I have a 18' equipment trailer, and its just not long enough, its 16' with a 2' beavertail. I will try and post a picture. It already has 14k axles, and the tongue has 4 total bars to it. The main frame is made from 6" channel with large cross braces, etc. The tongue is actually the same channel that makes the sides, ie the tongue isnt welded under the main frame.

I would like to add a 3' section in front of the axles, and 3' behind the axles but infront of the beavertail. My question is can it be cut and welded safely? I plan not only to reweld the new section in, but weld plates behind the new sections.

I also plan to overlay the wood floor with a thin gauge steel for sliding purposes, and install a new lower ball mount on the front. The most I plan to haul will be around 8-10k.

Thanks

 

If you know what you are doing, then it can be done.

However, I don't recommend stretching anything behind the axles.

Reason being, when you increase distance behind the axle, you increase tail swing when turning, which is extremely dangerous to vehicles in the other lanes of the road.

I had the left mirror torn off my truck by a truck-frame that had been stretched behind the axle (some idiot that thought he could get by without stretching the driveshaft).

When he turned, the rearend of his truck swung across my side of the road. I went as close to the guardrail as I could and lost a mirror. If I had stayed in my lane, I would have lost a windshield and maybe my head.

A dove-tailed trailer already is on the edge of being too long behind the axles.

 

Also, nearly all (and most likely yours) trailers are made of plain old hot-rolled steel--not special frame steel like trucks; so they can be welded/cut/spliced without all the hassle involved with stretching a truck-frame.

 

When you splice the channel, add a doubler of the same thickness as the web on the channel accross the welded area. ( at least 3" on each side of the splice )

Make sure the corners on the flat bar have been rounded off so as to prevent cracks from occuring at the corners of the flat bar.

If you weld the channels together with a 70ksi filler metal, weld the flat bar in with 60ksi filler. Use a small leg fillet around the flat bar. This will give you a visual indicator as to stress in that area allowing the flat bar to crack out before the primary weld in the channel. It will also strengthen the joint greatly.

Dave

 

And make sure the added weight of the trailer, as well as the additional weight that can be carried with the new lenght, aren't overloading the axle ratings.