Possible trailer for teardrop build?

[tdecell]

I ran across a trailer today for free and brought it home. Just wanted some assurance that I could use it for a teardrop build. It’s 4 1/2 ft x 9 ft galvanized 1 1/2” x 3” steel. It was a double jet ski trailer. The hubs are 5 lug, has steel wheels with 4.8 x 12” tires. It’s in great shape other than one small crack in a weld where the two side frame welds come together at the tongue bar in the front. I was going to sandblast it and check all the other welds / joints before painting it. Any suggestions or ideas otherwise? Thanks

[GTS225]

Something to think about is how old it is, but if it was used for jet skis, it's fairly new. I've seen a couple instances of age related lack of parts for the spindles. You might want to pull a hub and make sure there's bearings available for it, and check the wheel lug pattern for commonality. Other than that, get the crack welded, the rest of the joints repaired as needed, and throw some color on it.
The size should fit well for a tear.

Roger

[swoody126]

I ran across a trailer today for free and brought it home. Just wanted some assurance that I could use it for a teardrop build. It’s 4 1/2 ft x 9 ft galvanized 1 1/2” x 3” steel. It was a double jet ski trailer. The hubs are 5 lug, has steel wheels with 4.8 x 12” tires. It’s in great shape other than one small crack in a weld where the two side frame welds come together at the tongue bar in the front. I was going to sandblast it and check all the other welds / joints before painting it. Any suggestions or ideas otherwise? Thanks

FINE SCORE

galvanized usually means the metal is in good condition UNLESS there is a great amount of scaly rust showing

clean any rust w/ a wire wheel on a hand grinder and treat w/ cold galvanize(spray or brushed) once all the spots if any have been treated Rustoleum has a paint that resembles the galvanized color or pick a color of choice

sandblasting would just remove the protection of galvanizing unless the whole frame is rusty

"boat trailers" usually use 5hole x 4.5" diameter bolt circle wheels which are quite common and can be had at paces like Tractor Supply and WallyWorld...

boat trailers will also have common bearings available from all auto parts stores

12" wheels will also take a 5.30 tire which adds diameter and cush while running better off pavement

check the birth date of the tires and replace them before they are 5 years old to avoid roadside failure

BON CHANCE

sw

[tdecell]

The trailer is about 10 years old.. other than the crack, it’s in great shape. There are a couple of spots where someone welded on some brackets and there is some surface rust there, you can easily find clean metal with a wire brush so I don’t think it would be an issue at all. I was thinking that a bigger tire and wheel would be a better choice than the narrow 12”. I’ve found several 15” steel wheels with the same lug pattern.

[greygoos]

Do a search at the top of the page. There are a few jet ski trailer builds. I did one a while back. I used strut as cross braces and mounted the cabin to that.