Re: Rear fold down ramp for trailer. (Is solid ok?)

stryped wrote:
On Apr 18, 12:01 pm, Al Patrick <a...@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:
stryped wrote:
Been looking at trailers on lots as others have suggested. Most that
have a fold down ramp made of angle iron and expanded metal.
Would there be any detriment to using diamod plate instead of expanded
metal on it? I am assuming there may be some sort of wind turbulance
pulling but am not sure.
If it was solid I could maybe but my 8N on the trailer if I ever
needed to which would be rare.
At $5.00 per gal. gasoline (no. not yet. but wait.) how much wind
resistence do you want? Assuming this is the RAMPS you are talking
about. Now, for the bed. Diamond plate is good. Expanded metal will
allow much of the mud, etc. to drop through - or come up from the
bottom! The diamond plate will be easier to sweep off. Plus, if you're
hauling gravel you'll need to consider the holes in the expanded metal
vs. the size gravel. You *may* be better off with diamond plate on the
bed. Expanded metal on the ramps - if anything. If you have two
individual ramps you may just want the angle iron placed close enough
for whatever tires you plan to run up them.

Is 4x4 1/4 inch tubing too big/heavy for a 10 foot trailer? I can get
80 feet of it at scap price.

Buy the metal. It's a good price. If you decide not to build this thing at all it's still a good investment. ALL metals are going up. You can resell it later.

Normally I'd say 4"x4"x1/4" *might* be a little heavy for a small utility trailer, but you've already told us you want to haul gravel on it. When you go get a 1/2 ton of gravel sometime and see how small a pile it is you might wonder why you didn't use a wheel barrow.

Build it as big and heavy as you need it, but keep in mind what you plan to pull it with. I don't recall your saying. If all you have is something like a Chevy Celebrity, which only has half a chassis, you might want to keep it pretty light. If you have a full size pickup or Suburban build it big and strong.

To answer you question: No, I don't think the 4x4x1/4 will be too large. It might just mean you don't need as much other bracing. Apparently you aren't building it for efficiency anyway. Nor do you plan to pull it very far, very fast or very often. Go for the strength, but don't forget to size the axle(s) & tires according to the *maximum* possible load. Otherwise, you'll have to load it according to its capacity. When you use two tires with a max load of 550# each you only have 1100# *total* capacity -- including the trailer. If the trailer weighs 1100# you have zero legal carrying capacity. You probably should use dual axles, or pretty heavy capacity axles, spindles & tires - with brakes - for hauling that 8N tractor.

Have you thought about just picking up a copy of the "Shopper" or "Trader" and finding something someone else would like to get rid of? They have all kinds of services for buying, selling or trading. They're available in lots of convenience stores & service stations.

Go to http://www.craigslist.org/about/sites.html and use their little menu. USA, Canada, Europe, etc. Every state is probably listed and when you click on it you can usually narrow that down a bit. "Everything" is for sale on it.

Good luck, whether you build or buy.

Al
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