Mental therapy trailer

[iranch]

Trailers

I haven't built a small trailer in the last few years. I got tired of small loads and the trailers have been getting bigger and bigger over the years. I built 2 8x16 flat beds this summer and haven't used them much at all, just to small. The 24 and 30 footers get all the use.

I don't pull anything through the trees, I cut my wood a loader bucket full at a time, I don't burn that much anymore. When I did years ago, I found that a tongue length of about 4 feet from the front of the box/bed with about 60% of the box/bed ahead of the axle works about the best. I use fork type farm hitch setups. You can still pull it with a pickup with the ball removed, but hunting around for an extra ball for a tractor gets to be a pain. I doubt if you will be in any DOT inspection situations so the ball hitch is just an extra expense. Drop thru pipes with cross holes work great to prevent tipping and are cheap.

Just my humble opinion,
Dennis

[Gordon Maney]

I haven't built a small trailer in the last few years. I got tired of small loads and the trailers have been getting bigger and bigger over the years. I built 2 8x16 flat beds this summer and haven't used them much at all, just to small. The 24 and 30 footers get all the use.

I don't pull anything through the trees, I cut my wood a loader bucket full at a time, I don't burn that much anymore. When I did years ago, I found that a tongue length of about 4 feet from the front of the box/bed with about 60% of the box/bed ahead of the axle works about the best.

I use fork type farm hitch setups. You can still pull it with a pickup with the ball removed, but hunting around for an extra ball for a tractor gets to be a pain. I doubt if you will be in any DOT inspection situations so the ball hitch is just an extra expense.

Drop thru pipes with cross holes work great to prevent tipping and are cheap.

Just my humble opinion,
Dennis

I don't understand the meaning of these things. Would you explain more, please?

Edit: the meaning of the fork type hitch finally hit me. The common farm wagon hitch. I have pulled them with the ball removed, as you describe.

I am still uncertain about your other remark.

[iranch]

Local terms for things

Things get called by different names no matter where you go, around here you have goosenecks, pintles, balls and forks (two pieces of flatiron with matching vertical holes thru them). I guess that is what you call a farm wagon type hitch.

Weld a short piece ( 4 -5 inches) of 2 1/2 pipe to the rear and the tongue of the trailer, when it comes time to unhook the trailer drop a length of 2 inch pipe with cross holes thru the 2 1/2 pipe and stick a pin in just below the larger pipe, presto, no tipping.

Dennis

[Gordon Maney]

Weld a short piece ( 4 -5 inches) of 2 1/2 pipe to the rear and the tongue of the trailer, when it comes time to unhook the trailer drop a length of 2 inch pipe with cross holes thru the 2 1/2 pipe and stick a pin in just below the larger pipe, presto, no tipping.

Dennis

That is a great idea!

[Doc Dave]

Gordon,

You can see from the pictures what I meant in my earlier post. The trailer is a bit too high for lifting wood all day onto it...I measured about 36-38 inches. I would not make it too low, rather just maybe 24 inches off the ground.
The front hitch works great. I can pull it with my tractor draw bar, or use an extra receiver hitch mount bar that does not have a ball in the hole.

[Gordon Maney]

It's a neat little trailer. I have to ask, what's in the barrel? Are you watering a tree?

[Doc Dave]

This past summer has been a terrible drought. I used the barrel as a gravity waterer for about 10 rhododendrons that I had planted last fall at our farm lane entrance. Also I will move the cart over and water 3 Japanese Cherry trees I planted last fall along the farm lane.
2 weeks ago we got about 15 inches of rain in 48 hrs with the tropical storm that came up the coast!
Strange year weather wise for us her in the Mid-Atlantic.