Mental therapy trailer

[Gordon Maney]

I am building a mental therapy trailer. That means I will use it in the trees when I go there in an attempt to remain sane. I am still unemployed.

I am attaching a couple of photos for you to see what I am starting with.

I am planning a bed that is 65 inches side and no less than that long, although it could be longer. The width is so it is no wider than my tractor. The point of this trailer is to be maneuverable in the trees. The longer it is, the harder it is to maneuver. The longer it is, the more it holds. You see the dilemma.



Questions:

How much tongue do I want ahead of the full width of the bed to avoid problems, and to avoid having a tongue that is too long? I am not sure if I should just make up a farm wagon type of hitch, or use a ball hitch tongue, in case I ever wanted to tow it with my truck. My present plans are it would just stay on the place and not be licensed.

I am pondering the balance of it. I want to be able to pick up the tongue when it is empty. I am not certain I would need to be able to unhook it when loaded, but I suppose, technically, a person should be able to do that without having it tip over backward. What general thoughts do you have about axle position over the overall length of it? The axle will not be moved forward or backwards, obviously, but I can still control these things by how I place the bed on the frame and how long I make the tongue.

The bed would be flat. I consider low sides that can hinge down, or maybe just flat with stake pockets. You can put pieces of tree branch in the pockets to hold a piled load on for moving, and then just cut them off at the destination. A mechanical latch on a flip-down side would have the challenge of being able to be opened under load against the side. I can't conceive of a design that would work. Ideas?

Do I remove the push pads or leave them on?

You folks have used lots of trailers. I thought you would have some reactions to this based on experience.

[Doc Dave]

Gordon,
About 20 plus years ago I had a local welder make me a trailer to use in the woods.
I had been given a mobile home axle and the associated springs. That is what he used as a foundation for the trailer. The top deck on it is about 5X8 feet.
It has been a good trailer for hauling wood, etc.
However, one thing I would do differently now I had it to do again would be to make it more of a "low boy".
The way he built it was "on top" of the spring pack, rather than a drop deck near the axle itself.
Lifting fire wood up to about the 38" height gets old after a day in the woods.
If desired I can take and post a picture.

[Bob Thompson]

I think the tongue should be just long enough so that you can jackknife the trailer and avoid hitting the bed with your tractors drive tire.

[Gordon Maney]

Gordon,
About 20 plus years ago I had a local welder make me a trailer to use in the woods.

I had been given a mobile home axle and the associated springs. That is what he used as a foundation for the trailer. The top deck on it is about 5X8 feet. It has been a good trailer for hauling wood, etc.

However, one thing I would do differently now I had it to do again would be to make it more of a "low boy".

The way he built it was "on top" of the spring pack, rather than a drop deck near the axle itself.

Lifting fire wood up to about the 38" height gets old after a day in the woods.

If desired I can take and post a picture.

Interesting that you mention that. My preference from a lot of work in the trees is that it be higher! How will you and I work together off the same trailer? :-)

I only want to have to bend over once. Meaning, I will pick it up from the ground the throw it on the trailer. I don't want to bend over to pull it off the trailer. My answer has been found in how much I preferred to work off a hayrack piled high. I suspect most would agree with you, however, and I am the odd one.

You are meaning 5' wide and 8' long? Or are you meaning the other way? One reason I want a two wheel trailer is that hayracks and farm wagons are 4-wheel devices, much longer, and have the added problem of being hard [for me] to back up any distance, due to the steering axle. Farmers are typically good at that, but I am not.

If it was not inconvenient, yes, it would be fun to see a photo. What sort of hitch are you using? Do you pull this with a tractor or a truck?

[Jake]

The hitch probably does not need to be that long because your tractor probably has an extend-able hitch bringing the attachment point past the rear wheels?

It sounds like you are loading the trailer by hand and not with a front end loader eliminating the need to use the tractor while still being hooked up to the trailer?

If you want to trip the bunks I would recommend operating this device from the opposite side to avoid being burried alive in logs or even brush.

Just a random thought but how about if you come up here and work on the mechanical stuff on my 56 PW project while I build you a remote controlled hydraulic tilt trailer with extend able bunks and retractable hitch? The only problem might be that this may not be that good for the whole mind exercise...

Just a few thoughts...

[Gordon Maney]

The hitch probably does not need to be that long because your tractor probably has an extend-able hitch bringing the attachment point past the rear wheels?

You are correct. I have two tractors, a larger one and a smaller one. Each has a fixed hitch and also a 3-point hitch. I rarely use the fixed hitches; they are quite forward and low. Awkward to use. I typically use a drawbar on the 3-point arms, and hitch wagons to that. Note the tips of the 3-point arms visible at left in the photo of the John Deere. The drawbar has some grab hooks attached to it; one of them is visible.

Time flies. I bought that Kubota 27 years ago. I got the Deere 14 years ago.

Mostly I will use the larger tractor, a John Deere 5500. I may occasionally use the smaller tractor, a Kubota L245DT. An issue with the Kubota is the 3-point won't hold anything down. I learned that once when I tried to move a rear-heavy [when filled] water tank. It tipped backward until the 3-point reached the limit of its travel.

When I use the big tractor there is also possibility it will have its ballast plate on, which is attached to the 3-point. I have a hitch on the ballast plate.

It sounds like you are loading the trailer by hand and not with a front end loader eliminating the need to use the tractor while still being hooked up to the trailer?

