trailer rebuild

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dad picked up a new to him trailer the other day its a 20 footer. had some significant sway in the bed, boards were all rotten and the hitch was a real piece of junk so away we went:sorry about the bad picture. shows the worst of the cross members removed and the others ready to be scabbed onto with fresh steel. the droop in the deck had pulled the fenders in about an inch at the top. a stretcher was put in to bring the fenders back straight before the cross members were replaced.shows new cross members in place, fully welded in. level to within a 16th of a bubble of each other and the fenders are within 1/4" of straight up and down.the one victim so far was my welding coveralls and a scratch on my knee from an exploding cutoff wheel and kickback by the grinder:always said that was the most dangerous tool in the shop... next post: Attached ImagesLast edited by trunkz; 12-29-2013 at 04:30 PM.
Reply:next the exsisting tongue was removed:trailer is now ready to add the new treated decking and later this spring will sandblast and repaint as the weather gets better....hopefully these improvements will meet the approval of the trailer comittee
Reply:How did you cut yourself?Be thankful we're not getting all the government we're paying for
Reply:Originally Posted by trunkzthe one victim so far was my welding coveralls and a scratch on my knee from an exploding cutoff wheel and kickback by the grinder:
Reply:Originally Posted by trunkz  the one victim so far was my welding coveralls and a scratch on my knee from an exploding cutoff wheel and kickback by the grinder: Originally Posted by RVP  How did you cut yourself?Sorry I didn't see that.Did you still have the guard on the grinder?Be thankful we're not getting all the government we're paying for
Reply:Looks like a typical reused travel trailer. My guess is the floor issues stem from loading heavy things on a trailer that was never designed to be used that way. Floor "beams" look like C channel turned the wrong way. My guess is the frame rails are typical light gauge stamped sheet vs real channel. At best this is a light weight trailer even if it is big. Keep in mind travel trailers and such gain the vast majority of their strength from the walls, that act like trusses. This allows the manufacturer to cut costs and save weight by using lighter steel framing. The trailer may have originally been rated at 7K, but as soon as the walls got chopped, all the strength was removed. Even if the axles are rated "heavy" the framing isn't. The fact the frame was twisted in tells me the main frame members are really thin and light weight.I wouldn't trust this as a true "flatbed" or car hauler. At best it's a basic over sized utility trailer that will be very easy to overload with all that deck space..No government ever voluntarily reduces itself in size. Government programs, once launched, never disappear. Actually, a government bureau is the nearest thing to eternal life we'll ever see on this earth! Ronald Reagan
Reply:The gaurd was still on the grinder im assuming that it was the cause of most of the bruising thats now showing..Dsw,The trailer will be used to haul our small kubota tractor with the tiller and one or 2 other attachments. No where nearnthe capacity of the trailer.thanks