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Tips

Trailer Aerodynamics

March 22, 2023March 10, 2023 by Mechanic
Aerodynamic Trailer Drag

What makes a vehicle slice through the wind easier?  How does a trailer fit in the mix?  The science is complex, but there are some good concepts of trailer aerodynamics that are important to know.  Is there anything I can do to improve my rig?

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Categories Adventures Tags Calculation, Design, Tips, Trailer Leave a comment

Adjustable Hitch? Or, Adjustable Ball Mount?

September 26, 2022July 21, 2022 by Mechanic
Adjustable Hitch Options

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?

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Categories Solutions! Tags Hitch, Safety, Strength, Tips, Tongue, Trailer Leave a comment

Tips To Set A Trailer Tongue At The Frame Center

July 4, 2022July 4, 2022 by Mechanic
How To Set A Trailer Tongue Central

When building a trailer, there are a bunch of things we want to get right.   Here is one.  “How To set a trailer tongue properly, and central on the frame“.  Intrinsically this is easy to grasp, but maybe not as easy to accomplish.  Here are some tricks

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Categories Mechanics Tips Tags Best Practices, Build, Measurements, Tips, Tongue, Trailer Leave a comment

Trailer Towing Tips

October 4, 2022April 15, 2022 by Mechanic
Trailer Towing Tips

As we plan and eventually set out for the many adventures this year, let’s plan for a great trip.  Here are some good towing tips to make it all go much smoother.

For RV’s or any other trailer, the tips are

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Categories Adventures Tags Safety, Stability, Tips, Trailer Leave a comment

Are Your Trailer Plans Certified?

April 6, 2022December 22, 2021 by Mechanic
DOT Approved or Certified Plans

This is a great question we get a lot, in many variations.  Are your plans DOT approved?  Are the plans Stamped?  We think it’s great to know the level of plans you get when you buy, so asking about certified plans is a great place to start.  However, this question

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Categories Plans Info Tags Best Practices, Build, Safety, Testing, Tips, Trailer, Wires Leave a comment

Trailer Hitch Class Ratings

October 3, 2022October 22, 2021 by Mechanic
Trailer Hitch and Drawbar Classes

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

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Categories Mechanics Tips Tags Best Practices, Hitch, Safety, Strength, Tips, Tongue Leave a comment

How Often Should You Tighten Trailer Wheel Bolts?

October 10, 2022August 10, 2021 by Mechanic
Trailer Wheel Bolts

A friend asked me this question, along with the companion of “How Tight?”  The last thing we want is to lose a wheel — because it will not only delay our trip, but a wheel coming loose can do serious damage — to us, our stuff, or maybe

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Categories Mechanics Tips Tags Bolts, Safety, Tips, Tire, Trailer Leave a comment

When To Replace Trailer Tires

June 12, 2021March 16, 2021 by Mechanic
Replace Trailer Tires

Don’t mess around with your safety or unexpected trip interruptions.  The Best Reason to replace old or worn trailer tires is personal sanity, because who wants to deal with it on the side of the road?

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Categories Mechanics Tips Tags Best Practices, Safety, Tips, Tire 1 Comment

Get Thread Tapping Straight

December 31, 2022August 26, 2020 by Mechanic
Thread Tapping Straight

A Tap and Die set is a near must for a DIY fab shop.  While the thread creating functions are pretty easy to visualize, sometimes getting the tread to start straight and run true is a different matter.

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Categories Mechanics Tips Tags Bolts, DIY, Drilling, Measurements, Tips, Tools 1 Comment

Do It Yourself _ Is Not _ All By Yourself

June 18, 2021December 27, 2018 by Mechanic
Do-It-Together

DIY is the common acronym for Do It Yourself, but there’s a misnomer in the expression.  In some things doing it by yourself is awesome, for sure, yet DIY does not mean

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Categories Adventures, Solutions! Tags Build, Cost, Safety, Solutions!, Tips Leave a comment

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

There’s More To It – Mounting Trailer Axle Springs

June 19, 2021June 14, 2018 by Mechanic
There's More To Just Mounting Trailer Axle Springs

As with many things, there’s a lot more to mounting trailer axle springs than first meets the eye.  Here are 2 tips to make your trailer frame stronger.

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Categories Mechanics Tips Tags Analysis, Axle, Spring, Tips, Trailer, Welding 19 Comments

How To Setup A Trailer Frame Build

May 2, 2022February 16, 2018 by Mechanic
Secure and Flat Trailer Frame Setup

Just how do you setup for building a trailer frame?  Seems simple enough, just layout all the frame members and start welding, Right?  Well, mostly, but there are some additional steps that will help it turn out better.

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Categories Mechanics Tips Tags Build, Fixture, Foundation, Tips, Trailer, Welding 2 Comments

Convenient Trailer Tongue Hinge For Storage

December 31, 2022December 29, 2017 by Mechanic
Storage Tip With Trailer Tongue Hinge

Need to store your trailer in a smaller space?  Consider adding a trailer tongue hinge like these.  It’s helpful, for sure, but has some definite things to consider.

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Categories Mechanics Tips Tags Chain, Customize, Hitch, Safety, Tips, Tongue, Trailer 2 Comments

Trailer Build: Where Does The Axle Go?

July 13, 2021November 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 62 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

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

Save Big Buying DIY Project Nuts and Bolts

June 26, 2021January 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 Leave a comment
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