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Trailer

When Does My Trailer Need Brakes?

May 26, 2023November 13, 2021 by Mechanic
Trailer Axles with Brakes

There are laws that say when a trailer must have brakes.  In most places within the USA, when the trailer total capacity is over 3000 lbs, trailer brakes are required.  That’s all well and good, but we all know that laws are an ignorant way of covering the least

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

Small Trailer Instead Of A Truck?

October 11, 2022October 6, 2021 by Mechanic
Trailer Instead of a Truck

That sounds like a good idea.  Right?  There are a million good reasons to need the capacity of a pickup truck, but actually, very few people use a Truck as a Truck that often.  Can we get the function we need without all the weight and wasting fuel?

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Categories Solutions! Tags Analysis, Cost, DIY, Trailer 1 Comment

Trailer Sway – Video Review & Discussion

September 25, 2021 by Mechanic
Trailer Sway Video Review

Understanding Trailer Dynamics like Sway is a really important.  If you look for it, there are many articles and some great YouTube videos discussing and demonstrating the many factors and issues.

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Categories Adventures Tags Best Practices, Safety, Stability, sway, Trailer, Video Leave a comment

Why No Plans For Aluminum Trailers?

March 4, 2022August 23, 2021 by Mechanic
Example 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. 

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Categories Plans Info Tags Aluminum, Cost, Plans, Steel, Strength, Trailer 2 Comments

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

From Cheap Kit to Improved Trailer

March 11, 2023July 26, 2021 by Mechanic
Harbor Freight Improvement

You’ve seen them, the inexpensive bolt-together Harbor Freight trailer kits.  While they pack a lot of function, they unfortunately are often something like a rattle trap.  (Not always, of course.)  While they have a cheap rap, they sell a lot

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Categories Customer Stories Tags Customer Story, Customize, DIY, Trailer Leave a comment

Bent Tongue — Judging A Weak Trailer

February 11, 2023July 5, 2021 by Mechanic
Bent Trailer Tongue

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.

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Categories Adventures Tags Analysis, Best Practices, Customer Story, Failure, Safety, Strength, Tongue, Trailer Leave a comment

Good Ways To Shorten Trailer Safety Chain

December 31, 2022April 20, 2021 by Mechanic
Need To Shorten The 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?

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Categories Mechanics Tips Tags Best Practices, Chain, Safety, Strength, Trailer 2 Comments

Is Custom Trailer Design Right For You?

May 30, 2023March 26, 2021 by Mechanic
Custom Trailer Design

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,

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Categories Plans Info, Solutions! Tags Analysis, Build, Cost, Customize, DIY, Plans, Quality, Safety, Strength, Trailer 1 Comment

Dangling By A Single Trailer Chain

December 31, 2022March 22, 2021 by Mechanic
Saved by 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 –

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Categories News Tags Best Practices, Chain, Safety, Stability, Strength, Trailer 3 Comments

How Much Can I Tow With My Vehicle?

October 6, 2022March 3, 2021 by Mechanic
How Much Can I Tow?

There are 3 main factors with how much you can tow.  While it all seems simple, digging in makes it a little less clear.  Yes, it’s easy to look at the simple rating numbers, 

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Categories Mechanics Tips Tags Limits, Safety, Stability, Towing, Trailer 2 Comments

Wide and Wider Tiny House Trailer Plans

October 25, 2021February 13, 2021 by Mechanic
Wide and Wider Tiny House Trailer Plans

What if . . . You want to live Tiny, but not “that” tiny?  Sure, there are a lot of attractive elements with living Tiny, but to some, the 8 foot width is just too tight.  If that’s you, go with a wider tiny house built with these new trailer plans!

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Categories Plans Info Tags Analysis, Plans, Tiny House, Trailer, Triple Leave a comment

On The Road – Rattle Traps We Call Trailers

May 3, 2023February 2, 2021 by Mechanic
A Scary Trailer Along The Road

Are you ever scared by what you see in tow rolling along down the highway?  I am often surprised at the contraptions that pass for legal.  They’re funny, but not.  Anyway, this page is for you to help make a collection of photos for a few good laughs — Scary trailers on the road.

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Categories Adventures Tags Customer Story, DIY, Safety, Stability, Trailer Leave a comment

Customer Story – A Unique Trailer Build

May 4, 2023January 16, 2021 by Mechanic
A Unique Trailer Project

There is always something to learn when looking at someone’s DIY project.  This customer story about a unique trailer build is no exception.

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Categories Customer Stories Tags Customer Story, Customize, DIY, Trailer, Welding Leave a comment

Where and How to Attach Safety Chains

December 31, 2022January 6, 2021 by Mechanic
Attach Safety Chain With One Bolt

What are the best ways to attach safety chains on a trailer?  That’s a simple question without a single best answer.  Don’t you hate it when the answer starts with “It depends . . . “?  Unfortunately, it does depend on many other things

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Categories Mechanics Tips Tags Best Practices, Chain, Hitch, Safety, Trailer, Welding 8 Comments

Customer Story – A Trailer Rebuild

May 4, 2023December 2, 2020 by Mechanic
Trailer Conversion Customer Story

An excellent customer story about a complete trailer rebuild.  We talk about it once in awhile, and we give some advice, but this is the first customer story that is truly about doing a full rebuild and reformat.

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Categories Customer Stories Tags Customer Story, Customize, DIY, Trailer, Welding Leave a comment

Introducing Plans For Deck-Over Trailers

March 4, 2022November 26, 2020 by Mechanic
New Deck-Over Trailers Plans

More new plans, and even more coming.  You’ve been asking for robust Deck-Over Trailers, so that’s what we’re working on.  Now they are here, and we’re not talking about another “Me Too”.

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Categories News, Plans Info Tags Analysis, Build, Deck-Over, Plans, Quality, Tandem, Trailer 2 Comments

Wheels And Tires For Your Trailer

August 23, 2021November 7, 2020 by Mechanic
What Tires For My Trailer?

There are a million tires out there with a ton of classifications and designations.  What tires do I choose for my trailer?  That is not a silly question at all.

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Categories Mechanics Tips Tags Axle, Best Practices, Safety, Tire, Trailer Leave a comment

Tricks To Weigh Heavy Things

November 9, 2022June 18, 2020 by Mechanic
How To Weigh A Trailer

Do you need to weigh something really heavy but don’t have access to an industrial scale?  How can I weigh heavy things — like a trailer frame — without a special huge or super heavy duty scale?  Answer:  With some physics and a little math.

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Categories Mechanics Tips Tags Calculation, DIY, Force, Measurements, Trailer, Video Leave a comment

A Tiny House Size Quandary

November 9, 2022June 11, 2020 by Mechanic
Living Tiny In A Bigger Way

OK, so you want to Live Tiny.  That’s awesome.  What can you do without?  What do you really want to have?  And how about that claustrophobia?

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Categories Adventures Tags Build, Cost, Plans, Quality, Tiny House, Trailer Leave a comment
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