I was trying to removed a tool box from my trailer that it came with. Noticed that 2 of the 5 screws holding it in were bolted on the bottom. Those bolts are seemingly the only things keeping a support beam attached to the trailer. Also where the beam should be welded to the trailer I found cracks and shoddy welding.
How concerned should I be? I’m trying to make space for a bleach tank. Got the trailer in Nov 2022 and had numerous issues. These beams were added on after the water tank started to pull out the bolts.
The tool box. Bolted screws have the washers.
Underside of the trailer. Only two bolts connect this metal beam.
The beam isnt welded to the trailer. Cracks in the frame here
Am I being over worried and this is normal?
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The vast majority of trailers are overpriced junk that’s built in a flash. Yours is apparently one of those. If you can find a manufacturer and buy straight from them you can usually get a better quality trailer for the same price as the mass produced junk that gets rebranded and sold by middle men.
That angle iron or “metal beam” as you call it isn’t really structural. It’s essentially only there to add a bit of rigidity to the deck boards so that they don’t sag over time. Could it have been welded to the frame? Sure. Is it 100% necessary? No.
Apparently, Ray Charles welded your trailer together though. Those are some pitiful welds to say the least. This is why I urge anyone to avoid the majority of pre-built wash rigs. 90% of them are junk with a few shiny pieces slapped on to attract buyers but anyone with a discerning eye could walk around those trailers and point out dozens of issues. You were brand new in the game and gung-ho to get rolling so it filled a need for you at the time but I would strongly suggest you design and build your own trailer next time. Find a reputable welder (you’re in Texas. Swing a dead cat around and you’ll hit seventeen good welders with it) and pay them to do the welding you need but otherwise you should probably know enough by now what you’d like to have different and what suits your needs the best.
Or throw me $30k and I’ll build you a rig that will last you at least a decade under heavy use. Either way, just don’t buy another pre-built rig from one of these companies that have no clue what their customers really need. All they see is profit margins.
Thanks DT! Learning the hard way. Even when trying to diligently research starting out and coming to forums like this, you just don’t know what you need learn.
FYI for anyone else, this is a VAR trailer, based out of Cookville, Texas.
Ray Charles with one hand tied behind his back fo shoowa! Them joints is cold!
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