oh. oh my, here's basically what i'm building as a teardrop motorcycle trailer, I just need to minimize the weight as much as humanely possible. by the thumbnail alone, this seems like steps 1-15 for me taken care of, thanks a ton!!!
I like your style ,Over Engineered and Over Built ! Bravo on your Aluminum Welding Skills i spent 35 Years professionally works in the Ar hate tual Woodworking Industry at one point i changed Companies and worked with one that did 50% Woodworking and 50%ArchitectualnMetal that was mostly Aluminum those Welders never disappointed inCraftsmansip and Eye pleasing work once i knocked the Skeg off a Outboard Engine of mine ( a Common issue for Boaters ) and the Owner told me to grab what i needed out of the Scrap Bin ,Shape it Prep It and have one of the Welders attach it on the house ! i did and it was one of the prettiest repairs ever ! My Welder. actually did Weld all of the Baltimore InnerHarbor Water Taxi Boats the City use to move people around to all the restaraunts and attractions my Buddy who was with me when the damage happened couldn’t beleive how flawless the repair was after a touch up paint job
Nice job. I am building several 6x12 trailers out of warehouse pallet racking. It will all be bolted together using stainless steel bolts & nylon hex nuts. Stainless steel is cheap when you buy it in bulk. My axles are maintenance free vehicle hubs. They are good for 150,000 miles, and simple to replace. No welding whatsoever. I also managed to connect the leaf springs for easy repairs if needed. I am pretty rough on trailers.
I'm glad that you oriented the axle over the springs rather than under. When I first clicked on the video and you were setting things up, the axle was bowed in the wrong direction. For a lot of viewers, they don't know that the manufacturer puts an arc or bow in the axle and is rated for the weight of the trailer and load. When you get the proper load on it, the tires are straight up and down. When there is no load, the tires ride on the outer edge of the tread and when overloaded, it's on the inner tread. That's why it's important to buy the correct load rating. If not you get horrible tire wear and a very bouncy trailer, but that's usually the worst of it, just bad tire wear. Nice solid build and no welding! ??
You are 100% right. I joked with the warehouse guy when he brought out the axle and I told him that I couldn't except this one because it was bent! Well, befor he could give me a much deserved schooling, I told him that I was joking. The axle is cambered. This trailer has been road tested to over 90mph on I-95 empty with absolutely no bouncing. With it loaded, I did get up to around 80mph with no problems.
That's a great looking trailer. Its almost the spitting image of mine. Luckily, my son in law is one helluva welder and welded all the aluminum frame and tongue as I would have give out drilling all the holes! I actually used a set of aluminum atv ramps as the floor so mud and crap can fall through. I also inset the LEDs into the frame and ran all the wiring inside the frame. Wish I could post a picture!
Why not just use aluminum angle instead of steel? A trailer made with aluminum and steel would not last very long here in Florida. They make dielectric washers for the bolts.
only if it gets wet all the time. just paint it or put a thin sheet of stainless between the 2. galvanic corrosion only an issue in super wet environments.
@@rollandelliott Stainless is also bad for galvanic corrosion. If you look up the table of galvanic corrosion series it is actually worse for Aluminum than regular steel.
What an excellent build! Recycling aluminium and steel as required really helps to keep it affordable and the finished item is extremely strong for a trailer of its type and size. Your really helpful videography and narration will encourage and inspire others to think and do for themselves. Thank you for taking the time and having the consideration to make this interesting, informative and entertaining video.
Mr. Excellent job... You would put half of the trailer companies out of business if you will go on to build these trailers, a really really nice job man
You Sir, have helped me greatly. I can now go and build my own trailer that I wanted to do. Only thing that kept me from doing it was not knowing if it could be bolted together and me not knowing how to weld did not help the situation. I think I can figure out a way to bolt on the axle too. I only need it for moving around light things like drywall, plywood and my bike from time to time nothing too heavy. Thanks for this video.
Don't build an aluminium trailer at all. Especially this way with steel bolts and no spacer tubes welded in so that the bolts don't crush the box sections over time. Bolts will always be loose on this trailer because of section compression. Get a DC gassless mig and flux core wire. Learn some basic welding skills. Steel is cheaper and stronger. My advise front experience.
