Alright heres a little project that i just started and plan to complete very soon. Picked up this '91 two place tilt trailer from a forum member for just shy of 400 bucks. Bearings and tires were good so i decided to pick it up and fix it up. Plan is to have it like new for about 100 bucks investment.
NOTE: sorry if any of the pictures suck, i cant take pics for shit.
heres how it looked when i got it:
First step was to take off the plywood decking and strip out all the electrical. The decking is usually held in with around 5-6 carraige bolts and theyll either snap or spin on you when removing. best bet is to take a chisel and hammer and pound out the plywood around the bolt so you can get vice grips on the head to take em out. As for the electrical, i just cut it where needed and yanked it out as its all going to be new.
Next i took the tongue off and the coupler off the tongue. upon removal of the tongue i found things were pretty rotted. the easiest fix would be to cut the end off and drill new holes to mount the coupler. but these are a bitch to back up sometimes so i didnt want to make it any shorter. instead i welded some 1/8" plates on each side to strengthen it up.
the rot:
the fix. not bad for having not picked up a welder in almost a year:
after that i took a flap disc to the tongue and coated it with por15. this gets two coats. while that was drying i also cleaned up the tubes that the wiring runs through along the frame.
thats it for now, about to nights worth of work. im taking a halfday tomarrow so ill be making plenty of progress then.
good deal. I got a trailer off a forum member for dirt cheap over summer. Put new tires & rims on it, rewired it, painted it up and outta nowhere Liveround put a sweet all aluminum drop gate on the back when I was letting him borrow it. Going to do a new deck this spring but for what little I got into it and how much Ive used it its been a great deal. Keep updated with your progress
Looks like a Karavan trailer. I have the same one but mine needs more work. I want to blast and paint it soon. I, actually didn’t think about coating it with POR15 that would hold up better .
pauly, i ws surprised by the rot as well, but at the same time its expected as it is a snowmobile trailer and sees quite a bit of crappy weather.
jeller, im well aware of the por15. been using it for about 5 years now, had quite a bit left over from when i did my truck so i figured why not use it on this.
suzukiriderman, yes it is a karavan trailer.
as for an update, got all my new lights and wiring coupler and chains. opted for a 2" ball instead of the 1 7/8" to make it easier. also the new taillights are led, and not pictured are two amber side markers and a new license plate light as well. also went for grade 8 bolts throughout. also started cleaning the frame more.
the tongue fully assembled with electrical ran through as well, wire loomed the wire inside the tongue.
rewired my trailer… but I just stood it up on end.
450lbs doesn’t feel like too much when you’re standing it up, but when it starts to fall on you it gets real heavy real quick.
Good idea wit hthe 2" ball… I have the same thing. Very convenient.
got an update, yanked the axle from the frame and pulled the wheels off. axle and wheels are now in por15 and im doing a quick cleaning of the frame. then shes going back together.
edit:need to do second coat of por15 still after these pictures.
got the wheels, axle, and tongue bolted back onto the trailer last night. tonight i will be doing all the wiring and if i can get to the store in time i will be getting new plywood as well. possibly picutures tonight
wheels, axle, and tongue bolted on. also have electrical halfway done. would have finished that and worked on getting plywood on but my dad decided to be a little baby and only snowblow 1/4 the driveway before getting “too cold” so when i came home after work and school, i got to clear the rest of the driveway. anyways, heres where im at right now, tomarrow the electrical gets finished and the plywood goes on. need to clean up the sides of the frame itself where the stickers were after i put the plywood on. btw, ive aquired a deal on another trailer that comes with a sled im purchasing from my uncle, so this one will be forsale when i finish.
ok so i forgot about this thread, but the trailer did get finished. i had cut the plywood and brought everything to a buddy’s house so that i could bolt it down inside. the holes are drilled too just didnt have the bars on in this pic…and this is where i left it as i ended up getting rid of the trailer. made my profit on it though.
heres a blurry pic of it after i finished it up. the new owner will probably put mat down for the track and skis.
i just drive my sled into the back of my truck, with a rubber liner that i purchased for it. it constantly bunches up and is a pain in the ass. i plan on cutting to fit the plastics sliders for the skies and bolting them to the rubber so it wont bunch anymore.
i have a sled in the back of my truck probably 4 days a week
so basically just make sure its screwed down and you’ll be fine
