Re: Re: Re: Re: Where is the best place to purchase 16' utility trailers?

Posted by Bill From Ontario on June 25, 1999 at 13:18:36 from (206.172.238.26):

In Reply to: Re: Re: Re: Where is the best place to purchase 16' utility trailers? posted by flash on June 25, 1999 at 12:35:01:

Sorry, just think of it this way. A trailer is basically a bridge, right? Every beam bridge that you'll see (not truss frame) will either be I-beam, fabricated tube (similar to two I-beams welded toe-to-toe), or hollow pre-formed cement(tube). This is done because these shapes are the most dimensionally stable, and also allow for flexure along the linear axis. If a brigde didn't flex, it would crack and fail without warning. Similarily, if a bridge beam was made from a non-symetrical shape such as angle, the deck would flex beyond the allowable limits across the linear axis, and the whole thing would twist apart at the first heavy wind, or tractortrailer driving on one side. Channel and angle make excellent ramps and cross members, because you don't want these components to bend or flex. The only reason they use them for frames is because they're cheap. Why pay 50 cents a pound, when you could pay 35 cents. It's because it's cheaper to manufacture these shapes. When I said REAL trailer, I meant no disrespect, I meant construction floats, both tag-a-long and fifth wheel, that's all. And as far as being heavier, I meant just a little, not enough to put you in a different weight class. Try a little experiment.
Take a length of 2x2x1/4 angle and clamp it to two saw horses the same way they would be on a trailer frame. Do the same with a piece of 2x2x3/16 tube. The tube is 1.59 lbs. per foot heavier, which would corrospond to less than 60 lbs. more on a small utility trailer. To simulate a frame use at least a 10 ft. piece, supported as close to each end as possible. Jump up and down on the centre of each beam and post back which material you would want to make a trailer from. Thank's

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