Homemade bale trailer out of old artic trailer

[michael N123]

Anyone made there own they appear to be quite cheap and I’ve a good mechanic friend who can cut it down fit Drawbar ect Been told that it might flex/twist more but can’t see it being to big a problem or is it?

 

[7610 super q]

Yes, I've heard they flex...........on here....
Do you need the full 40' ? chopping 10' off the headboard end should make a stable 30 footer ?
Used to be a rite of passage making your own trailer. Now it's all about buying the most expensive brand out there.....
Then there's the elf n safety angle to consider. Someone will be along shortly to waffle on about plating it.

 

[nick...]

We had a 26ft single axle trailer converted to be pulled by a tractor few years back.it flexed like mad from side to side at the front and we often lost round bales when carting.it eventually got scrapped and replaced with a 30 foot trailer on a bogie that was a million times better
nick...

 

[michael N123]

Want something that’ll have either 10 or 12 round bales on the bottom layer so will be less than 30foot

any used trailers with commercial axles and air brakes is silly money

 

[Sebastian77]

They do flex a lot on front corners, our first ever bale trailer was homemade exactly as you describe and could only ever put 1 full row (12) then row down middle on top. Corners would go down to like a foot off road when going round a roundabout haha!

 

[Speedstar]

Anyone made there own they appear to be quite cheap and I’ve a good mechanic friend who can cut it down fit Drawbar ect Been told that it might flex/twist more but can’t see it being to big a problem or is it?

Just buy a 3 axle drawbar trailer , they are not expensive , will save a lot of work & they are very good on the road

 

[Barleycorn]

Trouble is with converted artic trailers can soon get overweight when the actual trailer weighs 5 ton.

 

[Andrew]

Anyone made there own they appear to be quite cheap and I’ve a good mechanic friend who can cut it down fit Drawbar ect Been told that it might flex/twist more but can’t see it being to big a problem or is it?

Yes they flex. But only a problem if you’re running full height with squares. Even then they’re stable enough if you respect them.

 

[Lakesdigger]

You might find in short time you've wasted you're time. We're not far from homemade trailers being taken off the road although technically we are probably already there its just no one of doing it.
You say second hand trailers are silly money but have you priced new. I appreciate you may not have a huge budget to go at but from what I've seen second hand trailers aren't far off new prices.

 

[Pistonbroke]

I got a forty foot step frame and cut it off at the step leaving 28ft and filled in the front with 14" rsj. Very strong and low and hardly any flex

 

[Speedstar]

Yes they flex. But only a problem if you’re running full height with squares. Even then they’re stable enough if you respect them.

made right & they do not flex we have 2, 3 axle trailers one made from a step frame , the other built from new in the workshop , both great trailer

 

[michael N123]

I got a forty foot step frame and cut it off at the step leaving 28ft and filled in the front with 14" rsj. Very strong and low and hardly any flex

That’s what we where thinking

 

[michael N123]

Just buy a 3 axle drawbar trailer , they are not expensive , will save a lot of work & they are very good on the road

Seen a few about but do they not cut corners when on a tractor ?

 

[Pistonbroke]

Forgot to say,I made the drawbar out of 8" x4". Box that goes back ten foot in a T which stops a lot of flex. Too many drawbars are too short back under the trailer

 

[michael N123]

You might find in short time you've wasted you're time. We're not far from homemade trailers being taken off the road although technically we are probably already there its just no one of doing it.
You say second hand trailers are silly money but have you priced new. I appreciate you may not have a huge budget to go at but from what I've seen second hand trailers aren't far off new prices.

I’ve seen a few of my neighbours new Cheaper trailers ( Fleming and a portequip) Cheap brakes an axles on tyres that can’t take weight

 

[Pistonbroke]

Forgot to say,I made the drawbar out of 8" x4". Box that goes back ten foot in a T which stops a lot of flex. Too many drawbars are too short back under the trailer

That’s what we where thinking

Biggest job is finding the donor trailer. Cross members are rusting through on this

 

[Lakesdigger]

I’ve seen a few of my neighbours new Cheaper trailers ( Fleming and a portequip) Cheap brakes an axles on tyres that can’t take weight

That's because they are cheap trailers. The thing with ex hgv trailers is they are usually at the end of their life due to not being cost effective to mot. If you're building a trailer for using on the road to do a proper job you'll end up spending a fair bit. Fleming etc are junk imho cheap for a reason but a better brand with proper running gear isn't as much more as you think.

 

[Andrew]

made right & they do not flex we have 2, 3 axle trailers one made from a step frame , the other built from new in the workshop , both great trailer

Yes but not many build them right first time.

 

[Speedstar]

Yes but not many build them right first time.

is that a complement Andrew are you feeling Ok

 

[startinghandle]

I know a contractor who bought a triaxle arctic trailer that was designed to carry forklift trucks , shortened it then it frequently ruined tyres with a load on