You use a four pin or a 7 pin wire connection to the trailer? The 7 pin actually has a wire to charge a battery on the trailer.

I used the hell out of my 14' PJ trailer during this last couple of weeks. We moved into a new house, so between moving furniture, ATV's, my Ranger, my wood chipper, garden tools, power tools and a butt load of boxes my trailer got a workout!

Sounds like you need to find yourself a mid 90's F150. They are cheap, everywhere, reliable, easy/cheap to fix.

 

I would go at least a 92. That generation (92-96) fuel injection system was better than the previous version (the previous version gave doggy engines, but you can mod them to make them better). I would either go with a 92-96 or carburated. I loathe the throttle response on the mid-late 80's trucks, especially in a stick shift.

 


Of course, if you take any of them and convert it to run propane, they are all decent. The older ones are stupid simple to convert, and you won't have the cold weather propane issues that we have up in the frozen north. Will also save you a bunch on fuel! (Convert it to duel fuel so you can run gas if you have to).


 

ETA: If you don't need to set any land speed records, I was very happy with my 300 inline 6. Reliable, easy to work on. I put a cam in it (and free flowing exhaust), played with the ignition, and a few other mods and it really woke up!

A lot of those straight 6 engines had a 5 speed stickshift behind em.  I got that setup in my shortbed 2wd regular cab and it is geared for highway bigtime.  



Anyway, that 5 speed has the sort of slave cylinder where you pull the transmission to fix it.  I had some clutch issues when I got the thing and paid a friend to just pull it all apart and I did clutch and all while in there cause I did not wish to go in there again anytime soon.



Anyway, research anything you do look at.



I am happy with my old trash truck, but when dealing with stuff this age some poor ownership can really hurt these legendary engines so that you might not get the legend you want.



Good luck on what you have.

Just came across this video demonstration of why weight distribution is important on trailers, thought this may be a good place to share it:

I tie to the frame of the trailer, since most smaller trailers use angle iron I just run strap from side to side then attach to the frame I cant remember what type of construction your trailer had

Did you ever get your welder?

What about tacking on a few d rings in strategic locations?

If you knew you were going to be doing something like hauling a couple pieces of plywood you could take some home made wood blocks or cinder blocks or something to use as spacers so the straps have something to tension against.



If you come off the tongue and go to the tailgate you can probably stay low enough, but it varies.



When I say come off the tongue, I figure you can wrap a strap of something around it or a support right there or something.



I have never owned a tube trailer



I guess to some extent with some of the longer straps I have I could slide a strap under the trailer and just wrap the whole trailer up maybe.  Depends on what the bottom looks like and skip being around the axle and suspension of course.

Wood blocks get used for a million things at my place.  Ok, I did not count that high cause I did not take my boots off while counting.



Anyway, the wood blocks can be used for wheel chocks if unhooking the trailer on a slope.  Some of my trailers can use a spacer for the trailer tongue jack due to it being a height challenged trailer hooked up to one of my vehicles.



Blocks get used for protecting some stuff when loading or unloading, we talked about blocks for the tires on the mowers at some point.



Blocks are also a soso hammer if I need to hammer something a little bit.



I have some scrap 4x4 pieces and some scrap 2x4 stuff and some scrap 2x12s as well.  Some is pressure treated and some is not.  

Precisely why I made my flatbed with no sides or deck.


Stack a couple pallets on the deck up to the height of your sides, place load on top, strap down accordingly.

I do nothing.

But any general coating used for decks and such can only help.


Consider adding traction additive with the application.

For

 
the coating? Whatever. Stain, paint, whatever tickles your fancy. For traction? You can add dried sand (you can oven dry some sand, doesn't have to be special) or in the paint section they should have traction additive. It comes in a little bag (at least it does at Menards) and you just mix it into the paint and either brush or roll it on.


I would personally go paint if you want to add traction, paint having more body.

Like I said all my stuff is used and abused and getting repaired as needed and what not.



So I go looking for stuff on clearance or something.  Find a dented can of stain that seems to have leaked a bit and see if the manager will knock the price down.  No I don't dent the can or make it leak, but lots of places get damaged goods.



Never hurts to ask.



I have an old bag of playsand or something on my deck right now, been there a year or so and sand has been used here and there for traction additive or something I needed a little bit of sand for.



