Engineer / Designers .. Can I convert to a Tilt Trailer ?

I have this cick butt galvanized trailer with 15″ tires..

I would like to convergence it to a tilt bed to accommodate my hovercraft..

Can it be done ? safely ? dependable ?

Attached is a pic of it now..

I look forward to hearing your design ideas !!

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Absolutely. I had a tilt trailer for a 12′ boat. It separated near the front where the side frame merged to the tounge. Shouldn’t be too difficult or expensive.

just my two cents,build a flat bed to sit on top of what you have,hinged at the rear,electric over hydraulic jack at the front,push a button,raises it,another button lowers it,you can buy these as they use this same system on purpose built tilt bed trailers,not a lot of dough.
if and when you would like to use it as a boat trailer again,disconnect the jack,pull two hinges pins at the rear,presto! instant boat trailer.
just remember to build it light,and sturdy so you dont overload the axle/tires/bearings.

Put a new tongue all the way back to the axle, attach point where side members converge, only problem I see is with a boat trailer, your pivot point is very far back, so if you want to have it work properly, move axles forward or figure out the balance point of the air boat and adjust the platform on top accordingly.

Need to see a picture showing the tongue of the trailer.

My impression is that the Y of the trailer where the pivot point would go is too far forward on that trailer.

Anything’s possible if you have the budget.

Grouse

couple more pix

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Go for it.
My old boat trailer tilted. It’ll be a wheeler trailer by winter.

Here’s what it looks like (Pic from internet)
You just need to grind off some paint, get out the saw, and then start welding.

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Dave Koonce wrote:

I would like to convert it to a tilt bed to accommodate my hovercraft..

Can it be done ? safely ? dependable ?

Yes, however it WILL take some engineering to come up with the best design for your purpose. The best designs utilize a gas shock to help balance and control the tilt action. The best design will figure in the load, the weight of said load, when you want the pivoting to begin and end, etc. Most any shop can cut and weld once a proper design is worked up. A good engineer will be able to run this thru his cad program and come up with a very safe and dependable conversion for you. Will this be cheaper than a already built tilt trailer? I don’t know. I also don’t know if an already built tilt trailer will work well for your particular load. A custom design is really the way to go if you can justify it.

Hmmm. I’m sure it could be done, but from your pics I’m pretty sure you would have to do some extra engineering/fabrication to move the pivot point more to the rear.

Also, I think for long-term use, you’d have to come up with a better and more weather resistant deck. Which is going to add to the cost.

Have to wonder about the cost of redoing this trailer vs selling the boat trailer and buying a utility trailer that’s closer to what you want already and then doing some customization from there.

Grouse

Grouse. ..
The deck is or will be gone gone gone…

Great input !!!
I really appreciate it !!!

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Dave Koonce wrote:

Grouse. ..
The deck is or will be gone gone gone…

Yeah, kind of figured that, but the point being that adds to the cost. Was just kind of adding it up in my head and thinking about the cost of fabricating vs just buying a flat bed trailer and maybe adding some kind of custom roller setup…

What does a “normal” hovercraft trailer look like anyway? Is it just a flat bed or is there some really fancy-pants easy on/off way of doing this?

And as long as you’re at it, that trailer wiring needs a redeaux. Trailer lights are the bane of my existence.

Grouse

Dave,

No pricing and out of your area but, this may be close to what you need.
http://www.gntrailers.com/pdf/tilt_singleaxle.pdf

Looks good…
But I need a wider bed…
The hovercraft is 87-89″ wide..
Love the low rider style

Just my 2 cents, seems like a lot of work to fab a new pivot point, lengthen or fab a new tung and still build a new deck of som sort. Most common utility trailers are in the 6′ wide range so your needs put you more in the 7′ to 8′ wide range. So I would look at snowmobile trailers. Not sure what length you need or weight of the hovercraft but most tilt and you can find aluminum or galvanized options, single and tandem axle, etc. Might get pricy, but fab work could also. Just an option to ponder for you.

Dave,
One very important thing to keep in mind is the trailer in your picture looks to be hot dipped galvanized at the factory. Simply cutting it apart, designing the tilt mechanism, etc…is one thing. Trying to get proper penetration and solid, non-porous welds with all that zinc is nearly impossible- no matter how much you try and grind it off before hand.
AND, even more importantly, the fumes from welding zinc are extremely toxic, (I found out the hard way…)

It’s a great idea, but, I’d steer toward the direction of an already built tilt trailer.

Just my .02.
Good luck!
Don

Make it a drive on/drive off trailer. Replace the rear and mid cross members with strait steel. Weld in some C channel below the new cross members to store the ramp underneath when not in use.

Thanks again everyone !!
I hear you about welding…I have been researching welding galvanized steel and that’s crazy !!
I have a metal fab shop here in town that I will get a price and input…
Then compare the safety and price…

Thanks All