Build your own trailers

[Diamondpilot]

He sure bashes General Motors.LOLOLLOLOLOOLOL
Ok, go spank some other thread.

Thanks for the help. To this point I have not seen a post by you that has any constructive advice. Just rude comnents. I would have said smart but....

Chris

 

[Markcuda]

Chris, please start a thread telling us all about the stuff you own?
Please.............

 

[fabsroman]

All I can say is WOW. Don't even need to read through all the posts to even say it. Let me start out by saying I am an attorney/CPA. I understand what it takes to be charged with any form of homicide, and a trailer failing and causing a death does not even come close to it. Manslaughter might be a possibility, but it would require reckless disregard for human safety.

I was told tons of times that I could not do something, and somehow I always did it and nothing happened. Installed my own wood burning furnace this summer and was told the house would burn down if I did it. Here we are, over 2 months of using it and heating the house, and the house is still standing. Same goes for car repairs. If I did my own brake lines, the car would never stop. No way I could ever change the AC system in the car and have it still work.

No offense to you doubters and wanna be attorneys, but I have the intelligence to figure out how to weld correctly, how to design the trailer I want to build, and how to get it done. If you do not want to help with my questions, that is fine, but keep your negativity to yourself. I really do not need it and it is not going to help me get to where I want to be.

FYI - a very good auto policy along with an umbrella policy would insulate me a lot from my own negligence, but more importantly I don't want to be responsible for somebody's death. I WILL learn how to weld property before taking on this project, but do this project I will, with or without your negativity and lack of help. So, spare me the lectures and the waste of my time if you want to lecture me on murder, homicide, morality, or whatever else except welding. There are always those that feel the need to lecture me, whether it be about felling trees and making firewood, installing a furnace, doing a car repair, etc., yet I still get it done and nobody gets hurt. I don't lecture you naysayers on the law or doing your own tax returns, so again, please spare me.

Now, off to read the last 3 pages of this thread to see if anybody at all offered anything useful.

 

[fabsroman]

That's exactly what I did. I asked my agent what it would cost to add a home made flatbed trailer, 14K GVWR, liability coverage only, not for hire, to my business policy. Agent replied $50 a year. Simple as that. That's how it is in IL. Might be different elsewhere.

Also, in IL a personal, non-business use trailer being towed by a personal, non-business vehicle is automatically covered by the liability policy on the tow vehicle. No so when the tow vehicle is a business vehicle. In that case the trailer would have to be listed on the business policy. In other words, in IL, don't tow your boat with your company truck unless it's listed on the business policy.

Yep, same thing here in Maryland. A non-business trailer is already covered by the insurance on the vehicle pulling it. Would never have hooked up a trailer to my F350 if that was not the case and the insurance ran with the trailer and not the hauling vehicle. I would NEVER know what the insurance coverage is on a trailer that I borrowed whereas I know that the insurance on my truck is enough to protect me and my family should something go wrong.

 

[fabsroman]

No, he should not even try to use JBweld.))))))))))))))))))

You mean to tell me that JBWeld will not work? That definitely means the hot glue gun is out too. Man, never would have thought those two "welding" processes would not be enough.

 

[Deere Dude]

All I can say is WOW. Don't even need to read through all the posts to even say it.

I was told tons of times that I could not do something, and somehow I always did it and nothing happened. Installed my own wood burning furnace this summer and was told the house would burn down if I did it. Here we are, over 2 months of using it and heating the house, and the house is still standing. Same goes for car repairs. If I did my own brake lines, the car would never stop. No way I could ever change the AC system in the car and have it still work.

.

I would just get a 200 Amp stick welder and a bunch of metal and 20# of 1/8" 7014 rods and try welding. Maybe a experienced weld will tell me to use a different rod, but I know those weld good and look half-way decent. I would maybe even take a class in tech school for a semester. That would be all you need to find out if you can weld two pieces of metal together and make them stick. Trailers are not like brain surgery. Just do a little planning like some of these post show and the trailer will turn out fine. Maybe a store bought trailer can be had for the same money or close to it, and it might be prettier and lighter, but so what. At least you gained some skills. I have built two trailers and want to build another one and know I can, but I would probably just go and buy one because it is easier than building. I am not an expert welder by a long shot, but as long as you use common sense in a build, nothing will fall apart on you. So what if it is a little heavier.

People are gifted differently and it sounds like you can make it happen, and if you are an attorney you know you limitations. If you spend enough time planning and practicing, there isn't much you cannot do.

Everyone has a unique set of abilities, me to. I was 26 and built my first house. Because I was not really sure of myself I had someone dig the basement and pour 1/2 the concrete and put on cal-kor and install the carpet and cabinets. Me and my wife who was 21 or so did everything else. All the electric panels, the wiring, plumbing, footing, block walls, walls, rafters, shingles and so on. At times I would have to sit down for a day with a book to try to figure out how to run certain electrical circuits where someone else may have figured it out in 5 minutes. But so what. I did it and the house is standing 30+ years later.

