Simple hitch to turn an ordinary trailer into a tipper.

[alchemysa]

I've often wondered how to turn an ordinary small trailer into a tipping trailer without a great deal of welding and cutting, and without a lot of expense. I might finally have the answer. Heres an idea for a simple, removable hitch attachment thats basically just a few pieces of square tube plus a tow ball and a coupling. (Probably about $50 worth of bits at most).

The 'Eureka moment' was the idea of using the existing trailer's own coupling as the 'latch' that would hold the trailer securely 'down' while it was being towed.

Various methods could be used to attach the hitch to the frame of the trailer. It doesn't need to be complicated just as long as it acts as a hinge. (Note that its the square tube between the two trailer couplers that is taking most of the strain, not the 'hinge'.).

Some clever methods could be devised to assist in raising and lowering the trailer but a quick bit of googling reveals that many small tipping trailers rely solely on manpower to do the job, so for for now I'm keeping it simple. The important thing is that the trailer stays hitched to the towing vehicle while its being raised and lowered so its relatively easy to keep it under control.

I don't imagine this attachment being used 'on the road' but it might be handy for trailers that are used for moving assorted rubbish or building material around a farm. If its removable then it can be added to a road registered trailer as needed.

I've modestly named this after myself and called it the Alchemy hitch. What do you think?

(Some bracing at the 'T' junction of the hitch would be required but I've omitted that to keep the illustrations simple.)

 

[MossRoad]

Many small boat and utility trailers already do that.
My boat trailer has a locking latch about half way down the main beam. When you unlatch it, the main beam hinges vertically allowing the rear of the boat to drop into the water. Great for shallow lakes. When you winch the boat ont the trailer, it compresses the main beam as the boat comes forward, you latch it back up, put a lock on it for road travel and off you go.

I also have a Rubbermaid cart for a lawn tractor that dumps. All you really need is a hinge for the box over the axle and a mechanism to latch the front of the box to the trailer.

Good project for anyone to attempt. :thumbsup:

 

[Xfaxman]

I did something similar to an old trailer bought at a garage sale about 25 years ago.

It sat low to the ground because it had a 1930's car front axle under it.

I removed that axle and replaced it with a mobile home axle that I shortened. When I cut the axle, I slipped three pieces of tubing over the axle to allow the new longer tongue to pivot on.

Notice that the ball on the new tongue pivots, as the leaf springs compress, the original tongue and coupler move forward a little bit.

Dump it and back up to stand it on its tail. I've had it completely upside down when hooked on the front of this tractor.'


Brings back memories, as I no longer own anything visible in the pictures.

 

[alchemysa]

Many small boat and utility trailers already do that.
My boat trailer has a locking latch about half way down

Hello MOSSROAD. Yes I understand what you are saying. My own boat trailer has that type of latch, and I know theres plenty of tipping trailers around if you want to spend at least $1000. But my aim here was to create a hitch that could be cheaply made and easily retrofitted (with a few bolts) to an existing trailer without cutting it to pieces.

XFAXMAN. Thats a terrific example of the concept. I had considered taking the hitch back to the axle but ultimately decided that, in theory, my design would be easier (as a retrofit) and would transfer less jolting and noise to the vehicle towball.

Reversing to tilt the trailer is something I considered but didnt mention here. A lot would depend on the size and geometry of the trailer. On Google I saw a couple of patent applications for tipping trailers that offered that feature. I wonder if they ever got past the design stage.

 

[MossRoad]

.... my aim here was to create a hitch that could be cheaply made and easily retrofitted (with a few bolts) to an existing trailer without cutting it to pieces.

.

I understand that. That's why I said it would be a good project for someone to attempt. And very useful, too! :thumbsup: