Flatbed Trailer Built From Swather Tongues

Flatbed Trailer Built From Swather Tongues WAGONS/TRAILERS Miscellaneous 30-2-16 "It's extremely heavy-duty," says Jordan Dettmer, a high school senior who built a 30-ft. long flatbed trailer that weighs a little over 3,000 lbs. He used Hesston swather tongues to build it. He spliced several of the tongues together to form the main frame and made crossbars from the frames of junked tillage equipment. The trailer rides on two 6,000 lb.-Torflex axles fitted with slightly used tires. He bought 1/8-in. thick diamond plate fenders to cover the four tires. A 2-ft. long beaver tail stores underneath the back of the trailer. "The ramps are held in place by a single rod that simply falls over the gap so they can't slide out. "The tail lights are inside lengths of 6 by 6 tubing that are rubber-mounted to the frame. The light bar in back is set just beneath the hook for the ramps shielding it from harm. The running lights have a semi-circular design that protects them as well." There's a removable steel guard on front of the 6 1/2-ft. wide by 18-ft. long platform. "There was a lot of what looked like wasted space in the front so I came up with the idea of using the area for storage," Dettmer says. He installed expanded metal under the frame. It's a great place to hold tow blocks, gas cans or unused tie-down straps. Hooks on the frame make it easy to strap things down. "Because the frame is so heavy, we couldn't lift it up after it was put together so I welded all the stringers and the axles on upside down," he says. "I also laid underneath to paint it, too." He spent about $1,500 to build the trailer and suspects a new rig like it would cost about $4,000. After graduating in May, Dettmer wants to attend Kansas State and major in civil engineering. Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Jordan Dettmer, 13031 B Road, Kensington, Kansas 66951 (ph 785 476-2417; Jordan_dettmer@hotmail.com).

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