ATV Trailers. Built your own?

[WOOKIE]

Have any of you ever built a trailer to pull behind your ATV? I am going to do it. I have a set of rims, tires and axles off of a Cessna 185 that I think will work great for the running gear. A little welding, and voila, I have myself a trailer. I will post pics when I am done.

[Grunter]

I have helped a friend build an auto-loading flatbed trailer for his argo/quads but it was a nasty design that he preferred to have. We welded up a sqaure frame with cross members, ran the clearnace and brake lights inside the frame then welded a frame around a full sheet of heavy plywood for the platform. We designed it so that we can pull out a locking pin from the trailer frame and the platform would lean up into the air whether you're loading or off-loading your ATV. Part I didn't like about it was all the noise when it slammed back down... i've never hunted with him while he was using it.

[BlueNorther]

Me and my friend are building one right now.He has procured all the aluminum we need for the tub,and I have an old viking tent trailer we're using for the running gear.

We're hauling in our Sept. camp this year to an area accessible by atv only,or horse.We have to pare down our gear a bit.

[calgarychef1]

My brother in law builds all of his trailers. Go to princess auto and tell them what you're doing, they'll give you proper axles, you have to decide if you want walking beam axles, single axles or tandem ones.

Walking beams give you a much nicer ride and your stuff in the trailer doesn't get beat up as much. Walking beams tend to get stuck in bogs a little easier because the front wheel drops into the holes.

Don't use a single axle whatever you do, I pulled one for 3 years and it's hell. The single axels bounce all over hells half acre and they flip around the corners. and sometimes they flip all by themselves for no damned reason at all. People following me say sometimes the trailer is almost 4 feet in the air. The cessna wheels will likely be too hard, use atv tires they're the best--that's why atv's have them instead of aircraft tires.

Make your tub water tight but put a drain hole in it for obvious reasons. Weld some angle iron or square tubing all around the edges of the tub to reinforce it. Without reinforcing the corners will crack out very fast. Make sure you put lots of tie down cleats and put them kind of low on the trailer so that you can cinch down your tarp. If the tie downs are too close to the top of the trailer you can't get enough length on the rope to create tension.

Do always tarp your trailer it stops the pine needles from dropping onto your gear, and the mud, rain etc. Don't forget to tarp the trailer at night like my bro in-law did or your gear will get wet when it rains. Pack your equipment really well because it WILL get trashed. Padded bow/rifle case is a must. I get 5 gallon pails and put my beer/pop/canned food in them with cardboard between every layer or wlse they wear through on the long rides. In the pail with the lid on even if they did leak (mine never have) they wouldn't make a mess. On long trips have one trailer carry the fuel only it seems to always leak no matter what you do, so the mess in in one trailer and not all over your scent free clothes.

We used to use wrecked argos for trailers, removed the engines etc. and we had a floating 6 or 8 wheeled trailer. They were pretty heavy though and the wheels had a bad habit of seizing and getting spun off. We way overload our trailers and it's damned hard on the quads but it seems no way around it. Say your trailer weight 400 lbs, youhave 100 lbs of equipment, and you each get a moose that dresses out at 800 lbs. It's pretty easy to burn out your quad. I'd say nothing less than 500cc. and a 650 or more is very nice. One of our guys tried with a 350 and it was brand new......we towed it out with a blown engine.


wow I didn't start out to write a book....but you kind of get a lot of opinions when you have been on some of the trips we have done.


hope it helps

the ched

[bdoa]

If you are looking for prefab heavey duty plastic tubs, I may have a conection for you, I am picking one up right away to build a tub trialer for my camp as well.

[WOOKIE]

I manage the structures dept at a regional airline, so I have access to all kinds of neat tooling and materials to build the trailer, so I think I am set.

[calgarychef1]

I forgot to mention........Put a towing hook on the back of the trailer so you can get pulled out of a hole from behind, or held back as you go down a steep hill. Also never unhook your trailer if you get stuck, it's a last resort thingy. Once the trailer is unhooked it can be almost impossible to get hooked up again.


the chef

[BlueNorther]

I forgot to mention........Put a towing hook on the back of the trailer so you can get pulled out of a hole from behind, or held back as you go down a steep hill.



We've already factored that in.There is one down hill grade that is pretty steep and we have one muskeg creek to cross.

We've been over this trail several times and have factored in all the hazards of trailoring in.

Chef,your ideas on putting beverages into buckets is an awesome idea.I've back packed eggs into country that stands on end and never broke a single one,but I've had a beverage rupture in my dry box on my bike on a five mile run.

