm design. And are comparably priced to the leaf sprung packages.

Trailer Torsion Axles

also a good read on trailer suspensions here: Adventure Trailers - Suspension Talk

The group wisdom here is that torsion axles are great for a highway trailer but aren't robust enough for an off road trailer.

 

[ClemsonCruiser]

The group wisdom here is that torsion axles are great for a highway trailer but aren't robust enough for an off road trailer.

Obviously you don't know Troll to well, he is a web wheeler only

thanks for the the info. on the torsion axle

 

[ntsqd]

snippage....
The group wisdom here is that torsion axles are great for a highway trailer but aren't robust enough for an off road trailer.

The PO took it to the rough, nether regions of Baja too many times to count. Been thru Copper Canyon while lead by Frenchy once. Been to the Mojave 2X and a ~2500 mile loop up thru Oregon since I've owned it. It's earned all of those paint chips on the tongue. Never had even a hint of a problem.

Adventure Trailers or a friend of theirs had a problem in Baja as I recall. I've only ever heard of that one failure, but it was a show-stopper. AT claims that they are not a good choice for an off road trailer. The complaint is that over time grit gets into the vulcanized rubber and causes it to come apart. If it does that the arm walks out of the axle housing, which would be a bad thing.
I contend that so long as you're not trying to "qualify" for the Baja 1000, and you add shocks to the system that you are not likely to have trouble. I believe that the heat generated from rapid cycling is the real delamination cause, not the grit. If the rubber is vulcanized to both pieces of steel how can the grit get in there?
In looking at mine it would be and will be easy to add a strap diagonally across the end of the arm at the pivot that would limit the arm's ability to walk out of the housing.

All of that said, were it a clean sheet I'd go with what I posted above rather than a rubber torsion arm. I think, *at this point*, that I'd go with torsion bars and an easily adjusted anchor to make ride height vs. loading adjustments.

 

[rusty_tlc]

.....
All of that said, were it a clean sheet I'd go with what I posted above rather than a rubber torsion arm. I think, *at this point*, that I'd go with torsion bars and an easily adjusted anchor to make ride height vs. loading adjustments.

I was thinking about your post the other day and wondering why you would go with a three link/pan hard rather than a four link, it's not like bump steer would be a problem with a trailer.