Tandem axle wagon build

[Hooked_on_HP]

I got all my metal ,axles rims and tires. Its time to start building. My design has changed a little from my previous post.The trailer is going to be 5.5' x 8' and built out of 2x2 11ga. box tubing. I got 2 - 2000lb axles and springs. I only got 2 of 4 tires. The other 2 will be in next week. The tires are 18.5 x8.5 x8. The frame is 4' wide to match the leaf springs. I am using my ironworker to make the spring hangers and any other bracket I need. I got the shell of the frame welded up tonight. I set the axles on to figure out where I wanted to mount them.I decided to mount them 7" rear of center. Here are some pics of what I have done so far.
Bill

 

[RedDirt]

Lookin' good, keep us posted. I bet your loving that new iron worker.
BTW just how big is your bandsaw in the background of photo two? It looks huge!

 

[czechsonofagun]

Do you have specific reasons why the corners are not cut to 45 degrees for connection? I prefer the closed in frames for looks and - I believe - stronger connection.

 

[Egon]

Looking good.

Any reason for mounting the axles independent of each other??

 

[Renze]

fine looking welds.

 

[SPIKER]

Do you have specific reasons why the corners are not cut to 45 degrees for connection? I prefer the closed in frames for looks and - I believe - stronger connection.

I have a bet he is going to cut out some 1.75 x 1.75 flat squares and weld into those corners using the fancy new iron worker.

wanted to wonder what you were going to do for the center link did you buy the tri-angular center part for duals? or are you going to try & make some> look for some DOM heavy wall 1/2" wall x 1" ID tube for the hinge points to reinforce the square tube and create some good hinges that will last, & install some grease Zerks into the hinge area to force out the dirt/sand that WILL get into them.
mark`

 

[Hooked_on_HP]

Eagon, I'm not sure if I am going to mount them seperatly or connect them. If I mount them seperatly I can keep the axles closer together.

czechsonofagun. see spikers post. Also trying to make 45 deg cuts on my band saw isn't the easiest. I have the saw squared up now so it makes perfect cuts and don't want to mess it up.

RedDirt , I'm not shure how big it will cut.But I am shure it will do 12"x12" maby bigger.


Other than a general idea on size I don't have a set plan on how I am building this. As I go along things keep changing. I also thought about moving one set of springs inboard about 3" so I could move the axles a little closer. I will have to give that a little more thought. It is a work in progress.
Bill

 

[dcyrilc]

Eagon, I'm not sure if I am going to mount them seperatly or connect them. If I mount them seperatly I can keep the axles closer together.

czechsonofagun. see spikers post. Also trying to make 45 deg cuts on my band saw isn't the easiest. I have the saw squared up now so it makes perfect cuts and don't want to mess it up.

RedDirt , I'm not shure how big it will cut.But I am shure it will do 12"x12" maby bigger.


Other than a general idea on size I don't have a set plan on how I am building this. As I go along things keep changing. I also thought about moving one set of springs inboard about 3" so I could move the axles a little closer. I will have to give that a little more thought. It is a work in progress.
Bill

Looks good. I prefer joined springs as it allows the axles to balance the load across the axles better. I was suprised by your axle placement though, as I would have expected the axles to be placed further to the rear. This helps to keep the weight closer to the axles when dumping. I'm excited to see how everything comes together. Keep the pix and porgress comming.

 

[Dan W]

I got all my metal ,axles rims and tires. Its time to start building. My design has changed a little from my previous post.The trailer is going to be 5.5' x 8' and built out of 2x2 11ga. box tubing. I got 2 - 2000lb axles and springs. I only got 2 of 4 tires. The other 2 will be in next week. The tires are 18.5 x8.5 x8. The frame is 4' wide to match the leaf springs. I am using my ironworker to make the spring hangers and any other bracket I need. I got the shell of the frame welded up tonight. I set the axles on to figure out where I wanted to mount them.I decided to mount them 7" rear of center. Here are some pics of what I have done so far.
Bill

Sir, you sure can weld! Very nice work. We are all looking forward to viewing the final product. Some one mentioned tandem axle positioning. It looks like you have calculated the weight distribution to the hitch correct. I built mine almost exactly the same as yours (5 x 8 with a 5 ft tongue). I set the tandem centre back 6" from body centre, = 5.26% weight transfer to the hitch.

Keep us posted...

Dan

 

[Hooked_on_HP]

I didn't get a lot done tonight. We got 6" of snow and had to take care of my drive and 3 neighbors.At least I got to use the tractor.
On to the wagon. I got my self a little stumped on my axle position. I intended to position the axle 7" back from center. I measured to the center of the frame(4') and marked it. Then I measured 7' back from that and put a mark. Then I positioned the back of the front spring on the rear mark and the front of the rear spring on the rear mark. This should have put the center of the tandem 7" rear of center? I welded on my front spring hangers. Tonight I started looking at it and it just didn't look close. I measured from the front of the front spring to the front of the frame. Then I measured from the rear of the rear spring to the rear fram rail. There is 14" difference. Is this right? After this confusion I turned it over and started working on the other side .I got the rear hinge made on one side. I have some 1 1/8 tubing with an id of .780. I drilled a hole through the frame and welded in the tube for the pin to go through. Then I made some plates out of 3/8x2 and punched 3/4 holes in them for the pivot pin.
Bill

 

[jimgerken]

I would clamp the spring mounts to the frame in some way. Then you could adjust the balance later once you have some experience with it.

