Trailer on the cheap

[fhhuber506771]

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[edwin1]

Yep! It works. Heres mine. Fully loaded weight is less than 500lbs. Can hold 2 to 3 airplanes. Tow car is a 2005 honda civic. My other tow truck is in the back ground (F350 dually, 4x4, desiel, 410 rear axle). Couldnt afford to drive it the 72 mile round trip to the field anymore. Build thread is on RCU.
Edwin

[fhhuber506771]

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[hihptsi]

its a good trailor ive had mine for 2 years now and have put over 2000 miles on it hauling two dirtbikes totaling around 450 lbs plus another 100 lbs in fuel etc.make sure you use good synthetic grease for the wheel bearings and pack them good.i used some of those 'hook n loops'(i dunno what you call these) inplace of some of the bolts on the side wich gives you a good place to hook ratchet straps to.if you need a picture i can take one for you.

good luck on the build.
Walter

[fritzdecat]

I would use a light ply and then epxoy coat it like a plane

Aluminum Skin is going to cost you much $$ Then you will need to buy clico pins rivits etc

Keep it Cheap

[edwin1]

I just used 1/4" luanne wood and painted with Behr paint. Been a year so far. Doing good. Its the yellow one in post #2.
Edwin

[fhhuber506771]

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[fritzdecat]

You might consider making a wood box then doing the weatherproofing on top of that.

I have seen several that have been done this way. They were in a popop configuration with a hydraulic arm on the lid.
That would be real easy of you could create the box "skeleton" out of 1" steel tubing with a mig welder first and then build your box by bolting/screwing to it.
Weatherproof the lid juncture and then spend the rest of our money on sealing the wood.

Mark my words if you have not tried to skin a small trailerwith aluminum before you will waste money learning it was the wrong option

Hope you post your total progress from start to finish

Good Luck

[dlabrie]

I just used 1/4" luanne wood and painted with Behr paint. Been a year so far. Doing good. Its the yellow one in post #2.
Edwin

Great Job! How is it framed? How does it open up?
David

[Thermalin]

Eventually.. if you stick with the hobby and get larger models... you're going to start thinking about a trailer...

Trying to find one that is inexpensive, and will not pull your car's gas mileage down excesively is hard!

Harbor Freight to the rescue!

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DLARBIE...

I got one two.. had it about 4 years now.. best purchase I ever made.. folds up and you can roll it away against the wall. Folds in half across the middle with the rear section folding onto the top. and has two right angle legs with casters so you can tip it up and roll it around which you can see in the pics.

Only problem is the wiring.. if not enough slack.. when you fold it it will not be long enough.. when you make it long enough it will hang when unfolded... just have to twist it on it self and stick through one of the extra holes.

One more thing.. where the license plate is located.. if you release the pins on the front so it will angle down in back to load up something from say Home depot the plate will hit the ground and bend... but otherwise excellent value for the money.
Mike

[fhhuber506771]

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[Thermalin]

A suggestion made at the local field... that I may end up using:

Leave the trailer as a flatbed and make a removeable box, thus allowing the trailer to be used in multiple ways.

I'm still looking for a source for the desired aluminum sheet to make the box. I have found steel sheet which would be cheaper, but heavier.

The leaf springs are a bit stiff though as it's made for carrying weight... I like the removable box idea... Mine's going to be used in the local x-mas :) parade as our club has a float each year.
Mike

[fhhuber506771]

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[cainebean]

Why not build the box out of coroplast sign material. Easy and cheap.

[fhhuber506771]

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[Ron Williams]

How about the plastic (fiberglass?) they use for trailer truck bodies? There are a number of outfits that sell the hardware used for trailer doors and tie downs - I used some for holding barn doors open. When I was searching the web for that stuff I noticed that there were a lot of aluminum extrusions (for corners & edges) and sheet materials available for trailer bodies and the prices were amazingly low.

[fhhuber506771]

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[b-29er]

try making a trailer with a fold-down front and back. i would love to see trailer-launched airplanes. insta-flying field.

