Welding Trailer

schmism · Feb 12, 2007

looks good... but what is the shelfy thing in the front for? covering the spair tire? (no not the vise mount the other thing with a V at the front)

Hosskix · Feb 12, 2007

schmism said:
looks good... but what is the shelfy thing in the front for? covering the spair tire? (no not the vise mount the other thing with a V at the front)

It's a combo work bench and spare tire cover.
I'm 6-2 and getting the "middle age spread", bending over and cutting or grinding something at trailer level kills my back after awhile.

It's hinged so that you can lift the work table up to get the spare out rather than try to wrestle it out from underneath.
I'm thinking about putting a hasp on it to lock it in place but I may not bother, I live in the country and it'll rarely be seen by anyone.

The V thing at the front is a piece of angle iron turned on it's side and welded to the table, works great on a work bench for laying stuff in to keep it from rolling off and you can lay a piece of pipe in it while cutting or grinding when you don't want to mess with the vice. (So you don't have to loosen the vice to rotate it or something.)

Hosskix · Feb 12, 2007

swines said:
You might want to consider adding a piece of sheet metal on the front uprights. The first time you pull that when it's been raining, you'll have road spray all over everything. I'd also suggest getting covers for the welder and tanks for the same reason. The sheet metal will deflect about 80% from your vehicle, but road spray from oncoming vehicles (like 18 wheelers) gets all over (and in) everything it can.

Hey swines, I'm in West Texas, what is this "rain" stuff you speak of?
Sounds terrible, I'd hate to have that problem!

Just kiddin, good ideas, I've already looked into getting a cover for the welder and tanks, but in all likelyhood it'll be parked under a shed most of the time and if it's raining, I ain't welding!
Had some of that as a kid, trying to hold a piece of pipe in place while someone trys to to weld it does funny things to the muscles in your arm!

I would like to have some as dust covers though.

shovelhead · Feb 14, 2007

Hosskix,
Very nice rig! It looks like it has been well thought out. I had a similar rig with a Miller Bobcat. The biggest problem I had was that a couple of my buddies would come and get the welder and it would disapear for a week or so. I took it of the trailer and put it on a heavy duty cart, but they would just bring their trailers and load it up! These guys are like brothers and I couldn't tell them no, but it bothered the **** out of me. I wound up selling the Miller to buy a new Browning O/U shotgun. Ironically, my buddy bought a bigger Miller on a trailer, and has left his MIG welder and plasma cutter in my garage for the past couple of years. Good luck with your new toy, and keep posting pictures of your projects.

Shovel

BTDT · Feb 14, 2007

Any particular reason you chose "white" paint? Seems like that's going to be real hard to keep clean. Nice job though. Free is always nice.

MadReferee · Feb 14, 2007

Hosskix said:
I've already looked into getting a cover for the welder and tanks, but in all likelyhood it'll be parked under a shed most of the time and if it's raining, I ain't welding!

If you want a heavy duty denim fabric cover for your welder, there is a poster over on the Miller and Hobart boards that custom makes them. He also sells on Ebay but I don't know his username. I bought 3 of his covers for my MM251 mig, Spectrum 375 plasma cutter, and TA185 tig machines. His username on the welding boards is Fun4Now. He makes quality stuff for a reasonable price.

The pics show the Spectrum and TA185. He had to send me another one for the Spectrum since Miller changed front panel designs in early 2006.

RedRocker · Feb 14, 2007

Miller makes a cover for that machine, it looks just like my Bobcat.

Hosskix · Feb 14, 2007

BTDT said:
Any particular reason you chose "white" paint? Seems like that's going to be real hard to keep clean. Nice job though. Free is always nice.

All my other trailers are white, my pickups are white and the white paint was free....not much thinking went into it!

Seriously, I know that up in North Texas, in the red and black clay areas, white does get dirty quick.
But out here, where it's mostly caliche roads and alkali dust, white is the cleanest looking color there is.
My trucks have to be filthy before they look as dirty as a darker vehicle with a coat of dust on it.

Anyhow, thanks for all of the replys and compliments guys!

Defective · Feb 15, 2007

I've always had a preference for white vehicles & equipment because they DO get dirty quicker. When my stuff gets dirty, I clean it. The more often I clean it, the more often I look it over closely.

I recently sold a 28 year old truck. It was still in nearly perfect working order and no rust because I couldn't stand to see rust or dirt or greasy crud on that nice white paint.

My stuff lasts a long time.