Thank you for the excellent video. I'm in the process of building a draw bridge and this is very similar to my plan. I'm going to be drilling and bolting with 6063 aluminum as well.
If you didn't want to have a wheel wheel on the side, what you can do is raise your axle to the bottom side of your springs and that it raises it up a little bit, then that way, the tire would be below the flat deck on top
I would have still used lock washers along with the nylon hex nuts. I noticed you did not use nylon nuts where the axle attaches to the leaf spring. You can also drill a hole on the critical bolts and insert a cotter pin for good measure.
No need for that. From what I've seen, if you buy trailer axle parts and you are not supplied nylocks, they are going to be regular lock nuts which do the job just fine. I'm guessing that's what he had. They are essentially nuts that are crushed or crimped in two places to stop them backing off. Very common.
Came here and took one thing away for sure...if you are thinking about welding an AL trailer frame and you just learned how to AL weld, you might want to reconsider. This will no doubt hold up, but the questions are: 1. Is the weight savings and cost increase of using AL with the steel gussets/brackets worth it? 2. As the old saying goes, weakest link...those brackets will degrade and rust well before the AL if the trailer is abandoned in someone's lot (which trailers often do find themselves).
Galvanic corrosion can’t be prevented with paint and only delayed. You need a physical barrier like nylon. A double deck bus builder here made that mistake and a floor fell through and killed a lady because of the corrosion. Bus was only 2 years old. Aluminum rarely shows signs and one day just fails unlike steel
regarding the the reaction of pressure treated lumber to aluminium. It will be greatly reduced if you use a foam sill gasket used for framing houses over concrete
Very helpful, as are the comments here. Considering building my own ultralight camping trailer - think popup tent trailer, but with metal sides (aluminum) - GVW has to be under 1750 lbs. I can't be the first person to want such a thing, right? So far, Google-fu is eluding me.
Do you not have a problem with aluminum and steel contact causing corrosion ? It will reduce the life of the trailer .A non metallic strip between aluminum and steel is used to reduce electrical reaction and corrosion.
Estoy por construir una estructura atornillada con tornillos de 10 cms de largo por 8 mm de espesor. La suma de anchos de los tubos que voy a unir debe ser igual o menor a 9 cms. Es un rectangulo 5.60 x 1.80 metros para un vehiculo de 200 kgs más el peso de 2 adultos y dos niños a 40 kms/hora. Pense en tubos de 2"x2"x2mm a lo largo cada 20 cms con algunas planchuelas de 5 cms dispuestas a lo ancho cada 1 metro. Seria suficiente ? Alguna idea mejor ? gracias saludos.
@@vulcan4998 How can you say that? Welding aluminum will weaken it. The heat will affect the temper of the aluminum, which will result in a loss in yield strength.
6:47 ...one of the challenges aluminum poses. (Some further discussion of this can be found here, for example: www.esabna.com/us/en/education/blog/how-can-i-put-the-stiffness-back-in-my-aluminum-plate-after-welding.cfm )
I was wondering how I would couple my roof rack. I think I know how now. Excellent video, very professional. I don't think I'll have the same problem with 2 types of metal being away from the salt? Many thanks.
Thanks. All of the aluminum you saw in the vid with the exception of the 1/4" angle was reclaimed old scrap that was loaded with galvanized steel bolts and screws. Many of the bolts and screws that were removed seemed to be in really good conditon. A few bolts were really corroded and the aluminum as you saw in the vid, did not seem to be much affected. I don't have any salt down south here. You might consider using some kind of extra coating on your bolts before assembly to combat the salt. Good luck!
How much did it end up weighing? As an engineer, I think you did a good job. The sections are probably unnecessarily large, but if that’s what you had available, that’s what you use. Good job
My only criticism is check how your front spring hanger is welded onto your steel. You might want to look under a few professional made trailers before starting a project like this. I would have preferred a lighter gauge steel C chanel instead of aluminium. Its much stronger without adding much weight.
In the beginning of the video, the axle is incorrect but, that was just to space the frame rails correctly. If you had taken the time to watch the whole video you would have seen at 32:37 is in the upside down position and that the trailer is in the upside down position as well. When the trailer is turned over on its correct side the axles are correct with the crown in the upwards position.
