Mission Utility Trailers
Welcome to Mission Utility Trailers. We aim to build single- and double-axle
utility trailers just a little bit better than the other guys.
Some examples of quality measures we take are:
- The jack on the tongue is braced on the bottom, instead of just being bolted
on. How many trailers have you seen with bent jacks on them?
- The bottom of the coupler is flush with the tongue, so that nothing sticks
down to hit your bumper and artificially limit your turning angle.
- The ramp supports are well made. They are the usual 1" angle iron, but are
fully supported over their entire length by a 1/2" solid burglar bar
underneath instead of by a couple of little tabs of angle iron here and
there.
- The top rails are made of angle iron instead of round pipes. Most people
think that when they buy a trailer with pipes for rails, they are getting a
better trailer, but they can't see how thin and cheap those pipes often are
until they drop something on them and dent them. Also, pipes, properly
used, will prevent a trailer from twisting, but using pipes for top rails
often makes the welds between them and the verticals crack. Better to use
angle iron and know what you're dealing with.
- I want to have a vertical support above the axle mount in between the
wheels, to spread the load more evenly, so I usually skip the fender
backing plate. I figure that if the trailer is going to be used for the
sort of material that might damage the tires, some small pieces of wood can
be laid or bolted against the side rails.
- The frame and wooden flooring are painted before assembly. Many manufacturers
assemble the trailer first, and then paint only what is exposed!
The fenders are bolted on so that they may be painted or replaced easily
when they are old or damaged. Note how the 1/8" gap between the fender and
the frame helps prevent the accumulation of dirt and water, which cause
rusting and aging.
The jack is bolted on for easy replacement, and has a support on the bottom
to keep it from bending. The foot is a real one, bolted on, instead of a
welded-on piece of angle iron which will make the jack difficult to replace.
The wiring harness is also protected from damage by the safety chains, since
it runs through holes in front of the chain area.
The wooden flooring is bolted on instead of held down by welded-on angle
irons on the ends. This facilitates the repainting or replacement of individual
planks, should this ever be necessary.
The entire trailer is built with an eye toward reducing any accumulations of
dirt and water. For example, the planks are spaced roughly 3/8" apart to
keep the trailer's floor cleaner.
It is legal in Texas to tow one trailer behind another, with an overall
length limit of 65 feet for the truck + both trailers. I often find it
useful to do this, so some trailers are equipped with a reversible ball
mount made of 1/4" or 5/16" thick angle iron on the rear of the trailer.
Two 5/8" bolts attach the mount to the trailer frame, and the mount
includes safety chain loops.
Here is an 8' box trailer towed behind a 16' utility trailer.
Here are some pictures of the ramps I build. There is a 3' long ramp made
with 3" channel iron and a 4' long ramp made with 4" channel iron. The long
one is getting a little heavy to pick up, but by God it will hold anything
the trailers will. In any case, both types of ramps are very sturdy.
Here are a couple of views of the 8' long trailer. This one is 5.5' wide,
with a 1-ton axle. It shares many of the above features of its 16' bretheren.
You can see that the fenders are bolted on for this trailer, too. There is
also a view of the tongue and coupler, with the associated safety chains and
wiring harness. The coupler is mounted on the tongue so that the bottom is
flat; whem you make tight turns, the tongue doesn't stick down and hit your
bumper and damage something.
You are welcome to email me at aomoore3@gmail.com