Bag is about dead, so gonna stick it in a tote soonish.



I generally coat and throw the sand onto it.  Not the best method at all but mostly I am after just a little bit better than stock.



If I had a pretty nice and new trailer I might be more willing to look at some of the oil stains for decks or something.  



I am absolutely not above messing around in walmart and other places and looking at their improperly mixed paint returns as well.  I just have to admit I would be a tad picky on color and might adjust it as needed.  Not gonna want a pink trailer deck even if that would stop everyone from wanting to borrow the sucker.

Now I get to re read all of this I want a car trailer and I need to decide build or "trade for one "/buy

I think it is mentioned in here somewhere, but go over to pirate4x4 and wear your thick skin.



Go to their tow vehicle and trailers section and find the thread on little modifications that they would not do without.



Even if you buy a new one, lots of the mods are easy to do on a new trailer.



If you buy a used one of just build one by yourself then a lot of the mods can be planned ahead of time.



Some stuff won't apply to your use at all.  Other stuff just makes me wonder why I never thought of that 2 decades ago.



 

I'm sure there is lots of good info at p4x4 but I'd rather run bare ass backwards threw a cactus patch than go dredge threw all the crap I'm sure a few searches will find me what I need good news is I have featherlight trailers close and some place that sells PJ trailers so I may go some night with a tape measure and get info I need and make a copy

Ok.



Their tow vehicle and trailer section does not get that much traffic.



Lots of people building stuff and asking good questions and I still like the sticky on "got brakes" or whatever that is in that section as well.

After running numbers tonight it would cost less to buy something than build it I would be looking st roughly 2600 for a 6" channel 18' trailer with prices my local steel supply gave me unless I came across free supplies it is a wash

Yes that was steel lumber axles (with brakes ) springs fenders jack rim/tires lights ext

The wood will go for years with zero treatment.  To some extent it is hard to treat wood that does not have some age on it, depends on the wood and what it is.  After the winter you should be able to get it to absorb a fair bit of whatever you want to treat it with, and I am getting clumsy lately so I throw sand into something like a trailer deck I am painting or treating.

I bought a can of do it yourself bed liner for the plywood on my trailer, but ended up using it elsewhere.  So I don't know how well it works, but I'd still like to give it a try.

Catching up on this myself, Kitties.

Wanted to mention, don't unhitch the trailer from your rig when using a winch.  Without the rig, the load you are winching may exceed the tongue weight.  This will put the tongue in the air and the rear of the trailer on the ground.  On level ground it's a surprise. On a hill, everything may end up at the bottom of the hill or smashed into the back of your rig, possibly with you in between.

When using a winch, I like this guy:



Though, I'm poor so I improvise.  I've welded some 1.5" square tubing into a hook shape that can hook around the front of the trailer deck frame.  Next I bolted those to the bottom of the winch.  I found this was too unsightly and difficult to store so I turned the hooks over to act as winch feet and use straps to hook into holes drilled in the hooks.  

You can get creative and use straps around the front uprights to the winch.  Or run straps to or around part of the tongue.

For securing a load, I most always strap to the main frame.  The upper rails tend to flex and bend permanently.  Also, just bouncing down the road they can move enough for a strap to come loose.  My frame is channel so the flange is available for hooks.  The uprights keep the strap hooks from sliding fore or aft on the frame.

If your frame is not conducive or your hooks are too large to keep a grip, you can install anchors under the deck just inside of the frame rails.  Some D-rings would be great.  Use carriage bolts through the deck boards. Then you can use those snap hook straps I recommended earlier and/or axle straps through the anchor around the side frame and up to your ratchet hook.

For your tube rails, axle straps have loops or rings on the ends and will wrap around the tube.  They also make ratchet straps with an extra loop of webbing to run the hook around and back to itself.  A heavier version has extra D-rings to loop back to.  

When strapping flat items, I'll lay a strap on the deck first.  Load the item.  Then pull the strap over and across to hook to the frame, cinching the item.  Works for doors, pile of sheet goods and bundles of things but could crush your item if it's a thin sheet etc..  

