Box trailer tips and advice

[nanbar Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close nanbar]

Something like this is what I would like. Trik Trailers in Bayswater reckons it would cost btw $3000-$3500.

[pete8205 Member Find all posts View Profile Close pete8205]

high sides allows for larger loads of lighter materials like bark, or if your moving taller items helps make them more secure/stable
I wouldn't bother with manual tilt it doesn't allow the load to drop out like a proper tipper trailer and at that size not worth the money
being more versitle is a good thing but are you really going to need/use a front tailgate?
galvanising is a must if you want it last
extended drawbar will make reversing much easier
I have a 7x 4 high sided trailer galvanised be over 10 year old cost $1500 back then.it gets a lot off work use and overloaded a lot I replaced the leaf springs and wheel bearings last year but it doesn't look that old.

[Corigator Avid PP Poster! Find all posts View Profile Close Corigator]

I bought my ungalvanised 7x4 trailer back in 1987 - 28 yrs ago. I used to respray any wear, but stopped that 12 yrs ago. Its still OK but starting to show a few holes. At $400 I'm not too concerned.

[AJ120 Out of control poster! Find all posts View Profile Close AJ120]

Yeah I tend to think that galvanising on trailers is a bit of an expensive gimmick. With a decent coat of paint and a bit of maintenance by the time your trailer is rusted out its worn out in other ways anyway.

Cheers Andrew

[AussieAndy Find all posts View Profile Close AussieAndy]

The best advice I can give on a trailer is maintain it, that means check the lights, check the spring bushes, tighten the u bolts, check the tyres for age and shape (trailer tyres that don't get used tend to go out of shape, then blow on the highway, leaving you on the side of the road trying to fit a flat spare wheel) and repack/replace the wheel bearings. This should be done once a year at minimum. I'm sick and tired of trailers with missing wheels causing traffic problems, the maintenance isn't that hard, if you can't do it yourself chances are your neighbour, brother in law, the old guy at the pub or even your wife can. Should only take a couple of hours to do a once over on your little box trailer.

[MidLifeCrisis Out of control poster! Find all posts View Profile Close MidLifeCrisis]

I built a full hydraulic tip trailer, best thing I ever did I reckon, saved me an enormous amount of shovel work over the years.




MJ is on the right track though, make it as versatile as you can, the more you use it the less the cost is of a concern.

OH and don't get a pneumatic jockey wheel, as you can see in the picture above they tend to go flat, which is a pain.

Cheers Andrew

A frequent occurrence on your trailers. Dammit, a picture of that shredded jockey wheel
tyre would have been perfect to insert here!

[sunchaser Member Find all posts View Profile Close sunchaser]

AJ and Mj, is there anything you guys havent built, made, re-furbished, improved, re-jigged, melted,soldered or welded? Awesome trailers!
I built a camper trailer back in the early nineties when there werent as many around to choose from as there is now. It took about two years to build and probably cost more than it would have to buy one! Trailers are probably cheaper and easier to make, but as the guys have said hi sides and stronger suspension for weight over corrugations and being pulled through sand is the go. I had a 6x4 trailer for a while but found it too small to fit every thing in and would go for the 7x4.
Also if you do consider getting a camper top for it later on; check them out now and see what sizes the tops are and what drop you need for the annexe floor to be level with the ground, so you can get the right size box dimensions with the right height from the ground, to the top of the trailer walls

[frbprado Lurker Find all posts View Profile Close frbprado]

Is it worth getting an axle rated to greater than 750kg for a standard box trailer? That's what has currently been specced (39mm Round) but I am pretty sure if I got half a cube of sand or gravel the ATM would be >750kg.

[AJ120 Out of control poster! Find all posts View Profile Close AJ120]

The average 6x4 trailer weighs around 250kg. Builders sand is in the vicinity of 1.7 tonne a Cube and gravel 1.2-1.4 tonne a cube, so you can do the math.

Over 750kg you will also need brakes.

Cheers Andrew

[robbo14 Junior Member Find all posts View Profile Close robbo14]

My 7x5 in SA is $25 3 months or $75 per year.

[mjrandom Out of control poster! Find all posts View Profile Close mjrandom]

When I built mine I went 1t for axle and springs. Toyed with the idea of fitting electric brakes and upgrading the axle and springs given the rest of the trailer was designed for much higher loads but really not necessary. I can get my hands on a couple of tandems if I need more carrying capacity. When you get sand and gravel etc just be mindful that wet sand is quite a bit denser than dry etc.

Not sure if I mentioned it elsewhere but another thing I did was to lay a big tarp in the tray and gradually add water. Measure water depth and gap between tyre and guard every 50mm of water or so. Keep going until you get to the trailer capacity (1m x 1m x 1m of water equals 1,000kg). Plot weight against gap. That way you have a good idea of how much weight you are carrying by checking the tyre to guard gap.

[AK7 Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close AK7]

+1 on trailer maintenance. My Dad learned that the hard way. The first tyre blew out after bulging, bending the guard a bit. Didn't look like an issue on an unloaded trailer. He picked up a heavy load, but didn't properly check clearances before driving off. This is what a trailer tyre looks like after it's had the wheel arch rubbing on it at 90KM/h, then gets ripped off the axle and rolls out in front of the car... Scary. He's very lucky that nobody got hurt.

[Rusty62 Advanced Member Find all posts View Profile Close Rusty62]

Used 60 series front springs, rear shock absorbers from the 60 as well. Registered as a 750 kg but has electric brakes from new. Just replaced them with VC axle and brakes.
Longer springs are better on the rough stuff than short hard springs, and as they are of a Tojo spare parts are abundant in the bush.



windows screen capture

[frbprado Lurker Find all posts View Profile Close frbprado]

It has all the above but not the manual tipper mode which personally for anything below 7x4 I would not bother with.

Just to clarify this comment, are you saying that a tipper on a 7x4 is justifiable (but not on a 6x4)? Anyone else have thoughts on the manual tilt tipper?

I am now leaning towards
- 7x4
- high sides .. 18" probably
- 1 tonne axle (40mm square)
- F/R tailgates with tie down rails
- 6 leaf springs (rated to 1 tonne as well)
- 4.5' (~1.35m) drawbar
- Undecided on tipper as it will add 50kg and $350...........

To get this into my backyard I will need to come down a 3m wide laneway and turn into roughly a 3.5m wide opening. With a 4.5' drawbar the total length of the trailer will be about 3.5m. Anyone see any issues here?

By the way, thanks to everyone for the responses so far!

[mjrandom Out of control poster! Find all posts View Profile Close mjrandom]

I'm not convinced about a tipper but I haven't got one. Off the top of my head I would have used the tipper a few dozen times but who knows. I didn't have a front end loader on my little tractor for the first couple of years and then added a 4in1 bucket about 15 months ago. Use it more often that I thought. A lot of extra weight (FEL too!) so that cuts into your allowed load.