3 rail motorcycle trailer miller 211 with spool gun Aluminum pics

[Alumitech]

Hi guys .. first post here .
been welding a long time started with gas , then stick , then mig , on to tig .. been building my business up over the past 6 yrs ... but been welding aprox 20 yrs , home hobbies projects and so on .

ok enough about me
recently I decided to build a motorcycle trailer for my self out of Aluminum , as that’s what im dealing with these days in my biz ..had bought a P.O.S Steel trailer and thought .. I can do better .

So we started out doing some in Tig Aluminum with my Dynasty 200 at 200 amps , but it takes a while to heat up 1/4 inch material , so got the frame tacked together and drove to the Miller store .. after doing some research here and the web .
ok now we are on the way home with a new (Miller 211 with spool gun ) $1300.00 later

ok , after reading instructions and checking settings .. time to start welding right .. needless to say as far as factory settings there out the window .. with in 15 min burned back and destroyed 5 tips .. so back to the welding store for more tips and ask some questions .

from my experience you need to run about 20% higher on wire speed with the Aluminum spool gun then stock settings call for
just a FYI .

FOR INSTANCE the chart says for .250 thickness run 7/75 I find best results at 7.25 and 100 wire speed .. this keeps the arc aprox 1/8 to 1/4 out of the puddle as this is what they refer to as spray welding ...if you contact the puddle ..lots of spatter .. yup its not the same as mig steel .

all and all im happy with the machine for speed and penetration.. some of the welding gets sooty some dosent .. depending on angle of the gun speed and so on .. but im getting better with it .

Don

[Alumitech]

here are som pics
Don

[Jigantor]

Nice job Don.
What does the trailer weigh?

Ji

[mikecwik]

do trailers need to be heat treated?
what was the cost to weight savings ratio? its a lovely trailer but seems like a steel project to me.
how hard was it to get it registered?
whats the cargo capacity?

[aametalmaster]

Nice work...Bob

[Alumitech]

The weight of the bare frame alone was 90 lbs with out rails or axels .
material 3 x 2 requtangular tube 6061-t6511 extruded 1/8 th wall

The steel trailer I bought with steel wheels weighs in at 495 lbs .. the aluminum unit with aluminum whees weighs in at 280 lbs

where I live, all thats needed is bills for materials and a weight slip to get it regestered.

5.5 foot tong to the cross member makes for good tracking and easy backing up

I prefere torsion axels over spring . 2000 lb axle .. this unit has stub axels .. there nice cause you can make the width anything you want , over the standard sizes Dexter builds full axles in .

im currently building 3 more with some changes .. built a jig to make things faster .. i have had 3 people ask me to build one for them ... the rails were built on a 5.5 inch inside width .. Harleys and croch rocket's have wider rear tires , so the next ones getting a diamond plate deck and locking wheel chocks .

plane Jane trailer.. with diamond plate deck and steel wheels will be $1450.00

the black trailer is the one I bought Prior .. the ramp mounts inverted under the back of the trailer .. looks like part of the trailer easy to miss on the Aluminum unit .

here are more pics

[aametalmaster]

I see you have a nice stack of alum radiators in one pic. What are they for?...Bob

[Alumitech]

I see you have a nice stack of alum radiators in one pic. What are they for?...Bob

that would be my regular business
if you care to take a peek
www.AlumitechReproductions.com
Don

[Jigantor]

Hi Don,
So if you used 3 x 2 x 1/8 ali section what was the steel one made from?

Ji

[andyman]

are you using 5356 filler?
when i first start playing with my MM211 and spool gun. I bought a roll of 5356 aluminum wire and it welded like crap burnt up all my tips on the factory setting. I went back to the store to get more tips and to try some 4043 filler. The guy at the store thought it was weird the 5356 wasn't working. so we called miller and they don't recommend using anything but 4043 on the MM211. got my rolls of 4043 and seems to work great.