Project 1 from Hooda. Category: 3) Custom Automotive on/off road Welding.
Howdy Folks, I'm gonna start out with a project that I believe fits into this category. I have a 7,000 lb car hauler From Paiute Trailers' Outlaw series. Good trailer, but very basic. Tandem axle, electric brakes on both axles. And the most annoying ramp stowage system I've ever busted a knuckle on. But that's a different story/project. For now, What I'm doing is mounting a Trailer-Hitch receiver-style mount for my winch, so that I don't have to leave the winch outside with the trailer and a big "STEAL ME" sign on it. Here's pics of the front of the trailer before work started.
http://i985.photobucket.com/albums/a...s/DSCF2996.jpg
http://i985.photobucket.com/albums/a...s/DSCF2998.jpg
http://i985.photobucket.com/albums/a...s/DSCF2997.jpg
I will be mounting the receiver about 4" forward from the front edge of the trailer bed on the center member. Thanks to some pointers from another member on another thread, I decided to weld a reinforcement plate across the entire center member. I started out with a piece of 1/4" x 3" , got it sawed to length for a trial fit, and decided it just didn't look beefy enough, so next trip to the steel shop, I picked up a piece of 3/8" x 3" instead. More on that later.
Below are pics of the winch I picked up. I shopped around town for a winch and had my mind set on a 9,000 lb unit at Northern Tool for $399.00, but didn't have the money at that moment, so, I started thinking, the main purpose of this winch will be to pull ROLLING, non-running vehicles up a set of ramps, NOT pulling an f350 out of a snowy ditch, so I figured that I could save some $$ and go with a lesser powered winch, plus the fact that I wanted to be able to detach it, it would be the difference between lunking around 40lb vs. 80lb. I went to FleetFarm, and checked out the Trakker series that they carry there. They also happen to stock the full line of accessories, including a wireless remote control.
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The 4,000 lb seemed to be about what I will need, so the decision was made. Price: $259.00, plus tax. I went home to do a little research on the unit. I plugged in "Trakker winch 4,000" to the google, and Amazon.com came up with the IDENTICAL unit for $132.00 with free shipping! Next day, I had the funds available on a card, so I went back to Amazon and the price had gone down to $116.00 so I put it in my cart and proceeded to check out. By the time I chacked out, $47.00 in shipping charges magically appeared in my total, and there was nothing I could do to get the original price back, so I checked out with a total of $163.00. Still a savings of over a hundred bucks by the time the strate of MN robs another 6.875% off you in tax. A little more monkeying around with my history page, and there I was, same winch, different company through Amazon. Price:$123.00 with free shipping. I was able to get it ordered at that price and cancel the other order in about 5 minute's time.
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2 days later (yes, 2 DAYS, this NEVER happens for me!), The speedy delivery truck dropped off the winch you see below. The identical init to the one at the local store for more that DOUBLE the price. It pays to shop around.
http://i985.photobucket.com/albums/a...s/DSCF2999.jpg
http://i985.photobucket.com/albums/a...s/DSCF3001.jpg
Sorry for the photo quality, I'm having camera issues. The winch is pictured with the locally sourced mounting plate-$10.00 and Reciever mount-$16.00. When I went accessory shopping, I also got the wireless remote kit, vehicle cable kit, and quick-attach plug set. An extra to set up in case I need to use the trailer with a different truck. I will sum up a list of all the parts used at the end of the project.
Not quite as "smooth" as I was expecting.
OK, Let me preface this post with the following disclaimer: I AM NOT A PROFESSIONAL WELDER! I will start a new thread/discussion on that in another topic in the near future.
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So, I still had/have the need to join metal, LOTS of metal, so I'm under the gun to get real good, real fast. That being said, I went about the business of attaching the receiver to my trailer yesterday, and it didn't quite go as I was really hoping. Let's face it, I'm out of practice, and lack the knowledge/experience at this point to make show-stopping welds, but I got the job done, and I'm fully confident that it will hold when I put it to work.
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I started out by doing a little improvisational wiring to get some 240 out to the other side of my shop. The main service box is in the opposite end of the building as the shop, so, I had some 2/2/4 Al wire, a 60 amp breaker, and a 50 amp outlet. I attached the outlet to one end, drilled a 1" hole in my windowsill, ran the wire through, attached the breaker and plugged it into the box, and put the ground wire in the ground lug.
http://i985.photobucket.com/albums/a...s/DSCF3002.jpg
Outside, I have the welder in my rusty, little red wagon, plugged in, and ready to go.
http://i985.photobucket.com/albums/a...s/DSCF3011.jpg
I would NOT recommend that anybody EVER try this themselves, but it got me out of a pinch.
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Next, I laid out all my tools, Grinder, wire wheels, grinding wheels, clamps, etc.
http://i985.photobucket.com/albums/a...s/DSCF3014.jpg
Then came the fun part, or in this case, the not-so-fun part. I was using new, 1/8" 7018 from a new, ESAB container. DCEP, 125 amps, arc force at about the 3 o'clock position. I made a bevel along the bottom edge of the bottom plate to match where the tube on the trailer had a radius, thinking that I would fill this area to flush. I played around with amperage, down to 100, there wasn't enough puddle to work with, up past 150, too hot. I settled in at about 122 amps, but even the "best results weren't the best
http://i985.photobucket.com/albums/a...s/DSCF3018.jpg
http://i985.photobucket.com/albums/a...s/DSCF3017.jpg
These welds LOOK like crap, but the penetration was good, and because of the appearance, I ended up making multiple passes to fill the gap, then just grinding flush for appearance. If this was an appearance-critical situation, I would have either used a different technique, or hired it out, but it ain't.
