patgizz
patgizz GRM+ Memberand UltimaDork
1/24/16 9:38 p.m.

looking to purchase a 2 car trailer sometime in the second quarter of the year. i was doing a search near me and this pops up

http://mansfield.craigslist.org/grd/5348649698.html

obviously, it was a trailer park home in a previous life.

it looks like the proportions are the same as any of the 34-36 foot 2 car trailers i've been looking at, as far as axle location. some are lower decks completely between the wheels like a normal car trailer, some are deck over wheels, like this one would be.

yes, there is a big pain of removing the floor. disposal of the stuff isnt too bad, we have a dumpster for the business so i could top it off a couple times and the carpet/insulation would be gone.

when the floor is gone, it looks like i've got a pair of I beams with some crossmembers that is almost ready to lay some floor to drive on, and cut a dovetail into the back, make some ramps, and ???

i gather, this one has been up for quite some time and he still has it, that maybe it's a $400 offer away from being a really great or bad idea.

it has 6k axles, i could get 7k axles, springs, brakes easy enough. it seems as though for around a $2000 investment for plate to make floor, some channels for supports/ramps, bigger axles if necessary, new tires(already have 8 lug wheels), light wiring, and a beefy jack it would be a car trailer.

critique me. tell me it's a stupid idea and that for $2500 you know a guy with a factory built 2 car hauler i could buy that's ready to roll. tell me those i beams each weigh what a factory built car trailer weighs. basically, let me know if this is a really stupid idea or a spectacular way to have the trailer i want without spending 6 grand on a new one. or tell me that a 2 car bumper pull trailer is a really stupid idea and i should get a gooseneck. it'll be getting pulled with a '16 cummins ram 3500(don't have that yet either, still shopping). maybe you should even tell me to mortgage my rental house to pull tax free equity out and just buy a brand new trailer so i don't have any issues with old junk. i'm on the fence and need pushed one way or the other by someone who is not my wife, who thinks this is a really stupid idea and would surely murder me if i buy it.

mndsm
mndsm MegaDork
1/24/16 9:44 p.m.

I would worry about what the beams are stress loaded for. Obviously you know a lot more about housing integrity than i do, but could they handle being jounced up and down with....10k lbs of car? If so, i think you've got an interesting plan.

patgizz
patgizz GRM+ Memberand UltimaDork
1/24/16 10:01 p.m.
mndsm wrote: I would worry about what the beams are stress loaded for. Obviously you know a lot more about housing integrity than i do, but could they handle being jounced up and down with....10k lbs of car? If so, i think you've got an interesting plan.

not sure on that. that's why i need someone else to help out. one of my concerns is just how "trailery" these things are actually built, considering they're built to tow to a location, plop down on some blocks, and pull the tires/skirt the bottom and call it a house.

dropstep
dropstep HalfDork
1/24/16 10:05 p.m.

the trailer i borrow is just a cut down lowered ex house trailer frame. its heavier then a normal trailer its size but the floor is also oak plank.

Gearheadotaku
Gearheadotaku GRM+ Memberand PowerDork
1/24/16 10:09 p.m.

Why not? All the stuff they make the house out of has to weigh 2 cars, maybe not 2 '69 Sedan Devilles, but still alot.

Don49
Don49 HalfDork
1/25/16 5:51 a.m.

Most trailers that big would be 3 axle, but if you're careful when loading with weight distribution you should be ok. I did a similar one years ago and it wound up carrying the original Bigfoot!

Furious_E
Furious_E GRM+ Memberand Reader
1/25/16 6:33 a.m.

I used to work with a guy in my summer job in college who was building exactly what you speak of for someone he knew as a side job in the evenings - trailer-framed 2 car hauler. I'm sure no engineering calculations of any sort were done to asses safety, and I was back in school before it was completed so I never heard how it turned out, but at least you're not alone in your thinking!

maj75
maj75 Reader
1/25/16 8:40 a.m.

Few issues, getting a plate and insurance for a home built trailer that size.

Bigger issue, unless you are loading Bigfoot, the trailer height will be an issue for loading/unloading any normal height car. That is unless you build ramps that are 25 feet long...

chandlerGTi
chandlerGTi UltraDork
1/25/16 10:11 a.m.

I brought a unimog home on one of those years ago and it was not fun. They are really tall and DO NOT have the weight cap you would expect.

I had to drive the Mog on with no ramp and it was fun....

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