DIY and/or modified utility trailers

I sold my equipment trailer to my neighbor a few years ago, when I traded in my truck for a van (long story,...van is gone, back in a Tundra now). I mostly bought it to move the tractor around, but it was nice to be able to use it for everything else, too. I can still borrow the equip trailer if I ever need to move the tractor, so that's all set. But I'd like to still have a trailer for the riding lawn mower and just general light duty trailer stuff.
There was a ton of junk left at our current house by someone who used to live there, including 2 boats and a boat trailer. I've gotten rid of everything but the trailer. I bought new wheels and tires for it and planned to just use it to haul stuff around the property with the tractor. But now I'm thinking of turning into a road-worthy utility trailer. It's an Eagle single axle and I believe it's for a 16' boat. And I'm vaguely sure it's a 3500 lb axle.
Anyone turned a boat trailer into a utility trailer? Should I scootch the axle forward a bit? Is it gonna be a pain to register something like this? There's no paperwork for it and no markings anywhere that gives a load rating, etc.
I know I know, just go buy a trailer. But I'd hate to let it go to waste when for a few hundred bucks I can make it useful. It's in pretty good shape. I have pics of it somewhere. I'll post 'em when I find 'em.

 

This is the only pic I could find online (quickly) that looks like it. I wanna say mine looks a little beefier, but maybe not. I know the steps next to the wheels are bigger on mine. This pic is from an old ebay ad and it says it's for an 18-20' boat with a 3700 lb capacity. I'd rather guess low. I'm gonna say a 3500 lb axle and knock off 500 for the frame. So, 3000 max cargo. Probably 2500 after I do a little more framing, decking and a tailgate, or ramps.

 

As far as axle location, only thing that would change is how the weight is distributed and how much tongue weight you're putting on the truck. Being a smaller trailer on a half ton, I don't think you'll need to worry about that.

I bought a trailer that had no paperwork. Just a small 5x8 to haul small things and the atv occasionally. I just got it weighed and brought the weight slip to the DMV and they registered it as a homemade trailer. Paid the fee and got the plates.

Since there's no VIN or ID, they had me make one up and enter it on the registration. They recommended me to somehow etch the number on the frame or have it put on a small plate that I can attach to the frame in the case that it's stolen. Without it, you're close to a loss.

EDIT: This is in Ohio. YMMV

 

My uncle converted a boat trailer to a flatbed utility trailer ~20 years ago in MD. From what I remember he added decking to the top and had to have the state police look at and sign off on it. Then DMV gave him a "home built" trailer title. It wasn't difficult, just a few hoops and in the end had a practical trailer.

With wood prices the way they are, you might break even or come out ahead if you sell that one and pick up a smaller utility trailer from Northern Tool or Lowes

 

Here’s a boat trailer modified to transport a dock floater I built in my driveway.
Advance warning - folks on the interstate will honk and flip you off
J/k we have a ramp in the neighborhood

 

Yeah, I get that anyway, soooo,....

I measured when I got home, it's almost 19' long, 8' wide (outside of the tires) and the frame is 6' 2" wide.
It's a little over 8' from the back to where the frame starts to curve inward and the axle is right at 4', so center of the 8' long square section.
I think an 8x6 deck should be good for what I would do with it. I don't think I'll need to move the axle.
Still debating what to make the deck from. I have a bunch of steel square tube and expanded metal. Basically, I could make a whole deck that looks like the tailgate of a landscape trailer. I could always throw some plywood down when needed. I have a stack of 2'x8' x 3/4 plywood.
I thought about making a 2x6 deck, but that would add a lot of weight. And, like mentioned, probably cost half of what a new trailer would be.
I looked up NY's trailer registration rules, but they weren't very clear or informative. Shocker. I'll probably just the DMV and ask someone. I can't be the only hillbilly around here that's done this and had registration questions, so I'm sure someone down there knows what I have to do.

 

If you don't want to worry about degraded planks you could put a bit of extra money into it and use the synthetic boards. They are more expensive but are made from plastic or vinyl so they won't rot or absorb water. The only downside I've heard of is they get got in the baking sun, but not sure you have that issue in the NE.

For design, I definitely would not move the axle. Moving it forward will make the trailer more sensitive to steering movements, and I hate trailers that are squirrelly to back up.

If it's like the one in the quoted post it looks like you might have to straighten/level the cross members that were bowed to follow the bow of the boat. What are you plans on this? Will try to cut and straighten them, or would you just add new ones ahead or behind them that are level for the deck to attach to?

I like the idea of only putting the deck section behind the frame bends. Seems like a solid set up.

Purely what I would do here:

1. Add supports where the green lines are. One down the middle for rigidity and the cross bars for weight distribution.
2. Wood or synthetic boards in the section behind the frame bends as you discussed.
3. Expanded metal or grating in the section with the diagonal blue lines. This would let you put a spare tire there, and hopefully allow for a box to be bolted through it so you could keep useful stuff like ratchet straps, pb blaster, maybe a lug wrench and a grease gun for the axles.
4. I'd keep the crank up front. You never know when you might want to winch something onto the trailer.