The next two houses we tackled I built my own cabinets and all the concrete and really skimped more with the labor. They are still standing and am living in the last one. Either way, if you set your mind to it and know your limitations, it will be a fun and fulfilling job to do.

 

[fabsroman]

In the Trucking industry we have what are called " Super Truckers " . They are the drivers that have seen it all , done it all and know it all . Born with a 20" steering wheel in their hands and 20 years experience , Here is not much different ! The poster (Fabsroman ) asked what size welder for building a trailer , BUT did he say he was going to buy it and go straight out and build a Trailer ? NO !! Did any of you " Smart " Fellows every consider that he may be looking years down the road at possible projects and a trailer being one of them ? Again , apparently " NO " . Just blast him with your rude comments , " No, he should not even try to use JBweld." . Dude , Get a Life !! Some of You Should learn from people like Diamond Pilot or Shield Arc , Vast , Real world experience , but you do not see them bashing people ., do you ?? I do notice that the QUALITY of New Members to this board has certainly taken a downward turn for the worse over the last year or so .:thumbdown:

Fred H.

Thanks Fred. I wouldn't say the trailer is years down the road after I get the welder, but there are a lot of projects before it (e.g., fish tank stands to hold thousands of pounds worth of tanks, wood splitter). Well, now that I think about it, it will probably be two yearS or more before I get to the trailer at the rate I am going. This year's project is a 30x40' four bay stand alone garage in the back of the property. After that, a tractor and possibly a 40x40' addition to the house with another four bay garage on the bottom of that addition. So, going to have tons of things going on.

Thing is, Lincoln has a special going on Mig welders for the next 6 months and I would like to buy something large enough to take care of all my future projects. My dad already has a 30 year old Lincoln stick welder that we have welded some tank stands together with, but I think MIG would be a nice addition to the mix for everything I want to do in the future. Just want to get the welder and start playing around with it right now.

Can I go out tomorrow and weld a trailer together, nope. Will I eventually be able to, yep. I do all my car repairs except mounting and balancing tires and wheel alignments. Have a 15 year old Taurus with 235,000 miles on it, a 1989 Mustang GT with a ton of mods, a 2003 F350, and a newer 2010 Focus that I have not had to do much work on. I also do ALL my own home improvements. Plumbing, electrical, etc. In the 7 years we were at the townhouse, the only thing I paid somebody to do was diagnose and fix an AC problem and fabricate the granite counter tops for the kitchen and bathroom remodels. Going to hire somebody to do the coolant line brazing and coolant installation on the new AC condenser I just installed with the new furnace. Otherwise, don't see me hiring many people to do too much here. Took me about 6 months of spare time to figure out how to install the furnace, chimney, and AC condenser and coil, but it saved me a ton of money. The quotes I was receiving were insane. Just to hook the ductwork up to the existing ductwork, they wanted $2,100. That is equivalent to me billing $4,200 to get the $2,100 after tax. Did not mean to tell you part of my life story, but sort of responding to all these guys that are so negative about the entire thing. I ask a question about welders and get a discussion about homicide that I surely do not need.

To sum it all up, I am looking at the Lincoln Power Mig 256 which is a 250 amp welder and wondering if it will be enough for my future projects. The thickest steel to weld might be the splitter I want to build, which should be a pretty good test of my welding skills. If the welds can hold up to a 35 ton hydraulic cylinder with a fast cycle time then I might be alright on the trailer welding. Really liked your idea in the other thread about a dump/car hauler combo.

Thanks again.

 

[fabsroman]

I would just get a 200 Amp stick welder and a bunch of metal and 20# of 1/8" 7014 rods and try welding. Maybe a experienced weld will tell me to use a different rod, but I know those weld good and look half-way decent. I would maybe even take a class in tech school for a semester. That would be all you need to find out if you can weld two pieces of metal together and make them stick. Trailers are not like brain surgery. Just do a little planning like some of these post show and the trailer will turn out fine. Maybe a store bought trailer can be had for the same money or close to it, and it might be prettier and lighter, but so what. At least you gained some skills. I have built two trailers and want to build another one and know I can, but I would probably just go and buy one because it is easier than building. I am not an expert welder by a long shot, but as long as you use common sense in a build, nothing will fall apart on you. So what if it is a little heavier.

People are gifted differently and it sounds like you can make it happen, and if you are an attorney you know you limitations. If you spend enough time planning and practicing, there isn't much you cannot do.

Everyone has a unique set of abilities, me to. I was 26 and built my first house. Because I was not really sure of myself I had someone dig the basement and pour 1/2 the concrete and put on cal-kor and install the carpet and cabinets. Me and my wife who was 21 or so did everything else. All the electric panels, the wiring, plumbing, footing, block walls, walls, rafters, shingles and so on. At times I would have to sit down for a day with a book to try to figure out how to run certain electrical circuits where someone else may have figured it out in 5 minutes. But so what. I did it and the house is standing 30+ years later.

The next two houses we tackled I built my own cabinets and all the concrete and really skimped more with the labor. They are still standing and am living in the last one. Either way, if you set your mind to it and know your limitations, it will be a fun and fulfilling job to do.