 

[rus_geek]

...I got my self a little stumped on my axle position. I intended to position the axle 7" back from center. I measured to the center of the frame(4') and marked it. Then I measured 7' back from that and put a mark. Then I positioned the back of the front spring on the rear mark and the front of the rear spring on the rear mark. This should have put the center of the tandem 7" rear of center? I welded on my front spring hangers. Tonight I started looking at it and it just didn't look close. I measured from the front of the front spring to the front of the frame. Then I measured from the rear of the rear spring to the rear fram rail. There is 14" difference. Is this right? ...

14" would be right. Starting with the axles centered, the front and rear distances would be equal. Now if you move the axles 7" to the rear, that would increase the front distance by 7" *and* decrease the back distance by 7" so your total difference becomes 14"

 

[jayste]

Nice looking trailer. Though the thread title had me confused because I expected to see 2 spread axles and a running gear! I've seen a similar trailer to this; it might have been 3RRL (Rob)- maybe not. Anyway, he really likes his. Looking forward to the next stage. I have to say that's some nice equipment to work with!

Jay

 

[SPIKER]

When I built mine I used 3 hunks of the heavy wall round tube, with pin through them. this way there is a lot more material there to rotate around and to support the pins. I think you will probably be OK with the hinge the way you built it though.

I forgot to take some pics when I was out there today, dang it anyhow. (my phone was almost dead so pics probably would not have worked anyhow...)

I did look through my OLD pics the other night and saw how i made the PANS for the bottom, I bent the bottom pans up 3 or 4 inches with a 2" bend out (think top hat shape). I could then have a very smooth bottom 4" up from the sides. The 2" bend OUT then created some reinforcing built into the bottom metal pans. I built one that was 4'x 5' and one that was 2'x5' inside bottom. I have one SEEM weld across the top that was welded flush and there is a cross member under that seem. it was ground smooth for easy dumping.


I placed my spring hangers as far to rear as I could, that way I had the axle as far back and would make more tong weight which I planned on using my 3pt so never had a issue. the dump works great for wood behind the truck this way. Would like to have an independent hyd system for dumping though as the tractor works OK but that is not always there to dump it...

Mark

 

[Hooked_on_HP]

Mark I am kicking arround the idea of using a winch insted of hyraulics so I could hook it up to anything. I have a 3500lb winch. I will give it some thought.
Bill

 

[Iplayfarmer]

Mark I am kicking arround the idea of using a winch insted of hyraulics so I could hook it up to anything. I have a 3500lb winch. I will give it some thought.
Bill

I'd strongly suggest an electric over hydraulic power pack vs. a winch. Any discussion I've seen of the winch idea gets quite complicated pretty fast. If you already have hydraulics, the power pack is a plug and play deal.

 

[SPIKER]

I'd strongly suggest an electric over hydraulic power pack vs. a winch. Any discussion I've seen of the winch idea gets quite complicated pretty fast. If you already have hydraulics, the power pack is a plug and play deal.

I tend to agree with indyfarmer:

If I could find a 12V hydrapac (motor pump combo) I would look at installing that. dumb thing is I have passed up several 24V versions that were leftovers from old forklifts.
you still need a hyd tank and valve with most of them but even then there are several that run off of 120 volts and used in hydraulic lift tables that come with tanks and valves... I bid on one of those that sold to next highest bidder with the plans that I already have 12 to 120 inverter that is 1400 watts and powers circular saw quite well so should power most of these type hydraulic power packs..

The Winch idea usually is not all that great as there is no real locking mechanism to hold the bed in-place when raising/lowering & transporting. as the winch is only good for applying pressure in one direction. Not to mention that 3500 lbs pull is not all that great. My 4" cylinder can apply two+ times that amount of pressure. You would need near direct lifting from farthest point from the hinge to get a half decent load of gravel up using that winch. basically would need a post up front of the bed to lift the front of the bed up, with a much stronger winch you could build a scissor type mech to work but the pulling forces would be much greater, and would probably need to double line pull to make it work.


Mark

 

[Hooked_on_HP]

I went and picked up my other 2 tires this morning at R&P trailer sales. While I was there I was talking to Paul (the owner) about mounting the axles. He talked me it to letting the center pivot so they could travel further. He also sold me all the mounting brackets, pivots, shackles and bolts & nuts for $24. I couldn't buy the bolts at the hardware store for that much. When I got home I mounted the suspension and tacked it in place. The axles are further apart than I wanted but I will give it a try. They will be easy to move later if I want to.
Bill

 

[SPIKER]

He also sold me all the mounting brackets, pivots, shackles and bolts & nuts for $24. I couldn't buy the bolts at the hardware store for that much.
Bill

Bill :
Looks like you got a deal there. Probably sold them at cost to ya since he sold ya the wheels/tires....
The parts on mine are old mobile home take offs as neighbor friend moves & sets mobile homes for a living , or used to be neighbor as I moved many years ago... Though my axle wheels tires shackle parts & bolts were all free... he was cleaning out his barn & had a big pile of stuff outside & I stopped by to see what was up. I saw there was a few axles & a bunch of good looking tires/rims that were heading back to the dealers on his next trip to pick up a new home. I asked what he wanted for em, and he said I do stuff for him all time to go ahead grab what ever I wanted out of the pile. Every now and again ya get lucky...

Mark

 

[dcyrilc]

I went and picked up my other 2 tires this morning at R&P trailer sales. While I was there I was talking to Paul (the owner) about mounting the axles. He talked me it to letting the center pivot so they could travel further. He also sold me all the mounting brackets, pivots, shackles and bolts & nuts for $24. I couldn't buy the bolts at the hardware store for that much. When I got home I mounted the suspension and tacked it in place. The axles are further apart than I wanted but I will give it a try. They will be easy to move later if I want to.
Bill

From what I've always seen, that is the proper way to attach tandom axles. It also puts the rear axle back where I would expect to see it. The work looks great - keep it up!