soldier4402

Couldnt you have the trailer weighed on a certified scales and keep that for insurances purposes. I also have never seen anything on the highway blown up due to a trailer, its always seems to have been from driver negligence or another vehicle. But with that said you may want to check with your insurance, or even call another insurance carrier and see what they say so you dont tip your off.

wannabe

Honestly I would not attemt this unless you are just building a storage trailer the boat will sit on. If you are looking for a trailer that you will trailer long distances than have one built. The stresses and and engineering on a trailer is critical to the placement of the axles etc. Also if building an aluminum one than insulating steel axles from aluminum frame is needed to prevent galvanic action and developing weak points. Your insurance may bail on you if you get into an incident and the trailer fails inh any way shape or form.

Wannabe

tinman565

Sure...I'll elaborate for ya.
1) Call around and price the aluminum stock your going to need. I'm talking about large thick walled square tubing, flat stock of different widths and thickness, angle, and anything else you figure your gonna need. I think your gonna sh*t when you find out how much the material alone is. These manufacturers by in large quantities..and get pretty good prices, so they got you beat right off the bat.

2) I'm not degrading your ability...but just because you have "access" to the equipment..doesnt make you a fabricator of an item thats gonna haul roughly 6-7k pounds around safely. These trailers are all designed by an ENGINEER more than likely on a CAD system. You a pretty good welder ? You weld aluminum great ? You weld aluminum great out of position ? Enough to bet your life..AND EVERYBODY ELSES LIFE AROUND YOU ? See..I do this for a living. Been doing this sort of thing most of my life sir. I'm a Journeyman Skilled Trades Welder at GM. So...I kinda know what I'm talking about.

3) Next, is the insurance thing. Insurance companies dont like to pay out large amounts of money. So you can bet they have guys who tear every shred of an accident apart looking for a loophole, or someone else to blame it on. What do you thinks gonna happen if you have an accident (even if someone else hits you) and they find out the trailer was "home-made" ?

4) It basically boils down to "is it worth doing myself"...and in this case, your better off letting the guys who build these everyday do it. I'm not saying you couldnt...but look at it this way: How come you didnt build your own washer and dryer ? You could buy the sheet metal right ? The electric motor, the wiring, the switches, the buzzers, the lights, and fabricate the drums yourself. Bend and shear the housings. Pick a paint color your wife likes...etc. After all..you have "access" to all or most of the equipment needed right ? Oh, and PRAY your house doesnt burn down because of the dryer you fabricated yourself. Your homeowners insurance will thank you. Point is...you'd have 5 times more money and manhours into it than it would cost to have a reputable company build you a washer and dryer. A new dryer is roughly $400. Could you build one for that money ? Same goes for the trailer sir.

vette131

I asked the question because I wanted info & opinions not sarcasm. My brother is an engineer & I have friends that weld & fabricate for a living. I have priced it & I could build it way cheaper than I can purchase one. That is why I asked the question. I think you greatly overestimated how many trailers are drawn up by engineer's rather than loosely copied from the competition. Thanks for your reply.

soldier4402

You'll find a lot of people have good opinions on here but others that want to give you the legal scare and you cant do things speech. There are a lot of guys on here that do things with their own hands and have the experience then others who have dish waster hands and would tell you to not even paint a wall because its to hard. Price out the materials look at other specs and go for it.

vette131

thanks for the reply if I owned a v bottom I probably would not consider it. not many options for catamaran trailers ,and they're all expensive for what you get .

tinman565

I did give you my opinion....just like you asked for. Now, if you'll excuse me...I think I'll go make a transmission for my F350 dually. I have access to all the tools I'll need.

high bid

I thought of doing the samething but after adding it all up, I just bought a trip axle!
Aluminum
Ibeam 7.5x4.375x.350x35 $1789
2x2x1/4 $500
torsion axle 5,200lb w/hyd disc brake $680
torsion axle 5,200lb no brakes $1010
hitch $460
jack stand $105
lights $100
wheels 6 lug 5.5" tires $774
saftey chain $20
bunk brackets $50
bunks 2x12x14 $150
Rough estimate Total $5638

vette131

you've posted three times on here twice with nothing but sarcasm & once with some good points & some ridiculous analogies. Do you hire a professional to hitch up your boat, because if you make a mistake you could be sued. don't risk it dude! I still haven't decided to build or not but thanks for the help. my brother designs drill ships for a living so I'm sure his cad program won't get bogged down designing a safe trailer blueprint for me. good luck with your transmission!

vette131

my trailer is way smaller & lighter than yours & I can reuse several components that you have listed. thanks for your input!