After a few posts on making your own trailer using a caravan chassis I have now gone the wrong way and decided to scratch build from new parts.

My original budget of £500 is now long gone, now at £800 with all the bits but I suspect another £50 to go.

Steel £250
Brakes, hubs, wheels etc £550

Trouble is that I want something that just takes up the little cars footprint:


Trailer plans

Now just a pile of steel to weld together:


Selection of steel

Is this typical ?

The logic was simple, new parts, make it once and never lift a spanner just use it, Ebay was turning out rotten chassis for £50 - £100 and decent Alco chassis for £350 with big wheels.

i kept the price down by using unbraked hubs! Then you can use a £10 tow hitch, £80 per pair of hubs etc. I had about 200 in parts!

I started off that way but ended up with 10" wheels with 1500kg tyres on braked hubs which drove the price right up.

Having towed without brakes before I personally had this as a must have aspect.

If I had wheels to sit outside the frame I could have saved £200.

quote:

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Originally posted by JoelP
i kept the price down by using unbraked hubs! Then you can use a £10 tow hitch, £80 per pair of hubs etc. I had about 200 in parts!

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Was that the one with the interesting camber design Joel

Al.


Originally posted by JoelP
i kept the price down by using unbraked hubs! Then you can use a £10 tow hitch, £80 per pair of hubs etc. I had about 200 in parts!

I remember that well

Phil

Mark, would it not be best to have the A-frame legs extending to the indispension mounts?

ive never built a trailer but i thought this might make a more rigid frame...

will

you use allot steel...

wy??

i would alter the design and use some U's
(folded sheet) it will increase drasticly the stifness of your design and reduce the weight.

it looks a bit like an fence.... this way.

You only need to create a > whist starts withs starts by the hook and goes to the axle. then it needs to go backwards. then in between at the end you can put 1 tube more to mount the lamps etc...

then with the 2 folded u's you weld them centre on the tube...

you then get a simple and strong design.



[Edited on 14/1/09 by tks]

oi, we found out what caused that, the wheels were falling off! They were straight when it set off

I remember you driving past hellfire, you were lucky the wheel didnt get you!

quote:

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Originally posted by Wadders
Was that the one with the interesting camber design Joel

Al.


Originally posted by JoelP
i kept the price down by using unbraked hubs! Then you can use a £10 tow hitch, £80 per pair of hubs etc. I had about 200 in parts!

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ive never felt the need to have a braked trailer, you just have to bear it in mind with your gaps and timing. I do appreciate a good stabiliser bar though!

I'd settle for a pair of 550kgs axles if i redid it, then you have redundancy in the design and still some roll if a tyre (or wheel!) goes.

Regarding the 750kgs limit, that was fine for me. A half stripped bec and pulling with a sprinter.

The steel is folded 3mm steel U section to keep the weight down, although its still looking to be 100kg so I may bore some big holes to reduce weight.

I want the bed to pivot to ease loading as my BEC, this explains the draw bar although I will probally extend back further under the chassis when I see how much metal I have left. The sketch was to gauge materials required, i have a if it looks right it probally is right attitude so will build the bed then ponder on the hitch, this will also be governed by the hitch angles and how much flex I get when jumping up and down on it.

All things evolve as I make them, the trick is to move forward, I just wish this was always the case.

My wheels are rated @ 1500kg, axles 950kg although fully loaded I do not expect to tip the scales at more than 600kg.

Regards Mark

[Edited on 14/1/09 by mark chandler]

If that sketch is to scale, you might want to move the axle a little further to the rear, you want at least 200 lbs of tounge weight. Almost lost my race Anglia on a borrowed trailer without enough tounge weight (trailer was built for a spridget). My current trailer weights 1000 lbs, was built in 1970, has about 20,000 miles on it. Regulations in Ontario Canada, Gross weight of over 3000 lbs requires brakes on the trailer.

Hello

Thanks, the plan is to make the bed, park the car on it then shove the wheels under then position.

I will probally weld some thick plate and pre drill so I can adjust to suit different loads if required.

In my experience the best solution is to have a long draw bar, compact trailers with short draw bars are awful, I have a large 4wheel trailer which has been all over the UK, never known to snake at any speed, its up for sale to fund this:

link

Regards Mark

Wish id have known your making one. My caravan converted trailer is going on the bay this week which i built to the size of my locost.

As for the design. Id make make the draw bar go furthur back and lose 2 or 3 of those cross pieces.. If you look at brian james or such like theres nothing too them..


[Edited on 14/1/09 by Danozeman]

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Originally posted by mark chandler
Brakes, hubs, wheels etc £550

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