Just thinking, would it work the same in the area of the axle support to use double aluminum 1/4 tubing side by side instead of the steel support that you built? I heard some people say that some stainless steel type of bolts retard corrosion. Since I used to be a sailor, I think that a marine anode would work to prevent corrosion. Great job.
True, Home Studio Adventure, stainless steel does not interact with aluminum (galvanic corrosion) like carbon steel -- it is best to ALWAYS either join stainless to aluminum or separate carbon steel from aluminum with plastic, rubber, or some other non reactive material -- pieces of old mud flaps and inner tubes work well, for example. There are few things as disheartening as finding that telltale white corrosion and a once very light weight, extremely long wearling, and very strong aluminum piece become cracked, brittle, weak, and needing replacement.
So let me get this straight, your not going to weld any of the Aluminum, every aluminum trailer I've ever seen was always welded, & is everything quarter in metal,? ( Meaning the frame )
Everything is 1/4" with the exception of a few pieces of 1/8" angle. In retrospect, It would have been fine to just use 1/8" wall rectangular tube. I over built it. The aluminum shown is 6063-T5 which is weldable. Some aluminums are not weldable. I went with bolting instead of welding because this trailer is being used for long distance hauling and I did not want to have an aluminum weld failures out in the boonies. Aluminum welds are prone to cracking and finding someone out in the boonies who knows how to weld aluminum might be expensive and time consuming. Carrying my tig welder, argon bottle and a generator big enough to run it is just not practical. It is much easier to replace a broken bolt on the side of the road than doing some tig welding. And FYI, I have logged over 3500 miles on this thing with some heavy loads and no problems.
@@homesteadprepper thanks for the reply. In the perfect world it would be nice to avoid all steel brackets and fixtures. I live in the rust belt of southern ontario. They heap on the salt to the roads in winter
I have several fortuitous dumpsters that I have permission to remove scrap from. It works out very well for both of us because they are charged for the weight of their refuse. So the more I remove, the less they are charged. Btw, it has taken over 10 years of collecting to make the trailer you saw in the vid. Usually, most companies are very generous with their waste if you just ask.
Thanks. Oh yes, most certainly! And with all the nightmare stories I have heard recently about how new campers failing due to crappy/cheap factory builds, you might just be better off building your own out of aluminum.
@@homesteadprepper Great, thank you might save this for later when building the trailer for a camper. I'm building me a Popup trailer, that is lightweight & can be hauled around by an Electric Bike lol, sounds silly but everything has to be 100% self efficient
@@homesteadprepper Sure, not sure when I gotta save money for the project though. I was thinking something on the lines of 6x8, that way it has room for like a shower n stuff like that. Was thinking of buying an Elf bike but they haven't responded about a custom order. They've made Uhaul Bikes, & made trucks out of bikes. Was thinking about making a 3door Chevy truck out of that, but they haven't responded. Shucks, would've been somethin cool.
The whole point of aluminum is that the weight of the aluminum is lighter in comparison to other metals. Which means, it could be hauled by vehicles that aren't meant to carry heavy loads.
As far as I know just different welding wire spool inside the welder, probably different temperature depending on the thickness of the metal.... Also as you weld aluminum the tip heats up as you go so you'll have to speed up depending how long the weld is or you'll burn through.
