Our Recycled Trailer
For quite some time we have wanted a 16 foot trailer, but every time we thought about buying one something with a higher priority came up, so we never got around to it. Necessity is the mother of invention, so I came up with a solution to build our own.
When we first moved off grid, we lived in a 24 foot camping trailer for almost a year and never got one picture. We thought about selling the trailer, but we decided the frame was worth more than what we would get for the trailer; so I hired a couple high school kids to strip the trailer down to the frame.
FYI: Camping trailers are measured from the hitch to the bumper. Work/utility trailers are measured by the size of the bed.
I added tail lights and made my first trip to get lumber for the chicken run extension and lumber for the trailer bed.
I bolted 2 x 4’s to the steel cross members and screwed down 2 x 8’s to make the 16 foot bed. I also added eye bolts to be able to tie down a load. I finished the bed just in time for my son-in-law @mericanhomestead to make a trip to pick up straw for the garden.
I am still not quite done – I would like to make fenders for the trailer, but for now it is functional and ready for the next trip to pick up more lumber at the recycler. The total cost to make our trailer was $397. That includes the cost of demolition.
Have a great day and thanks for your up-vote, Tim and Joann
What a great way to recycle! In Alaska they want twice to three times as much for a regular trailer, versus the states.
We need one, but can’t afford one.
Maybe this will be an alteritive for us. Thanks!
I love following along!
We have a neighbor who welds for a living. We wanted to borrow one of his homemade trailers but he told us that it didn't have plates because they wouldn't let him register it. Since he made it from scraps, they weren't that it wasn't stolen and then refurbished.
He just uses it in the country, but never on busy paved roads. Sometimes our laws lack common sense just because writing a ticket is big money for a crumbling state.
Good for you on making something useful! What a wonderful world it would be if we all could do some good with what we have!! God bless.
I have not registered it yet. They say it is not a problem. I probably should not tell you, but I took the licence plate off my little trailer.
Well, I won't tell. ;-)
Very nice well done
Are you going to do anything about the rust?
Probably not. It adds character.
I like the look of the trailer and you can't beat the price for a serviceable trailer. Nice job!