Thread: the building of my camper trailer

at $1950.00 she's looking good already

more photos

stage 3 draw bar 50mm x 75mm x 3mm RHS made it 2.4 metres long from tow point to trailer box and yes that is long but I'll explain that later cost $40.00

stage 4 side frames and more floor support welded in place cost about another $150.00 for material

stage 5 checker plate floor 3mm had to buy 2 sheets because too large for one sheet but will use off cuts elsewhere welded in cost $240.00

stage 6 what I call the flip top head to mount tent to trailer and can lift up for access to trailer,framework that came with tent was too flimsy so this will replace that. cost $55.00 for materials including stainless steel hinges also purchased 2 new tyres bfg all terrains cost $440.00

total cost now approx $2840.00

Hi Mark
Looking good!!!
Seen mine?http://www.aulro.com/afvb/trailers-v...er-born.html??
$4000+ at the moment and I havent bought the tent top!!!!,but it is a dual purpose trailer.
Did you plate the gal tube where you welded the spring hangers to the chassis???
I looked at quite a few trailers(100s actually) whilst planing mine,easy for me as there is a tourist stop at my back door.Just look at whats on display whilst they do the tourist thing,looked at HEAPS of trailers.
All the expensive looking trailers had it,cheapies and home madies didnt!!!!
I welded a 10mm plate in before the spring hanger.
When the local boilermaker called in to measure the tin for bending it was the first thing he looked at.I got the thumbs up.
If its not plated the gal tube splits and fails at the welds on corrogations.
Look at my pics,if they dont show up I can provide a close up.
Goodluck,looking forward to seeing/comparing the finished jobs.
I love welding,have no training but bought good tools!!!
Andrew

hi andrew

no I didn't plate it first as I can't understand the reason behind it because the plate is welded to the chassis and if the hanger is going to break welds then the plate that is welded to the chassis should do the same. the only benefit of the plate is it is larger and has a greater surface area to weld to I think it all depends on the person welding it, you need good penetration in the weld and weld it all the way round also depends on the thickneess of the chassis that you are welding to mine is 2.5mm thick the I span over 2 of them I used my mig and 0.9mm wire and got good penetration I am a fitter by trade and weld a fair bit so I hope it will be ok but I could be wrong too only time will tell . thanks though for the thought the kimberleys will test it out
cheers mark

Hi Mark
I only copied what I saw on big $$$ campers.
My springs are welded to 12.5 mm of steel compared to 2.5mm of tube.
Not trying to put you down at all.Esyest time to fix is now.
Its not the weld between the spring hanger and tube that fails,its the steel the weld is joined to.
Got the big chat on it from the welder mate who gave the thumbs up.He builds semi trailers and was quite impressed with my work.
Put a question out to others here,if they agree it gives you an idea it should be fixed now rather than later.
Andrew

hi andy
Sorry I don't understand you say your spring or (is it hanger) is welded to 12.5mm steel. is that a plate? and is that welded to some part of the chassis or is the plate part of the chassis? I would hope with the vibrations some of it would be dampened by the pivot on the shackled end , the front hanger has also got the draw bar butted up to it and welded, to give it more strength but I may have another look at it and weld in a gussit to the hanger to give it more support thanks again every bit helps

cheers mark

Hi Mark
I welded a 10mm thick by 50mm wide piece of flat bar to the 2.5mm thick 50x50mm tube used for the chassis.As mine will be used for carrying HEAVY loads beyond the legal 2 tonne rating for my firewood work I actualy doubled the 50x50 to 2 thicknesess above the springs,look at my pics posted.Not needed on a camper trailer,but required for my dual purpose needs.
If I was in your position I would get the spring hangers oxyed off and weld the extra steel in.
As I said,Im fortunate that I looked at HEAPS of trailers whilst planing mine.
The boilermaker mate asked who told me how to do that in relation to my spring hangers,I said by looking at whats displayed behind my house(Williams Woolstation).I worked for him for a brief time whilst under REHAB for a back injury,have been offered employment with him but the aircon in the grader suits me better!!!
Andrew

hi again andy

had a look at your thread (sorry should have looked earlier) can see what you have done looks good I did notice though your hangers are short I'm putting an attachment of my springs and hangers on have a look at the difference