Yes I am building myself a trailer, a 6 x 12 double axle job, it should be nice if I ever get it done. I am to the point where I need to find a way to attach the gate, so I was wondering if you guys could answer some simple questions. 1. How high off the ground is the back of your trailer? 2. How long is your gate? 3. What kind of angle is the gate on? 4. HOw does it attach to the trailer? I am really looking for some pictures, those would me most helpful to me. I am also interested in seeing how the gates are constructed, I am going to make mine out of tube steel rather than angle because it is much lighter, but I wonder how they attach the mesh, does it usually go overtop or is it tucked down underneath some angle to avoid snagging stuff on it? THe more pictures the better, so next time you have your digi cam handy and are standing by your trailer snap a few pics for me. Thanks. Oh, and last but not least, how high do most of you make your side rails? and are fenders required on trailers in the state of MI or anywhere for that matter? HOw can I find that out?
I have a way, I just wonder how the other ones are done.... I am thinking I'll prob need fenders too... Some pics of how those are attached would also be good.
hey thanks for the pics... That is similar to what I am thinking of doing, mine is slightly different though because the trailer that I am building is all 5" C-channel rather than angle iron, so the planks have to lay on top of the frame rather than down inside of it, which makes it a little more tricky to have the gate the same height as the wood deck, but that gives me some ideas. How high is your side rail? How long is that gate, and what is the height of the back of the trailer from the ground? I figure mine will be roughly 22" inches off the ground, so I am thinking a 4 ft long gate will get the job done without being to steep, any thoughts there? I will get some pics when I get a chance. Does anyone else have any other ways of how their gate is attached? Also how are the fenders attached? are they strong enough to stand on?
If you choose a pin/sleeve type hinge as shown in the pictures, I have a suggestion. The pin/sleeve arrangement is typical for these kinds of trailers. I have a Big-Tex with the pin/sleeve setup. The attachment is simple and the gate can be slid to one side and easily removed. However, my suggestion is to make the pin 1/2 (3/4?) longer on one side. By making them both the same (like my Big-Tex), when remounting the gate, both pins will engage the sleeve at the same position. The gate is too heavy for one person to handle the whole unit, so two are needed to remount the gate. If one pin was a bit longer, one side could be engaged by one person, and left to hang, while the same person moves to the opposite side to engage the second pin and finish sliding the gate into full engagement. I learned the hard way -- gate slid off to one side while lowering, pushing the pins out of the sleeves, and falling to the ground (and hitting the running lights - ouch!). I was by myself at a customer's property far from home, nobody home or around -- had to call my wife to come help me for 5 seconds to get the gate remounted. Having pins of differing length would have made the task a one-person job.
We've got 12 Trailers in our rental department and they all have this style gate hinge and they hold up very well, As for the fenders ours are mounted on 1/4" thick 2" angle front and rear with one in the center off the side rail with the fender notched to accommodate and can be walked across. The frames are 4" c channel with the boards on top with a piece of 1/4" thick 3 1/2" angle on top of the boards and welded on the back to give a place to weld the pipe hinges and the piece on the front is bolted on In the event a board needs to be replaced. The tail lights are 3 1/2" round style from NAPA auto parts mounted inside a piece of 4" pipe 4" long with a piece of 1/4" x 1 1/4" flat bar rounded on the ends and inset flush and welded on the inside for a smooth look. Sorry, I havn't gotten off the wallet for a dig. cam. yet but it's gonna be soon. Hope this is some help !
