So instead od finding a truck body to build a trailer from, or buy a trailer frame or rv trailer and put my own deck on: it occurred last night....what if I added a second axle To the existing trailer? The grid flooring could be removed, and a wooden deck installed to stiffen the whole thing up. The old fender would come off, and new ones added. I might go with larger wheels & rubber for a little extra ground clearance....depending on cost. Also toying with smaller wheels on the new axle..so they are not always on the ground...till the trailers' loaded up. I might find some square tubing/c-channel and add something from the frame to the tongue, to strengthen it up, and add a toolbox of some sort. Current capacity is 1500#. Given space considerations, im thinking the new wheel would go ahead of the old. Totally outta my league here though. But, for a grand or less, for axle, wheels, and decking, im rather hoping for a rather heavy trailer. Is this totally a hair-brained idea?
I don’t think it’s a hair brained idea, but it is a lot of work. Adding more structure to the frame, a better deck... you might not need a secondary axle, just put heavier duty leaf springs on it and new tires with a higher load rating. What size is your trailer now, 4 X 8? If you’ve got to add structure anyway you might as well make it a little longer. Even an extra 18-24” to the length is a decent improvement. Tough call. If you’re willing to spend up to $1000 on improvements it’s almost worth waiting to see what pops up on Craigslist. I’ve been searching there myself recently and there’s been quite a few that were almost what I was looking for.
At one time I had the same trailer or very similar anyway , I laid a 3/4 inch sheet of plywood down and secured it with some carriage bolts and small plates on the underside. It took a huge amount of the flex out of it. Plywood didn't go all the way across since it was 5 foot wide but still made a world of difference.
I would suspect the wheel bearings might be the weakest link then...worth a try though if he doesn't mind putting new bearings in, or possibly replacing the axle, if it got roached...
Love the plethora of wisdom here. Yes, 4x8, and is perfectly maneuverable in my yard, as well as at the places I cut. Maybe a little taller off the ground (resolved by bigger wheels perhaps), but thats about it size wise. My hope is to load it fuller on the same foot print. So the weak spots are the suspension (have had that squashed it pretty good) and the rubber after that? I'm thinking wood will distribute the weight better...thusly being able to load it much fuller. Im not yet thinking i could get a full green cord in there if I built the sides taller, but that would be the cats meow. Sca
A full cord would be a bit of a stretch, but I like your ambition Figuring a cord of green wood weighs quite a bit more than your trailer capacity as it is, the next question is what kind of truck are you pulling it with? Here's an interesting chart for getting an idea of what direction you need to go in order to tow a full cord: Wood Heating | Forestry
Sirchopsalot unsure what your trailer is rayed for, but my BIL borrowed our ATV trailer, rated for 800 lbs or so. He then promptly had the workers at a certain orange store load it up with one ton of pellets. Bent the entire front frame and tongue to approximately a 35 degree angle. Haven't had it cut and new metal welded in yet. It sits in the weeds currently. Just something to consider.
Yeesh, 35 degrees!?!? Nice. I am tossing aroumd the idea of welding something from frame (2 points) to the tongue. Not sure quite what yet. Its rated 1500#, so if I could build in another 800#, that would be a half cord of green oak. 2300# or so. That might mean welding pipe in the angle iron supports (that aren't bent or twisted from over use). Also will avoid putting a ton of anything in front of the axle! Sca
If you're pulling it down the highway, I wouldn't start welding on it or rigging another axle. Could put you in a bad situation liability wise if there is an accident. I would think the cheapest route is to trade it in on the size trailer you want. Or sell it and find a bigger used one.
Yeah there's a LOT of junk on craigslist but if you check it often enough or sign up for their notifications you can find a nice trailer for that price. But if a nice one pops up you better jump on it fast because there's always somebody else looking too.
Yeah it’s a cutthroat market out there. Everyone is looking for that one seller that just wants whatever he has gone today... I’ve seen curb alerts for free power washers, mowers, etc and the following day see the same items for sale suspiciously close to where they were 24 hours earlier. It’s crazy. So either you have a good chunk of money to spend on something nice, or get lucky finding a motivated seller and jump right on it, or have enough ingenuity to find the right fixer upper and make it work for you. It’s a crapshoot.
If you mean a 128 cu ft cord. Well. U might get it in there. But your talking about 5,000 pounds of weight.
I have watched this thread for a couple days. My first thought "WTF are you thinking?" This trailer has no business being on a public road with some beefier bearings, tires or even an extra axle and a cord of wet wood. That's how accidents happen and people get hurt. Now if you are using it in the back 40, have at it. Done ranting. No offense intended. I did dumb chit like that in my younger years and survived and didn't hurt anyone, luckily.
It won't tow right if you just add an axle in front of the current axle. It probably cause the trailer to track poorly and wag/sway a lot. It would move the effective axle location to between the axles which would be closer to the tongue. Looks like it would be in the front half of the trailer. To strengthen the trailer there are things you can do. Reinforce the tongue like you said with iron from tongue angled out to under the frame. Deck the trailer with plywood or something. Before adding the new deck material add corner gussets at corners of trailer and where cross braces meet. It looks like the frame is all angle iron, if so, run square tubing under outer frame rails the whole distance up to the tongue reinforcement. At a minimum, add it where the current spring mounts are, plus 6 or more inches front and rear. This will lift the trailer a few inches too. Swap axle and mounting hardware for higher weight capacity axle. Probably #2000-#2400 axle depending on how you reinforced the frame. Cost/ benefit calculation is up to you because you basically just built a new trailer. But one piece at a time. So you can keep using the trailer between upgrades and money out of pocket is spread out. You used the current trailer as a jig to line up new parts. You will need to be or have a buddy that is a good welder to do most of my list correctly.
Even adding an axle doesn't help much. Pretty hard trying to double the load capacity on a light weight frame. The bed frame has too few cross members. (And probably too light weight of metal to begin with) The axles would need repositioning. Tongue metal too light. Might as well just build a whole trailer at that point.
And once you do all that, it's still not legal to haul the added weight unless it's retitled heavier.
True, bit it could handle the current titled load easier. I know some states don't really care about utility trailers under certain weights. Seems like most are in the south. The State of Tennessee does not require individuals to title and license utility trailers for private use, as long as you are pulling the trailer behind a Tennessee-licensed vehicle.
OP appears to be in CT. The internet says he has to title and register the utility trailer but it appears to be 2 levels based on trailer weight. Don't know if one would have to update info if they didn't bounce up to next weight class.
