I'm thinking about building another trailer. I've built lots of smaller trailers in the past, but this time I'd like to build myself a small tandem axle gooseneck rated for 7,500 lbs.
I am a certified welder, I have a Bachelor's degree in Physics, and I work as a software developer. I have the know how, but I would like some input on material selection.
- Round Pipe
- Angle Iron
- I-Beam
- Rectangular Tubing
I am currently leaning towards the Rectangular Tubing as the best for support, but I cannot seem to find anything online that confirms this.
After deciding on the best material for the trailer, where would I find good charts to tell me what size and thickness I should use? Obviously, I could go overkill, but I would like to build this one smarter rather than throwing as much iron at it that I have.
Does anyone have any input? Is there a better group to post this in? I was looking for something along the line if Industrial Engineering, but this is all that pulled up.
EDIT:
I was trying to keep this a generic question where someone could tell me something like, "Here is the formula we use, and this is how to use it..." It looks like I won't get that, though.
My heaviest load would be a tractor with a front end loader and a brush cutter on the back with a total weight of 5500 to 6500 lbs. A tandem axle trailer with two (2) 3500-lbs axles can support this load fine. I have selected axles from Southwest Wheel's torsion axle with brakes (the front axle will have brakes, but not the rear).
Trailer length will be 18-foot, and have a gooseneck configuration (it distributes the weight better and pulls smoother than a bumper trailer). For calculations, I'm going to use 7500-lb capacity.
I am looking at the structural data for square tubing using a spec sheet HERE (trying not to advertise another website, but that is where I see data). Page 21 shows data values for various sizes and thicknesses.
There is a line called Bending Factor. For an 18-foot trailer (18 x 12 = 216 inches), 3/8-inch thick 4x2 square tubing shows a Bending Factor of (x=1.03 , y=1.55).
I was using Rogue Fabrication's Calculator yesterday, where I entered the following values: Tube Shape=Square Tubing, Outside Diameter=4-in, Wall Thickness=0.1875-in, Material="Cheap seamed tube", Load=3800-lbs, Tube Length=216-in, and Hazard Factor=1, I got that my material is 1.22 times as strong as the loading conditions.
Next, I tried EasyCalculation's Beam Deflection Calculator, with values of Length=216, Width=2, Height=4, Wall Thickness=0.1875, Force=3750. It shows a deflection of about 100 inches for 2 lengths of rectangular tubing. If I use 4 lengths, that drops the force down to 7500/4=1875 per beam, and deflection down to 50 inches. Those deflection values seem really high. That is more iron than most trailers have.
The old tandem axle trailer I use now only has two (2) lengths of 4-inch angle iron (1/4-thick). It flexes a couple of inches, but not 50 inches. I must be missing something.
How do I calculate the amount of flex a 20-ft length of material would have?
If square tubing is not best, that's fine as long as you let me know what would be better and how you selected that configuration when you comment.