Converting a Travel Trailer

[Raspy]

I did nearly the same thing. I started out with a car hauler that was too big and wide for my New Holland, so I cut it into eight pieces and welded it back together in just the right configuration to fit my tractor and be easy to tow. Brakes on both axles. Now it has thousands of miles on it and I am very happy to have it. My buddy borrows it a lot it and says it's his favorite trailer. I recently hauled all the materials to install a steel roof on my house, over the Sierras. Since you have the trailer and it has 4500 lb axles with brakes, you are off to a good start. The finished product will weight about 2500 lbs or less and will have a 9000lb GVW. Keep the axles back of the center of Gravity as you mentioned, factor in the tongue weight and you are well within normal design requirements for a tractor of 6500 lbs

Nothing wrong with making your own equipment and often it's not about wether it might cost more time. Forget all the naysayers and go ahead with the project you started! It's so irritating when everything gets reduced to dollars and evaluated by many who could not build it themselves.

Have fun and make a great trailer for yourself!

 

[Diamondpilot]

One last thing to think about is load angle. Being a deck over design even with a beaver tail make sure you can load your tractor with the backhoe installed. Many have issues where they get stuck because the backhoe itself drags the ground.

Chris

 

[Stimw]

Stimw, not to hijack this thread but just curious as to what you are hauling on the trailer? Thanks, Stanley

Those are 1' X 14' aluminum roof panels ($2.35 a foot custom cut to order) for the 13' X 36' screen room I was installing. They interlock together when you install them.
Pic is finished screen room.

 

[Stimw]

Stimw, I think your Branson 3510 with a loader is almost 5000 lbs, plus your backhoe, so you are pushing your maximum if those are 3500 lb axles. With an 8620 backhoe and filled tires, a Branson 3510TLB can push close to 7000 lbs. Trailer looks good.

My tractor weighs 3500 lbs plus the FEL and Hoe so I am under 5000 lbs. The trailer weighs 1440 lbs , with 2 3500 lb axles that leaves me over 600 lb margin not counting deduction for tongue weight.

 

[MrPete]

Dilligaf, I was given a 27" trailer 7 or 8 yrs. ago. I did the same as you are planning. I built it and really at the time had no use for it. I actually turned it into a 20'. I built a 4" channel iron frame 2' on center on top of the main frame. At that point I was still 2" lower than the top of the tires. So I decked it with 2" thick poplar and built 1/4" diamond plate fenders that were 1" higher than the deck. A little later I bought my tractor, it has worked great. Granted I do not go on long hauls but it works awesome for the 10 to 15 mile hauls that I do. FWIW, I have a total of $350 invested. Go for it, it waqs a fun project.

 

[srs]

Those are 1' X 14' aluminum roof panels ($2.35 a foot custom cut to order) for the 13' X 36' screen room I was installing. They interlock together when you install them.
Pic is finished screen room.

Thank you. Stanley

 

[kenmac]

Those are 1' X 14' aluminum roof panels ($2.35 a foot custom cut to order) for the 13' X 36' screen room I was installing. They interlock together when you install them.
Pic is finished screen room.

That's a nice screen room.. Good luck with your trailer project

 

[JIGBUILDER]

A 30' 9K GVWR TT may have 800-900 lbs of hitch weight. Making a car hauler from a thin 1/8" wall I beam RV frame will require lots of extra bracing/boxing/fish plating in the area where the hitch A frame is welded to the front cross member. A very weak area for hitch loads.
You will have to watch how much hitch load your going to place on the light weight frame in that area.

Those light weight I beam RV frames are bad about bending from twisting action from the spring hangers. The I beam needs to be boxed in this area. Some RV owners have even boxed the spring hangers with a steel tube between them.

Good luck on the project and have fun

Your gonna' need lots more cross members made from something other than rolled 1/8" steel extrusions..

Scrape steel prices the last several years has guys hauling all kinds of metal on all kinds of home made trailer. We have three large recycling yards in the area. The most common issue with these converted RV frames is they bend at the first cross member because they weren't beefed enough for 1200-1800 lb hitch loads guys were placing on them.