[scaflock]

That Harbor Freight trailer is a great deal. When I moved from San Diego to Georgia I pulled one behind my little Toyota truck. I'm thinking of converting it into a flightline trailer now that I'm not using it for much else. I've already got a metal floor installed so some angle and ply with some trim strips and I'm pretty much there. I'll add a drop down rear door that will form a ramp, a couple of shelves to hold equipment and racks for airframes. At 8' long I'll be able to haul some pretty large wing sections for my gliders.

Jeff

[Brother2]

look up the closest welding supply company. They will sell you the metal.

[Conehead]

Well everyone, I own about 6 or 7 trailers. 3 boat trailers, one for a Mastercraft ski boat, a Larson runabout, a boat that is called The Duck Boat, and a 22 ft travel trailers. Then I have a 4x8 utility trailer I had built, will haul about 2500#, a 10 foot 6 inch long by 6 feet 3 inch wide Utility trailer, also homemade, that I haul, lawnmowers, snowmobiles, just about anythng I want, it has a 6000# axle capacity and then my "hanger". It is 16 feet long, 7 feet high, 7 feet wide, tandem axle, ram rear door, electric brakes, side entrance and a V nose. Really slick. You can put lots of stuff in it.

Now what I have seen used for a "mobile Hanger" and it doesn't take much to get is or are these old tent camper trailers. They are usually cheap, you can gut them, they have a top that moves, you will have to go through the wheel bearings and clean and repack them, put new tires on them, get a new spare tire and you have lights, you can wire them to hook to the car and have a nice interior light in it also if needed.

No they don't fold for storage, they are bulky in ways, but they already have skin on them, no aluminum to buy, they have a floor that may need to be replaces, but a couple of sheets of treated plywood will do the trick, they are big enough for many planes and they only need or may need to be re-wired. There are a couple of pilots up here in MI who have such a set up. They are not hard to back, of course after backing all the trailers I have, that is a no brainer.

Now if you have a good fiberglass man handy who does boat repair, they can glass the trailer for you in a few hours I am sure. The last time I did that was for a darkroom sink and that was many years ago. I would have to pay someone to do it again. I could do a small area, but something large, out of my league.

Just some other thoughts about trailers.
Conehead
Orrin Eldred
Honor, MI.

[jbarradale]

Here is the idea.

Make a plywood box around it, put in a door or ramp at the end and then cover it with Monokote! :D

:eek:

[b-29er]

well jeesh barra, following me around?!? second flash i've not posted in within 6 months you've opened up today.

i may well need a trailer soon. i have 5 working planes now,

a gianli bpy (the 99$ pby)
an art-tech su-27
a j-power f4n
a parkzone ember
an avistar trainer
i currently keep them in a bonus room, but i currently am in a squeeze fitting the su-27, the pby, the f4 and the ember safely in the room. plus it's hazardous then fitting the nitro, a caddy that's still under construction, the tranny's, etc. without ticking somone else off!

btw, monokote is a bit expensive (just checked, 12' a roll). try shrink-wrap. cheaper, and thicker.

[jbarradale]

Sorry, didn't mean to wake ya up.

I would never follow a B-29, way too many guns. :eek:

Just cruisin' for info on my projects. I had a trailer with a ramp in the back and had planned to build on it.

Not sure if it is still usable, do not have space for it, so a friend is keeping it and it gets awfully rusty just sitting there. Oh well. :mad:

John

[b-29er]

yeah, and thats just the problem-after wwII, you would not see a mounted gun in a heavy bomber. a shame.

just flew the ember today, flies well indoors.

[bfischer]

This guy is from my Uncle's field in North Atlanta somewhere... pretty resourceful... I think he said he had $70 in it for used tires...

http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y127/blfischer/RedneckRCTrailer-ForRealjpg-800Cjpg.jpg

[Kevin Murray]

That van/trailer it too funny.

[fhhuber506771]

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