Buy or Build a trailer

[Giffo]

As my old trailer I made for my 4.55 9 years ago was getting a bit tired, I decided to make a new one.I assumed that it would be much cheaper to build it than to buy one.It ended up being about $100 cheaper !shock.Without taking into account my time,which ended up being about 2 days of running around getting steel and then build time on trailer.Then add the trip to the motor registry to register it,transport to and from hot dip galv place and putting it all together once it was galvanised.So in the end, I would have been better off to buy one and gone fishing with the extra days I had,at least I think I have done a better job than a bought one(gotta look for an upside to this).Food for thought anyway.

[Keithy P]

Looks the goods anyway Giffo.

See, If you had made it out of recycled fire engines like we were talkin about in chat you might have cut a profit. doh

[DvrDve]

giffo if u dont mind -what was the cost?

u forgot to work in capital outlay on tools
did u reckon in consumables- rods, grinding discs,power etc

metal $x
consumables $ y
rolling gear $Z

KNOWING U DID A BETTTER JOB- PRICELESS
she who must be obeyed face as the first weld comes off at 110 km/h

well hope u did em welds well- looking at the photo u got a good mig -shell be right
btw i am about to start work on a trailer for the not poly boat- (8m)
u got me thinking now- bastard!

[Giffo]

It cost me about $2100 and you can buy one made for $2200 from Oceanic.I just changed the boat from one trailer to the new one an hour ago with the help of a mate to tow the new trailer.What a difference to drive it on with the self centering skids,my old one did not have them.A trailer for your 8m may be different, as they would not be a mass produced item like smaller trailers.

[Pirate Pete]

Does the new Oceanic Trailer have the drive on guide? I fond that about the best thing since sliced bread on my 5.3s trailer. yippy yippy yippy

[Giffo]

Yes Pete,Oceanic as well as Dunbier I think, has the guides to drive on,it is a great thing.I put Lanox on the skids and nearly drove the boat into the back of the ute,goes on no effort.I did drive on my old trailer, but had to line up the keel in a 100mm gap,hard when windy or tide across ramp.Now I got the new trailer,town of 1770, here I come for a few daysyippy

[BigFella]

Hey Giffo, I got on flebay at the moment for $1600.00 with 6x months rego!:eek:
Oceanic, been sitting in the shed most of its life?doh

[DvrDve]

still this is a brand new giffo design

giffo
between 5500 and 8 they want -i reckon it s 2000 in material -then 600 galv
trailer made as i want it drive on etc -priceless

[BigFella]

still this is a brand new giffo design

giffo
between 5500 and 8 they want -i reckon it s 2000 in material -then 600 galv
trailer made as i want it drive on etc -priceless

,,,DvrDve I'm not quite sure what your saying mate!
All trailers, or most trailers designed for Poly's are drive on drive off!

[BarryJ]

4.1's ain't(agro)

Doesn't mean I can't give it a go when I don't have too much cross-wind.2thumbsup

[Pirate Pete]

All trailers, or most trailers designed for Poly's are drive on drive off!

The early RM trailers for the 4.1s & 4.55s didnt have the "V" in them Biggie.

[BigFella]

The early RM trailers for the 4.1s & 4.55s didnt have the "V" in them Biggie.


sucked in dudes!!!! buy a new trailer and get all those features standardyippyyippy

[Giffo]

Thanks Bigfella,why did you not put it on here a month ago,would have saved me some time and cash.I'm off to have another port now

[DvrDve]

bigfella
new trailer is for my big 8m boat

barry i ll post a pic of my 4.1 self made add on to drive it /winch it on when on my own,
bow is hard to catch the centre slides when u had to beach/when the wind blows the bastard around when on ur own

[BarryJ]

Thanks Dave. Look forward to seeing the pic.

[bgm04]

Hi guys, my new Dunbier was quoted just over $2500 for Drifter and it does have the leading V for drive on/drive off. Golden seal in Melbourne (less than 1 km from Dunbier) has been working hard with them to improve the design with every boat he sells and this model has all the features to make launching easy and no brakes to go wrong. The only improvement it needs is to reduce the gap slightly between the centre guides as the boat will just touch the inside of one of the plastic mudguards. Next one will have this he said. It is only 10mm and once under way the boat centred itself anyway, no biggy but I can eliminate it by putting in packers along the inside rails. 60hp Suzuki is now on and all electrics should be finished by tomorrow night. Still need to buy a sounder and build rod lockers if anyone has any ideas. This model still does not have the straight sides like the Brumby so having something to lean against in a bit of sea is important and still have room underneath for your toes. Should be able to fit rods up to 8 foot long with this hull and provide heaps of usable storage space. Cheers.

[DvrDve]

bgm just wondering about 8ft rods on boats
for the sounder
lowrance hds gets my vote -digital hummie as good most probably

[DvrDve]

BARRY J
as promised pics for my "invention"(ugly but works -$10 for steel and $30 for the poly - it was a 2 x4 i cut in half - i put in a bit of angle underneath just to make it easier to weld onto trailer - strength wise not necessary) to recover 4.1 when wind keeps blowing the bastard sideon /driving on however i normally just drive up on the sand next to ramp-let the other blokes fight for space on the ramp- beach it -go get trailer and wind on this way as long as its anywhere within the wheelbase it jumps on easily

if u want measurements pm me seems about 1 inch under roller tops and about 1/2 inch to the rear works perfectly- once the bow is caught it centres perfect - windy windy and it s on

[BarryJ]

Thanks DvrDve. Looks great. Any chance of a "plan" view next time you have your boat in the water please?

