Would you trust me to weld a trailer up?

[MotorSeven]

Ian, for what you want, I would buy used. Check C-list often and I bet you can pick one up for half to three quarters the price of new...and not have to do any work.

As far as the powder coating thing...personally I think it's the biggest rip off since poly butyl plumbing. Yes, it looks great when new, but one knick and it bubbles up then spreads like cancer. I have a flatbed on my dually that is only a couple of years old...I am gonna have to strip the whole dang thing an prime/paint it because the powder coat is crap. I'd rather have good 'ole paint, or Line-X.

Btw, your welds look fine.

 

[Ken45101]

Interesting in regard to the original question "would you trust me to weld a trailer up?", it came to mind that my dad built a boat trailer by himself, without a welder. I was a little kid so I don't recall the details, but I'm sure he didn't have a welder although it's possible that he had a couple of pieces welded somewhere else. IIRC, he built is out of pipe and probably bolted it together.

It held up without problems that I recall. Of course this was 60 years ago and times were different then....

(For one thing that was different then, they used bumper hitches ON THE CAR BUMPERS. Back then car bumpers were heavy steel and actually held up when bumped :laughing

Ken

 

[ultrarunner]

(For one thing that was different then, they used bumper hitches ON THE CAR BUMPERS. Back then car bumpers were heavy steel and actually held up when bumped :laughing

Ken

I bought one of those U-Haul clamp on bumper hitches and used it for years towing a small fishing boat...

It was very well built and fully adjustable with load rating and hitch class embossed... still have it in the shop.

I think the last car I used it on was a 1975 Ford Granada...

 

[terraformer]

I have a commercially built 6x12 tandem trailer, Bought it new 5 years ago primarily to haul my tractors. Was loading it last week and I noticed that 3 of the short verticals (2x2 1/8") that hold the rail on were bulged and two of them were split. I am going to drill a small hole near the bottom of all of them and weld up the split ones.

The best part about your own fabrication is picking the material you want vs what some engineer thought would hold up and last for years to come. I have seen their handy work at construction sales. Tube frames that filled with water and split, rust covered sheet metal, and a host of other goodies.
Trailers are so basic I can't see where they get the huge retail prices unless they are paying the distributors, dealers, and freight companies very well.