fish house trailer

[korn_fish]

Whats the pros and cons of using angle iron for some of the trailer instead of 2X3 tubular for the whole thing? I hear of alot of people build with angle iron, but some people swear that you need to have tubular.

Is it just for strength, how it freezes into the ice etc????

How much can angle iron take? It seems that you could save nearly 35% of the trailer weight by going with some type of angle iron.

I was still planning on using tubular for the cross members by the wheels.

[Eric Wettschreck]

From what I've seen using angle iron allows a lot of twist in the frame while going down the road. My advice would be to stay with 3x2 tube steel. You'll be a lot happier in the long run.

Just my $.02

[Rick]

It's a matter of the load you can haul on the trailer.

Angle iron = less load.

Steel tubing = much greater load.

The tubing is also much more durable in the long haul.

The choice is really do you want a very slight overall decrease in weight (angle iron) or do you prefer durability and load bearing capacity (3x2 square tube).

[hawkeye43]

part of the problem is everyone wants a light house, but they want a house thats 8x14, 8x16 or larger and want it to weight 1400 lbs. ITS NOT GOING TO HAPPEN!!! So they start out by cheating on the frame, cutting corners, using too light of steel. Then go and build the house , keep adding things as they go and soon the thing weighs alot. Then the wheels start to bend, the welds start to brake because of the flexing and twisting.
You need to think about where you are going to be taking this house. You going to pull them down the road at 65 mph, on and off access that have ice heaves and dirt pushed up, across lakes that are not plowed, slush and water,cold to freeze steel down, deep snow and God knows what else. Don"t get cheap on the frame, over-build if needed. Better safe then sorry. If you think it might bend it will. Yes it going to cost more, but it needs a good foundation to start.
The other thing is 90% of the time you will be pulling it with a truck, if you are worried about weight its like having 2 or 3 trucks next each other if the ice is that thin you maybe ought not be there. Need to use common sense