[russ]

Say your trailer weight 400 lbs,


hope it helps

the ched

400 lbs. Holy Moly thats heavy! Mine's a flat deck with removable sides. I used 1x2" rect. tubing for the frame & 3/4" plywood for the deck. 5 bolt hi-speed dexter hubs, and fully hung spring suspension. I have multi usages for the trailer, from hauling bait barrels to boats, so the trailer has to flexible in it's use. I looked at tub trailers and came to the conclusion that packing well and using dry bags is a better option in my case. Where I hunt and boat there isn't a lot of skeg or mud to deal with. Some people I know use sleds instead of wheeled trailers. The trailer has about 400 km's on it since the beginning of May and so far so good, (knockin' on wood!)

[calgarychef1]

Ya I think you're right it does depend on the usage. We cross lotsa creeks and heavy heavy muskeg. I should post some pictures some day.

the chef

[russ]

Here's a pic from my holiday - it's taken from video so it's a tad blurry.

[russ]

Here's the undercarriage - I unloaded it from the other trailer today, we carried mini-me upside down & sides off in the utility trailer with a boat above it.

[russ]

Sides off, short bar installed

[russ]

With sides on

[lmtada]

Here is our trailer. A little heavy for a honda 350, But does the job. :cheers:

[lmtada]

I will try this again.

[scooter]

looks like a great rig....Bet it will hold some serious weight!!

Welcome to the BowZone lmtada!

Scott

[crazy_davey]

Just started building my trailer tonight. Built axle, repacked wheel bearings and mounted the tires on the new rims. Will post picks soon.

:beer:

[crazy_davey]

The start
http://forum.bowzone.ca/gallery/files/1/3/4/8/Dscf0669.jpg
http://forum.bowzone.ca/gallery/files/1/3/4/8/Dscf0668.jpg
http://forum.bowzone.ca/gallery/files/1/3/4/8/Dscf0670.jpg

Should have the rest finished in the next little while as long as nothing comes up. Will post more pics as I get closer to getting finished.

Almost finished
http://forum.bowzone.ca/gallery/files/1/3/4/8/Dscf0683.jpg
http://forum.bowzone.ca/gallery/files/1/3/4/8/Dscf0684.jpg

[crazy_davey]

Done and ready to haul my hunting gear and even some extra, even down the hardest trails I can come up with. Will go anywhere my quad can go with ease. Can easily take a weeks worth of extras into sheep camp and maybe even bring a prize home :D
http://forum.bowzone.ca/gallery/files/1/3/4/8/Dscf0685.jpg
http://forum.bowzone.ca/gallery/files/1/3/4/8/Dscf0686.jpg

Can also easily take the tub off and turn it into a flat deck for hauling even more gear if needed.

[quad_hopper]

Where did you pick the tub up at???

Does anyone know where to get a larger tub???

How did you attach the axle to the tongue? Do you have pictures of the undercarriage?????

[Northernbuddy]

I did some internet searching and found a place in Barrhead AB that made trailer tubs. I was able to get a great deal on a 5' tub with a lid. I also had a welding shop build me a frame. I was luck to save a bunch of money. My wife recently told me the place that made the tub for me burnt down.

Initially I wanted to use Kodiak wheels on my tub ( my quad is a Kodiak ), but try and find the hubs was impossible. So I had to settle for the standard 4 x 100 bolt pattern. I was thinking that if I got back in the bush and blew a tire, I could always take on off the trailer and put it on the quad. Cheaper to do welding on the trailer than replace a front end.

[crazy_davey]

Here is the same trailer we used last year for hauling a moose out. Different year and a new moose shot last Thursday. This thing is slick, we had about twenty miles of skeg and rough country to get it out and it never skipped a beat.

http://forum.bowzone.ca/gallery/files/1/3/4/8/IMG_2695.jpg

To load the moose, just flip the trailer over on top of the moose. Wrap the winch cable from a quad around the mooses neck and trailer neck and winch the whole thing over onto its wheels and hook up to quad. Takes about ten minutes and your on the road.

This moose was around 1200 pounds and I have never seen a better way for loading a moose into a trailer, man it was slick.

[bdoa]

Hey if your building your own tub trailer, keep in mind that you do not want it wider than your quad. I have one that a friend built, it is wider, and does not fit side by side on the car trailer with the quad. 8"6 does not leave much room when you put a four foot wide quad on. It is a real pain in the behind, when it comes to loading.

Just my 2 cents