...warning, William Mickelson, you'll want to research these issues -- aluminum has broken many hearts -- not only mine! ...for example, because aluminum is so soft, thin filler metal wires (.045" and under), the sizes compatible with smaller wire feeder welders like the one used in this awesome project, will bend and spall inside the liner, bird's nesting near the drive roll inside the wire feeder and never making the journey to the contact tip at the business end of the gun. (Yes, they do sell teflon liners [typically liners are stainless], but they unfortunately won't completely solve the problem ).... so, when using a wire feeder with aluminum, the ductility/softness issue is best be addressed by using a spool gun and small spools of aluminum welding wire (which are housed at the special gun itself, not in the wire feeder unit [look it up]), but, spool guns are not cheap. Next is the problem posed by the extreme thermal conductivity of aluminum: it requires a lot more voltage than carbon and stainless steels to keep everything hot enough to flow, so a larger constant voltage machine (look it up) may be needed, and, thus greater input amperage to power that machine. ...other issues you'll want to research are: (1) prep ( the thin aluminum oxide "skin" actually has a significantly higher melting point than the "meat" beneath it, so you want to remove the oxide (at the weld joint area) either mechanically with abrasives or chemically with a weak acid solution [readily available at your local welding supplier]); (2) shielding gas mixture; and (3) filler wire choice.... A cheaper way to get going would be TIG rather than MIG, except that (as I found out recently) 180 amps a.c. and under isn't always enough when dealing with large weldments, joining what would otherwise be appropriately "thin" pieces (3/8" and under) due to the aforementioned thermal conductivity sucking your heat away. Finally, of course, when welding Aluminum, whether TIGing or MIGing, you'll need to work indoors so the wind doesn't carry your shielding gas away. So, all and all, it's very doable, but, compared to carbon and stainless steel, welding aluminum requires some additional equipment, info., and planning, that's all. Simply switching your filler metal roll may not give you the results you're hoping for. ...any reaserch you do will be its own reward, though, for once you are able to weld aluminum, you'll be in very high demand! Wishing you unending success in all things!
Your design is sturdy. The galvanic corrosion will begin to show soon though. There is a product on the market that makes as simple as soldering to weld alluminum. I still would have used all the angles for reinforcement at the joints.
Good point but I think the builder answered the welding issue very well ( just a few comments before yours); I truly hope you and I are wrong about the builder's choice to not use stainless hardware though! ...I curse that white dust!
Your bolts will forever be coming loose. Especially where the cross beam brackets meet the main beams. (Anywhere a bolt gows through a hollow section.) The aluninium rectangular section will squash in with use. And tgen the bolts will chew out the aluminium once there is any movement in the joint. You would need to use crush tubes in any hollow section where a fastener pass through it.
homesteadprepper 2 days ago I appreciate your input but, with over 8500 miles on this aluminum trailer, I am just NOT having these issues. I do believe that would be true with really thin wall aluminum, this trailer is constructed out of 2x5x1/4". ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-UlfyZil7y-M.html
yes. I would agree that crush tubes would be needed. I cannot imagine that it would be possible to get the bolts tight enough without squeezing the rectangular tube.
What is excellent build! But I don't think you will ever be on an Indy pit crew! LOL! Seriously great job! I won't question how much weight do you think you saved compared to a All Steel trailer? Same size obviously
I didn't really save a whole lot of weight on this. It was way over built. If I build another aluminum trailer, I will use 2x5x1/8" instead of the 1/4" that I used on this one. Typically you can build a trailer that is as strong as a steel one but, @ 15% lighter. This trailer came in at 680#. Using 1/8 wall and less cross bracing would have brought it down to @ 500-550#.
@@homesteadprepper my voice recognition is terrible on my phone. My whole comment made no sense! I was trying to say it's an excellent build. And it looks like you saved a decent amount of weight by using aluminum. And I was busting chops about being on an Indy pit crew for something or other!. LOL but it really was a great video
I would use 2x5x1/8" instead of 2x5x1/4" next time around. I would use the 1/4" wall if I was building a larger trailer. This trailer is really over built for its 3500# capacity axle. ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-UlfyZil7y-M.html
@@homesteadprepperI actually am surprised to see this bolted together - BUT I have to say - ingenious !!!! I don't know if you know but I know for sure that and HOW MUCH aluminum loses strength when welded ... the heat treat is being destroyed, the artificial aging of the material is being destroyed .... so it can actually be very smart to bolt stuff instead of weld stuff in certain cases... a very interesting video
Zila Thank you for your input. I did not weld this thing for 3 reasons. #1 Partially for the reasons you stated. #2 If a weld were to break or come apart on the road, it would be very difficult to have it repaired. #3 And mostly because my aluminum welding leaves a lot to be desired! Btw, I would love to attend one of your welding classes for aluminum!
You're kidding about how you centered the axle, right? You really just took half the diameter and marked that, then used the square to line it up, right?
