Here is my welding rig....

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A trailer has worked for me for about 5 years now but I think its time for a truck....what do you guys think of my setup? What can be done differently or better? Truck is a 06 Toyota tundra 4x4 crew cab.Just trailer.AWS CWI/CWEASNT NDT Level 2 PT/MTAWS Certified Welder(aerospace)
Reply:If it isn't broke, don't fix it.As long as the trailer suits your needs, go with it.  As soon as you want to load up your welder on a skid into your truck, AND carry supplies, you will quickly out grow your truck.Later,Jason
Reply:I'm with Blackwolf.  As long as it works for you go with it.  I used trailers for several years before I bought a 1 ton truck and started using it.  Now I still have one trailer rig, and my truck as well as one machine mounted on a skid with a O/a Bottle rack that can be loaded in the back of the truck.  They all have there good and bad points depending on what you are doing.I'm a Lover, Fighter, Wild horse Rider, and a pretty good welding man......
Reply:I had a trailer rig at first, I like everything on the truck much better.
Reply:I have done both.  The last trailer I built weighed almost a ton loaded.  I pulled it with an F150 6 Straight six stick shift.  After breaking a spring (cause I carried to much in the truck) and blowing the transmission, I went to the truck in the pic by my name.  It is great for welding, but useless as a pick up truck, so the trailer gets stake racks and still gets used with out the welder on it.Good setup.  Everything looks new.DavidReal world weldin.  When I grow up I want to be a tig weldor.
Reply:I'm sure I will catch flack for this, but . . . .Please check with your insurance agent. My understanding is as soon as that welding machine and that truck become one, your truck goes from being transportation to a "work classed vehicle", means higher rates . . .Next with fuel prices as high as they are, I want to carry as little weight around as I can. Once you mount the welding machine in the truck, it goes everywhere you do . . . working are not . . . Also, now you can not leave your rig safely at home any longer to go out of town or to a movie . . . they know you are in there for (2) hours . . Take careSteveMillermatic® 251
Reply:my f-450's fuel doesn't seem to change with the welder in the back or empty. but i guess it's the size of the truck. my silverado struggled with a welder in it. not sure where mathews NC is, but go to HD or lowes and get another gang box to put your leads into. i ran mine into a gangbox that is mounted 4" from my TB. i used a hole saw and piped my leads in, then i used cable clamps lightly tacked on one sie to keep my cables safe. i have about 12" of exposed leads.the good thing about having a truck rig is, you can tote a trailer with 20' stock and not have to woory about the welder and o/a tanks being in the way."Retreat hell, were just fighting in the other direction"Miller Trailblazer 302, Extreme 12 VS, Dimension 400, Spectrum 375, HF 251D-1, Milermatic 251 w/ spoolgun  Hypertherm 1000Lincoln sp 1702000 F-450 to haul it
Reply:hey redcoupe,    thats a nice rigg i like that u got measurements for that or is it forsale .i got a lincoln 10,000 and want to mounted on a trailer like yours
Reply:just a thought to dress up the tank holding method. many golf-cart sellers convert them to two-seat models which entails removing the plastic yoke with nylon belts that was used to hold the golf bags in place. i imagine they just throw them away--as they last forever and almost nobody converts back to a one-seat. the yoke would be perfect to hold o/a tanks.
Reply:I don't know how much weight you put on top and it's already worked for you for 5 years. But there's no 'right to left' bracing. FWIW: just a hobby guy. 9-11-2001......We Will Never ForgetRetired desk jockey. Hobby weldor with a little training. Craftsman O/A---Flat, Vert, Ovhd, Horz. Miller Syncrowave 250
Reply:Good idea putting the leads in a job box. Copper theft rates in SC are high!
Reply:nice setup!More lead (locked out of sight!), an elivated work surface and a vice and a bottle rack that can hold at least two oxy and one acetylene bottle would be worth adding.  Maybe even a cover that locks over the lead you have visible to the naked eye.  You need to watch out for those copper thieves!  Shy of that, it looks like a great trailer to work off of.  *edit*  hold on a tic...you have a vice laying on your driveway under the trailer?  You need to mount that badboy!  I love how it's just laying in the gravel as if to say, "I hope nobody forgets me!"  The vice..it's like the depressed robot from hitchhiker's guide to the galaxy!  "I've been talking with the welder...it doesn't like me!"Last edited by mb_welder; 04-13-2011 at 10:28 PM.
Reply:nice set-up . I like the the straps mounted on the rak. always there when you need them.  Is that a wheel chock or a vise. lolDayePound to fit, paint to match