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  1. #16
    Join Date
    Jun 2010
    Location
    Canberra
    Posts
    1,322

    Default

    In the home straight now - sorted out a few details - welded on the hinges for the removable back gate, reminding me how much I hate that task, as the damn things never turn out smooth and free

    The other addition was front guides/supports - the tub falls dead straight, but with a load in it, and sideways on an incline, I can see the front wanting to shift sideways, hence the bits of flat bar - I did the bend by cutting 2/3rds through on the bandsaw, bending, then welding over the cut.

    In this pic you can also see the one of the (surprisingly few) mistakes I made - the 40mm cross-member should have been lower to rest on the drawbar, rather than flush with the top of the side rails. I used 30mm SHS to connect to the drawbar, and may add something more substantial if I decide to add hold-down latches like Kryn suggested.

    IMG_2250.jpg


    I pulled it all apart again and managed to shoot a first coat of paint. The forecast for the rest of the week has a max of 12 degrees until Thursday, then it gets even colder, so need to get the final paint sorted in the next day or two...

  2. #17
    Join Date
    Jun 2010
    Location
    Canberra
    Posts
    1,322

    Default

    I got two coats on, had planned for more, but it's so cold, and getting colder, it seems like a futile exercise waiting for enough hours above 10 degrees with no wind.

    So I put it back together:

    IMG_2257.jpg

    My plan is to put it to work - there's a few test jobs I've got waiting for it, then a few real jobs which were the motivation to get on make this thing.

    Last task is to put in the floor - I picked up a sheet of 2mm gal - it was that annoying dimension of something like 1220 x 2440, so not only did I have to cut it down to 1800, but trim the long side to 1200.

    I decided to do an experiment in sheet trimming. For the shorter cut to bring it to 1800 long, I used a 5" Lennox diamond wheel freehand following a line using a fairly powerful 1,400W or so angle grinder. It cut fairly quickly pushing it to its limit, but there was a significant burr top and bottom that took quite a few passes to clean up - taking probably longer than the actual cut took.

    For the longer cut to bring the width down to 1200, I used the plasma cutter at 35A running along a length of 5 x 50 aluminium flat bar clamped to the sheet. It cut much faster, as expected, but also was much quicker to clean up - I just used a file to rake off the brittle dross, then a few more quick passes to smooth off the edges, and it was done in maybe 30 seconds to a minute - a fraction of the time compared to the angle grinder.

    After a bit of consideration, I decided to glue the floor down with globs of Sika 221 - it avoids damage to the paint and galvanising compared to welding and spans the random gaps around the chassis.

    I'll give it a day or so for the glue to set up, get some pics of the finished trailer and try it out.

  3. #18
    Join Date
    Jun 2010
    Location
    Canberra
    Posts
    1,322

    Default

    And we're done!

    IMG_2258.jpg

    She needs more coats of paint, and some hot sun to harden it up, but that'll have to wait a few months.

    Hooked it up to a tow vehicle for a test:
    IMG_2259.jpg

    Not a huge, nor particularly heavy load, but would normally take a bit of effort to get off.

    IMG_2260.jpgIMG_2261.jpg

    But with this setup, really quick and easy, and oddly satisfying. The winch has 3 speeds, using the middle speed didn't require much effort, obviously getting easier as the load raised.

    I'll take it out to the property which I made it for and see how it goes - there's much heavier loads that need to be shifted there. My only thought is whether I should make up some cage sides for it...

  4. #19
    Join Date
    Aug 2009
    Location
    East Warburton, Vic
    Posts
    357

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    You’ve got to be happy with that, bet ya had a grin on the face when ya dumped that load.
    Cheers

    DJ

  5. #20
    Join Date
    May 2011
    Location
    Murray Bridge S Aust.
    Age
    71
    Posts
    5,942

    Default

    Regarding the side gates, depends on what you plan on putting in there. Branches and the likes will catch on the sides, whether they be mesh, bars etc.
    If you're planning on branches etc, I'd look at using sheet metal, folded into a G at the top, to give max strength, and folded to a right angle at the bottom, this will give you a solid cage with no extra weight. The front gate could be folded on the 4 sides so that the front edge of the sides could be bolted together, again a weight saver.
    For the top G section, I'd fold it 12mm 25mm and 50mm, the bottom fold would be the width of the edge of your trailer, ie 50mm, which would give an height of approx 1050.
    Kryn
    To grow old is mandatory, growing up is optional.

  6. #21
    Join Date
    Jun 2010
    Location
    Canberra
    Posts
    1,322

    Default In action!

    I gave it it's first proper use on the weekend, doing a bunch of cleaning up of all manner of things:
    IMG_2269.jpgIMG_2270.jpgIMG_2271.jpgIMG_2272.jpg

    The handy part is being able to move loads over fairly long distances and dump them quickly.

    The winch proved ideal for the job - it has 3 speeds, and you can change speeds mid-lift, allowing you to start with the maximum gearing, then change to the middle gear to speed up the lift as the load lightens. It also has a brake which greatly aids dropping the tray quickly, but in a controlled fashion.

    A couple of things that I'd do differently - 6x4 is a useable size, but something a bit longer and wider, like a 7x5 would be better - if I'm loading soil from the back using the little Dingo, its 1200 wide bucket means it spans the full width of the tray, leading to some material spilling over each side. That said, I was trying to do this on the cheap, so part of that was the $200 trailer, although when I add in the cost of the new floor, winch, jockey wheel, rollers and bearings, the donor trailer ends up being a smaller portion of the overall cost.

