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OT -Trailer from a Pick-up Bed

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Polish Mike

11-15-2002 06:50:27




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Has anyone here made a trailer from the back half of a pick-up truck ? I want to build one to haul stuff behind my NAA.

Having flunked geometry, I was just curious where to cut the frame so when the frame rails are bent, they meet at a 50 degree angle, which is the angle that the trailer couplers come in.

Dumb question, I know, but since I only have one truck to carve up, I wanna do it right the first time.

Thanks, guys.

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RWK in WI

11-15-2002 16:29:22




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 Re: OT -Trailer from a Pick-up Bed in reply to Polish Mike, 11-15-2002 06:50:27  
Just a thought. When I made one I left about a 2' length of frame at full width in front of the box before I made the angles so that I could mount a "pick up truck tool box" to keep the chain saw, wedges, and other tools in.
As I said - Just a thought.



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REMMo

11-15-2002 08:53:22




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 Re: OT -Trailer from a Pick-up Bed in reply to Polish Mike, 11-15-2002 06:50:27  
It sounds like you got a lot of good info here. The only thing I have to add is to consider the overall length of the tounge. I t should be longer than the distance from the hitch point to the outside edge of the tow vehicle. This lets you turn without the tire (tractor) Corner of bumper (pickup) etc hitting the box of the trailer. Just something to figure in. REM



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Rusty 2N

11-15-2002 07:21:38




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 Re: OT -Trailer from a Pick-up Bed in reply to Polish Mike, 11-15-2002 06:50:27  
I also flunked geometry pluss most other subjectsbut I don't let that stop me. I make these trailers quite often. I cut the frame 3 ft. in front of the box, notch right in front of the boxfor the bend. I then put a piece of 1/4" x2"x2" sguare tube in there & make it straight & weld it in. The tube goes back to the first crossmember & out the front to the length you want. Get a coupler that fits the tube & weld it on. Run your wires & bingo you've got a trailer. Hope this helps.

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Rich, NJ

11-15-2002 09:58:45




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 Re: Re: OT -Trailer from a Pick-up Bed in reply to Rusty 2N, 11-15-2002 07:21:38  
This sounds about right. However if you don't trust your eyeballs, Cut the frame long, Maybe three fet beyond the bed. Then make up a template fron cardboard ,plywood , what have you with the 50 deg. angle cut out. This will help you to eyeball it easier because the template will show you just where things are going to fall and/or meet. I've made a few of these myself and the place where I usually get into trouble is when I make thge cuts into the flat frame sections to make the bend. I either cut them too wide and spend an hour filling them up with weld or I make them too small and the frame doesnt bend fully. I would recomened laying them out and cutting them pretty carefully. This will assure that you get a decent, well centered job when your'e done. The 2X4 square tubing makes a good mount for the ball hitch socket. One more thing, Since this trailer is to be used behind a tractor make sure that the rear wheels can't get near it. Those cleats will do a lot more damage than you'd ever think that rubber could do. The Rule of thumb is one seventh of the weight on the tongue. This keeps it on the ball. Rich

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Polish Mike

11-15-2002 07:30:38




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 Re: Re: OT -Trailer from a Pick-up Bed in reply to Rusty 2N, 11-15-2002 07:21:38  
Good golly !!! Three different answers, within about 5 minutes after posting my question, and they all are great suggestions. It's nice to have a lot of options !

Thanks !



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Rusty 2N

11-15-2002 07:47:31




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 Re: Re: Re: OT -Trailer from a Pick-up Bed in reply to Polish Mike, 11-15-2002 07:30:38  
These things sell for about $400. This pays for price of the whole wrecked truck The rest is just profit. Paint it primer gray & the customer can paint it to match his tow rig. I think it's cool to see a truck & trailer made from the same body style & color. JMO. OH yea, don't forget the landing gear, trailer jack. Don't ask.



