Trailer Project

[Bilbo]

Hi there Bilbo,I have a camp trailer and used to put my bike ( rmx 250 ) across the draw bar all the time , bike is wider than trailer and copped a bit of stone rash but worked a treat i just used a piece of channel, only used a ramp when i loaded by myself. 4 bikes across the frame side by side front to back wld reduce draw bar length for sure. either way I'm thinking u r gonna have a lot of tow bar weight , 4 bikes at lets say 125kg each is gonna give half a ton between trailer wheels and tow ball. just my thorts , cheers Harro

Thanks for your thoughts Harro, the 525 really the only full size bike going on the drawbar the others are a PW80, Yamaha ttr110 and a KTM SX65. They are all small bikes. I think although it is longer than a traditional camper trailer it will work ok. The only trailer I have seen similar is a converted car trailer with the bikes on the back half and a traditional camper trailer tent on the front half.
Will have to see how it goes. It's always easier to cut it back I guess if we need to.

Just can't wait to get out into the bush, set up camp and go riding with the kids!

Cheers Brett.

[har05l]

Any more progress on this bilbo

[Bilbo]

Any more progress on this bilbo

Hi har05I, Yes, progressing slowly, plans have changed slightly. I've used the rear part of the original chassis as a spacer and made a new chassis to run under it. This means I can still use all the factory mounts for the tub and my rear twin wheel carrier.
I have 1500kg rated offroad springs mounted, 50mm square axle and 10 inch electric brakes. I'll post some picks in the morning.

I got a little side tracked last school holidays when the kids wanted to go riding. I didn't have a trailer for the bikes at that time so I knocked one up in the fist week of the holidays so we could get the bikes out. The second week we went riding.

Here are some picks of the temporary trailer.

[trumpy955]

Not bad for a weeks "quick knock up" that would of taken me a year but mine wouldn't of been that good

[Bilbo]

This trailer is 4.1m long, the draw bar back to the axle is 3.1m

The triton trailer is 4.8m overall and 3.8m from hitch to the centre of the axle. For some reason the triton trailer looks massive in comparison, however it's not that much bigger. Here is a few pics.
Cheers Brett.

[Bilbo]

This trailer is 4.1m long, the draw bar back to the axle is 3.1m

The triton trailer is 4.8m overall and 3.8m from hitch to the centre of the axle. For some reason the triton trailer looks massive in comparison, however it's not that much bigger. Here is a few pics.
Cheers Brett.

[har05l]

Wow you sure have been getting into the welding , good job on both

In comparison mine measures 3.1m from axle to hitch and 4.3m overall.

That tri trailer sure is long

[Bilbo]

Wow you sure have been getting into the welding , good job on both

In comparison mine measures 3.1m from axle to hitch and 4.3m overall.

That tri trailer sure is long

At 4.3m, do you find yours too long?

I realise I'm limiting a bit of manoeuvrability etc with the length, however I need to try and fit 5 bikes on the front of it.

[har05l]

Wow you sure have been getting into the welding , good job on both

In comparison mine measures 3.1m from axle to hitch and 4.3m overall.

That tri trailer sure is long

At 4.3m, do you find yours too long?

I realise I'm limiting a bit of manoeuvrability etc with the length, however I need to try and fit 5 bikes on the front of it.

I've not found the length to bad and I must say with the long drawbar it tows beautifully and is easy to reverse , you just need to be wary of when you take sharper corners

Keep the updates coming as I'm always looking for new ideas

[Kegsy]

Looking good mate. That is a bloody long trailer! Should reverse easy as

Just be careful welding along the width of the chassis rail. Ie: the fillet weld to hold on your cross members.

Strictly speaking you shouldn't weld across the rail as it weakens the rail. Ideally you should weld them from the underside along the length of the chassis rail.

[ag9111]

Don't understand Kegsy, What do you mean by that?

To many across, width and along!

[ag9111]

Could be the Scotch though

[Bilbo]

Looking good mate. That is a bloody long trailer! Should reverse easy as

Just be careful welding along the width of the chassis rail. Ie: the fillet weld to hold on your cross members.

Strictly speaking you shouldn't weld across the rail as it weakens the rail. Ideally you should weld them from the underside along the length of the chassis rail.

