Redneck Frame Shop

[Jetmekdc-10]

I picked this gooseneck up for nothing the other day so I figured I would try to straighten it out. It had been jack knifed pretty bad. So far so good, I had to make some cuts to get the twist out of it and pull on it but I think it is going to be salvagable.

[Noisy Nova]

Wow, that's a great project. Keep us posted.

[SignWave]

All the best to you in your repair. I love turning $hit into gold!
What will you do with the rig once you've set'er straight?

did you put something between the tree and the trailer? Just a suggestion as the winching might damage the tree.

[Jetmekdc-10]

I plan to keep the trailer to haul steel with or move my tractor around. If you look closely at one pic you will see a 4x4 jammed in the right rail. I was surprised how well it worked. In this pic you can see how much distortion the frame had. The crossmember is several inches off now. I'm going to do some heavy bracing put a deck on it. I expect to have about $1200 in it by the time its finished. Adam

[tnjind]

when I was younger, out of school, I worked in a bodyshop. I got used to using the frame rack, it was state of the art, all hydraulics. Very moveable you could pull from any angle with just the right pressure and speed.
Since then I have used trees, tractors, trucks. Whatever I could find, the end result is what you are after.
Good work. It looks like you are on the right track.
Keep the faith, you will get done.

[tnjind]

Also keep in mind if an area is overstressed, you could "sister" another piece on the insde of the rail to provide the structural streangth that may have been lost.

[Jetmekdc-10]

I initially intended to use a frame shop but he wanted $1500 to straighten it and would'nt gaurantee he could even do it. The trailer was too twisted. He gave me the idea to cut it in a couple of key places and then try the tree-comealong setup. I spent about an hour on it with a torch relieving the stress points. The crossmembers will be replaced with truss' All my cuts will have wide long scab plates welded on both sides. I am also going to put heavier deck framing than it origanally had and the 2x12's are going to get screwed on. Adam

[tnjind]

Something that I was taught and still do is , when I weld a patch onto a frame I always cut each end in a half diamond shape, that gives you more weld area and also minimizes a "weak spot" from under cutting at the toe of the weld.

[Jolly Roger]

It's even better if you radius the points on your fishplates and never ever use square cut ends. I learned straightening working on cratered pumping units. Forty ton overhead hoists and pulling unit anchors set into the floor. I hated it. I liked it until I pulled a 1" chain in two. That'll get your attention.

[Jetmekdc-10]

Jolly, a radius verses a squrared off corner makes sense. It probably would'nt take any longer either to fab either. Thanks