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Just suppose, you theoretically need a trailer and you are a tightwad locost SOB. You have been looking at economy utility trailers and nothing hits the mark where you are willing to open your wallet. Then you find a 16' boat trailer in craigslist for $250.00 with a spare tire. This starts the engineering mind going. I have a plasma cutter and a welder and with a boat trailer. I now have 85 percent of the steel, lights, hitch, axle , wheels and fenders needed to make a locost purpose built trailer. If i buy a 10 gauge 4'x8' sheet of steel from my steel vendor i can have it sheared longitudinal into 4 pieces 12"x8'. my steel vendor has a brake that can bend 10 gauge. all four of the 12" strips are bent into a L shape 1.8"x10" two of the 8 foot c channels are cut in half and each one of these 4' pieces will be welded to the 8 foot piece giving you the parts to create two 2"x10" boxes that are 12' long and that's plenty long for a locost. The next decision is do we use the leaf spring and axle to make a tall trailer or take the axel and cut it to make drop axel for a low profile trailer. the low profile trailer also requires that you do a offset for the hitch.
I built a trailer with my father about 15 years ago that was a low profile trailer for his race car that was basically as i have describe above. now one of the neat things about having a box section to drive you car on top of is that you can make ramps that will slide inside of the box section and if it is a low profile trailer they dont need to be very long. For the racecar we had two 48" long ramps that were c channel 1"x9"x1" and slid into the box section. For the low profile trailer we used 15" wheels with some tall sidewalls because those tires are your suspension on a drop axel trailer. I know i left out the frame work for the boxes to sit on but this is enough to get you thinking about what you could possibly come up with. i have got to dig around and see if I can find some pictures of that trailer, cause i may just be building one again.

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"Make it a GREAT day"
Tony Chiles

Definitely - it can work Tony. Just make sure the axle, wheels, tires, and bearings can carry the weight.

One of my friends tows his Sprite around on something very similar. Its super simple, super light weight, and you can tow it behind pretty much anything. I believe the axle bolted to the frame (no spring) so its super low and does exactly what you described.

Now for some pics!

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-Andrew
Build Log
Youtube

YMMV, but if the car is within half the weight of the trailer, I'd think the car suspension would bee sufficient to damp the trailer as you've described.

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Locost builder and adventurer, and founder (but no longer owner) of Kinetic Vehicles

Interesting idea. I am in the middle of a trailer build myself. If I had stiffer siderails, I would think strongly about the torsion axles rather than leaf springs. Do you think a 1-1/2" tall box would provide the necessary vertical rigidity? Or do you plan on other longitudinal beams?

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Chuck.

“Any suspension will work if you don’t let it.” - Colin Chapman

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Tony, The car weighs right at 1400 lbs What you're describing would work well if the boat trailer axle can carry the weight

My neighbor and his Dad built a simple trailer last weekend from a salvaged boat trailer axle. 6x10 trailer bed with a 4 foot tongue built from 2x4 hot rolled C channel and designed to carry 3500 lbs. I was impressed that they knocked the whole thing out in 2 days

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Too much week, not enough weekend.

OOPS I did it again
http://www.locostusa.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=35&t=17496

Blood Sweat and Beers
http://www.locostusa.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=35&t=15216

guys, being experts at space frame construction, it should be well within your capabilities to build a space frame trailer to carry a locost.

and a tilting bed so it will load easily.

make a traditional "a" frame with the hitch on one end and a torsion tube axle on the other.

now get the 1" box and build a pivoting bed using 4 trusses to mount to the axle like a seesaw.

now fit a hydraulic jack to the front.

i feel shure that some enterprising chap with a cad program could knock out a fully stressed drawing of the trusses needed to hold the weight of a locost bearing in mind that the front end of the deck trusses would be supported by the jack and the "a" frame, it would leave only the rear overhang to engineer but that could be tweeked by moving the axle pivots back a bit off center.

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and chrispin chrispian shall ne'er go by,
from this day to the end of the world.
but we in it shall be remembered.

I made mine very locost about $200 for a set of tires. A mate gave me an old boat trailer. I cut off everything that looked boaty. I had some old highway sign frames 1.5m x 3m just the size for a seven so welded that on top. had a shed pulled down so had some 8x2 timber for a deck. made it tilting. And will be using it today to bring my car back from its NZ certification process. Tows really well.
john

"cut everything off that looked boaty". Hahaha


Tom

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Sometimes, I'm as confused as a baby in a topless bar.

My short term memory is absolutely horrible and so is my short term memory.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sG16m2e4O6I

over the years I have build a dozen trailers .
the blue one was my 1st I built in high schools metal shop class .
that was back in 1978 .
I built it because I used to race off road motorcycles and I used to tow the bike with my 1973 bug to the races all over the US .
every year for the last 5 years I say I'm going to sand blast it and restore it .maybe this year ?

the black trailer I built in 1981 to get my race car to the track . at one time I had it fully inclosed with a canvas covering so it was a in closed trailer .

5 years ago I did 3 designs of trailers I wanted to go into production with .
the hell you have to go thru with the DOT for manufacturing as to not have a home built reg for it made it not worth going into production .
I did build a hand full of them and just sold them as HB trailers .

taking a boat or camp trailer is another way to get your self a good trailer .
but there are some things you have to deal with like axels and load ratings .

After reading all this, I starting thinking that a trailer may soon be the next step in my Europa project. The body is in one garage and the chassis in another. Joining the two together means the chassis and body wont be in the garage that has all the tools. A trailer would mean I could tow it to the "real" shop, work on it, then drop it off on my way back home. Also, John's comment on the space frame trailer twigged a memory of the Progress Chassis Co's trailer they offered in the late 50's. I think it shouldn't be too difficult to knock up in a weekend. Now where to find an old boat trailer to rob the needed bits.....


Rod