Single bike trailer... the easy way.

Redbird

Dolor est Magister Optimus
DTT BOTM WINNER
I don't have Levi's mad welding skills... so I cheated.
I had been on the lookout for one of these to pop up, as they tend to do on occasion. I scored this freebie from work this past Thursday...
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It's previous life was holding up a Miller 500 welder. Customer damaged the unit when they hit it with a forklift. Welder was sold for parts, so the trailer would generally get scrapped. I got to it before it made it to the dumpster.
Swapped on a better set of wheels/tires from another scrap unit...
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But it turns out the axle spindle was bent in the collision. No worries though, scored a brand new freebie axle :D
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Drug it home today.
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Gotta get it wired for lights/inspected/registered first. Then it'll get a wood deck and wheel chock provisions. It'll have the ability to be used as a small utility trailer, but it's main use will likely be as a single bike hauler.
This is the "new" wheels/tires.
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Wheels/tires don't generally see much wear, as the welders are more often transported on the deck of the truck rather than towed. I do need to check the date code though, to make sure they haven't aged out.
Stay tuned for updates.
 
Thanks :)
The deck will be about 3' wide by about 6.5' long. So it should be a fair utility trailer and a great bike hauler.
One of the other things I need to look into "modifying" will be the springs. It's currently sprung to support a 1750lb welder.
I'm thinkin that might be a little stiff for what I'm lookin to do with it :p
 
I just bought the smallest trailer leaf springs e trailer sells. They're listed for a "2000lb axle" and three layers like what you have. You may be as small as you can go with a leaf spring. Torsion axles may be the way to go with lighter damping.
 
Depending on how they are made you might be able to take one of the leaves out of the spring packs. When you are getting it set up be careful to make sure you will have enough tongue weight. (But at a glance it looks like that probably won't be a problem.)
 
Depending on how they are made you might be able to take one of the leaves out of the spring packs. When you are getting it set up be careful to make sure you will have enough tongue weight. (But at a glance it looks like that probably won't be a problem.)
I did exactly that with mine. Took one leaf off the top.
 
Irk, mine have four leaves (leafs?). And the axles are rated for 3500lbs. I was thinking the same thing... simply remove the upper most leaf and see how she rides. But if you're at two leaves, I may consider pulling two.
Worst case scenario... I know people at a local chassis fab joint that specializes in custom leaf springs. I could get a set made for cheap. Although I highly doubt it'll come to that.
Cory, no worries on the setup. I'm a trained professional :p
 
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Nice get. If I were to do it all again, I would make mine a similarly sized utility trailer. That way it would have some usefulness beyond just bikes. If we're being honest, I may still pull off my axle stubs, wheels and coupler and do that anyways lol my single rail frame will be the prettiest one in the scrap pile at least lol
 
Well, if we're being honest... my original plan was to basically just weld a single rail onto it and use it as a bike hauler.
But when I told my brother "I got us a bike hauler", he basically said "Why not put a deck on it too?".
So here we both are :p
 
On mine I use channel steel for the tire chocks. They are held in place with a snap pin at either end so I can remove them easily. I also welded 6-2"x2" post pockets to it and have a set of 2 foot high plywood sides I can attach and a canvas tarp that can cover it so I have a dry 4x8 trailer if needed. It also has tie down points placed so that I can tarp a bike for the winter hauling. I use 2 - 3 fold, ramps for loading and they ride in racks that form the front of the fenders.

I'm going to add a permanent, steel, 2' high front to stop some of the spray, rocks, grit etc. spitting up from the tow vehicle.
 
I built one from Harbor Freight's smallest frame. Used their steel loading ramps upside-down for rail. They sent me a free LED lighting setup to replace the incandescent one on it - works great. A bonus is that they carry replacement individual lights for when someone runs into yours at a show.
 
I picked up a 5x10 trailer for cheap. Downside was I had to fix the tongue, put a new deck on, and I added a 4" drop axle 3500lb rated. A bit overkill even for 3 bikes, but overkill is safety with trailers.
 
I have my 4 x 8 setup with removable sides, it has a tailgate ramp and tilt built in, I use a HF chock on a piece of 3/4 ply that I can attach up front when hauling a bike and take it out when not. that little trailer cost me next to nothing but has helped out the last 3 years so many times it's not funny. I just recently had to replace the lights as they had rusted so bad they couldn't ground anymore.
 
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