Future Log Trailer - New WHOPPER Log PICS

[Kirk_Allen]

New addition to the fleet!   Hey Furby, got this 60' mobile home frame with two axles installed, third one thrown in after some bardering and paid $400.00



Towed it home today right down the highway  That was interesting to say the least!  

I plan on cutting it down to make a GOOD triple axle 30 foot log trailer.  

Hey Buzz, ready to start welding?  

[Larry]

Had a tri-axle gooseneck...2,000 bf of logs on and I could roll one tire off quite easy when I made a sharp corner.  Don't know if that is common or just my luck.

[pigman]

Had a tri-axle gooseneck...2,000 bf of logs on and I could roll one tire off quite easy when I made a sharp corner.  Don't know if that is common or just my luck.

I have  tri-axel livestock trailer. Keeping the tires on is not a problem if you don't use radial tires and keep enough air in them. I keep about 70psi in the tires.

[maple flats]

Keeping the air high enough will keep the tires on but you will never get as good mileage from a set of tires as you would with tandem axle. The third set means the tire must skid to make a turn anything more than a gentle curve. Skidding leaves $ on the pavement, but don't worry, they make new tires all the time and you will be helping the local tire shop stay in business.

[Furby]

 
Ya see, when Kirk was up this way we saw a trailer for sale. I stopped to look at it and it was a 32' I think, boat trailer....they were asking $3200 for it.

Actually Kirk, I was considering asking if anyone had a rig like that to haul something, passed though.
Looks like you would have a good start on a second 30' or maybe a 20' eh?

[Kirk_Allen]

They guy I got it from has two more with tandem axles but one is 14 foot wide and he wants $450 and I think the other is $350. 

He also has several with axles but no tires for $250.

[Furby]

You gonna haul that thing out to Buzz, or have him work on it at your place?

[florida]

I've had several mobile home axle trailers over the years and have had problems with every one.  As it was explained to me the tires are very cheap as they are made for one trip only. After several hundred miles they start splitting and coming apart. I gave a buddy who still has one and he has to replace the tires every 3 or 4 months even though the trailer gets very little use. The tire and rim size is unique so you can't put on a better tire nor can you use a different rim.

[Fla._Deadheader]

 We use low-boy trailer tires on our mobile home axles. They wear VERY well. They are a harder rubber and I paid around $75.00 each. 8-14.5 10 ply.

[Kirk_Allen]

Harold, the tires that are on this are 7-14.5.  I assume the 7 is the tread width?

Where did you get the tires your talking about?    I know mobile home tires are not that great and was planning on replacing them anyway but for now they will work for what I have to do. 

My current urgency on this trailer is to get it cut to size, decked and ready to load some 38' white oaks for my Timber Frame shop. 

[ronwood]

Kirk,

Why would you want to deck it if you using it to hall logs? Seems to me that it would save ypou some weight.

Ron

[Kirk_Allen]

Rigidity....................Is that a word?  The side wing supports on the trailer hold lots of vertical weight but can bend back and forth real easy.  I plan on welding a side plate the length of the trailer to tie them together but having it decked stiffens it up quite a bit.  The main I-Beam on tis is only 3/16th materail so the excess we cut off is going to be used to reinforce and beef up the main beams. 

Decking it will let me use the trailer for many other options in the future. 

I will progably put better axles under it in the future after reading this:  I am thinking two axles in the 5000 lb range each. That should take care of what I need to do. 

"AXLES - Can mobile home axles be reused?
The Dexter MH (mobile home) type axle is designed for limited usage in the delivery of manufactured homes and has a one-time limit use. The axle has steel forged spindles that are not precision ground. The brake assembly is welded onto the beam and not intended to be field replaced. Additionally, the bearing package is smaller than the more expensive service type axle. Most MH axles are also equipped with a single leaf spring suspension for very heavy loads. We do not have components that would convert MH axles to servicable assemblies"

[etat]

I have a extra super heavy duty sixteen foot three axle trailer that I use to haul scrap shingles.  Wide turns are a must especially when heavily loaded.  I use regular axles under it not Mobil home axles and 15 inch tires.  Usually about once a year I replace the front axle.   The weight of a track hoe bucket dragging them off (it does have a steel plate floor in in over two by eight decking) along with the pressure put on the axles from turning will eventually warp them.  I just bought two new axles with hubs  and springs.  Five thousand pound axels.  I get them from a place that builds trailers and the cost per axle runs around 125 dollars apiece.  They use big hole Chevrolet rims.  Even though we run magnets we still have 'lots' of flats so I like to be able to run tires that are readily available.  

Heaviest I ever loaded it, 70 square of scrap shingles at appx 195 pounds per square.  The weight and the sharp rocks at the dump punctured one of the tires and by the time I got dumped I blew two more on the same side.  Thinking I was just a 'mite' overloaded..

However I regularily haul 40 to 50 square of scrap on this trailer without a 'lot' of problems......

[Fla._Deadheader]

 Yeah, yeah. Go look at some of our loads. Longest trips are 3 hours and 200 miles. LUBE the brake parts, re-pack all bearings and pay attention. We use the brakes that came with the axles. They slide the tires with a full load.  
 Axles are 6000 pound rated.  

