Working on the trailer...

[steved]

I'll leave the lumber dry out (trailer will be parked under cover from this point out), and spray the deck with used oil to preserve it. That will make the wood all one color and make most of the imperfections disappear. I'm also going to spray the frame with undercoat, since its difficult to get paint inside the tubes. That will also help lubricate and preserve the springs.

Next summer I will pull the hubs apart and go through everything...the two I pulled have Timken bearings, so the guy wasn't pulling my leg when he said the PO installed new Timken bearings not that long ago. Everything is smooth, so I doubt there is any issues at this point.

One thing I did figure out I need to do is create a frame bumper where the spring comes up against the frame...that shouldn't be hard to fabricate and isn't critical at the moment. I'm also going to increase the height of the sides by another 12", that should put me in the neighborhood of 3/4 cord capacity.

Took me what, almost two full months? And it wasn't even that bad of a project...

 

[zogger]

Nice stout one man, good build!

 

[steved]

Well, road tested...250 miles up, back into the woods, and 250 miles home loaded.

Need higher sides...that will be my next mod. I also know I need to replace at least one wheel seal, so that will also be on the agenda.

Overall, it pulls well.

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[Freakingstang]

nice build. how big is it? that's a long haul for half a cord of wood! I thought 100 miles for a cord and a half that I do was a little far.

 

[steved]

nice build. how big is it? that's a long haul for half a cord of wood! I thought 100 miles for a cord and a half that I do was a little far.

It's 5x8.

I'm up there at least monthly to see family, so dragging the trailer there isn't any big deal. If I can get sides on it, I should be closer to 3/4 of a cord.

It dropped me about 1mpg round trip, so not too bad there.

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[ChoppyChoppy]

I bought 2 brand new Dexter axles last year for my trailer for about $750, 6k rated though.

I am constantly in awe at the kinda deals people find on craigslist 500$ for a pair of axles with brakes?! You couldn't touch that for 1k plus around my area...

 

[Ambull01]

Is a double axle trailer a must for a firewood hauler?

 

[zogger]

Is a double axle trailer a must for a firewood hauler?

I see every conceivable way to haul wood around here, just loaded into any size truck, single axle light duty landscraping trailers, home made pickup bed trailers, double axle trailers, expanded mesh or solid steel and oak floors and sides, army trailers, expensive dump trailers.

Whatever ya want. I heard tell some folks use car trunks and vans...

 

[Ambull01]

I see every conceivable way to haul wood around here, just loaded into any size truck, single axle light duty landscraping trailers, home made pickup bed trailers, double axle trailers, expanded mesh or solid steel and oak floors and sides, army trailers, expensive dump trailers.

Whatever ya want. I heard tell some folks use car trunks and vans...

lmao. Oh man, good one right there. Heard one guy stopped using his Caddy because it slid down on some leaves into a muddy ditch.

 

[steved]

If it wasn't for getting back into soft spots, I thought long and hard about converting back to a single axle...my limiting factor would have been tires at 6600#s. But wide tandems, like I have, make dragging that trailer into soft stuff much less troubling. My build is more about making it in and out of the loading spot than carrying a lot of weight. For example, I was cutting shallow ruts with my truck this weekend, the trailer was hardly making a mark on the roadway.

The primary thing to keep in mind whether buying a trailer or loading it is the weight. It doesn't take long to overload a trailer or truck, or exceed the tow vehicle's rating.

I personally like tandem axles because of the safety factor...unlikely to lose two tires at the same time and you can always pegleg home in a pinch.

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