I have been wanting to buy a larger trailer than my largest, which is 5x10. I have come across three trailers that caught my eye and every one of them is homemade! Weird! My question is... hmmm... should I assume that a guy who builds/welds a trailer knows how to build one? How do people do that, do they buy plans or just start building like some people do when they build something out of wood. That doesn't seem very smart with a trailer. It has to pull right. Looking forward to comments on this! The trailers look great in pics but that's all I have, plus a little bit of communication with each seller. I bought a 5x8 homemade trailer a few years ago and it does NOT pull right. If I luck up and load it perfectly, it can ride perfect but if not, it will fishtail like crazy if I go over 40 mph. I have thought of doing a thread on it, might do that! Buying a homemade trailer, even if it's built right, I have to assume that the guy's welds will hold up!
I think when ever some one builds a home made trailer he use's what materials he has on hand. It might be a old pickup frame and box, cut down, add a tongue, hitch set up, and its good to go. Or, he might do like i did, i spent the extra money, got some really good steel (new), actually thought out my idea, welded it up a lot better than just ''ok'' Built it like it would last me for ever, that was over 40 yrs ago. I'm not kidding. I sold it one time, then about 5 yrs later realized i really missed it, and needed it. So, i went by the guys house i sold it to. Asked if he'd be interested in selling it back to me, he did for what i sold it too him for!! I've upgraded the tongue, made it a little longer, for what i use it for, wood, hauling my ATV when i go hunting, and every now and then some gravel, it's PERFECT for me. It tows like its on rails, hauls as big a load as you want to put on it. And, i trust it. To me, that's the biggie, trusting my welds, upgrades, and materials, do it once, and do it right, you'll never be sorry.
Do you have a welder/fabricator friend you can bring with to inspect and offer opinion? I built my own trailer and it pulls great and has been smashed with wood a lot and hasn't broke. Any trailer can sway and fishtail if not loaded properly. Not enough toung weight will cause that.
I would say roll under it and look close at the weld quality and steel sizing. If you can see the welds are solid, and not full of porosity then determine if the steel looks adequate for what you need to do based on the size. Look at prefabs online for comparison if needed. My large dump trailer will fish tail if I load it too heavy and out of balance and this is with 10,000lbs on it. See if the guy will let you tow it with a deposit or take you for a ride to see if there are any issues. You can also verify things are centered with a tape measure pretty quickly, and look at tire wear.
