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Strength

Engineering: Welding Trailer Spring Brackets

June 15, 2021September 24, 2020 by Mechanic
Welding Trailer Spring Brackets

There is some disagreement in trailer building about how to weld-on trailer spring brackets (also known as spring hangers).   Some of you have sent questions about which techniques are best, especially

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Categories Mechanics Tips Tags Axle, Force, Safety, Spring, Strength, Welding 7 Comments

What Bolts For DIY? – Bolts 101

October 13, 2021November 12, 2019 by Mechanic
What Bolts for DIY?

Bolts are an amazingly simple yet complex fastening method.  They’re used everywhere so mostly we take them for granted, but why are there so many different kinds?  And what bolts should I use?

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Categories Mechanics Tips Tags Best Practices, Bolts, Safety, Steel, Strength 5 Comments

How To Choose Bolts

January 21, 2023November 12, 2019 by Mechanic
Understanding Bolt Choice

This is Page 2, continuing the Bolts 101 article.  Here we discuss choices for bolts for an application.  The previous post, Page 1 of Bolts 101, gives a ton of background info, so we recommend reading that first,

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Categories Mechanics Tips Tags Best Practices, Bolts, Safety, Steel, Strength 1 Comment

How To Make A Trailer Longer

December 29, 2021May 11, 2019 by Mechanic
How To Make A Trailer Longer

Sometimes I wish my trailer was longer.  Is there an easy way to make a trailer longer?  Is that even possible?  And, what are the limits

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Categories Adventures Tags Aluminum, Customize, DIY, Force, Steel, Strength Leave a comment

Gantry Crane Failure Modes

October 3, 2022April 17, 2019 by Mechanic
Gantry Crane Failure Modes

There are a lot of ways to abuse a crane.  We won’t go into those, but let’s do take a minute on crane failures and what they look like. 

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Categories Adventures Tags Cost, DIY, Gantry Crane, Safety, Strength Leave a comment

Practical Safety With A Crane

November 9, 2022April 2, 2019 by Mechanic
Spring Foot for Gantry Crane Safety

Nothing ruins a pleasant day quite like a goose egg on your head, or a throbbing finger pinch.  Avoiding those things (and, of course, the much more disastrous potential events) is the context of this gantry crane safety article.

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Categories Mechanics Tips Tags Force, Gantry Crane, Plans, Safety, Strength Leave a comment

How To Make A Trailer Wider

May 26, 2023March 1, 2019 by Mechanic
Ways to Make a Trailer Wider

So, I have this trailer, but it needs it to be bigger.  Is it possible to make a trailer wider?  Can I make it wider to carry more?  And, what are the limits or problems with making it wider?

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Categories Adventures Tags Build, Strength, Trailer, Welding 3 Comments

Choosing The Best Trailer Frame Material

March 4, 2022February 11, 2019 by Mechanic
Analysis of Trailer Frame Material in Main Beam

What materials should I use for building my trailer frame?  It’s a common question with strong biases for Rectangular Tube or I-Beam or C-Channel.  Also, choices of Aluminum versus Steel. 

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Categories Mechanics Tips Tags Analysis, Calculation, Steel, Strength, Tongue, Trailer 14 Comments

Six Beam Shapes To Build With, +1

September 1, 2021February 5, 2019 by Mechanic
Common DIY Material and Beam Shapes

Whether you’re an experienced DIY builder or brand new to the party, there are often quandry’s about beam shapes.  Well, I need to do this, but I only have material like that.  I’ll just use it 

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Categories Mechanics Tips Tags Analysis, Calculation, Steel, Strength, Tongue, Trailer 2 Comments

Trailer Axles 101 – What You Need To Know

May 23, 2023November 21, 2018 by Mechanic
Trailer Axles - Springs - Wheels - and Tires

I’ll just drop by the parts store and grab an axle . . . . Well, trailer axles are not quite that simple, but knowing a few important details, we can certainly get the right one.  Here’s a quick guide to trailer axles

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Categories Mechanics Tips Tags Axle, Calculation, Spring, Strength, Tire, Torsion, Trailer 14 Comments

Axle-Less Trailer Suspension

May 23, 2023September 18, 2018 by Mechanic
Timbren Axle-Less Trailer Suspension

Customer Question:  “What do you think about the Axle-Less trailer suspension?  Is it good?”  Can I use it with the Mechanical Elements trailer plans?  . . .  You ask (actually a few of you are asking) and pointing to

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Categories Mechanics Tips Tags Analysis, Axle, Strength, Torsion 6 Comments

Tips To Strengthen A Trailer Frame

November 14, 2022July 21, 2018 by Mechanic
Gussets At Beam Intersections On A Trailer Frame

I have a great trailer, but it feels a bit flexy, maybe even rickety . . . How can I strengthen a trailer frame?  How can I stiffen it?

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Categories Mechanics Tips Tags Force, Strength, Tips, Trailer, Welding 17 Comments

Increasing Trailer Load Capacity

February 11, 2023June 6, 2018 by Mechanic
Ways to

Have a trailer that you want to repurpose?  Or a lightweight trailer that needs a little beef?  Is it practical to strengthen an existing trailer?  Sure, there are several ways to increase trailer load capacity,

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Categories Mechanics Tips Tags Cost, DIY, Steel, Strength, Trailer 3 Comments
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