    Finally, there's one issue I need to sort out - the winch strap is being pinched between the mast and the top of the front of the tray. I think that's because the rubber roller is too low - if it was higher, it'd hold the mast away from the tray. I just need to think about how to rearrange the geometry of the roller, the lifting point and the winch strap.

  7. #22
    Join Date
    Aug 2008
    Location
    near Rockhampton
    Posts
    6,216

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    Nice scenery in the background.
    Gold, the colour of choice for the discerning person.

  8. #23
    Join Date
    Aug 2010
    Location
    Near Bendigo, Victoria, AUS
    Age
    72
    Posts
    3,102

    Default

    Nice implementation and good looking outcome!
    The pinching problem looks to be an issue only when the trailer is right down. Could you mover the roller up and out a little - to just in front of and to clear the hook?
    Could you use an electric winch ?
    Cheers, Joe
    retired - less energy, more time to contemplate projects and more shed time....

  9. #24
    Join Date
    Jun 2010
    Location
    Canberra
    Posts
    1,322

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    Quote Originally Posted by .RC. View Post
    Nice scenery in the background.
    Yep, not too bad a workplace

  10. #25
    Join Date
    Jun 2010
    Location
    Canberra
    Posts
    1,322

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by jhovel View Post
    Nice implementation and good looking outcome!
    The pinching problem looks to be an issue only when the trailer is right down. Could you mover the roller up and out a little - to just in front of and to clear the hook?
    Could you use an electric winch ?
    I think it could be as simple as moving the roller up as you say.

    I originally was thinking of using an electric winch, but sorting out power is a bit tricky given it'll be used with a variety of vehicles, including a quad bike.

  11. #26
    Join Date
    Jun 2010
    Location
    Canberra
    Posts
    1,322

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    Thought I'd update this thread, as I've been using the trailer pretty intensively the last two days to move timber from a couple of trees that have just been felled. Some sections are damn heavy - still green - and loaded onto the trailer with a tractor-mounted forklift. A couple of the loads must have been around a tonne. Then carted about 1km across the property and uphill, dumped near the residence for further processing - the Honda side-by-side gets around pretty quickly, even with a tonne behind it, making the process fairly efficient.

    With seriously heavy loads, the tipping mechanism took a bit more work to get started, but once at about 15 degrees got significantly easier. Interestingly, the wood starts to slide at a shallower angle than a load of gravel.

    IMG_2838.jpgIMG_2840.jpg

    So pretty happy with it. Do need to re-jig the roller and attachment point to deal with the pinching issue.

  12. #27
    Join Date
    Dec 2019
    Location
    Sydney
    Age
    72
    Posts
    26

    Default

    I built a tipping trailer a while ago and wanted to simplify the design. This is about the 5th trailer I have built, and I've learned a lot with each of them. It struck me that a trailer box is essentially centered around it's axle so it stands to reason that if I could cause the box to rotate about the axle centreline then any load in the box would be pretty much balanced. This means that a winch is completely unnecessary.

    The way I approached it involved a number of 3 am awakenings with brilliant ideas. Some people get them in the shower or elsewhere in the bathroom. Eventually I fabricated an under-frame made from pallet racking beams (not the uprights). These beams are basically two pieces of "C" channel which have been 'clipped' together and a couple of small welds added. If one grinds off the welds, and cuts off the end fittings you get two pieces of nice lightweight "C" channel with some strengthening swages in the vertical faces - strong as.

    I fabricated a galvanised sheet box, attached with Sikaflex (no bolts - no welds - no rivets - no noise), and have a hinged removable tailgate and a removable front end so that I could load long stuff if necessary. Mudguards are welded on, and mounted very high so that they never contact the tyres.

    I used an Alko rubber spring suspension set rated at 900 kg which simply bolts on with two 1/2" bolts in each side that aligned well with the vertical elements of the "C" channel. All electrics are sealed and LCD lights are used all round - nothing mounted on the tailgate. I've fitted reversing lights but am a bit dissatisfied with their capability, a big floodlight on the back of the axle (protected) might be better.

    To make it tilt around the axle, I simply bolted the drawbar on with the aft end attached to a flange just close to the suspension attachment and roughly aligned with the axle centreline. Where the drawbar passes under the front edge of the box, I dropped a couple of flanges from the box to match another pair of flanges on the drawbar, drilled a 3/8" hole through both, and inserted a quick release pin.

    The pins are removed when tilting is required, and as a usual load is distributed evenly through the box, simply applying a light lift to the front of the box causes it to tilt easily, and the load to slide out. I can even 'ground' the back of the trailer and back up the car causing the trailer to completely overturn - driving forward brings it back - refit pins, close the tailgate, and away we go.

    At the moment this trailer only has a 4' x 4' box on it, as I have found that this is usually all I need. I had planned for a bigger box - but I haven't needed it. I have also built adapters for a small sailing boat to clip in too, but have since sold the boat.

  13. #28
    Join Date
    Nov 2017
    Location
    Geelong, Australia
    Age
    57
    Posts
    2,651

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    Sounds interesting. Would love to see some photos of it

    Steve

  14. #29
    Join Date
    Jun 2010
    Location
    Canberra
    Posts
    1,322

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    I considered the pivot-at-axle idea - my concern was getting the bed to tip past 45 degrees to ensure the load slides out. It sounds like reversing is the way to achieve that.

    Would be keen to see pics too.

  15. #30
    Join Date
    Dec 2019
    Location
    Sydney
    Age
    72
    Posts
    26

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    Quote Originally Posted by OxxAndBert View Post
    Sounds interesting. Would love to see some photos of it

    Steve
    I'll be out at my Son's this morning - that's where the trailer lives - I'll see if I can get some snaps done for you.
    Ted

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