Under the odd but useful category:   I use my trailer at night 90% of the time.  I've had a flat on the trailer but could not tell while moving so I mounted an extra amber clearance light on the inside front of the fender illuminating the lower section of tire.  I can see them nice and clear in the mirrors.   You may not catch it immediately but you should spot it before the tire shreds and mangles your fender.  Not to mention it's cheaper than a TPMS system.

I picked up a monster sized hand crank winch thingy, weighs in at maybe 70lbs all on its own with zero cable on it and I think it is rated at 4k lbs but I forget.

If you are still going to be learning welding and getting into all that I would consider making something like what is pictured above.

Just for my 4x4 stuff I have some short chains and what not that can be used to chain the winch in place.  I need to cut some steel or buy something for this thing, have not decided what I want to do really.

It is not going to be mounted anywhere but would be something I grab if I know I will need it.  I plan to rig up something for the back of the pickup truck bed, and as mentioned stock anchor points can cause bending of the bed.  But basically have it at bed height to pull stuff on the trailer when it is hooked up.

I do about everything with the trailer hookedup, loading or unloading or me walking on the trailer and even me working on the trailer.  If I am doing something when it is not hooked up I don't even worry about the 2 tires as stabalizers, I get out 4 big jack stands and put one at each corner of the trailer.  I have had trailers move and roll and it sucks if an end comes up and you go down and wonder if the trailer is going to keep coming down or not.

I admit the small electric winches for a side by side or atv would be a lot simpler than my hand crank monster, but this is one of those things I don't plan to have to ever replace.  I already have some wire rope/cable or whatever you want to call it from when I was making dog runs for my yard doggies.  A lot of the stuff is rated more than the winch but for my use it won't matter at all.

I did not read the old posts so maybe a lot of this is covered already, these kitty threads as I call em are nice to read through because there are a lot of ideas in them and unless someone takes notes I don't know how they would remember everything unless they use the ideas all the time.

I put new tires on one of my trailers last fall and while the deck is alright for doing some stuff right now it is finally to the point I am going to remove all the wood and look at it and redo it.  This trailer was an old boat trailer so it is a home made wooden deck and not balanced well for a lot of stuff, but it has a 16ft long wood deck so I use it for hauling wood and stuff because it does not stick off the trailer for most of what I buy.  Right now if I need to do something heavy I put my 2x12 ramps on the deck to spread the load out and it is fine.  But there are enough soft spots it will get a redo this spring.  And it feels like spring is here.

If I had a good simple way of getting pictures from phone to ARFCOM, I could have all kinds of pictures of different loads. Deal alot with that stuff at work so have everything from a Mower on little trailer to skid steers to excavators/ crane on a RGN.

I am close to coal creek which is well known in east tn for off road stuff.  I tend to buy gas at the stations that are near there partly because it is amusing, and scary, to see how people secure their loads.  For those who travel to ride their stuff off road coal creek is pretty well known in the surrounding states as well.

I have been told I overdo the tie downs and stuff, I tend to buy stuff rated way above what load it will see and I use extra straps just in case one somehow comes loose or more likely something damaged a strap somehow.

Anyway, I highly recomend pirate4x4 website, need a thick skin if posting there but good reading, and in their towing or tow rig section is a monster thread on big dumb loads.  They have a thread sticky on securing your load as well I think.

I drop in at least once a month to see the updates in the big dumb load thread.  Some are pics found on net and a lot are stuff that people saw in real life.  A few are loads someone did themselves.

Back to buying gas locally, I have seen someone try to tie chains up like you would tie up a rope.  Did not seem to work well with a lot of slack in the chain.  Seen no straps of any sort, just put it in park or maybe engaged the brake lever if it had a brake loc of that sort.  But gravity is all that is holding it down on that trailer and east tn has a curve here and there in some of the roads.

And I have seen some where I guess someone had a contest on who could attach the most straps cause it kind of looked like that side by side was "knitted" to the trailer.

I had to take a class last year put on by Iowa DOT and they basicly said we should be able to flip your trailer upside down and everything should stay attached so I just go by that principle

One of the best improvements I've made to my trailer is to have some loops welded on the rails. This gives me solid attachment points. There wasn't really anything to attach ratchet straps to when I was hauling stuff before. I had to hook it on the rails and hope for the best. This is a 5'x8' trailer, so I wasn't hauling anything big but it's still very helpful.

Don't forget the beekeeping thread !