Thanks again to all........ I had forgot about that, i do think its required in PA also...... In PA there is a process of getting a "Speciality Construction" title (similiar to building a street rod) once done you have to take to a "special" inspection station and get it inspected prior to filling out for a title......... and of course PA wants is Tax money (i've kept all parts reciepts hoping to show i've paid taxes already) that for all the good ideas, i didn't even think about an alarm..... i'm going to start looking tomorrow (great idea.......) thanks for the comments, it'll keep me from cheaping out on a winch i'll be unhappy with later. gonna continue looking for a "fullsize" winch.
a real good friend hooked me up with this, and at a good price......... (thanks again Tom) I was going to mount inside tongue box, but i'm thinking i'll mount just behind box with the wiring inside the box. I don't think i'll have a problem with tongue weight even with the trailer empty Warn M8000 using 3/16" diamond plate to make the mount.....
still to damn cold to stain/seal the wood boards, but good weather for welding and using the torch........ not sure about how high off deck i'm going to mount it, also plan to make another gusset or 2 too stiffen the 2 x 2" vertical tubing the winch mount will be welded to. it's just tacked together and snug fit into location:
a winch biger is allways better. i have the ramps under the sides of the trailer it is a pain in the ass. if you back in a driveway you have to pull them out first. then back in. the back is the best place. you might need a fairling kit for the winch and little biger opening. for the cable last thing you need is a cut cable. you all so need a place on the back of the trailer for a snatch block to hook and to hook winch cable if that is not a free spool winch. i have to make my ramps 5 feet long from 4' do to the fact low car hit even with a dove tail. if you ever pick up a vett or a relly low car. cuse as soon as you have a trailer evey body needs a car moved. wher are you putting a spare tire at?
Hey '52 F-3, Beauty trailer! Lots of great ideas posted by all. Love that roadster, if you've done a thread on it could you post a link? I'd like to see more. Or at least post some pics. Thanks, Rick.
I carry my spare in my truck. A trailer-mounted spare tends to get in the way of loading/unloading, plus if there is any bodywork on the trailered vehicle that sticks out at all, you risk hitting the spare mount with that, possibly causing damage to both.
it's looking good, I've been thinking about building one as well as most are to high to fit a bagged car on it so I need a nice low profile one
Here are a couple small things I have done to make backing a trailer, and backing up to the trailer hitch much easier and safer-- Drill three holes. Hold the drill and drill bit perfectly vertical as you drill. Two holes at the rear- one at each of the rearmost corners, and one at the forward end of the trailer tongue. What you are doing is drilling a few "flagpole stands" where you can drop in some light weight marker pole(s) to show you your trailer corners when backing into a tight area. Most trailers have fenders that obscure your view of the actual trailer corners. If you put up a "flagpole" (such as a cut-off section of a fishing pole that you keep in the trailer toolbox) at each corner just before backing into a tight area, you won't bump into your corners any more. To hitch up the trailer- How many times do you have to back up, then pull forward and try again when you want to hitch up the trailer? If you temporarily drop in one fishing pole "flagpole" into the drilled hole on the vehicle hitch, and one "flagpole" into the hole you drilled on the very front of the trailer tongue, all you have to do is back up to where you see the two "flagpoles" right next to each other, and you are perfectly lined up without a helper, and without wasting 3-4 tries. You can keep a couple rods or broken off pieces of a fishing pole handy in a toolbox or trailer tongue-box nearby and save yourself a lot of trouble of mis-judging and trying over again.. If you don't like the idea of drilling holes in your trailer, you can weld on a few four-inch pieces of very small pipe (vertical) in a way that can serve as a flagpole holder. Use that method just a couple times and you will wonder why you hadn't done it a long time ago.
The first time you pull a car on to the trailer with the winch, you'll scratch the hell out of the area where the dovetail breaks over. I had a shop break some metal at the same angle as the break over and installed it with flathead screws so it can be replaced from time to time. Also, I have some H-D aluminum ramps that are modified for easy attachment to the trailer as the steel ramps get heavier every time I use them!
Nice trailer. I use a 5,000 lb Superwinch with pulley blocks, and a deep cylce battery. Lots of power to get those projects on the trailer.
Anyone of you guys ever used a roll-back trailer????? Look at one sometime..you will never have any thing else...... No dove tails,no ramps..very simple to use......
Hey wbrw32, How about posting some links, pics or tech? Sounds like a cool idea if you can do it without too much expense or complication. I've been thinking of an idea that will let you hydraulically drop the trailer from the suspension (or at least onto the axle), then raising back up again for trailering. Maybe even an axle-less design that'll let you drop the bed on the ground. Rick.
Rotten egg,I dont have a way to scan,but these trailers have been around since the 80's...The wheel and axle assem is seperate from the tongue and deck.Has locking device to lock together in towing position...The deck rolls on 12 rollers..Lock the barkes,pull the locking pins.back up.deck slides on wheel assem till tail drops to ground, load vehicle,tie down,pull forward till lock pins drop back to lock.release brakes and your gone...... I just looked at..kwik-load traliers.. but they dont show the details.. www.kwikload.com
Got the winch mounted, still need to weld in 4 gussets, finish painting and wire up....... mounting came out pretty good if i do say so myself. I've done that before myself, but i wanted to keep on trailer this time (we'll see how it works out) i did mount it as far outboard as i could and make the tire & mount removable so if its in the way it can be removed. pic...... thats a cool idea, it is tough backing an empty flatbed that you can't see.... Hmmm, i'll have to think about this...... mine should just scratch the paint, and i think i can live with that...
