Trailer as a bridge

[wendlingknives]

Is this a dumb idea? Theres a creek that runs through my place and its at the bottom of a big hill. Usually not much flow, but when there is heavy rain, it gets to flowing. Its about a 3-4' drop and maybe 10' wide from trail to trail that leads to it. In the last couple years ive owned it, i tried to make a culvert crossing. First time i put in a 12" culvert, concrete bags on the ends and filled with dirt. That was destroyed in the spring rains. Next attempt i put in two 24" culverts with concrete bags at end and filled with dirt. Washed out again after getting some heavy rains in spring. I dont know if its getting washed away because of all the force on the upcreek side, or if water is coming down enough to wash out the fill, and then the sides collapse. Either way, it isnt working. I was thinking of getting a 16' or so flatbed and spanning it, then remove wheels. My thinking is even in higher water flow, theres not a wall so to speak that the water is pushing against and it should stay put. Mostly it would be for crossing in my SxS so i dont think the weight would be in issue. What about a tractor thats probably 5-6K lbs? The trailer would prob be supported by 3' or so on each end by the earth and/or concrete. Anyone ever done this?

 

[dodge man]

I’ve seen it done and it works well. You might or might not need some kind of footing on each end. Your culverts probably washed out because they weren’t big enough.

 

[Happy in NC]

I gave it some real consideration when Helene took ours out. It would have been just a little shorter then I would like. I've seen them and they look like a great idea for the right situation

 

[scootr]

I strongly considered a trailer as a bridge for my little creek. Only thing stopping me was the price of even old trailers around me. I ended up building a stone bottom ford as the creek is very seasonal... only impassable in the mowing season

 

[wendlingknives]

Yeah, thats been my issue. I can find a trailer for about 1k. The 2 24" culverts and concrete bags were about 1k as well. Just really wasnt sure how the structural design of a trailer would hold for a tractor weight. Meaning when its supported on the ends and not by axles under the center

 

[scootr]

Yeah, thats been my issue. I can find a trailer for about 1k. The 2 24" culverts and concrete bags were about 1k as well. Just really wasnt sure how the structural design of a trailer would hold for a tractor weight. Meaning when its supported on the ends and not by axles under the center

You will be stressing a little extra supporting the ends only so make sure it over rated for the tractor weight. Would you take the axles off of it?

 

[wendlingknives]

You will be stressing a little extra supporting the ends only so make sure it over rated for the tractor weight. Would you take the axles off of it?

Maybe? Hadnt really planned on that. I think most 16' are rated for 7500-10k

 

[dodge man]

When you said trailer I was picturing a semi trailer.

 

[4570Man]

I don’t know what kind of trailer you can find for $1,000 that’s structurally solid. If you actually did I wouldn’t be apposed to the idea. A 16ft 5k load capacity bridge would be simple enough to build yourself. If it’s a house trailer or a camper absolutely don’t use it. If it’s a 10k equipment trailer it should be fine.

 

[rangerfredbob]

My brother needs a bridge for similar and I happened on a '90's F250 frame that I bough for the axles and other bits but that would leave me with a ~16' frame, build a deck out of scrap lumber and it should handle a 4 wheeler without losing any sleep...

 

[Too many Kubotas]

A clapped out 40' flatbed shouldn't cost much, if anything.

Of course, pulling it home, removing the axles and landing gear is a couple of hours of extra work

 

[bcp]

Possibly a platform container:

Google Search

Bruce

 

[rontaki]

Or perhaps an unwanted F150 Lightning ...

 

[RayIN]

An acquaintance bought an old tanker trailer, cut off the ends and used it for a very large culvert. After it was in the creek, he had a guy with a dozer flatten it to the right height. I think the old frame went to a scrap yard.

 

[CliffordK]

Maybe? Hadnt really planned on that. I think most 16' are rated for 7500-10k

I think that is rather optimistic. You're probably in the 5K to 7K rating for the typical 16 foot car trailer. And that will include the trailer weight, so your cargo capacity will be less.

A trailer with the wheels outside of the frame gives you somewhere around 6'6" width. A bedover trailer gives you 8' or 8'6" width. I suppose you could drive a pickup across either one, but it would be awfully narrow.

Be careful about the trailer design. My 10K trailer (commercial built) is built so that the main frame is about 5" channel for the main frame. Plus the tongue is an additional 5" under that which goes from the tongue back to the front spring hanger. Then it is only the single 5" going from the front spring hanger all the way to the back of the trailer. Thus the back half is significantly weaker than the front half. I managed to bend a couple of frame cross members, and I think they were something like 1 1/2" x 3" angle iron. Weaker than I would have preferred.

Many of the trailers you will find around $1K will be home built trailers, as well as some mobile home conversion trailers. Just be careful. One sign of a homebuilt trailer is often the use of demountable manufactured home axles/wheels. What you get from a homebuilt trailer will be quite variable.

I might consider a good trailer frame as a good source of raw materials, but I might rebuild it to my needs. Do you weld, at least a bit?

 

[David Wayne]

There is a golf course not far from here that has two creek crossings using semi trailers.

 

[sandman2234]

I have a good friend who has a creek on the back of his property that splits his property. He likes to have access. He did have it via a bridge built by a neighbor. However now that bridge is getting old, and my friend has bought a larger tractor. These two issues don't go well together.
I have a 20' trailer with a 5th wheel hitch. It was built in 1980 and was reinforced and rebuilt when the gentleman I got it from purchased it. (it had a bent hitch). Axles replaced, etc. He had intentiions of pulling his Ford backhoe on it, till he loaded it and weighed it. It was above the rated GCVWR of his truck.
I used it for a few years till I got a Big Tex gooseneck, then it got parked. I have considered removing the axles and putting them under a bumper pull trailer I have.
That leaves a 20' trailer with sides (that will hold a 7k tractor rear wheels)
I proposed that he build two small foundations on each side of the creek and we carefully set my trailer across it using two tractors with FEL's. A pair of ramps similar to the ones on the rear of trailer will need to be fabricated for the front once the 5th wheel hitch is removed. Keeping the trailer elevated at each end will prevent the steel frame from sitting in the dirt, which should decrease corrosion of the frame and give it support.. A rubber mat under the steel might also help with high traffic crossings. (his won't be, but we have them) He will need to replace the flooring of the trailer, as I am sure that it is probably rotten due to the time it has sat unused.
I think it would work just fine as long as the trailer is stong enough to support the load you are putting on it. A good idea before putting the frame over the creek would be to block it in your yard where you can drive over it before going to the trouble of spanning the creek with it. My trailer is overkill for his load, so I wouldn't need to do that.
David from jax

 

[KennyG]

Whatever you do, you are going to need very significant foundations at each end of the bridge which are not subject to erosion. A trailer may seem simple, but moving it, anchoring it, and decking it will all involve a lot of work. Have you considered a timber bridge? A treated 2 x 10 with a 16 foot span will support about 500 lbs as a point load. For $1000 you can buy 30 or 35 2x10s.

 

[KennyG]

Here is my post on a timber bridge with a 12 foot span.

https://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/threads/my-bridge.289644/

 

[2manyrocks]

Here is my post on a timber bridge with a 12 foot span.

https://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/threads/my-bridge.289644/

Been a while since you built it. What are your thoughts on how it has worked for you and held up since then? I was a bit surprised at using 2x10s.