Trailer new to me, what is the pictured dip in the frame for?

Istillcare · Mar 21, 2023

I recently sold my 555D and trailer and already miss them. Bought the trailer pictured last week to help fill the void. Much heavier duty then I need, but what the heck

What is the dip in the frame at the front of the trailer for? The dip does make for a nice support to take excessive load off of the hitch with a heavy load on the front before a balancing load is toward the back, but as the advertisement goes ... but wait there's more.
The dip is constructed of C-channel covered with diamond plate. Put a door on it and could store stuff there I guess. But the diamond plate has traction bars welded to it that would give traction to a wheel climbing out of the dip??? Stranger to me is the diamond plate parallel to the deck over the dip is made to be removable??

Any idea what the trailer might have been made for with the dips? Large wheel could go down in the dip to reduce the height on the trailer but not much room from the dip to the hitch.

I'll be done with the trailer in a couple months and will be putting it up for sale then.

I'd like to know before then what it was made for. Thank you if you have any knowledge or guess why the trailer was made that way.

Norm W · Mar 21, 2023

It looks like it is extra support for the outside edge of the trailer. Probably for something that rode there in a previous life.

bcp · Mar 21, 2023

First thought is a combine trailer for reduced overall height.

Bruce

dieselscout80 · Mar 21, 2023

bcp said:
First thought is a combine trailer for reduced overall height.

Bruce

Maybe an older combine or a swather trailer as that’s not enough trailer for most combines built since say the 1980s.

bcp · Mar 21, 2023

Cotton picker instead of combine?

Bruce

civilian · Mar 21, 2023

Brother had a semi trailer lowboy with dips like OP's. The lowboy was set up for a piece logging equipment that needed its front wheels in those dips to be road height legal. Maybe that's what the OP's trailer did in a previous life. Then someone no longer needed them and filled them in. Jon

Cycledude · Mar 22, 2023

Might be helpful to see a better picture that shows the entire trailer

4570Man · Mar 22, 2023

I agree with the thought process that they were wheel dips to lower transport height and at a later date someone leveled them out.

Birdhunter1 · Mar 22, 2023

When the diamond plate comes off, does it fit over the tires on those supports?
I agree it might be for a tire on a piece of equipment to sit on but it isn't built for something with a wide tire like a log skidder. Maybe it is for a swather, but those usually sit lower and have wider rails on the sides for the tires to be on. It could be for a spray coupe.

I'm guessing it is a 40 year old trailer and doesn't look real long which makes me think it was built to haul a spray rig. Probably something behind a tandem axle flatbed truck that had a water tank and chemical barrels on it.

civilian · Mar 22, 2023

On the OP's second picture, there is blocking under that dipped area suporting the trailer. OP, what in on the tongue to raise or lower the tongue to hook up to the tuck? Jon