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Adventures | Customer Stories | Mechanics Tips | News | Plans Info | Solutions!

Mechanics Tips

Articles  >  Mechanics Tips

We can all use Tips for Building, Planning and Fabricating with DIY Projects.  Below is a list of articles with insights for success with our plans, details for expediting construction, and general items for success when you do it yourself.  If you have something to contribute, please let us know.  If you want to see tips on a certain topic, let us know that too.  This is the Do-It-Yourself portal, and these tips are for you!  Enjoy!  –  See all the Mechanic’s Posts here.

Trailer Build: Where Does The Axle Go?

May 23, 2023November 24, 2017 by Mechanic
Learn To Calculate the Axle Position

Trailer axle position?  This is a good question.  Unfortunately, there is some popular, but misleading information around.  So, how do you know proper trailer axle position?  Here’s the whole answer,

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Categories Mechanics Tips Tags Analysis, Axle, Build, DIY, Force, Tiny House, Tips, Trailer 64 Comments

The Low-Down On Twisting Safety Chains

December 31, 2022October 25, 2017 by Mechanic
Twisting Trailer Safety Chains

Should you twist trailer safety chains to make them shorter?  Certainly twisting them reduces the length so they don’t drag the ground.  That part is good.  However, there are big issues with twisting safety chains?

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Categories Mechanics Tips Tags Chain, Force, Hitch, Safety, Trailer 10 Comments

Trailer Safety Chains?

December 31, 2022October 24, 2017 by Mechanic
Trailer Hitch Safety Chains

Do they accomplish the intended purpose?  Or are trailer safety chains just a legal pain in the rear?  Maybe the better question to ask, since we’re required to use them:  “How do we make the chains more effective?“

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Categories Mechanics Tips Tags Force, Hitch, Safety, Steel, Tips, Trailer 5 Comments

The Right Tools – Metalworking Files

June 23, 2021September 4, 2017 by Mechanic
Metal Working Files In Action

Often misused and not very well understood — so goes the life of many metalworking files.  Yet, they still do things other tools can’t.  That makes them a tool worth knowing!

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Categories Mechanics Tips Tags Build, Cutting, Tips, Tools, Video Leave a comment

Comparison: Steel or Aluminum – Part 2

October 8, 2022July 21, 2017 by Mechanic
Gantry Crane Failure Modes

In the debate about Steel or Aluminum for beams of trailer frames and gantry cranes, there is one big piece we hear less about.  An important part of the equation, for sure, is the property of Elasticity . . . . What?

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Categories Mechanics Tips Tags Aluminum, Analysis, Force, Gantry Crane, Steel 10 Comments

Compare: Steel vs. Aluminum Trailer Frames & Beams

August 22, 2023July 21, 2017 by Mechanic
Aluminum Trailer Frame Underside

Aluminum is such a great material.  It’s light, strong, and looks sweet to boot.  So, why is there a debate about Aluminum Trailer Frames comparing to others like steel?  Or comparing for beams like with gantry cranes?

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Categories Mechanics Tips Tags Aluminum, Analysis, Gantry Crane, Steel, Trailer 10 Comments

What’s Wrong With This Picture?

October 3, 2022July 15, 2017 by Mechanic
Example of DIY Trailer Construction Mistake

Learning good trailer construction by examining bad is a great way to focus on details.  This photo shows 4 points of “less that careful thought” in the way the trailer is built.  Can you pick them out?

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Categories Mechanics Tips Tags Axle, DIY, Safety, Spring, Tandem, Welding Leave a comment

Force, Displacement & Bloody Knuckles

June 24, 2021June 22, 2017 by Mechanic
Applied Force vs Movement With Shop Tools

Is there anything more annoying (painful and frustrating) than busting a knuckle when working on things in the shop?  To many of us, blood sacrifices are just part of getting a project done, but it doesn’t have to be that way.  This article is NOT about iron gloves or

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Categories Mechanics Tips Tags Force, Press, Safety, Tools Leave a comment

The Little Things Make All The Difference

June 25, 2021May 10, 2017 by Mechanic
Failure -- Trailer Hitch / Unhitch Crash

The trailer hitch and surrounding hardware are OH so important — with safety as the priority.  Here are examples illustrating one success and one horrific failure.

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Categories Mechanics Tips Tags Best Practices, Hitch, Safety, Tips, Trailer 2 Comments

Pre-Stressed Steel Fabrication

June 25, 2021April 24, 2017 by Mechanic
Welding Pre-Stressed Steel Fabrication

The concepts of pre-stressed steel fabrication have been around for ages, but they are not often applied for simple welded structures like trailer frames or crane stands.

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Categories Mechanics Tips Tags Build, DIY, Steel, Tips, Welding 1 Comment

Choosing Tandem Axles (and Triples)

May 4, 2023March 6, 2017 by Mechanic
Wire Routing and Covering for Trailer Tandem Axle Brakes

It all rides on the trailer axles, so get them right.  Here are some common technologies (and misnomers) for tandem axles and other multi-axle trailers.

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Categories Mechanics Tips Tags Axle, Spring, Tandem, Torsion, Trailer, Triple 12 Comments

Trailer Axles: Use Springs? Or Torsion Axle

May 23, 2023March 2, 2017 by Mechanic
Trailer Axle Choices

In the discussion of trailer axle leaf springs versus a torsion axle, let’s put some engineering behind the debate.  I don’t want to change opinions, but I would like to offer a practical perspective.

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Categories Mechanics Tips Tags Analysis, Axle, Spring, Torsion, Trailer 26 Comments

Save Big Buying DIY Project Nuts and Bolts

July 15, 2023January 28, 2017 by Mechanic
Nuts and Bolts Project Fasteners

Ever wonder why fasteners like nuts and bolts are so expensive?  You would think something so standard and manufactured in such high volumes would be cheap, but in most places, they’re actually pretty expensive.  Why?

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Categories Mechanics Tips Tags Bolts, Build, DIY, Tips 1 Comment

Creative & Cheap, That’s How To Fixture

March 9, 2022January 5, 2017 by Mechanic
Drill Fixture Zoom In

Oh, I need to drill a bunch of holes, all the same, in 8 parts.  What a pain!  And, I need to cut these other 5 pieces all to match.  What a hassle to measure, mark, and cut each one! Is there a good way to make the job easier? 

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Categories Mechanics Tips Tags DIY, Drilling, Steel, Tips Leave a comment

DIY – 7 Ways To Cut Steel

November 15, 2022December 31, 2016 by Mechanic
DIY Steel Cutting Options

So, you need to cut steel for a DIY project (like a crane or trailer).  Easy, Right?  What’s the best, easiest, cheapest, fastest way of cutting steel?  There must be dozens of ways, so, the better question might be

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Categories Mechanics Tips Tags Build, Cutting, DIY, Steel, Tips 8 Comments

Trailer Tires? or Automotive Tires?

October 25, 2021November 17, 2016 by Mechanic
Trailer Tire Comparison

The topic of trailer tires has come up a hundred times.  Why can’t I use automotive tires on my trailer?  That’s a fair question, so let’s explore it.

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Categories Mechanics Tips Tags DIY, Tips, Tire, Trailer 3 Comments

The Twisted Truth

June 26, 2021November 11, 2016 by Mechanic
DIY Drilling Steel

Need a hole?  Many of our plans require drilled holes, so here are some Tips about drilling in metal, like steel, as well as in wood, and other materials.

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Categories Mechanics Tips Tags Drilling, Steel, Tips, Tools Leave a comment
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