Show us your self-built timber trailers...

[Tom at Heartwood]

Hi,

 

I'm interested to see different approaches to fabricating your own forwarding trailer - particularly smaller scale kit.

 

Any photos and top tips would be appreciated particularly on rocking beam axle construction and fitting.

 

If there are already threads on this then any pointers would be good.

 

Cheers

 

Tom.

[Chris Sheppard]

Not got any pics, but have seen a trailer stub axle used to good effect to make the rocking beam on a smaller trailer - the piece of box for the beam was cut to take the flange of the hub and welded in place. unlike a normal bush, any play coudl be adjusted out too.

[Tom at Heartwood]

Not got any pics, but have seen a trailer stub axle used to good effect to make the rocking beam on a smaller trailer - the piece of box for the beam was cut to take the flange of the hub and welded in place. unlike a normal bush, any play could be adjusted out too.

 

Hi Chris.

 

I was just looking on ebay at stub axles designed for ATV/quad wheels and wondering if that is the way to go. I guess that it shouldn't be too hard to find a set of stub axles rated to carry a couple of tonnes.

 

I don't quite get your point about adjusting out any play - could you please elaborate?

 

Do you mean using a stub axle as the central pivot point for the beam as well as having a stub axle at each end of each beam (to attach the wheels to obviously)?

 

Cheers,

 

Tom.

[Chris Sheppard]

Yep, one stub for the central pivot and one one each end for the wheels to bolt to. Wouldn't like to try it on a big trailer but for a smaller one it seemed to work well.

 

By the very nature of a rocking beam set up, the central pivot takes an awful lot of abuse when turning and when a conventional bush starts to wear you'll start to notice the front set of wheels will sit slightly wider than the rears as it splays and usually the only way to sort it is to fit a new bush (which could be a pig of a job). With a hub, you can just pop the centre cap and tweak up the nut to take out any play.

 

Also, for a trailer to go behind the ferrari, I'd go for a small ag traielr type wheel and tyre rather than ATV as the sidewalls will felx like mad when turnign as well as them not being great for carryign the weight either.

[corylus]

ATV tyres state on the sidewalls......NOT FOR HIGHWAY USE.

[fergusonforestry]

ATV tyres state on the sidewalls......NOT FOR HIGHWAY USE.

 

friends who use race and off road tyres on road goin bikes swear by a quick lick of the grinder for that!

[Charlieh]

ATV tyres state on the sidewalls......NOT FOR HIGHWAY USE.

 

Interestingly mine don't,

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

but then again I have 'e' marked tyres rated for road use