The IDEAL Machinery Moving Trailer?
Question:
I have found that the type of floor in the trailer can make a big difference with the ease of dealing with certain loads. My tilt trailer has a steel plate floor while the utility trailer is treated plank. Any thoughts on trailer decks folks?
Answer:
My trailer has a wood floor. Things tend to stay put on the wood floor better than on a steel deck. But if I had a tilt bed, I think I'd want a steel diamond plate floor. That'd allow things to slide on and off easier. It's what the rollback wreckers have. My Centerville trailer came with two skid type feet at the rear of the trailer that would act as a stop when the bed was tilted. I found the feet would scrape when pulling out of a gas station for instance and the trailer had to clear the side walk. What I did was to burn off the feet and fabricate rollers, one on each side (left/right) of the trailer similar to what is on a dumpster. I used 2" pipe about 12" long, with a 3/4" axle shafts, supported by 3" heavy channel on each end. This way if the trailer has to clear any high spots in the road, the rollers will roll over it. With real low trailers curb cuts can be a problem, or crossing a high road crown at an intersection can cause scraping if your load or hitch is not level. Also trying to backup the trailer over deep snow can be very tough. You have to shovel first! One of the Lincoln Arc Welded Projects Books, I think maybe vol #2, has some implement trailer with tilt-away and slider axle sets. might be useful for moving equipment Move your load forward to cut down on the squirelly moves. Tongue loading should be at least 10% of gross (trailer and load) weight, 15% is even better. For a 3000 pound trailer and load that is 300 to 450 pounds. I got my idea for the perfect machinery moving trailer from the machinery dealer that delivered my bridgeport clone milling machine. He backed a trailer into my driveway, lowered the trailer bed down to the ground and rolled the mill, which was on a caster frame, out of the trailer into my garage. He did this by himself using only a crowbar. The trailer he used was a tandem axle Jacobsen Selma Hydraulic Trailer. These are commonly known as kneeling trailers. Jacobsen's website is: http://www.jacobsentrailers.com/trailerline.htm. The advantage to these trailers is that the bed remains much more parallel to the ground than a tilt-bed trailer. In fact, if you unhitch the trailer and lower the bed and the tongue jack concurrently, you can lower the bed perfectly parallel with the ground. These trailers come in both single and tandem axle models. The tandem model has a 8000 lb GVW and a 6' x 12' bed that will handle almost anything with which a recreational machinist would be involved. After seeing this trailer I looked for years to find a used one. These trailers seldom are found used. I think this is because of the high initial price compared to a common utility or tilt-bed trailer, and the fact they are so versatile that their owners are reluctant to part with them. I finally found a very old tandem axle one advertised in the local paper. It was in rough but working condition. I have had it for several years and still have friends asking to borrow it all the time. If one is looking for a trailer that can move machinery and be used for other things and is not interested in equiping hisself as a machinery mover, I don't think there is a finer piece of equipment.
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