Flatbed Purchase!

I got quotes ranging from 3500 to 5500. I said f that, bought the steel for the plate for 400, another 100 for the king pin itself. I'd have to look it up but if I'm remembering right it was about 750 in supplies plus whatever electricity for the welder and the oxygen and acetylene i used cutting the old one out. But don't forget the burn cream expense.

 

Not sure where your at, but found this https://www.truckpaper.com/email/view-page/5216561
Might be worth a look

 

I run a 1996 Wilson road brute combo 48x96 with side kit still has good arch no rust has been a great trailer have ran it for the last 13 years all I haul is steel I did add extra chain pulls have 22 a side and I run permit loads Wilson makes a great combo trailer

 

Depending on how it’s been used it may be old and tired. Will sway in the middle from side to side and also sag in the middle when under a heavy load. I would be very leery of hauling a heavy coil. Check for cracks or repaired spots, s-cams and s- cam bushings slack adjusters unusual tire wear....He’ll check for everything cause it won’t take long to spend another 4-5k You could probably step up to an 06 -10 for that much more pretty easily.

 

Every aluminum trailer in my company is cracked, plated and welded. I wouldnt do a single coil but 2 or more has been fine. Id buy a repaired trailer for cheap.

 

What brand aluminum trailers does your company have

 

I think theyre all ravens, former sidekit 48x102s probably from the later 90s or maybe 2000s. We have an east but i believe its steel combo.. The top dog got a newer trailer maybe 6 months ago ill have to glance at it. I got his ravens which is heavily plated. Another of ours was spool gun plated and that all popped off (because its a poor quality repair no matter how much cold wax you melt onto the plates) and the trailer is hard down until i go retrieve my tig from up north and fix it right.

If you were looking north and the truck was parked in front of you headed east, they basically all start a stress crack in front of the forward spread mount diagonally upward.. from the corner where each frame rail is pierced for the crossmember to pass thru. That crack in the vertical frame plate travels southwest toward the forward axle pad until it terminates at the bottom flange and the trailer goes swayback. If its really bad, the crack will turn west and start peeling the vertical plane away from the flange which is obviously in tension under load and the deck will really plop down. The 5th wheel apron area is also prone to cracks of a similar nature, almost like fish gills.

We are a quarry so our trailers are hammered when we get them and then we run 80k out of the woods thru waterbars, washouts, creeks and steep hollar switbacks, and deliver into super narrow suburban richieville stone retail yards on perfect grippy asphalt with no dumpvalves. (I put a manual dump on mine for emergencies but the other guys are SOL) anyhow its the fully loaded jackknifing the wrecks the neck of an aluminum trailer. They need to have the cracks drilled, vee'd out with a die grinder and filled with a high amp tig then maybe fishplated over after smoothing. Spool gunning it is just cosmetic, not repair. Spool gun fish plates pop right off the first time you flex the spread in the woods. Using up equipment is just a part of quarrying. I have welded steering boxes to frames and pitman arms to sector shafts in this line of work. Poor people and their poor ways gettin it done without any help from the dotgov.

 

Keep in mind when shopping on the brink of serviceable vs junk..

You buy a cracked trailer cheap and fix it right, equity gained.

You buy a good aluminum trailer for good money and then crack it, equity lost.

Just something to consider.

 

This is our worst, ravens fleethawk or whatever. My coworkers [husband/wife] were being forced to pull it and complaining it needed fixed but boss kept gaffing them off. One day it was loaded at base while i was there and one of the cracks had spread to an inch apart, both rails about snap. I told them dont strap, went to boss and said if you send them out like that im gonna call DOT and have them meet you right here in the parking lot.

The load came off and trailer is parked until i cut all that junk off and fix it right. Notice that every spool gun weld just cracks. The plates arent doing anything.