They're OK for a car or truck that runs, but not so much for a non-running roller. I like them, but they have their use. To me, they are not as versatile as a normal hauler with a dovetail. I've hauled everything from a Metro to a 2-ton truck, and from #5K of flagstone to four round bales of alfalfa hay. I'll keep my "old-style" hauler.
so it finally got above 40 degrees, so i called off work and heated up the garage nice and toasty...... stained the decking mainly to help postpone rot, not for looks....... it's gonna be wierd until i get it nicked, scuffed and dirty. time will tell how it last. just about have the ramps completed, need to wire up the license plate light and weld acouple holes up and top coat. they ended up being 4 1/2 feet long.
148 freaking holes, i'll never talk bad about my old 3/8" chuck Dewalt corded drill again....... i miss counted, i now need 30 more 3 1/2" carriage bolts, i dread the day i gotta change this wood. getting close to finished, plan to take to a "PA enhanced inspection station" with trailer authorization this thursday or friday. still have odds and ends, but nothing keeping it from being road legal, ordered this alarm today: anyone have alarms on thier trailer? i wondering what would be some good options..... i plan to have all parking lights flash when horn is activated, other than that not sure
took on it's maiden voyage yesterday, towed nice empty. went by inspection mechanic to make appt. and got the it weighted.......( 2220 lbs.... including winch, battery, aircompessor, spare etc.....) the last pics, and thanks for all the ideas and comments,
Goddamn that is a nice trailer!!!! You know you are a hot rodder when a car trailer can give you wood.....
got the alarm, guages etc.... wired up........... if you bump the trailer, alarm chirps 5 times. if you bump again (or hard the 1st time) it flashes the parking lights, siren/horn goes off, and the trailer brakes are engaged. also got this 12volt DC aircompressor finished today. I know it's alittle overkill, but theres 2 feet of snow outside and i've got the cabin fever. thinking about other stuff, trickle charger..... 12 volt DC to 115 AC converter etc...... any other ideas you have or have seen?
very nice...how about a drop in shelf in side the box so you can put your ice box with "Sammiches" in.
That really looks great! Most people build a trailer as an afterthought. Yours is nicer than a few CARS I know of!
I had one of these and sold it. It didn't tow worth a damn, either empty or loaded. The real problem with them is, once you get the car loaded, lock the brakes and try to pull the deck back up. If you are on grass or sand with poor traction, you will not be able to pull it back up. If you're on concrete or asphalt, where you have good traction, it's not a problem. Of course, if you go to get a find, it will always be in a field or somewhere where you don't have good traction. Had trouble too many times, so I sold it. I bought a trailer with ramps that slide in the back and it is so much better.
My dad has one of those. I will never bitch about ramps again. The way it is supposed to work: 1. Pull the pin holding the deck to the tongue. 2. Pull the pin locking the axle unit in place. 3. Flip the hand brake, locking the axles in place. 4. Back up and the deck goes down easy as pie. Load and reverse the procedure. Here's how it really works. 1. Pull the pin holding the deck to the tongue. 2. Attempt to pull the pin holding the axle unit in place. Discover that the trailer is under too much tension to just pull the damn pin. Flip the handbrake. Ease the truck forward. Try again. Nope. Ease it backwards. Try again. Nope. Ease it back forward. Grab a large lever. Yank the damn thing out, nearly popping a nut in the process. 3. Back the truck up. Discover that the handbrake doesn't completely lock the axles in place. Get some wood blocks and put them behind the wheels. Try again. This time - if you're lucky - the thing will roll back. 4. Load car. Strap it down. 5. Pull the truck forward. Hopefully the axles will stay in place, and the deck will roll forward and down. 6. Put the pin back in the tongue (this one works fine almost always). 7. Attempt to put the pin back in the deck to axle connection. Discover that you haven't pulled the deck all the way forward. Get back in the truck and pull forward until the deck locks. 8. Jiggle the pin to get it in. You may not even have to tap it in with a hammer. 9. Flip the lever back to unlock the axles (note - if you accidentally reverse steps 8 and 9, the axles might slide forward and you have to repeat step 7. 10. Drive away. Give me ramps anytime. Dad's trailer is a Texas Rollback, but they all work on the same principle. It's well maintained.
I have had a rollback type tilt trailer and a ramp style trailer. I agree with Racewriter the rollback tilt trailers are a pain in the butt. I sold mine and bought another ramp type trailer. I would just make sure you have your ramps come out from the rear and not the side.
if you're going to uses it mainly for vehicle towing I would look into wheel straps. best thing I could tell you is to go look at how the uhaul vehicle trailers tie a car down. It is a nice secure tie down system..... VERY NICE TRAILER!!!
Racewriter - I never used one so I will take your word on it, but OTOH I do have a tilt trailer - which I needed to transport my digger on. My digger has very little ground clearance. Here's how mine works: 1. Reach underneath front deck and flip air switch. a built in air cylinder defeats the deck lock and allows the air bags tilt the deck - setting the back of the deck directly on the ground. 2. Walk to back of trailer and flip down the mini ramps 3. Roll off car. My point is - things CAN be made to work easily, but you might find yourself doing a bunch of upfront work to make it happen.
Hemi - I've seen some of the hydraulic tilt trailers before, and they seem to work well for the most part. The ones I was speaking of were specifically the rollback type. That trailer has amazed me - my dad loves it just because he doesn't have to pull out ramps. Meanwhile he's doing about 3 times the work.
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