I started a little trailer project

[juddspaintballs]

It got a little out of hand. It's a 4x8 built like a brick shithouse. 3500# torsion axle under it. My intention was to use my Volvo to tow it with a couple of dirt bikes on it but to also be able to use it with a Suburban to tow something more substantial like a cord of wood or a big diesel motor that's been sitting in my former neighbor's garage for a year.

Well, here's some pics at least:

[Bucho]

Nice!

[Stinson]

Sweet project. What is the wall thickness? That thing does look strong as hell! Only weak point I see is the tonque. If you triangulated it with two more supports going back under the corners it would really be over built.

What will your decking material be?

[thetable]

Trailer is looking STOUT! I, for one, hate torsion springs, but my experience with them has been on a couple 1st gen CRX race cars.

[BillyGoat]

Hate to say it but can a volvo even tow the weight of that trailer with the wheels/tires/decking/lights/side-rails/fenders/tongue installed? It's gotta weight over 1200# (unloaded) when completed right?

I'd "second" the suggestion to diagonally brace the tongue once the axle and tongue are aligned.

[GREWUPIN_D11]

That low deck height, enabled by the torsion axle setup, is very attractive. It does look like the choice of material, especially for the interior cross members, was more robust than strictly necessary for a 1000lb payload. Should be stout, though!

[juddspaintballs]

3500# axle. All said and done, I'm looking at around 700# trailer weight based on the weight of the materials I purchased. The XC70 and XC90 I have are both rated to tow 3,300#. Even with a conservative rating, I should be able to carry 2500# on the trailer.

Wall thickness on the 2x4 box is .120". I probably will not triangulate the tongue. There's no real benefit with the frame as sturdy as it is and the oversized material for the tongue. Plus, I'll be able to jack the trailer 90 degrees without hitting my own vehicle.

[Laoch]

You said "Volvo" and we were thinking cars.

That is a HD trailer.
Whatcha gonna do fer decking?

[J&J]

I was thinking about a triangulated tongue also because it helps take the flex out of the platform but with almost 1/8" wall thickness box vs angle it aint gona twist anyhow. Great job on the fitting & welding.... & I like torsion axles.

I tow dirtbikes with a diesel Jetta that I built the hitch for & it tows like a champ. You can get trailer plug kits from uhaul if you need them.

[juddspaintballs]

I'm gonna go with 1/8" treadplate decking.

Welded D rings all around.

Pit Posse (eBay version) removable wheel chocks with extra hardware so I can haul one bike centered or two outboard.

I'm still designing them, but I'll have slide out tie down points in the front frame member so I can put bike wheels directly on the edge of the trailer and still tie down the outboard handlebars properly.

Stake pockets all around. It'll let me do short sides or tall sides or no sides.

I'm thinking of making a bi-fold gate for it.

Tail lights will be inset into the rear bumper.

It's taller than I wanted it to be since I'm insistent on using 15" wheels, but deck height should come in around 17". The hub centers are just a touch higher than the bottom of the frame.