5x10 flat bed trailer, 4" tubing?

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Re: 5x10 flat bed trailer, 3" or 4" tubing?

Postby JRAnt74 » Wed Jun 20, 2018 5:21 pm

:thumbsup: Looks awesome! Can't wait to get mine to that point. :cry:
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Re: 5x10 flat bed trailer, 3" or 4" tubing?

Postby noseoil » Sat Jun 23, 2018 7:13 am

About done now, got some more paint & did a few more things. Thinking I might have used some 3X2 tubing for the main frame to shave some weight, 2X2 tongue, along with 2X6 SPF instead of heavier Southern Yellow Pine on this one. Would have saved about 100# that way on the total build, but this is a strong frame & deck, to be sure! It was a trade-off between the strength & weight. Since it's a 5X10 flat deck, I chose to go with the 4X2 1/8" tube, to be sure it would be strong enough. Here's one more shot of the build. I may put together another camper, so there's a frame that's ready for now & a good utility trailer for the upcoming move to New Mexico when it's time.

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Re: 5x10 flat bed trailer, 3" or 4" tubing?

Postby noseoil » Tue Jul 24, 2018 5:53 pm

Finally went to get the trailer weighed at a friend's place. As usual, I didn't follow my own advice about "light weight" builds & overbuilding.

Total rolling weight came out at 900#, with a 200# tongue weight, that's empty! The calcs on the wood (2x6 southern yellow pine) end up closer to 300# with the side boards in place. Adding the tongue box, tools, locks, chocks, blocks, straps & a few other things put on a few more pounds as well.

If I were to strip it for a build, I would be starting at about 600# for the rolling frame (oink, oink) with the tool box in place. It's heavy, but should be plenty strong for hauling things to the new house in New Mexico, which is what it was designed to do. It does track well & doesn't bounce around at all when empty. The 60/40 split on the frame gives it plenty of tracking stability & side winds shouldn't be an issue, ever.
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Re: 5x10 flat bed trailer, 3" or 4" tubing?

Postby KCStudly » Thu Aug 02, 2018 3:03 pm

I'm late to the game here, so first, congratulations on another swell trailer build!

Just as a point of reference, when I designed my flat bed car hauling double axle trailer, IIRC 16 ft long at the main rails, I figured 4x2x1/8 would be good, but ended up going with 3/16 thk for corrosion allowance. She's a little heavier than I would have liked, too, and despite still having a little flex (if they don't flex they break) she is intended to haul a 5.5k lb load, not including tare.

I haven't loaded her any where near that, but she has hauled my '03 Jeep TJ on a couple of occasions, and a heavy piece of machinery on another with no complaints.

So, yep, you probably could have gone with the 3x2 or 3x1 and been just fine (TLAR method, did not do any calcs).
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Re: 5x10 flat bed trailer, 3" or 4" tubing?

Postby noseoil » Fri Aug 03, 2018 6:19 am

Thanks KC, yep, build it strong & don't worry about it!

Had an interesting first trip with the new trailer to the new place in New Mexico last weekend. It was early Sunday morning & rolling along I-10 east of Tucson, still in Arizona & following a semi to help cut the wind load a bit. Actually, I was too close to the semi for safety, so it was my fault. When we looked up, an alligator was in the road in our lane (truck tire recap, shredded, full size) & with the heavy load in the pick-up of boxes, tools & stuff, along with a full trailer there just wasn't time to swerve safely, so we had to go over it. Not even sure where it came from it happened so fast. It hit directly on the right-front tire of the truck, bounced up under the frame, hit the back fender in front of the rear tire & went under the tire, bounced up again & hit the fender on the trailer. This all happened in mili-seconds.

The damage was mostly cosmetic. No flat tires, but ended up with a slow leak on the rear tire of the truck (thanks to Discount Tires for their usual great service & a sensor replacement, for free), it stripped the wire harness off of the frame rail, a dent in the rear fender & the fender on the trailer was hit pretty hard, dented & bent back a little. I zip-tied the harness back onto the frame, so we were very lucky on that one. It did break a wire to the dome light on the camper shell & shredded the harness cover, but it's an easy fix. Repairs will be done this coming week on the trailer, so all's well that ends well!

Small dent on the truck
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Fender damage, will ad a gusset to the frame to brace both sides & good as new again
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Re: 5x10 flat bed trailer, 3" or 4" tubing?

