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Homemade Trailers

mungo45

New member
Hi, I am looking to buy a homemade trailer from an independent seller. He does not know what the trailers GVW is. How to you determine what the GVW is of a perticular trailer. It is a dual axel 8x16 deckover.

any help is appreciated
 

bczoom

Super Moderator
Staff member
GOLD Site Supporter
Are you going to register it for road use?

If so, check with your DMV. They normally require a couple inspections to determine the GVWR as well as road-worthiness.

At 16', you're right on the cusp of what needs to be inspected. In PA (where I am), any homemade trailer over 16' needs inspection by either the Sheriff's department or State Police.

I don't know where you are but in PA
 

Melensdad

Jerk in a Hawaiian Shirt & SNOWCAT Moderator
Staff member
GOLD Site Supporter
Even with a homemade trailer the trailer needs to be registered, to obtain a registration it would need to have a declared GVW. There is no way to license a homemade trailer (that I know of) without it being registered.

The GVW of the trailer will depend on the axles, 2 3500# axles would be a 7000# GVW, 2 5000# axles yield a 10,000# GVW. Subtract the weight of the trailer to determine the load capacity. A 16' trailer will likely weigh 1500# to 1800#. Tires also determin the weight capacity, check those! One fairly common trick is to use cheap tires, so you may think you have a 10,000# GVW trailer but only have tires that can hold 7000#. Each tire will have a capacity molded near the bead.
 

bczoom

Super Moderator
Staff member
GOLD Site Supporter
B_Skurka said:
The GVW of the trailer will depend on the axles...
Tires also determin the weight capacity
Also, the frame and coupler size will be checked to determine capacity.

If it has a 2" coupler, they probably won't give you more than 5000#. A 2 5/16" will be required for the 7-10K# rating.

I don't the specs on the frame but I'm thinking the main beams on a 7K# trailer are 6" and they're 8" for a 10K# trailer.
 
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