Modified Utility Trailer

[Eric_Phillips]

I have a 16' flatbed that I tried one of those unloaders. I put sheets of hardboard between the vinyl sheet and the wooden deck to try to lessen the friction. To make a long story short a shovel works better. Maybe on a smaller trailer with less material weight they may work better.

 

[JohnnyMX]

I was wondering that. It worked great when I had my full-size bed with a plastic bed liner. Everything just slipped and unloaded as it should. Now that my bed is a total of 5' and change I don't use it for unloading as much.

 

[John_Mc]

What are those racks attached to the inside of your wood sides?

 

[Gem99ultra]

I bought this small trailer to haul the usual items, but wanted one that would convert to a flat-bed or allow for side-loading. The basic Karavan (home depot classic) allowed the sides to drop or be removed until I added wooden sides. I found some "Flag" or "Lift-Off" hinges on amazon and a couple of "toggle latch clamps" to allow the obstructed area to clear. I can now drop my sides in seconds again by pulling two pins and releasing the latches.

Nice handy trailer JohnnyMX. In fact, I bought myself the 6x12 version. It'll be strictly for utility purposes though, not for my tractor, etc.
First mod I made was to add rear stabilizers. Two wheel trailers will definitely flip up if they're not firmly hooked up. I know... I've seen a near fatal accident of such. Here's what I installed for a mere $75. Safety first - right?

 

[JohnnyMX]

What are those racks attached to the inside of your wood sides?

The racks are 1' sections of e-Track. I got the cheap stuff at HarborFreight. I have some d-ring/tie downs and beam sockets that I use to split things up when needed.

 

[JohnnyMX]

Nice handy trailer JohnnyMX. In fact, I bought myself the 6x12 version. It'll be strictly for utility purposes though, not for my tractor, etc.
First mod I made was to add rear stabilizers. Two wheel trailers will definitely flip up if they're not firmly hooked up. I know... I've seen a near fatal accident of such. Here's what I installed for a mere $75. Safety first - right?
View attachment 754115

It does indeed get tippy. I generally am not on or off the trailer without it being hooked up. I walked up once when I realized why I shouldn't. Are you welding the jacks or using some sort u-bolt or just bolting down?

 

[John_Mc]

Nice handy trailer JohnnyMX. In fact, I bought myself the 6x12 version. It'll be strictly for utility purposes though, not for my tractor, etc.
First mod I made was to add rear stabilizers. Two wheel trailers will definitely flip up if they're not firmly hooked up. I know... I've seen a near fatal accident of such. Here's what I installed for a mere $75. Safety first - right?
View attachment 754115

I'm also interested on ow you are mounting those. I've just been wedging some logs or a stack of scrap wood under them when driving something heavier on.

I had thought about mounting some sort of "kick-stand" or perhaps the stabilizers like what you had, but I'm concerned about losing ground clearance.

There is not much clearance as it is under the rear of this trailer. If I mounted to the frame, I would lose too much, and probably bottom out on the stabilizers on even a modest rise. I could bolt them to the underside of the wood decking, which gains a few of inches, but will make the crank attachment point difficult to reach. I'm also wondering if the wood deck is strong enough to support that point load - especially as the deck ages.

 

[Gem99ultra]

I simply bolted each jack to the frame rail. The rail isn't wide enough to utilize all of the pre-drilled bolt holes on the top of the jack but using 4 of the furnished 3/8" bolts seemed sufficient. It comes with a drill pattern with many options. Each jack has the capacity of 6,000# - each being far more capacity than the trailer itself.

For easy access, I mounted one jack on each side at the end of the trailer on the side rails with the adjustment rod pointing out toward the end of the trailer. That would put the front of each jack top pad 11" from the end of the trailer, one on each side. I would not mount the jacks to the wooden floor - only to the frame itself.

The jack kit on Amazon comes with all bolts, drill bit, two sockets for a drill use (9/16" & 3/4") as well as a crank handle for manual use. Using the 3/4" socket in a cheap cordless drill works like magic. I experimented jacking my up fully loaded to a height of rising the wheels 5" off the ground easily with a cheap cordless drill. No problem at all with the strength of the jack.

The reason I selected the scissor jack over the swing down jack was the clearance issue. The swing up type jack stabilizer, as you mentioned, would take up too much of my ground clearance. The scissor jack only requires 4" of clearance.

 

[John_Mc]

The reason I selected the scissor jack over the swing down jack was the clearance issue. The swing up type jack stabilizer, as you mentioned, would take up too much of my ground clearance. The scissor jack only requires 4" of clearance.

Unfortunately, 4" loss of clearance is more than I can afford to lose.

At one point I was debating mounting a swing up trailer tongue type jack off the side of the frame, so I would lose almost nothing in ground clearance. For now, I'm still using logs and scrap wood.

 

[sallyb]

Latch Clamp -- 5.7": https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B09HKCTK22

Hinge -- 4 5/8" x 3 3/4": Amazon.com

I think you can get smaller sizes as well, but I liked the hinges for other projects as well.

I have decided that for me a hydraulic dump trailer would be my best buy, I am looking for 5'x8', it can haul my equipment,and all my debris, from tearing some old buildings, I paid 2500 for 40 yard dumpster one load, so I still need a couple more. I am of opinion dump trailer is worth cost.