Postby KCStudly » Fri Aug 03, 2018 7:05 am

Glad it wasn't worse and that everyone is safe!

I was driving my '89 Conquest TSi up I95 to TF Green airport early one morning, probably doing 75 mph. Didn't see a roll of stretch wrap until it was too late (the big rolls they use to wrap pallets up with... must have fallen off of the back of a truck). It ripped the wires out of the pulse generator in the trans tail shaft taking out the anti-lock braking system, but thankfully not the brakes... lit the brake system warning light on the dash; opened up a 10 inch long by 3/4 wide gouge through the floor pan in the driver side rear seat foot well; and bent the weld seam lip up on the front edge of the left rear lower suspension A-arm as it pole vaulted the rear of the car maybe 6 inches into the air. Who needs coffee? That'll wake you up in the wee hours of the morning!
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Re: 5x10 flat bed trailer, 3" or 4" tubing?

Postby Philip » Fri Aug 03, 2018 9:32 am

Nice work on the trailer. It should do any small job you need it for. :thumbsup:

Here is another material to think about. I like to use pallet racking cross beams for trailer frames. The cost isn't much higher than bulk steel costs from a local supplier. But the pallet beams have one side recessed to accept 2X lumber that flush mounts even with the outer rail. Two 8' beams are rated for 8K pounds per pair. They are thin wall. Perfect for light trailer framing. They are 8' long which would have been an issue in your build.
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Re: 5x10 flat bed trailer, 3" or 4" tubing?

Postby noseoil » Tue Sep 18, 2018 7:18 am

Just a quick update from the build. Other than the small issue we had with the alligator a while ago, things are good on the trailer. So far we've put about 8,600 miles on it since July & it's doing well. Really like the 15" rim/tire combination on this thing for towing & bumps. Tracks well & it's doing the job for us. 6 trips so far & the 7th is next! We're getting there now...

For anyone interested, there's a meet coming up in New Mexico next April in honor of the 1947 "crash landing" site.
https://tincantourists.com/event/roswell-nm-rally/
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Re: 5x10 flat bed trailer, 3" or 4" tubing?

Postby noseoil » Sun Oct 28, 2018 9:36 am

Update as of October 26, it's 12,860 miles of towing now since July, without any trailer problems. Finally had to get the Nissan 4 cylinder repaired (crankshaft sensor went bad after 11 years), but it's back running well again & we made it home trip before last, so no worries.

We have one more trip to Raton with the trailer, to bring up some wood, steel & a "few" other things, then we rent a big truck for the rest of the stuff. We're getting there...

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Re: 5x10 flat bed trailer, with 4" tubing

Postby noseoil » Tue Jan 01, 2019 9:14 am

It's January 1, 2019 & we're up in Raton again. It was an uneventful trip this time, I'm happy to report. We were planning on leaving on the 19th of December to return, but it was postponed by a full day due to illness. My wife had the flu & had to go to the ER, instead of leaving for Raton as scheduled. All's well that ends well, so the next day we left & had the usual safe ride to the new place.

At this point, we've done about 16,000 miles of driving with the trailer for 2018 & have had no problems. My biggest concern for this trip was having to make a couple of runs to the local landfill (the dump) in Tucson prior to leaving. It's notorious for finding nails in the tires, so I spent a few days looking for any sign of low pressure or telltale shiny spots in the tread. It was a good time at the dump, since I was lucky to have missed any stray nails, bolts or screws. My wife pointed out that we have a warranty on the tires for the truck & trailer from Discount Tires, so what's the big deal? I guess I worry for no reason, right?

I'm putting this thread to sleep now, since it's becoming a bit boring writing about uneventful trips of towing, hauling & driving (the 12 hour trip each time). Hoping everyone has a good 2019 with many miles of safe, boring & uneventful towing with their builds & TTT's. We'll be in Roswell in April for the UFO party, anyone coming along to the event? Look us up if you're driving along Interstate 25 in northern New Mexico, it's a beautiful area, send us a PM! Best, tim & Alice

P.S. We had about 3" of snow last night, with more to come toady. Good day for reading & enjoying the cold, although I'm still feeling it from the last 46 years spent in the desert...

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Re: 5x10 flat bed trailer, 4" tubing?

Postby Padilen » Tue Jan 01, 2019 10:39 am

Happy New Year!

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