Trailer support jackstands for (un)loading??

[kebo]

I'm looking for some adjustable "jackstands" that can be welded to the rear of the trailer so when my trailer is not hooked up to a vehicle, I can still load or unload it. Yeah, a lot of trailers have supports welded integral onto the loading ramps. My trailer has a drive on tailgate and it's already heavy enough and I don't want to go adding more metal to it. So, if I could find some adjustable jackstands to weld to the rear of the trailer, and just drop them and pin them in at the height I need, that would let me drive on/off the trailer without the front end of the trailer flying up off the ground. Does tractor supply carry some? If I had a machine shop at my disposal, I know I could have some made pretty easy but wanted to see what was already available first. Thanks!

Keith

 

[Diamondpilot]

We have used 2 of these on a trailer with good results. This one is a weld on but you can also get a bolt on. If you do not have a welder take them with the trailer to a local muffler shop and give the guy $10 to weld them on. The reason I say muffler shop is every town has one and you say you do not have access to a machine/welding shop. I like the weld on ones because there is usually not enough flat room on the back sides of trailers to bolt them on.

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Chris

 

[SnowRidge]

You can get the same thing at Tractor Supply. I have only welded one of theirs onto the tongue of a trailer, but a good friend of mine welded two onto the rear of his trailer to support it while unloading. They work fine, as DP indicated.

In case it's not obvious, the jack pivots up 90 degrees for storage.

 

[Erik_in_Hoyt]

I've also seen a setup like a receiver hitch, only vertical with multiple holes for setting heights.
6" long piece of 2" square tube welded to side of trailer, then piece of 1 1/2" tube that would slide in it with 3 or 4 holes drilled to adjust height. then pin it in place.

 

[weldingisfun]

I've also seen a setup like a receiver hitch, only vertical with multiple holes for setting heights.
6" long piece of 2" square tube welded to side of trailer, then piece of 1 1/2" tube that would slide in it with 3 or 4 holes drilled to adjust height. then pin it in place.

I did that to a welding trailer. I welded them onto all four corners to provide a steady platform when not hooked to a towing vehicle. Works great.

 

[Diamondpilot]

I've also seen a setup like a receiver hitch, only vertical with multiple holes for setting heights.
6" long piece of 2" square tube welded to side of trailer, then piece of 1 1/2" tube that would slide in it with 3 or 4 holes drilled to adjust height. then pin it in place.

Your solution would be great and simple but he indicated in his first post he did not have access to a machine/fab shop in his area. I was going the easiest route for him. I even suggested taking the trailer and jacks to a muffler shop to have them welded on since it seems like he does not have a lot of services in his area.

Chris

 

[kebo]

Your solution would be great and simple but he indicated in his first post he did not have access to a machine/fab shop in his area. I was going the easiest route for him. I even suggested taking the trailer and jacks to a muffler shop to have them welded on since it seems like he does not have a lot of services in his area.

Chris

Chris, sorry I gave you (and others) the wrong impression. There are a number of machine/welding shops in my area, I would just have to pay through the nose to have something custom made. Erik has the same idea that I'm looking for. I want a square tube maybe 2" dia by about 16" long that has smaller square tube inside it. There would be holes about every inch or so that you put a pin in to lock it in at the desired height. The smaller piece that slides in/out would have a pad welded onto the bottom to rest on the ground when it was in the down position. All you do is weld the large square tube section to the back of the trailer and you have it. I will stop by tractor supply and see what they have. Might be able to use a tongue jack instead. Thanks for the replies though....

Keith

 

[Diamondpilot]

I think you will find the tongue jack to be cheaper in the long run. Materials to do what you want will be about $40 plus labor to make it. The other nice thing about the jacks is if you have a flat you simply use them.

Chris

 

[Erik_in_Hoyt]

Keith, talk to a few of those metal shops - quite often they'll have a "cutoff pile" that they consider scrap and will either sell for $1 a pound or give away the pieces you want/need. What you describe sounds exactly what I was talking about.
and I'd be very surprised if you didn't have a neighbor or relative close by with an arc or mig welder and a drill press who could help you weld the parts up for beer & pizza. (or just the fun of it)

 

[DonnieP]

I made exactly what you descibed - used a couple of pieces of angle iron welded along the side of the square tubing. The Dept of Highways here use sqare tubing with holes every inch or so for sign posts. I was given some from a sign that was damaged and was able to get enough that was straight to make two legs for the back of the trailer. I have a jack on the front and the three points make a good strong base for unloading/loading the ride on lawn mower. I used bolts for the pins, got them long enough I could cut of the thread and drill a hole for a hitch pin. I dug the corner of the trailer out of the snow and attached a picture.

 

[BruceWard]

We built some today. I will post pictures tomorrow. They are about an inch short and will stop the trailer back end from dropping more than an inch.

They are built from 3" and 2" steel square tubing. The hanger is made from a 4" piece of the 3" tubing with one side cut off and two holes drilled through. The leg is made from a piece of the 2" tubing. A 1/4" thick 2" wide strap hinge was welded to the leg. A 1/2" bolt goes through the front hole on the hanger and the strap hinge. When the leg is vertical the top of the leg rests squarly against the inside of the hanger. The rear hole in the hanger matches up with a hole in the leg and is pinned with an additional 1/2" bolt when the leg is vertical. We made another hanger from a 2" piece of the 3" tubing and placed it at the front of the leg when it is up. An additional hole was drilled through the front hanger and leg. A 1/2" bolt with a pin through it is used to hold the leg forward when not in use. Building and installing both legs took about 2 hours.

