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Building a trailer is this a good welder?

A

akasephiroth

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Joined
Jan 1, 2014
Messages
17
Ok First off the idea: Me and my family do alot of shark fishing in the summer months, we will be getting reels rods and rigs ready soon but when we shark fish its always do it at night and we go as 3+ people for safty. This rules out the use of my single cab truck so we use wife's Jeep. It is hell hauling all of our gear for 3-5 people in the Jeep most the stuff ends up straped to the roof and there's nothing like driving with a 10 foot surf rod hanging out in front of your view...

Now the Advice about a trailer. I want to build something like a fishing cart (a little larger) that i can pull with the Jeep and haul all our stuff (cooler, poles, chairs ect). I have an old golf cart, i was thinking about taking the body off and building a trailer out the frame, even build rod racks on the trailer for easy carry of the larger rods.

Problem is i have no welder....I'm looking at this http://www.homedepot.com/p/Campbell-Hausfeld-115-Volt-70-Amp-Stick-Welder-WS0990/202754573 but i dont know **** about welding, my buddy has done alot of welding but he too does not have his own welder. Would this be a suitable welder for doing the above job? would a golf cart frame be safe trailer base pulled at 55-65 mph? Advice needed thanks.
 
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Doug Arthurs

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Joined
Dec 1, 2012
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1,137
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Ontario
If you can't answer these questions yourself you don't know enough to safely weld an over the road trailer. Instead of endangering others purchase a professionally built trailer and customize it to your needs.
 
B

bobcatdan

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Jan 4, 2011
Messages
9,948
Location
Kaukauna,WI
No, those useless buzz box couldn't weld tin foil together. Arc welders need to be 220 to do anything an arc welder is good for. The smallest welder worth considering is a 120 volt, 130 amp wire welder like the ones northern sells. I think with sales, those can get below $300. They get pretty good reviews and over all are suppose to be not bad little machines. Now that said, I'd say its questionable if even one like that would give good enough penetration for something like a trailer. The little ones are rated to 3/16, with the next jump sometimes rated to 1/4". Now those rates are max output with the little guy giving all its all. Personally I wouldn't buy anything less then a miller 140. Next thing, just owning a good welder doesn't mean **** if you can't weld anything better then ************. I don't know how good your buddy is, very well could be better then me, but if he isn't a certified welder, take his tips with a grain a salt. Big mistakes guys make is they learn the wrong way to do stuff. Guys can make alright welds doing a lot of stuff, but it is not right. Once you get wrong ways ingrained in your brain, it is hard to unlearn. My two cents is take some night classes at a local tech. Welding isn't rocket science and it is a great skill to have.
 
H

Horns

Active member
Joined
Oct 29, 2010
Messages
33
Your first welding project shouldn't be a trailer.

~Via Mobile
 
OP
A

akasephiroth

Member
Joined
Jan 1, 2014
Messages
17
bobcatdan said:
No, those useless buzz box couldn't weld tin foil together. Arc welders need to be 220 to do anything an arc welder is good for. The smallest welder worth considering is a 120 volt, 130 amp wire welder like the ones northern sells. I think with sales, those can get below $300. They get pretty good reviews and over all are suppose to be not bad little machines. Now that said, I'd say its questionable if even one like that would give good enough penetration for something like a trailer. The little ones are rated to 3/16, with the next jump sometimes rated to 1/4". Now those rates are max output with the little guy giving all its all. Personally I wouldn't buy anything less then a miller 140. Next thing, just owning a good welder doesn't mean **** if you can't weld anything better then ************. I don't know how good your buddy is, very well could be better then me, but if he isn't a certified welder, take his tips with a grain a salt. Big mistakes guys make is they learn the wrong way to do stuff. Guys can make alright welds doing a lot of stuff, but it is not right. Once you get wrong ways ingrained in your brain, it is hard to unlearn. My two cents is take some night classes at a local tech. Welding isn't rocket science and it is a great skill to have.
Click to expand...

Thank you all for the advice you have offically talked me out of doing this lol. Ill work toward getting a better welder and taking some lessons from my buddy when i get to that point. As for his skill he is only 18 and has preformed is 4 years of high school in a welding program to head on to be certified welder. His suggestion to me on a welder was looking like 500+ but you know how young guys are they believe us older generation are made of money. i just dont have that cash flow atm to pay that much on something someone else will be using.

Ill keep eyes out for a small trailer i can bolt a couple of pvc pipes too for rod holders and use that for now :) thanks for fast responses and wonderful advice.
 
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K

KEH

Well-known member
Joined
Jan 31, 2010
Messages
5,142
Suggestions for selecting a trailer: I'm a little confused about what you are wanting to carry, but generally I would determine the length of what you are carrying and match your trailer to that. If I understand you the load you will carry is very light so weight carrying shouldn't be a problem, however remember you can carry a light load on a heavy duty trailer but it is not good to try carrying a heavy load on a light duty trailer.

Remember, some day some klutz will try to overload the trailer, so go heavy rather than light. I've seen too many examples of overloading to mention.

I would first, after deciding what specifications you want in a trailer, go to places that sell trailers and examine what they have. Pay attention to the thickness of the steel they are made from, the axle capacity, and the wheel and tire sizes. Most important , check prices of the one(s) you like. If you decide to buy used you will have information to make a wise decision on your purchase. I have seen numerous used trailers for sale for as much or more than new price.

If you decide to build a trailer in the future, remember that it's usually not worth doing unless you have most of the materials on hand, preferrably obtained free. If you buy new materials, you have spent as much as you would on a new trailer. Example, a new axle with hubs installed at tractor Supply is about $150. This does not include wheels, tires, and springs.

I encourage you to learn to weld, but like the other poster said I wouldn't start on a trailer.

KEH
 
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Mark71GTX

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Joined
Jun 22, 2010
Messages
7
Location
NC
Keep an eye on Craigslist for used trailers and talk to people at work about trailers. Some people have trailers they do not want or need anymore that you can get cheap, or even trade for. Also, I am a welder - I was given one of those CH welding machines and I was amazed at how big a POS it was.

Sent from my XT907 using Tapatalk
 
I

ishiboo

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Joined
Oct 27, 2010
Messages
9,481
Location
Oshkosh, WI
I strongly recommend as many have said buying the HF trailer. If you want to learn to weld, you'll have an enjoyable time still welding up the frames to carry the surf boards/etc. :)

If you are absolutely limited to 120v and in cost, I would recommend going with a 130-140a flux-core MIG for you to begin on.
 
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