aluminum trailer

[lfagmech]

im fairly new to this forum, and i would like to know if anyone has any ideas on fabricating a single axle aluminum trailer. (i.e. wall thickness, type of material for frame, etc.) Any information would be appreciated. Thank You.

[aametalmaster]

What kind of weight are you going to haul ?. Alum is not cheap in any form...Bob

[lfagmech]

mostly stiff like lawnmowers or a couple of ATV's

[aametalmaster]

You may be better off buying some 1/4" sheets of alum and having channels bent on a pressbrake. I built some truck beds this way. Tubing is way to expensive...Bob

[jjsjeff]

What kind of weight are you going to haul ?. Alum is not cheap in any form...Bob

Ya. Might be cheaper to buy a bigger truck and get a steel trailer.

[HMW]

Be cheaper to buy a steel trailer Im sure. 3/16 alum diamond plate is $300 a sheet. Post pics if you do build one

[Darmik]

aluminum trailer

There is a guy just down the bottom of the hill where I live and he sells aluminum trailers.$2,750,00 8x10 made from 6061 1/8 side walls 1/4 cahnnel frame 1 1/2 x 1 1/2 x 1/8 square tubing on top of box to hold the 1/8 plate,single axel stripped 1/4 plate and 2x6 douglas 3"x10' every 10" c to c.Anyway I don't know if you can make any money at it but if you are going to do it for your self then who cares how much it cost it's for you.

[lfagmech]

well, the reason for making it out of aluminum is since we live on the gulf coast, everything rust quickly if you dont watch it.

[dabar39]

well, the reason for making it out of aluminum is since we live on the gulf coast, everything rust quickly if you dont watch it.

Dollars and sense wise aluminum ,in my opinion just doesn't cut it. Sure steel will rust eventually, but aluminum oxidizes just as rapidly when exposed to the same conditions. If you build it out of steel and use a good quality primer and a good quality top coat you will get many, many years use out of the trailer. It's like anything else, if you treat it properly it will last a long time, treat it like junk and it will be soon enough.

On a side note, I live on the Treasure Coast area of Florida, I have built some railings and security gates over on the beach area with mild steel and also some with aluminum, I have already replaced some of the aluminum gates after only about 5 years of service, and have not had any steel replacements as of yet. We have one of the highest salt contents one the east coast of the U.S. so if not properly top coated (steel or aluminum) things don't last very long at all. Dave

[aametalmaster]

well, the reason for making it out of aluminum is since we live on the gulf coast, everything rust quickly if you dont watch it.

Then polished stainless steel would look nice and hold up well, you can start a new fad ...Bob

[tdkkart]

Build it in steel and then use the extra cash to have it powder coated. Mke sure they use the zinc "primer" coat under the color coat.
IMO, powder is the way to go. The prices are coming down as all the "mystery" is going away and competition is popping up everywhere.
Around here there was only one game in town 5 years ago, now there's 4-5 in a 20 mile radius.

[BWS29128]

Aluminum Trailer Ideas

im fairly new to this forum, and i would like to know if anyone has any ideas on fabricating a single axle aluminum trailer. (i.e. wall thickness, type of material for frame, etc.) Any information would be appreciated. Thank You.

Everyone's given you good advice; dabar probably makes the most sense and obviously has the most experience since you guys don't live too far apart. However, if you're like me and you just prefer aluminum over steel, there are several routes you can take.

The first is to choose the correct Aluminum alloy. For where you live, I would suggest you consider one of the "marine grade" aluminums...something like 5056, 5086, 6061, or 8081. These alloys have differing amounts of silicon and magnesium (and copper and other elements) and offer differing amounts of corrosion resistance. The higher the number, the harder the aluminum is.

For lawn mowers and other things under 1000 pounds, I would suggest buying a 2500lb capacity axle and using 3" X 1/4" structural channel. Your deck needs to be a minimum of 4' X 6' square, with a more-common size being 4' X 8'. Let's just say you're going to build your trailer 4'W X 8'L. You would need 2 pieces of channel that are 8' Long each and a minimum of 4 pieces of channel that are 42" Long (48" minus 3" per side for a total loss of 6" = 42") and these will be your cross-members set 24" on-center. Turn your two 8'L pieces with the "C" of the channel facing outwards towards your tires; this gives you a flat surface to butt your cross-members up against. Either make yourself a jig out of 2-by-4's or make sure you have a perfectly level concrete shop floor to do your work on. Build your 4'X8' rectangular bed first. Next, you'll need a 3"X3"X1/4"X7'L piece of square tube. The rear end of the tube should mate with the second crossmember and be welded as much as possible (three sides) and then welded to the front cross-member as well. This will leave you with a 60" tongue length (I prefer 5' tongues to 4' tongues, but some folks go with 4-footers...too short in my opinion). You're going to have to bolt your coupler onto your tongue since it will be galvanized as opposed to aluminum. Make sure that your "C" channel cross-members have the opening of the "C" facing the rear of the trailer...this way they won't trap air/dirt/mud/sand as you're driving down the road.

For the deck of the trailer, for a lawnmower, I would suggest using expanded aluminum mesh as opposed to a solid deck. If you're going to try hauling something heavier than a 600 lb - 900 lb lawnmower, I'd go with solid sheet/plate in a minimum of 1/4" thickness.

Hope this gives you some ideas; keep us posted.

~Clint

[openboater]

visit www.trailex.com , they have bolt together Al trailers that should work for your applications.

I've seen them in real life and they look quite respectable.

Plus being a brand name, they are easier to register and resale will be higher than a home made, but you dont have the fun of creating it yourself.

if you do weld one up yourslf, remember to use Stainless for all the bolts.

[aametalmaster]

[QUOTE=openboater;17826]visit www.trailex.com , they have bolt together Al trailers that should work for your applications.
I've seen them in real life and they look quite respectable.
QUOTE]

Trailex is right up the road from me. It was started by my uncle after he left Tee Nee Trailers which he and my grand father had. I welded all the axles for Trailex for 9 years in my dads trailer shop...Bob

[lfagmech]

thanks for all the advise. let me see what i can do now.