 

I somehow missed this post yesterday.
I'm still a little burned out from work and feeling crappy on top of it. I've gone out in the yard 3 different times this weekend and set everything up to work on it, then ended up not doing a thing. I did manage to stare at it enough to come up with a plan though and it's pretty much everything you said.
The V shaped cross members are coming out. I already removed one of the 3. I'm doing a 10' deck and expanded metal on the front, like you said. The 10' mark will end up about a foot into the bend. I'll add a square tube cross member every 20" and 5/4 PT decking. Which is 1" thick and 5.5" wide. That should be sturdy enough for anything I'll carry on it. I also plan on cleaning up all the rust and paint bubbles and rolling on truck bed liner. Once the decking dries out, I'll bed liner that too.
I took the hand winch off, but I saved it. It definitely might come in handy.
I took this pic the other day. Nothing will be like it is in the pic. I was just mocking stuff up and taking measurements.

 

Sounds like you have a plan! Keep us updated on the build.

 

I finally drug my deadbeat ass out there and got started. I haven't welded anything in a few years and I haven't used the new little mig/gas setup yet. Took me a few minutes to dial it in and then I couldn't see out of the auto darkening helmet. Then I remembered there's a knob on the side to adjust it.
So, I have the first cross member in. But it looks like I was having a stroke while welding it. I only have cutoff wheels for the cordless grinder and I'm waiting for it to cool off after cutting out the 2nd big V cross member It's also swamp balls hot and sunny today and I'm wearing long sleeves and pants. So I'm taking a break while the spare battery charges.
That $40 Ryobi cordless grinder made it through cutting out one of the cross members and still had little juice left. Bang for buck, that's probably the best tool I've bought.
I'll take some pics after I get a little further along and the welds start looking like I've done it before.

 

I just heard my wife fire up the window AC unit in her home office room.
It's an old neighborhood with old infrastructure. Hopefully I don't blackout the neighborhood when I go turn the welder on now.

 

Power stayed on.
Gonna try to finish this up today. At least the welding.
It's getting better as it goes.

 

Oh, very important: for novice welders,
If you're using galvanized steel, make sure you grind/sand the zinc plating off before you weld. Nasty fumes when burned.
I took it off about an inch back from the ends of the tubing.

 

Good tip. That stuff is nasty.

 

Taking another break.
I used a piece of 1" square tube to make sure the cross members are set 1" lower than the main frame. The decking will sit inside the frame and the top will end up flush with the top of the side frame.
No major genius reason. The trailer sits a little high and I didn't want to build a frame on top of the frame and then decking on top of that. I was thinking of building a landscape trailer style tailgate/ramp, but 1: that's a lot more work and 2: I think it would need to be longer than 4' so the mower deck doesn't hang up. So I'll just use ramps.

 

I'll tell you this, ramps are better anyway. My trailer has the rear gate thing and it's such a wind sail that it didn't matter if I had my SxS on the trailer or not, same MPG.

 

Didn't finish all the welding, but I got enough done that I should be able to finish it up during the week after work. I'll hook the lights up temporarily, pick up the decking and take it to the new house next weekend. Gonna see if Depot rents little sand blasters and how much it would cost. I can take it out to the new house, chain it up and flip it over with the tractor. Might as well do a good job getting all the loose paint and rust off if I'm gonna bother painting it.
I'll wait to screw the deck down until after I paint it.
This is the welder I have. I always used a cheap mig welder with flux core wire and no adjustments. This is a few steps up and I can recommend it. If I can get a weld like this, then anyone can. Just had to get it dialed in for the material I was welding and remembering to turn on the gas helps.

 

From that last picture, you'd hardly know it was originally a boat trailer. Take it out for a test run and make sure she tracks straight.

 

I did the same thing, also in Ohio, believe it was originally a small john boat trailer, I stick to under 1000 lbs. Yours looks to be much beefier than my tiny thing.

 

There's a TWSS joke in there somewhere...

 

Lol solid

 

Well, I didn't do anything I said I was.
Didn't touch it at all during the week and all I did today was tack on a couple pieces of angle so I could attach the lights. I'll try to get the last 2 cross members in tomorrow, go get the decking and get that on so I can go pick up the mower from the other house.
No one I called rents a sand blaster. Im sure some of the bigger rental places rent big ones, but it's not worth the trouble. I'll grind off what I can get to and spot prime it for now. I need to start using it so I'll put the truck bed liner on it down the road.

 

Cross members are in. Headed to depot to grab decking in about 5 min.
Don't mind the ghetto landscaping and crusty black top. I'm not spending any more time, money or energy on this place. Gotta get this trailer done so I can start moving stuff and GTFO.

 

I bolted PT 2x2 to 3 of the cross members so I had something to screw the deck to. Didn't want a million holes in the cross members from self tappers. I just have to take it to the truck stop and have it weighed, then I can register it and get a tag. It's good enough to use right now. It'll look a lot better when I get the expanded metal on the front half, paint the whole thing black and get a few marker lights on it.
Oh, feel free to post any janky trailer builds or mods, etc. This doesn't have to be just my nutty horseshit in this thread.

 

That's awesome! Well done.

 

It's coming together nice! Are you planning anything with the fenders to cover the gap from the tires?

Also, $170 for a harbor freight sand blaster. That could be an option?

 

Used motor oil on the wood about every 2 yrs will keep it preserved for a very long time. Yes, it gets a little slick in the rain for the first few weeks.

 

huh. I'll have to give that a try. I've got about 7 gallons sitting around right now. I'm about to replace the deck on my little trailer so that'll be perfect.

I pretty much only use it for my ATV and it's a tilting trailer. I can add some of that anti-slip tape on the deck to not lose traction when it's muddy or wet.

 

You can also set a circular saw to a shallow cut and cut traction strips in the material. Sand mixed in paint also works.