Hi all...For the last couple of weeks now I have have been building a brand new super-duper, fully adjustable multi-roller boat trailer from scratch in my front garden. It should make it a doddle to lauch and recover my boat compared the old trailer the boat is sitting on now.
I sourced the hitch and the braked axle from an old Knott caravan chassis I picked up on ebay for £60...They are the only two parts of the caravan chassis needed to make a boat trailer and the rest can effectively be scrapped. I have kept the caravan wheels on it for now but although the tyre and wheel sizes are the same on both the wheels have non-matching cosmetic designs so I plan to get 3 matching alloys for it when I can afford it. I was going to try and modify the original black plastic mudguards from the caravan chassis to fit but decided to go for a new pair of brand new reinforced plastic blue Brenderup boat trailer mudguards instead at a cost of just over £25 each as they will go with my 28 Bramber BR1 blue wobble rollers, blue Knott SS bowden brake cables and blue bow V snubber.
I sourced the steel required from Cripps Steel in Bedfont...So far about £180 worth, because the cost of steel is relly high at the moment.
I cant afford to get it galvanised so I'm "cold galvanising" it as I go with a 2.5Litre tin of Tractol 927, 90% zinc paint, sourced cheap from Smith & Allan.
The two main longitudal side rails are 5.5m long mild steel 80mm x 40mm x 3mm RHS. They are held onto the axle with custom made T section brackets I made from 50x50x6 mild steel angle and 3 M10 80x40 U bolts on each side, I sourced from Becktons Trailers in Staines.
The two swingbeams are mild steel 60mm x 40mm x 3mm RHS, swinging on 25mm diameter solid mild steel bar, which is welded to adjustable brackets made from 60mm x 6mm mild steel strip.
The four adjustable height "equaliser" bars on the swingbeams are 50mm x 30mm x 3mm mild steel, 2 feet long at the front and 3 feet long at the back.
They are held onto the swingbeams via Hot dip Galvy L brackets I sourced direct from Indespension in Southampton at a cost of £5.65 each, inc vat but + postage, and M10 60x40 U bolts I sourced from Becktons Trailers in Staines for £2.10 each.
I had to get a local engineering firm to make me 14 squared off U brackets made from folded 25mm x 5mm mild steel strip to take the 14 roller bars, as I could not easily make these myself at home. I welded these onto the equaliser bars. They actually made me 16 instead of 14 and they cost me £20 cash.
No Mig welding welding involved on this project though, all stick...But not ordinary sticks...Another local engineering firm only uses special low Hydrogen welding rods, because is a requirement for any structural welding work they do at the local Heathrow Airport...Apparently they offer a far stronger weld than standard mild steel rods...I managed to procure an almost full box of American-made Lincoln 2.5mm low H rods for a tenner and they weld beautifully...Probably the best welding rods I have ever used in fact.
I have just finished making the 14 roller bars from 1" x 2.5mm mild steel tube and 1" x 1" x 2.5mm mild steel cold formed channel. I had to weld up a custom drill jig to ensure accurate placement of the 56 split pin holes...Its all good fun...Here are some pics showing the work gradually progressing:
I sourced the hitch and the braked axle from an old Knott caravan chassis I picked up on ebay for £60...They are the only two parts of the caravan chassis needed to make a boat trailer and the rest can effectively be scrapped. I have kept the caravan wheels on it for now but although the tyre and wheel sizes are the same on both the wheels have non-matching cosmetic designs so I plan to get 3 matching alloys for it when I can afford it. I was going to try and modify the original black plastic mudguards from the caravan chassis to fit but decided to go for a new pair of brand new reinforced plastic blue Brenderup boat trailer mudguards instead at a cost of just over £25 each as they will go with my 28 Bramber BR1 blue wobble rollers, blue Knott SS bowden brake cables and blue bow V snubber.
I sourced the steel required from Cripps Steel in Bedfont...So far about £180 worth, because the cost of steel is relly high at the moment.
I cant afford to get it galvanised so I'm "cold galvanising" it as I go with a 2.5Litre tin of Tractol 927, 90% zinc paint, sourced cheap from Smith & Allan.
The two main longitudal side rails are 5.5m long mild steel 80mm x 40mm x 3mm RHS. They are held onto the axle with custom made T section brackets I made from 50x50x6 mild steel angle and 3 M10 80x40 U bolts on each side, I sourced from Becktons Trailers in Staines.
The two swingbeams are mild steel 60mm x 40mm x 3mm RHS, swinging on 25mm diameter solid mild steel bar, which is welded to adjustable brackets made from 60mm x 6mm mild steel strip.
The four adjustable height "equaliser" bars on the swingbeams are 50mm x 30mm x 3mm mild steel, 2 feet long at the front and 3 feet long at the back.
They are held onto the swingbeams via Hot dip Galvy L brackets I sourced direct from Indespension in Southampton at a cost of £5.65 each, inc vat but + postage, and M10 60x40 U bolts I sourced from Becktons Trailers in Staines for £2.10 each.
I had to get a local engineering firm to make me 14 squared off U brackets made from folded 25mm x 5mm mild steel strip to take the 14 roller bars, as I could not easily make these myself at home. I welded these onto the equaliser bars. They actually made me 16 instead of 14 and they cost me £20 cash.
No Mig welding welding involved on this project though, all stick...But not ordinary sticks...Another local engineering firm only uses special low Hydrogen welding rods, because is a requirement for any structural welding work they do at the local Heathrow Airport...Apparently they offer a far stronger weld than standard mild steel rods...I managed to procure an almost full box of American-made Lincoln 2.5mm low H rods for a tenner and they weld beautifully...Probably the best welding rods I have ever used in fact.
I have just finished making the 14 roller bars from 1" x 2.5mm mild steel tube and 1" x 1" x 2.5mm mild steel cold formed channel. I had to weld up a custom drill jig to ensure accurate placement of the 56 split pin holes...Its all good fun...Here are some pics showing the work gradually progressing: