Flatbed Trailer

Stuart

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I needed/wanted a trailer to carry tables for the Dutch Oven Competition and to haul trash from the desert clean up at this years SoCal Desert Rendezvous. After scouring craigslist i found a homemade trailer for a good enough price. It looks to have started life as a small boat trailer. At some point a deck was made and stake pockets added to accept stateside rails. The deck is 6'6" wide and 8' long.
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The guy I bought the trailer from never registered it. He also couldn't figure out that the rear rail was on backwards and fit better turned around. These shots are after i drove it home as is. Some of the lights were cracked and I figured it would be just as easy to rewire the whole thing than to just replace lights. So I stripped the rails and decking off so I could more easily do the wiring.
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The YouTube "how to" videos about rewiring a trailer said it should take an expert about 1/2 an hour, and a novice about an hour to complete. Four hours later I had the lights working. :rolleyes:

Time became a issue so I put the old decking and rails back on to go to the DMV to get it inspected, registered, and plated. As this is a family friendly site I'll gloss over this part of the story. Inspection::thumbsup
Waiting in the lines::zombie:zombie:zombie:zombie:zombie:mike

Long and the short of it, trailer has VIN tag and license plate and Title is in the mail.

I used the trailer for the SoCal Desert Rendezvous.
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It worked as planned for hauling.
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Next step is to remove all the old decking and rails and put new plywood down that has been coated and sealed with a no-slip material. Not only for load control but to protect the material. For the rails I'll not go as high as the existing rails block a bit of the rearview of the side mirrors. They are 2x4 vertical stakes with 2x6 railing. Way beefier than needed, so I'll cut some of the weight by using 1x6 instead.
At some point I will put a articulating hitch on it as well.

Future plans may include:

-Replacing the existing axle to accept matching rims and tires to the tow vehicle. Haven't really done the math to see if the height will be too wonky, or if the wheel well will intrude too much into the decking to be useful.

-Building a 'teardrop'. The trailer being 6&1/2 feet wide, I could sleep practically sideways in it. Toying with the idea of making the teardrop removable from the deck by means of corner jacks.

Fun project to play with.
 
Super cool seeing it being pressed into service so soon at Desert Rendezvous :cool:
 
Super cool seeing it being pressed into service so soon at Desert Rendezvous :cool:

I could have put the new plywood down on the trailer prior to heading out, but not have gotten a good coating/sealer on the wood. Didn't mind the old stuff getting abused; it will be in the trash either this week or next.
 
I could have put the new plywood down on the trailer prior to heading out, but not have gotten a good coating/sealer on the wood. Didn't mind the old stuff getting abused; it will be in the trash either this week or next.

Good call.
 
Quick update on the flatbed trailer. I removed the rails and tore them down to the 2x4 and 2x6 components. Plan was to use the orbital sander to remove the badly flaking paint. Well that was a bust. So since the drought is over here in California, I figured I could use the pressure washer. That worked a little better, but still not as good as I had hoped. Borrowed a belt sander with 80 grit. I'll be damned if that wasn't doing the trick either. Grabbed some 36 grit belts. Now that worked a trick.
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My 2x4s were now 1x3 and the 2x6s are 1x5. Several coats of a quality fence paint brought the pieces back to their original dimensions.
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For the deck I decided to to use a DIY bedliner. I used the Duplicolor brand for no particular reason. It being water clean up didn't hurt.

I decided to have the seem run the length of the trailer as opposed to side to side. The hardest part of using the DIY stuff was rotating the 3'x8' boards from the sawhorses to the trailer between coats. Two coats on the top and one on the bottom. Thankfully the coats dried while I was working on the other board. Gloves, goggles, & old clothes are important. No new black moles adorned my skin after I was done.
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Once the boards had dried for several days I drilled holes for the hardware. Bolts, washers, Locktite, and lock washers & nuts should hold the decking in place. Next step is to decide how tall I want the stake sides to be. The original height seem awkward. Too much space between the top and bottom rails (see above photos).

I know it won't win any beauty pageants, but it sure has been a fun distraction this Spring.

Speaking of spring, a suspension upgrade for it may well be in the works in the coming months.;)
 
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