 

[radman1]

Diamondpilot

Your idea is still the best. Simple, quick, cheap and easily adjustable. Seen that on many trailers. One could make a stand from tubing but drilling the holes, mounting it, welding, painting etc takes time.

Just remember for any rear support, the hardest part is remembering to raise them up before driving away!

 

[kebo]

I made exactly what you descibed - used a couple of pieces of angle iron welded along the side of the square tubing. The Dept of Highways here use sqare tubing with holes every inch or so for sign posts. I was given some from a sign that was damaged and was able to get enough that was straight to make two legs for the back of the trailer. I have a jack on the front and the three points make a good strong base for unloading/loading the ride on lawn mower. I used bolts for the pins, got them long enough I could cut of the thread and drill a hole for a hitch pin. I dug the corner of the trailer out of the snow and attached a picture.

Donnie, the jackstands you added to your trailer are pretty close to what I have in mind. Although, I think I would still prefer to use a piece of tubing sliding within a larger piece of tubing for the extra strength and rigidity. I'm sure yours works fine though.

As for adding the weld-on tongue jacks to my trailer, I looked at what tractor supply had yesterday afternoon. My trailer has sides filled in with expanded metal and I'm not sure I can use those jacks because I don't think there will be enough clearance for the handle to rotate and raise/lower the jack. I would have to mount the jack about a foot away from the side of the trailer so the handle would clear it. If I mount it so the handle is above the side of the trailer to get clearance, then the bottom of the jack would be about 18 inches off the ground. Not sure if those jacks have that much travel, plus it would take a lot of jacking to get it up/down everytime you used it. That's the main reason I want to use two piece tubing, so you can just pull out the pin, let the jackstand drop and line up with a set of holes, then slide the pin back in. Very quick that way.

I will have to take the other posters suggestion and talk with some of the machine shops around here and see if one of them can help me out pretty reasonably on the tubing material. I do have a friend that can weld them on for me.
Thanks for the comments & suggestions everyone!

Keith

 

[kebo]

Diamondpilot

Your idea is still the best. Simple, quick, cheap and easily adjustable. Seen that on many trailers. One could make a stand from tubing but drilling the holes, mounting it, welding, painting etc takes time.

Just remember for any rear support, the hardest part is remembering to raise them up before driving away!

Radman, your last sentence brings back a memory!! Sometimes it's also hard to remember to raise the tailgate and latch it before you drive off! I know cause I did it once! LOL. Fortunately it was a on a dirtroad and I didn't go very far before I realized something wasn't right!!

 

[denmansoft]

I like the sliding tube arrangement as a simple method of getting the back end solid. I first saw it on a rental trailer before I bought mine. A good side effect was when they are up I have good visible corner posts to assist parking, backing etc.
BTW round pipe works as well as square tubing for these.
I'll be putting some on my trailer as soon as I get it near my welder...

 

[jimmysisson]

I made a similar rig for my log splitter, to keep the back end up (with a heavy log) when it's hooked to my garden tractor. It's made out of an old jack post, the kind you use under a floor beam. Holes aren't too close spaced, but that works for my application - I stick a split under the foot. Too light for a trailer, but sliding tubes work good.
Jim

 

[DonnieP]

The smaller signs here have the square perforated tubing with a larger square tubing buried in the ground and only a couple of inches of the larger tubing above the surface. Normally, if a sign is damaged the larger tubing that is buried in the ground is not hurt, so they remove the bolt and pull the damaged post out, put a new post back in the larger tubing, bolt it up and away they go. It was easy to get the smaller square tubing because it's the part that typically gets damaged, but I wasn't able to get the larger piece that is why I used the angle iron and drilled it. Nice part is it's galvanized and should out last the trailer.

Check out this site:
Square-Fit? Telescopic Square Tubing - Allied Tube and Conduit - Tyco Electrical and Metal Products

 

[Gittyup]

Kebo, you can get side wind jack stands that will not interfere with your sides that swing up too. Sometimes TSC has them; sometimes not. Also check at Harbor Freight and even Walmart. But the best selection is on the internet. Price is about the same. I like the idea of infinitely adjustable so that you can get and maintain a good footing even on soft ground. I've been planning to do this to my trailer, which also has high sides making top wind unusable. But, I keep finding other things that take my $80.

 

[kebo]

Thanks for the suggestion gittyup. I had not seen (or heard) of side winding jacks. When I looked at TSC the other day they only had the top winding style. I will check with Northern and also Harbor Freight to see what they have.

 

[Lunk]

The smaller signs here have the square perforated tubing with a larger square tubing buried in the ground and only a couple of inches of the larger tubing above the surface. Normally, if a sign is damaged the larger tubing that is buried in the ground is not hurt, so they remove the bolt and pull the damaged post out, put a new post back in the larger tubing, bolt it up and away they go. It was easy to get the smaller square tubing because it's the part that typically gets damaged, but I wasn't able to get the larger piece that is why I used the angle iron and drilled it. Nice part is it's galvanized and should out last the trailer.

Check out this site:
Square-Fit? Telescopic Square Tubing - Allied Tube and Conduit - Tyco Electrical and Metal Products

Do keep in mind that one of the reasons for all the holes in the sign tubing is to make it easy to fold over when struck, thus reducing damage / danger to errant motorists (and the accompanying liability).

They also drill holes near the base of wooden posts, and in the first several guardrail posts in a section of beam-guard - reduced energy transfer to a vehicle as the breaking posts absorb the impact.

I'd just be wary of placing a substantial side-load on the tubing, for safety's sake...