Does anyone else find trailers poorly designed?

[rcx132]

I would have thought it should be possible to have a flatbed trailer that has attachable sidewalls so it can be an open trailer, removable tubular frame so it can take a canvas top, ramps so it can be used as a car transporter, bolt on rails to take motorbikes, adjustable suspension so it doesn't take off on every bump when unloaded..... and I don't see why it couldn't be dismantlable for us DIYers who user a trailer a few times a year.

Or is it just me?

 

[armalites]

I'm sure it's possible but then it's unlikely that someone who uses a trailer a few times a year is going to be prepared pay £4k for a trailer.

Apart from adjustable suspension an Ifor Williams flat bed can cover almost all your requirements,sides,ramps,you can get a bolt on cage that could take a canvas.

It's a bit like saying it seems wrong that you can't have a 2.5t 4x4 that will tow 3.5t and do 60mpg. There is always a compromise

 

[8ob]

I'm sure it's possible but then it's unlikely that someone who uses a trailer a few times a year is going to be prepared pay £4k for a trailer.

Apart from adjustable suspension an Ifor Williams flat bed can cover almost all your requirements,sides,ramps,you can get a bolt on cage that could take a canvas.

It's a bit like saying it seems wrong that you can't have a 2.5t 4x4 that will tow 3.5t and do 60mpg. There is always a compromise

Yes, eventually you will need to go back up that hill.

Bob

 

[Migmac]

Of all the trailers I have had/ used none have been 100% suitable for my varying needs. I can live with it though.

 

[rcx132]

Apart from adjustable suspension an Ifor Williams flat bed can cover almost all your requirements,sides,ramps,you can get a bolt on cage that could take a canvas.

And so it does! Oops, didn't know that was an optional extra. Price looks ok to.

 

[W.olly]

I would have thought it should be possible to have a flatbed trailer that has attachable sidewalls so it can be an open trailer, removable tubular frame so it can take a canvas top, ramps so it can be used as a car transporter, bolt on rails to take motorbikes, adjustable suspension so it doesn't take off on every bump when unloaded..... and I don't see why it couldn't be dismantlable for us DIYers who user a trailer a few times a year.

Or is it just me?

So why is it not possible to get a flat deck and build one to suit all the needs you want. it sounds like that is all you are thinking.

I had a 18 foot one that did all but have the cage which if i needed to i could of easy made one. i moved cars, crap, bikes and even boats with it.

 

[addjunkie]

Some of the livestock trailers do some of this...the top lifts off, sides are available etc

 

[rcx132]

Sounds like there are trailers that do these things then. Pays to ask!

 

[addjunkie]

Sit down when you ask the price!

 

[bigegg]

The one I built (can't remember when, but before the law changed about self-build trailers (ossifer ) )
is a flat bed with removable walls, a fold down gate/ramp, removable cage with canvas cover AND it has a separate advertising a-frame.
It has a 2T axle (braked) and weighs somewhere between 180kg and 400kg - depending upon what sides/roof are fitted

Cost me about £300 all in if I remember correctly - including the new braked coupler.
I made it from a 1970s caravan base and specifically for what I was doing at the time:
2nd hand books, by the pallet + markets/car boot sales

I'm just in the process of re-commissioning it after the death of my van
so there will be some pictures before long.

any way: moral of story. If you want one, better off adapting one (cos you're not allowed to build your own any more )

 

[rcx132]

The one I built (can't remember when, but before the law changed about self-build trailers (ossifer ) )
is a flat bed with removable walls, a fold down gate/ramp, removable cage with canvas cover AND it has a separate advertising a-frame.
It has a 2T axle (braked) and weighs somewhere between 180kg and 400kg - depending upon what sides/roof are fitted

Cost me about £300 all in if I remember correctly - including the new braked coupler.
I made it from a 1970s caravan base and specifically for what I was doing at the time:
2nd hand books, by the pallet + markets/car boot sales

I'm just in the process of re-commissioning it after the death of my van
so there will be some pictures before long.

any way: moral of story. If you want one, better off adapting one (cos you're not allowed to build your own any more )

Wow, would love to see pics.
I think the IVA test to build your own trailer is pretty simple, but I've only glanced over it so could be wrong.

 

[armalites]

I've always fancied building a trailer but the reality even before you start talking about a test is the parts have gone up so much in recent years. Tow coupling is £200+, axles can run to £400 eash then you need wheels and tyres, electrics and you will still only have a trailer that will never hold the same value as an Ifor. There was a period where steel was climbing so quickly that secondhand trailer orices were often based as percentage of new you could buy an Ifor and almost get your money back after a couple of years.