Yes, you are correct. I had thought about making a 3-point platform and using it to carry wood, but it would not be as big; likely not big enough. It is still an idea with some merit, meaning I may make one of those someday anyway.

If you want to trip the bunks I would recommend operating this device from the opposite side to avoid being buried alive in logs or even brush.

I won't likely ever be moving anything we could describe with the dramatic term, logs. My reforestation project exists in two parts. One part is 30 years old and the other part is 16 years old. My largest trees are probably 12 inches in diameter at the base, but most are more in the 6-8 inch diameter range. Think more of stock in the 4-6 inch diameter range as being typical, with occasional larger pieces. Lots of branches from pruning, too. Firewood size to brush. As the years pass, however, diameters will increase, so planning for that makes sense.

Just a random thought but how about if you come up here and work on the mechanical stuff on my 56 PW project while I build you a remote controlled hydraulic tilt trailer with extend able bunks and retractable hitch? The only problem might be that this may not be that good for the whole mind exercise...

That could be fun, but my dog wants to eat here and being unemployed I could not afford to hire you.

The hydraulic tilt idea is neat. One problem with that resulting from my tractor's current form is the loader occupies all the hydraulic outlets. I do have a pretty nice John Deere farm wagon with a hoist under it. It was a grain wagon with wooden deck and sides. The edges of the deck are decaying. The hydraulics utilizes a single hose, for a single action cylinder. It is much longer, overall, than what I am assembling now, however, and so not best suited for what I am trying to do.

Having said that, I think it would be a great basis for a later trailer as things get bigger. I think I am not far from having it be practical to have one of those outside wood stoves that pipes water to the house, as I should have plenty of fuel someday.

I am not familiar with the term bunks. Tell me about that, please.

[712edf]

Gordon, You mentioned a 3 point platform. Would that be a "bed" that is solely supported by the 3 point hook-up, w/o wheels, similar to a box blade?

How about such a platform, but with a giant single caster wheel/tire at the center of the rear of the bed? A caster that swivels 360 degrees similar to what is on the rear of the old brush hogs/ whirly mowers, that way the wheel can support some of the weight & therefore have a larger dimensioned bed.

Of course that doesn't utilize any of what you have now.

Bucky

[Gordon Maney]

Gordon, You mentioned a 3 point platform. Would that be a "bed" that is solely supported by the 3 point hook-up, w/o wheels, similar to a box blade?

Yes.

How about such a platform, but with a giant single caster wheel/tire at the center of the rear of the bed? A caster that swivels 360 degrees similar to what is on the rear of the old brush hogs/ whirly mowers, that way the wheel can support some of the weight & therefore have a larger dimensioned bed.

I actually thought about that for at time. I think it is a great idea for my concerns. I believed you would have to fabricate your own, super heavy duty caster assembly, however, and did not want to spend that much time.

Are you old enough to remember 1-wheel trailers? The same idea, and perfect for backing up.

[Jake]

I would never assume that you would be interested in hiring me but I did have visions of doing some old fashioned horse trading in terms of your vast mechanical prowess and my humble fabrication and design skills.
I also have empty 5 gallon pails available for the odd coffee / swap story time.
If I had the means I would also consider asking you to do a paid gig in terms of a western Canada Power Wagon tour. You could bring the writing pad and pen and I'd pick pick you up at the airport with my Camera and we could interview and meet the bigger than life characters that make up the Power Wagon fan base this side of the border.

"Sometimes it's good to let the imagination run wild, I find it very therapeutic for the mind "

[Gordon Maney]

I would never assume that you would be interested in hiring me but I did have visions of doing some old fashioned horse trading in terms of your vast mechanical prowess and my humble fabrication and design skills.
I also have empty 5 gallon pails available for the odd coffee / swap story time.
If I had the means I would also consider asking you to do a paid gig in terms of a western Canada Power Wagon tour. You could bring the writing pad and pen and I'd pick pick you up at the airport with my Camera and we could interview and meet the bigger than life characters that make up the Power Wagon fan base this side of the border.

"Sometimes it's good to let the imagination run wild, I find it very therapeutic for the mind "

It is how I occupy some of my time. That has been therapy, too!

[Jake]

stakes more so than bunks...

Bunks are the foundation for the upright stakes that you would see on a logging truck that hauls logs on or off road all over western Canada as well as the US.
The stakes which are attached to the bunks can be tripped to offload the the logs being held on the truck.
All this just because I lost my focus on your original question, must be getting older I guess...

[Gordon Maney]

Bunks are the foundation for the upright stakes that you would see on a logging truck that hauls logs on or off road all over western Canada as well as the US.
The stakes which are attached to the bunks can be tripped to offload the the logs being held on the truck.
All this just because I lost my focus on your original question, must be getting older I guess...

How do they latch, so they can unlatch in the presence of what must be high side-loads?

[712edf]

I'm 42. I don't recall single wheel trailers. I do know that SEMI TRAILERS are called so because theu only have axles on one end.

Bucky

[Gordon Maney]

I did a web search. Interestingly, there are still companies selling one-wheel trailers.

You are just a kid....

[712edf]

As to the giant caster issue, didn't certain farm implements have full sized wheel/tires that swiveled/ Seems like I have seen either hay rakes or plows have something that swiveled.

I can understand it not being cost conducive, but I suspect you will have even less time when you are employed again.

Bucky