[DanG]

The notion that MH tires are only used for one trip is a myth.  After a new MH is delivered and set up, the dealer sells the axles and tires back to the manufacturer, who puts them on another new trailer. 

[Buzz-sawyer]

I've had several mobile home axle trailers over the years and have had problems with every one.  As it was explained to me the tires are very cheap as they are made for one trip only. After several hundred miles they start splitting and coming apart. I gave a buddy who still has one and he has to replace the tires every 3 or 4 months even though the trailer gets very little use. The tire and rim size is unique so you can't put on a better tire nor can you use a different rim.

most of the tires I have used from mobile homes were either 6 or 8 ply.very tough ...maybe yours are different i have not seen a one ply trailer home tire.


Regarding single use .well that is to cover thier but most likely.I have been hauling d-4 dozers, T-9 dozers....and anything else you can think of on 2 axles for 11 years......and got them USED when i started..they had been a trailer for years.
i have seen these axles more generally in use than any other axle......even on commercially built trailers.

[jokers]

The notion that MH tires are only used for one trip is a myth.  After a new MH is delivered and set up, the dealer sells the axles and tires back to the manufacturer, who puts them on another new trailer. 

Right you are DanG, but the bottom line(and this is directed to everyone) is that according to Federal DOT regs(CFRs), mobile home axles, tires, or any other component labeled as "mobile home, or MH use only" are prohibited from being used for any other over the road purpose. I first became aware of this several years ago after reading something on Yesterdays Tractors where the link to the Fed DOT code was posted at that time. I`m sorry that I no longer have the link but it shouldn`t be too hard to find the info.

Another thing to consider is that some states, like New york where I live, have their own requirements for legal compliance above and beyond what the Fed rules require. I`ve seen several cases where homebuilt trailers using mobile home axles and tires have been in accidents which weren`t related to a failure of any MH component, and the user of the trailer took a huge bath in court due to the illegal components on the trailer. Just a few years ago I read in the paper where a local guy was using MH tires on a factory built trailer, Eager Beaver as I recall, which became uncoupled form the dumptruck that was towing it and hit a car passing in the other direction, head on. The driver of the car was killed and the owner of the dump truck and trailer subsequently lost everything because he was negligent in hauling a trailer that could not have legally passed our state inspection or a Fed DOT inspection.

I guess that all I`m trying to say is that it`s false economy to use something that may set you up for a huge liability.

Russ

[Buzz-sawyer]

Hi Russ
In the area I live farmers haul round bails piled sky high on old mobile home frames...........

I guess if you were affraid of DOT or state inspection it would be an issue.
fact is it isnt around here in central Illinois we can build and title anything on wheels.....
 

[Gary_C]

I have a 3 axle, 24 ft flatbed gooseneck trailer that came with trailer house hubs and rims with 9-14.5 tires. Trailer is rated at 22,500 lbs. In one year when I was hauling a lot of hay, I bought 14 tires and had numerous others replaced by Goodyear because they failed immediately. When I first got the trailer those tires were about $75 each. When I finally gave up on them, they were being made in Mexico and cost $175 each. You can buy new hubs, wheel bearings, and 8 bolt rims for those axles and get rid of those worthless 14.5 tires. The local Goodyear rep practically begged me to make the conversion and even bought back some of the tires I had. There is a reason why those mobile home movers carry 15-20 spares when they have to move some distance. I found out that one spare is not enough. The 9-14.5 tires are 12 ply construction but are only made in bias construction and the heat build up destroys them. If you absolutely have to use them, keep your speeds down below 50 MPH and keep your loads light. The 7-14.5 and 8-14.5 are even lower rated tires than the 9-14.5.

As far as the trailer house frame, my wife's brother found one of those real cheap and got me to make a trailer for him. I would never do it again. I shortened that frame and welded reinforcing on it and it was still flimsy and wobbly. He only hauls his lawnmowers on it and I think the wood deck is the only thing that keeps it from going around corners like a snake. Trying to weld on that flimsy I-Beam frame will cause a lot of warping and bending.

You do what you like, but if it was my money, I would buy one of those new $5-6,000 gooseneck trailers with tandem duals and rated at 20,000 lbs. They are made a little light, but with one of those, you will have something you can use and not spend your time working on.

[johnjbc]

In Pa you can’t get a trailer inspected with Mobil home tires on it. They have to say DOT approved. I just went to a mobile home junk yard, and bought 4 tires and rims, about a month ago. They are 10 or 12 ply and raised the price to $30 this time.
I seen to have about 2 flats a year and just put on a different tire and rim  when it happens.
The trailer is a Southeast rated at 12k but licensed at 10k . When I haul my 8k pound Kubota the tires get a little warm but seem to carry it ok.

Bought the frame from a 10’ wide house trailer and cut it down to make a forwarding trailer.  Its all done but the log bunks and hoist . Made it 6’ wide and long enough to haul 16’ logs. I ordered an 8 ton jack with clevis ends and am planning to make something like the hoist they sell to mount in the back of a pickup. It should lift a fairly large log but I’m not sure if I will be able to swing it over the trailer by hand.