“I’m building a new trailer and I’m wondering about what deck material to use? So many choices, all with various advantages and disadvantages. I probably don’t even know all the available choices. How do I decide?”
Strength
Rigid Mount – Trailer Axle Without Suspension?
What happens if you hard mount an axle on your trailer – without a suspension? The question has come up a few times, and it’s worth talking about. There are some distinct advantages of eliminating the suspension, but there are also some pitfalls.
What Is The Best Trailer Security?
How many trailers are stolen each year? That’s a question worth pondering, because if you put a lot of sweat and love into building a great trailer . . . . if it disappears, it’s heartbreaking. We don’t like to think about such things, but it puts trailer security
Simple Chain Anchor System – Free Plans
Free Plans for an adjustably permanent Trailer Safety Chain Anchor system. It’s easy to build, easy to install, absolutely solid, yet it allows chain length adjustments fairly easy. The goal is making the trailer safety chains very secure, while also
Selecting A Crane Winch For Lifting
There are dozens of ways to lift with a crane. Chain falls are popular. Come-alongs are another common method. There are also a variety of winches – from the hand crank to an electric crane winch for lifting. Is one better than another?
Trailer Design – Meeting Your Goals
It looks easy. Trailer design is not like building a rocket, but it’s also not as easy as putting a few pieces of metal together. Good trailer design includes meeting goals and ending up with something that will tow well, and perform to your needs.
Adjustable Hitch? Or, Adjustable Ball Mount?
Over the past few years the Adjustable Hitch and/or Adjustable Ball Mount have become quite popular. They are great for adapting to a wide variety of tow vehicle heights and trailer tongue heights. But, which should you use? Does it make any difference?
Trailer Suspension Mounting – Misdirection !!
Shopping online is both a boon and a bust. It’s great access to a wide variety of components, but it’s a bummer when misleading info causes extra work and frustration. That brings us to this Customer Story of misguided
Car Hauler Trailers — New Trailer Plans
Where do you get plans for true, tough, Car Hauler trailers. After a ton of market and product study, we are stepping in and stepping up. Our niche is engineering better plans for DIY, so read on to learn about our approach to Equipment Transport
Car Hauler Design – Trailer Research
Prior to starting new plans, we do research to understand the landscape, then look for opportunity to improve and make a better product. That is certainly the case with our upcoming Car Hauler & Equipment Transport Trailer design. New plans are coming soon.
Easy Gantry Crane Lift Conversion
The beauty of a gantry crane is the beam overhead, and the clear access for lifting things. To make them more useful, telescoping legs put the top beam at a height appropriate for the job — in your garage, or outside, or wherever. One of the challenges
Trailer Hitch Class Ratings
As a convenient way to help with safety, trailer hitches, balls, and receivers have categories or load rating groups called classes. Each trailer hitch class has ratings for how much it will carry. A look at the ratings for each component
I-Beam Shape Choices: I, S, W, M or H?
When is an I-Beam not really an “I” Beam? While it’s common to use the generic term “I-Beam” for any beam with an I shape section, there are actually variations with different letter designations. And, there are advantages for the various shapes
Why No Plans For Aluminum Trailers?
This question comes up often — because there are not many good plans for aluminum trailers out there. We have great trailer plans, but none for aluminum. Why? As one of our Frequently Asked Questions, this one deserves a good answer.
Bent Tongue — Judging A Weak Trailer
When buying a trailer, how can we decide if it’s well built, or just cheap? How do you know if it’s strong or weak? While there are always tale-tale signs, we’ll use this example of a trailer with a bent tongue to illustrate.
Who Says Welding Doesn’t Affect Strength?
I love seeing failures. Not that anyone wants things to fail, of course, we always try to make things that last. However, when a failure pops up, I love to look it over and understand the “how” and the “why”. It’s an excellent opportunity for learning, and I love to learn.
Good Ways To Shorten Trailer Safety Chain
In previous articles we discuss the importance of trailer safety chain length. If the chains are too long, what can you do? Yeah, odds are you won’t need them, but what if you do? Long chains can complicate things quickly, so how can we safely shorten a chain?
Is Custom Trailer Design Right For You?
Sometimes looking for the right plans for the trailer you need is a needle in a haystack. Every site has something, but not exact. What’s next? When you really need a particular trailer that others don’t offer,
Dangling By A Single Trailer Chain
If you ever doubt the sanity of safety chains, then see this example of where a single trailer chain literally saved lives. The story is amazing from all angles –
Are Aluminum Trailers Good or Bad?
I’ve heard different opinions, so let’s look again at the Engineering and clear up some facts. Maybe we can also debunk a few misconceptions.