Thanks. You think like me and appear to be like me. I would love to build a house, and my wife and I even thought about having the shell built for us and then me finishing the interior, but they wanted way too much to do the shell. The quotes were actually insane. My limitation with building a house is the concrete work and framing of it. After that, I could tackle everything. Could possibly tackle the concrete and framing if I did a bunch of research on it, but that is water under the bridge now since we bought a foreclosure.

My job as an attorney/CPA has gotten to the point where almost everything is routine (i.e., not challenging), and I am the kind of person that likes to be challenged and the type that likes to learn. I can weld some stuff together with a stick welder, but would like to learn a heck of a lot more about it. Spent a couple days learning about bubble flare brake lines this past summer and which tools are best for making them before I tackled the brake lines on my Taurus. Also learned about a new type of brake line, NiCopp, that is awesome. The guys at the auto store had never even heard about it and had to special order it. The stuff can be bent by hand, does not rust, and will last longer than most cars out there. Anyway, I digress. For those that are intelligent enough, it is always good to learn about as much as you can and to acquire new skills. Always thought MIG & TIG were super hard processes, but that does not appear to be the case. Just trying to figure out which MIG welder to get since my dad already has a stick welder. Also debating which welding process is better for splitter, fish tank stand, and trailer building. Guess I will figure it out once I start using a MIG.

 

[Deere Dude]

Thanks. You think like me and appear to be like me. I would love to build a house, and my wife and I even thought about having the shell built for us and then me finishing the interior, but they wanted way too much to do the shell. The quotes were actually insane. .

This really has nothing to do with trailers, but I found out a long time ago that that by the time I would call a contractor to do a job and have him order the stuff and then schedule it and wait for a nice day to do the work and then do the song and dance for more money, I am much better off just doing it myself, if I am able. For instance, I wanted a mason to but in stonework around a fireplace in the basement past a fireplace in the upper level. I looked him up and after 2 or three tries to get him nailed down he gave me a quote of $10,000. I think it was $5.00 a square foot or something like that. And he would shoehorn me in sometime. I figured, screw that, I'll just take the time to put it up myself. With $3000 worth of stone and a month of effort, I was done, and maybe his would have looked maybe 3% more profession looking but oh well. The average Joe won't find any flaws. I would have been waiting for him at least 3 months just to get in gear. Not to disparage contractors, but I seem to be always running into that, and that's one reason I ended up being a do-it-yourself-er. I want the challenge and don't want to wait and get screwed by someone else. This way I only have one person to blame-my wife.

 

[Diamondpilot]

Thanks Fred. I wouldn't say the trailer is years down the road after I get the welder, but there are a lot of projects before it (e.g., fish tank stands to hold thousands of pounds worth of tanks, wood splitter). Well, now that I think about it, it will probably be two yearS or more before I get to the trailer at the rate I am going. This year's project is a 30x40' four bay stand alone garage in the back of the property. After that, a tractor and possibly a 40x40' addition to the house with another four bay garage on the bottom of that addition. So, going to have tons of things going on.

Thing is, Lincoln has a special going on Mig welders for the next 6 months and I would like to buy something large enough to take care of all my future projects. My dad already has a 30 year old Lincoln stick welder that we have welded some tank stands together with, but I think MIG would be a nice addition to the mix for everything I want to do in the future. Just want to get the welder and start playing around with it right now.

Can I go out tomorrow and weld a trailer together, nope. Will I eventually be able to, yep. I do all my car repairs except mounting and balancing tires and wheel alignments. Have a 15 year old Taurus with 235,000 miles on it, a 1989 Mustang GT with a ton of mods, a 2003 F350, and a newer 2010 Focus that I have not had to do much work on. I also do ALL my own home improvements. Plumbing, electrical, etc. In the 7 years we were at the townhouse, the only thing I paid somebody to do was diagnose and fix an AC problem and fabricate the granite counter tops for the kitchen and bathroom remodels. Going to hire somebody to do the coolant line brazing and coolant installation on the new AC condenser I just installed with the new furnace. Otherwise, don't see me hiring many people to do too much here. Took me about 6 months of spare time to figure out how to install the furnace, chimney, and AC condenser and coil, but it saved me a ton of money. The quotes I was receiving were insane. Just to hook the ductwork up to the existing ductwork, they wanted $2,100. That is equivalent to me billing $4,200 to get the $2,100 after tax. Did not mean to tell you part of my life story, but sort of responding to all these guys that are so negative about the entire thing. I ask a question about welders and get a discussion about homicide that I surely do not need.

To sum it all up, I am looking at the Lincoln Power Mig 256 which is a 250 amp welder and wondering if it will be enough for my future projects. The thickest steel to weld might be the splitter I want to build, which should be a pretty good test of my welding skills. If the welds can hold up to a 35 ton hydraulic cylinder with a fast cycle time then I might be alright on the trailer welding. Really liked your idea in the other thread about a dump/car hauler combo.

Thanks again.

That 250 amp mig will be just fine. The trailers I have built I did 95% of the welding with my Hobart 180. The rest I did with my Miller 250 AC Stick.

Chris