trailer fitting

[motthediesel]

Well now, for my next trick -- this:



Has to go onto that:



It's a beat-up old aluminum trailer I found on our local C-list. It's a bit of an oddball, equipped with some old military/commercial Linco axles and tiny 10" wheels.



(continued)

[motthediesel]

I think it was built for a "Cigarette" type boat, as the axles are all the way in the back, where the weight is in that kind of boat.



Those axles will need to be moved farther forward, but I'll keep the tiny wheels for now, as they will make it easier to slide it under the boat.



Here's a close-up of the steel torsion springs used on these, super strong, and with excellent "anti-sway" characteristics. The axles are essentially huge, solid steel sway bars.



My plan is to add extra aluminum channels across, under the rails to form supports contoured to the shape of the keel. Then raised bunks will be built up off the rails to support the hull about 2/3's of the way out to the chine.

I'll post some more shots as things move along.

Tom

[ssrig]

Thats a pretty interesting trailer! Looks good to me but its hard to say from pictures?

Unless you plan on trailering across country I would just keep those wheels unless they are hard to find rated tires for.
What is the ball park purchase price for that?

[motthediesel]

What is the ball park purchase price for that?

I paid $1200 for it, with no paperwork. A local marina was using it as a “yard trailer” — so I will register it as a home built.

[ssrig]

Nice! That is a good deal for that size trailer!

Its simple enough that you have a clean slate to start with.

[ssrig]

I have been looking at used trailers and something that size here will run you $5-7,000!

[coolchange]

re the tires...check the dates..they may look great but if out of date change them before going on the road..having to do so with a load on and far from help is no fun (yes, I speak from experience)

[motthediesel]

I will only use those wheels/tires to take it to the launch ramp — 1-1/2 miles from here. After that I’ll put new 15” wheels/tires on it.

[motthediesel]

Problem! When I removed the fenders, I saw that the front axle on the left side was bent back, probably from an unscheduled meeting with some immovable object at some time in it's history. Kind of hard to see here, but it's toeing out about 5 degrees or so.



So, time to break out the portapower. Here you see the setup. Heavy 3/8" logging chain wrapped around the axle and the hub with the cylinder under the frame, pushing on the axle mount. The extra smaller chain you see is to keep the jack body from levering away from the frame.



It's a bit of a scary business doing this kind of thing, and it's best to keep in mind the potential energy that you are pumping into the setup. The remote pump is nice though, as it allows you to stay away from the danger zone.

There was a bit of scary creaking and groaning, but I made a series of pulls, checking it after each with a straight edge on the hub face. After maybe 5 or 6 pulls, I got it to where I wanted it. Again, kind of hard to tell by the picture, but it is now pointed in the same direction as the two guys following it -- I think that's the idea?

[WillieC]

We used to call forklifts Auxiliary Power Units. Porta-powers are amazing units to have. I may have to get one. Just about when I thought I was done buying new tools, they pull me back in!

[RobS]

I have the same one as he, it's from Harbor Freight (hey, at least it's not a jack stand!) , actually mine is the 4 ton version, his is the 10 ton, it does work quite well.

Nice job on the "wheel alignment" and neat trailer.

[motthediesel]

Sagging was another issue with the trailer, as it was. The problem was that, under load, the top plates of the I beams were (of course) under compression. Because of the angle formed into the beams, the force vector there was forcing the tops of the I beams out, allowing them to twist and sag -- not good. I resolved to stop this by bolting in braces from the new cross channels I had added under the beams to the top flanges.

I bought some 3/8"x3" aluminum bar stock to make them, but they would need formed bends at each end to compensate for the 6" offset. That could have meant "clamp in vice and bash with a hammer" but with 12 to make, something a bit more sophisticated was called for.

I've been guilty of making some ugly tooling in my time, but this effort might take the cake. An angled "former" was welded from some 3/8" steel bar. Then a chunk of 1" water pipe was welded on to it. The pipe would slide over the rod from an old press that was burned up in a shop fire at my place several years ago. The jack pump had been ruined in the fire, but I just fitted another small hydraulic jack temporarily.

The aluminum bar would be set on the edge of a heavy chunk of angle iron from an old dock. The fold line was marked with a sharpie, and the former would then bend it until it stopped at the required angle. Crude certainly, but as you see here, it work surprisingly well.







(continued)

[motthediesel]

Here's what one of the braces looks like when bolted into place with 5/16" SS bolts.



And here's the trailer with all 12 of the braces installed.



I don't think those I beams will be twisting outward now. That's all for the trailer now, next we will do the bottom paint on the boat. That will be easier now with the boat on stands then it would be with the trailer under it.

Tom

[LopezMike]

Slick work.

You are early enough in the job to consider carrying much of the boat's weight on its keel. Let the bunks take care of leaning loads and, I might add, include a couple of side bunks that take no weight but guide the boat during recovery.

[motthediesel]

I have always intended to carry a good bit of the load on the keel. There will be a pair of bunks about 10’ long supporting the flat run area in the stern. There will also be a pair forward, centering the Vee sections there.

I want to make some kind of a “guide bunk” down low in the stern area that will center the keel over it’s support. I’m just not quite sure of how that will work yet?