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chuck

11-15-2002 07:17:03




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 Re: OT -Trailer from a Pick-up Bed in reply to Polish Mike, 11-15-2002 06:50:27  
Mike, Take the half width of the frame (to the verticle section of the frame rails-where the bends will actually be) and multiply it by .423. This will be how far back from the front of the rail you have to make the bends to achieve a 50 degree included angle-assuming the rails are straight.

chuck
436244
chuck
436244



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Vern-MI

11-15-2002 12:26:34




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 Re: Re: OT -Trailer from a Pick-up Bed in reply to chuck, 11-15-2002 07:17:03  
Wouldn't it be half the distance between the rails times the cosecant of 25 degrees or 2.366? So the length of the rails in front of the box, assuming a 36" distance between the rails, would be 18" times 2.366 or 42.588" horn length? What am I doing wrong?



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Polish Mike

11-15-2002 07:27:08




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 Re: Re: OT -Trailer from a Pick-up Bed in reply to chuck, 11-15-2002 07:17:03  
Way to go, Chuck !! Thanks ! I knew I'd get a mathematician's answer here. (were you one of those guys that carried a slide rule around in high school ?)

I'll try this out this Saturday & should be hauling manure & firewood by Saturday afternoon.



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chuck

11-15-2002 08:07:12




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 Re: Re: Re: OT -Trailer from a Pick-up Bed in reply to Polish Mike, 11-15-2002 07:27:08  
Mike, No I didn't carry a slide rule in high school! I am a degreed Mechanical Engineer who has practiced Mechanical Engineering for nearly 30 years. This kind of problem is "child's play" at this point in my career. I didn't even need a calculator to figure the sine of a 25 degree angle-that's the .423 or the opposite leg of the triangle divided by the Hypotanus (sp?) of the triangle. Just in a day's work. Actually on the subject of slide rules, I was in the last class at Virgina Tech that was required to take a 3 quarter hour (3 one hour classes three days a week for 10 weeks) class to learn how to use a slide rule. I used to know how to do anything that a slide rule could do. During the class they held up an HP-35 calculator that cost $400 stating that sometime in the future we would have buy one but they didn't expect that real soon (they were old professors). I bought two calculators in the next three years at what were major investment values for me at that time. Today they give away calculators like the HP-35!

chuck
436244

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BC Mike C

11-16-2002 15:43:00




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 Re: Re: Re: Re: OT -Trailer from a Pick-up Bed in reply to chuck, 11-15-2002 08:07:12  
Chuck, I do not know if you are interested in sailing but the America's Cup boats make fascinating viewing on television. You can here them creak and groan as the winches are loaded and unloaded. The pressures on the hulls and the keel and rudder make for interesting study. As a mechanical engineer I thought you might be interested. The boats are on TV right now in a series of races to determine who is going to challenge NZ for the America's Cup. Already one boat in this group has sunk ( and retrieved ) after the rudder shaft failed. In the last Am cup a boat snapped in to. I am a sailor not an engineer. BC Mike C

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raytasch

11-15-2002 07:10:46




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 Re: OT -Trailer from a Pick-up Bed in reply to Polish Mike, 11-15-2002 06:50:27  
PM, over the years I've made two of them. One was a long bed Ford Courrier and the other was a short bed. I don't remember giving the cut and bend process a whole lot of thought. Just eyeballed them, cut, bent and welded. Once you cut the inside notch out of the frame and the outside is the only thing holding, the frame is easy to form. I reinforced my joints with gussets and 'fish plates', probably overkill, but I know the one trailer is still on the road today, 25 yeaars later.
ray

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Polish Mike

11-15-2002 07:20:47




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 Re: Re: OT -Trailer from a Pick-up Bed in reply to raytasch, 11-15-2002 07:10:46  
Thanks, Ray. About two seconds after I posted that message, I figured I'd just line it up with two straight pieces of wood and the coupler, then cut it. I just didn't want to cut too much off for the notches in the top of the frame rail.

The idea about the gussets is a good one, & I'll definitely do that.



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