[poly]

Thanks DvrDve. Looks great. Any chance of a "plan" view next time you have your boat in the water please?
yes please, that would be good, I can drive on as it is, but that looks like it will make so much easier
Paul

[Pirate Pete]

Top looking idea DvrDve.
2thumbsup
2thumbsup
2thumbsup

[DvrDve]

ok ok
at work will get to it when i get back
didnt have time to go throw her in for a plan view shot - now u all just have to wait ;p

[BarryJ]

No rush Dave. Happy to wait until you next use the boat.

[Keithy P]

Hey Giffo, What was the name of that stuff you were telling me about the other day you coated your trailer with??

[Giffo]

Tectyl 506

A solvent cutback, wax base, general purpose, corrosion preventive compound. It is excellent for long term protection of metallic surfaces against corrosion in either indoor or outdoor exposure and during domestic and international shipments, like machinery, machine rolls/tools, automatic parts, dies, tubing, and spare parts. 506 cures to a dark amber coloured, waxy, transparent, firm film.

This is a Valvoline product,really good stuff.I put some white spirit with it and sprayed it into the box sections of the trailer with a degreasing gun.The salt water beads on the trailer now.

[Keithy P]

Thanks mate, I recon that might be just the trick for our sea-faring tractor

[DvrDve]

giffo
where did u get it
i have been looking for it here in oz for yonks
had the ms bring some back last time she was in the old country
btw feel free to spray up the underside of vehicle etc. we used to spray up anything that moved on the beach with it every 10 -12 weeks, electric winches etc
works great

[Giffo]

My old neighbour gave me a full 4lt can,no idea where he got it from.

[Giffo]

A Google search found, Allied Bearings at Cairns or Blackwoods have Tectyl.

[BigFella]

Thanks mate, I recon that might be just the trick for our sea-faring tractor


do you have a harley davidson with a really tall air intake?:D

[BigFella]

A Google search found, Allied Bearings at Cairns or Blackwoods have Tectyl.

you can purchase Techtyl-506 in aerosol cans. I use it for our customer's trailer components that arent gal! I9 think the last one came from my local automotive supplier?

[Will]

Hey Giffo, What was the name of that stuff you were telling me about the other day you coated your trailer with??

You could also try CRC Soft Seal. Same thing as Tectyl 506 I think. About $15 for 300ml can

http://www.crcind.com.au/catalogue.nsf/web_brands/Soft+Seal?openDocument

[chin]

Tectyl can't be that hard to find, we go through gallons of it at work, I'll find out. At a guess I'd say most of the bearing houses e.g. CBC, Skefco, Bearing traders etc.

[DvrDve]

Barry, poly, pirate
attached the pics for trailer idea
pm for better quality photos/measurement
1s time today i went to a ramp (to get the pics from above) drove on like a dream-normally i just drive onto beach back close and winch it over the sand till it catches

gonna cost u a beer to use tho ;p

the bearers/v skids are 1 solid section poly i stripped in half -try some trailer places -this was a cut off (50 x25 cut to 2 25x25 there is a solid and a extruded -i liked the solid
anything thinner and it becomes an issue to countersinkingg deep enough
- the standard poly they rivet into the trailer i didnt like as being too soft - this stuff can be abused and wont break-and it s not riveted- they just dont last imho
bolted to 25x25 L galv -which is welded to trailer- i at first was only gonna make a lug and bolt the poly to that - but this way took on shape as i was setting it up with a full length support

the distance to the roller and the height below i think is possibly critical-too high slide off trouble/ too low bow will get caught to the side of the roller- this one i eyed for 3 days before welding in place- and works great -fact i got it right 1st time is what makes me say is "possibly" critical
i played with the idea of cutting the roller off completely
ps admin sorry for size of photos , but any smaller they wouldnt show enough detail

edit DISCLAIMER
this alteration should be attempted only by trained proffessionals, never with the boat in place on the trailer, in accordance to state and territory legislation as in no way to impede with the safety of other road users, the poster takes no responsibilty for any injury, damage or loss

or by any bloke with a welder in the shed- but i do strongly recommend dropping the boat off- i didnt as on tinnies it doesnt matter - luckily the hose was close - remember steel keep it temp better when there is poly close by ;p :p ;p
i ended up with 3 mm lil grey brown spatter stains

[BarryJ]

Thanks very much DvrDve. I will show the pics and your post to my local welder (son-in-law) and proceed from there.

Edit: My trailer is different to yours in that the outer, lengthwise supports are poly covered timber, so will have to get some sort of bracket welded up and then bolted on.

[DvrDve]

what about timber to timber just put plastic over then?

[BarryJ]

But the roller brackets etc in the centre of the trailer will be metal, so I will then have a timber to metal connection at that end requiring a bracket of some sort. Without consulting my welder, I reckon the outer bracket would be easier to fabricate.