G'day Kegsy, Once I have the chassis how I want it in this position I'll turn it over and finish welding the underside, of the cross members along the chassis. Hopefully this will be ok.
Cheers Brett.

[BillMcQuade]

Your trailer is coming along nicely.

I'm just about ready to put the tray on my own trailer project. Mine is 3700mm long, so it's a bit shorter in the drawbar than yours. It's made from 75X50X3 and 50X50X3 RHS.

[Bilbo]

Your trailer is coming along nicely.

I'm just about ready to put the tray on my own trailer project. Mine is 3700mm long, so it's a bit shorter in the drawbar than yours. It's made from 75X50X3 and 50X50X3 RHS.

Looking Good!!

[Bilbo]

Got back into the camper over the last few days. Still alot to do!!

[har05l]

What dimensions did you end up using for the draw bar

How much flex do you get out of the overall length

If you get any at all I'd be fish plating the draw bar or/and adding a full length down the centre as well, trust me as I know now where I went wrong in my build

[Bilbo]

The length is the same as details above. I have plates bent to sandwich the bend into the a frame (fish plates/ gussets). These will go inside and outside the chassis. The chassis rails are 100x50x 3mm wall.
No flexing yet, however I haven't had it loaded yet.
Will see how we go.

[Bilbo]

This is the first attempt at getting the bikes on. I'm glad I measured right. They all fit nicely.
Now I have to load the up tub to see where I need to distribute extra weight behind the axle to counter the weight of the bikes.

[BillMcQuade]

This is the first attempt at getting the bikes on. I'm glad I measured right. They all fit nicely.
Now I have to load the up tub to see where I need to distribute extra weight behind the axle to counter the weight of the bikes.

Looking good. What's the ball weight like if you have the tub unloaded, and just the bikes on?

[ag9111]

Hope the kids never grow up and need bigger bikes

[Kegsy]

Don't understand Kegsy, What do you mean by that?

To many across, width and along!

The strength in RHS / SHS is along the radius (edges) of the section. Thats where you need to weld.

Welding along the width on the main chassis rail significantly reduces its strength. IE: where those cross members have been welded. Ideally you wouldn't weld across the width on the main chassis rail, but weld the cross members from their underside along the radius / edge of the rail.

G'day Kegsy, Once I have the chassis how I want it in this position I'll turn it over and finish welding the underside, of the cross members along the chassis. Hopefully this will be ok.
Cheers Brett.

The concern isn't that you haven't got enough weld, rather that the current weld is in a location that reduces the strength of the main structure. Adding more welds as you describe won't do any harm, but its not going to offset the potential for a stress fracture where the other welds are.

Hope that makes sense.

[Rumchaser]

Exactly what I was thinking kegsy welding across a drawbar is not something I would ever do .

[Bilbo]

Don't understand Kegsy, What do you mean by that?

To many across, width and along!

The strength in RHS / SHS is along the radius (edges) of the section. Thats where you need to weld.

Welding along the width on the main chassis rail significantly reduces its strength. IE: where those cross members have been welded. Ideally you wouldn't weld across the width on the main chassis rail, but weld the cross members from their underside along the radius / edge of the rail.

G'day Kegsy, Once I have the chassis how I want it in this position I'll turn it over and finish welding the underside, of the cross members along the chassis. Hopefully this will be ok.
Cheers Brett.

The concern isn't that you haven't got enough weld, rather that the current weld is in a location that reduces the strength of the main structure. Adding more welds as you describe won't do any harm, but its not going to offset the potential for a stress fracture where the other welds are.

Hope that makes sense.

Kegsy,
Thanks for your comments, I understand to a point what you are talking about. The angle iron across the top of the trailer aren't cross members and are used only to locate the wheels for the bikes. The chassis rails themselves have 3 100x50 cross members welded in between them. Do you think this will be ok.? Or is the main chassis still weakened due to the cross welding?

Cheers Brett.

[har05l]

Trust me Brett, Kegsy knows his sh!t and I for one would place my life in that mans hands

I'm sure without his help and advise on our outback trip my trailer would still be sitting on the Bogey Hole track in the NT

The best way he's explained it to me is that any cross weld will fatigue the structural integrity and there for create weak points. I can only guess but the combined weight of all the bikes would have to be in the vicinity of 500kgs + wouldn't they

Fish plate the draw bar now I'd suggest