small boat trailer advice ????

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well i have a small hunting l12 ft layout boat i need to build a trailer fo.r total boat and motor weigh about 250 lbs probably less. i was thinking of building it out of 2x2 095 square tubing .i plan on having an extending tongue and will build the tongue out of thicker material. will hold 8 inch wheels what do you guys think ? do ya think 095 is thick enough or should i go thicker ? trying to go light since in some areas i will have to unhook and wheel to the water with a small dolly what do ya think ??350P 30A spool gun cut master 51  syncro 250 other stuff " take a dog off the street and make him prosper and he will not bite you sad the same cannot be said for man" i didnt use punctuation just to piss you off
Reply:I would look into using 2x3x .090 or .120 material, laid 3" vertically. The boat weighs nil, the trailer won't see high speeds I assume, and this should do the job well. For 2x2, it is not the best for a load when applied down onto it with a span pushing 12ft. from the axle to the ball. The difference in the 2x3 will make for a lot less deflection on the trailer. If 2x2 was the only option, I would be thinking .120. But I would also say look to a stiffer material than regular old 1010 steel. The soft stuff just likes to bend...........And then, after so much work...... you have it in your hand, and you look over to your side...... and the runner has run off. Leaving you holding the prize, wondering when the runner will return.
Reply:The 2x2 would do the job but the 2x3 tubing (suggested by Rojodiablo) would add a lot of stiffness and strength should you use the trailer for anything else.Pass on the 8" wheels or save them for a welding cart.  Get at least a 12" wheel.  When you travel at highway speed the 8" wheel because of it's small diameter has to turn at extreme rpms to keep up, We had a tent trailer wheel pass us on the highway when I was a kid when the bearing burned off the end of the axle, almost put us in the ditch.."The reason we are here is that we are not all there"SA 200Idealarc TM 300 300MM 200MM 25130a SpoolgunPrecision Tig 375Invertec V350 ProSC-32 CS 12 Wire FeederOxweld/Purox O/AArcAirHypertherm Powermax 85LN25
Reply:The best material to build a boat trailer from is galvanized c-channel, angle, or i-beam.  Tubing collects water inside and rusts out, especially if it is just plain uncoated steel tube.   If you do use tube, at least use pre-galvanized tube.MM350P/Python/Q300MM175/Q300DialarcHFHTP MIG200PowCon300SMHypertherm380ThermalArc185Purox oaF350CrewCab4x4LoadNGo utilitybedBobcat250XMT304/Optima/SpoolmaticSuitcase12RC/Q300Suitcase8RC/Q400Passport/Q300Smith op
Reply:I had a small boat and boat trailer many many moons ago. Typical tuning fork style frame with cross members and the tubes open on the tail end. It had the tortion axles and twelve inch tires, tilt tongue arrangement with the winch way up towards the hitch so you could crank the boat on in shallow water situations. The tongue tubing was all open ended too. That tilt tongue was a handy touch that you can get away with on these small aluminum boats but never get away with on anything larger. Very rugged little set-up. I loved it. The tortion axle gave another two - three inches of clearance the others didn't have either. Everybody always laughed at my butt oogly get-up untill we got back into some lost in he11 reservoir and I was sticking that trailer in between boulders in the muck to offload my boat and they were all stuck on the shore trying to figure out how they were gonna fish the place. Good luck, post picks."The things that will destroy America are prosperity at any price, peace at any price, safety first instead of duty first, the love of soft living and the get rich quick theory of life." -Theodore Roosevelt