 

[CompoSimmonite]

northern tool used to do a foldable one, before they left the uk...I know that harbor freight does one in the USA
Surprised tbh Bnq don't do something like that, then again many companies are stuck in the past and don't want to risk cannabilising their own ranges and would lobby like hades against them more than likely

I've got one of the Northern Tools folding trailers. Brilliant and gets used for all sorts of things.Now around 10 years old so due for a refurb as the powder coating on the frame is starting to flake off. Load bed is 8' x 4' and capacity is 750kg. Sometimes, however, it's too big so I've also got one of the smallest Erde 102 trailers !

 

[addjunkie]

I've always fancied building a trailer but the reality even before you start talking about a test is the parts have gone up so much in recent years. Tow coupling is £200+, axles can run to £400 eash then you need wheels and tyres, electrics and you will still only have a trailer that will never hold the same value as an Ifor. There was a period where steel was climbing so quickly that secondhand trailer orices were often based as percentage of new you could buy an Ifor and almost get your money back after a couple of years.

I have two ifor trailers older ones, shame the new quality isnt so good, and the cost of some spares is eye watering, think in the farmy type stuff Nugent trailers are better built and designed now.

Ive built a few trailers over the years, from bikes to yachts, and your right the price of proper parts is high, hence why trailers are so expensive. Currently looking to stick wheels on the bottom of a couple of IBCs but they wont be the proper new parts, think a trip to the scrappy for the back end of a little run about or van

 

[rcx132]

What about using some scrap yard stub axle and shocks?

The commercial trailers don't look that bad by the time you cost up electrics, hitch, suspension, wheels, tyres, and like you say, they hold their value. Are they mostly sheet metal though? So probably not easy to repair if there's rust or damage.

My current trailer is DIY made, badly. I'm thinking of selling it.

Bit off topic, when I bought my trailer the hitch was worn.... and it came undone on a slip road. I will never again use a hitch of unknown history. The trailer nose went through the back of my car. Could have been much worse.

 

[wookie]

Bit off topic, when I bought my trailer the hitch was worn.... and it came undone on a slip road. I will never again use a hitch of unknown history. The trailer nose went through the back of my car. Could have been much worse.

Was it actually worn or was it an old imperial 2" hitch on a metric 50mm ball ?

Personally I much prefer a pintle hitch/lunette ring, sure it might rattle a bit more but it's a darned sight more secure.

 

[KemppiFrog]

Currently looking to stick wheels on the bottom of a couple of IBCs but they wont be the proper new parts, think a trip to the scrappy for the back end of a little run about or van

Don't think that is OK any more, unless you plate it as built before 2012(?) I have built hundreds of trailers ( was my first job) before it got tricky. My big gripe is that the so called 'torsion' suspensions made popular by Indespension are rubbish, with very little movement and only (slightly) effective when near their rated load. I need to build a special one for a boat I am working on, so I will probably run it over to the UK for single approval and then import it back here. (Self builds are effectivly banned here now.)
Some of the best trailers I built were from cannabalized torsion bar bits from Renault cars and my current boat trailer uses fabricated wishbones sprung by Renault coils and shocks. It tracks and rides on rails behind my old Espace and I have to remind myself it is there. Non of the indespension types leaping up into the rear view on bumpy roads
Was I ranting? Probably...
Just there are decent ways to build trailers and I don't see much of them about now.

 

[addjunkie]

My ibcs wont leave the pitch, they will never see tarmac, so I can do as I please. The approval I think is probably not a bad thing, I have seen some horrendous contraptions being towed on the uk roads held together with pidgeon poo and 6mm bolts.

Trailers, trikes, bikes, all now need some kind of inspection, but had folks of old not built death traps then perhaps we would not have had a need to overregulate.

 

[rcx132]

Was it actually worn or was it an old imperial 2" hitch on a metric 50mm ball ?

Oh no, that's probably what it was :/ But it was worn as well.

Don't think that is OK any more, unless you plate it as built before 2012(?)

Yeah how does that work. There's no requirement to date a trailer but only newer trailers must be approved. So how do you show that your trailer is from before the trailer approval was needed?

(Self builds are effectivly banned here now.)

Is the trailer approval that difficult to pass if you've built your own?

 

[wookie]

Yeah how does that work. There's no requirement to date a trailer but only newer trailers must be approved. So how do you show that your trailer is from before the trailer approval was needed?

IMHO you can't, after all you could fit new parts to renovate an old trailer but it still doesn't make it a new trailer.

Surely the only thing you can ever prove is that a new trailer is actually a new trailer because it doesn't have any old parts on it