"It works as well as any commercial implement trailer on the market and cost only little to build," says Allen Rollins, Motley, Minn., about the tandem axle gooseneck implement trailer he built using the frames from a pair of old school buses.

The trailer, which measures 8 ft. 4 in. ft. wide and 20 ft. long, has a wooden floor and a sloped steel tail on back equipped with a pair of hinged steel loading ramps that can be manually raised out of the way for travel. Either a hand-operated winch or a 2-speed electric winch is used to pull equipment up onto the bed.

Rollins bought two buses for a total of. He used the 10-in. wide frame rails off one bus as the frame for the trailer and the 9-in. frame off the other bus to make most of the gooseneck hitch. He bought two 7,000-lb. axles and mounted used 85R by 16 tires on the wheels. In order to fit the axles he widened the trailer frame out to 66 in.

To make the gooseneck hitch he cut the smaller bus frame up into pieces and welded them back together. Then he bought a new commercial gooseneck ball receiver hitch and welded it on front.

"I copied the design of a commercial trailer that I saw and added some ideas of my own. It turned out better than I had even hoped," says Rollins. "I use a Chevrolet 3/4-ton 2-WD pickup to pull it. It also works good for hauling hay. I used it last fall to haul eight round bales. I paid for the axles and wheels and for the used tires which I bought at a sale. A new commercial trailer of comparable size would cost much more.

"The sloped tail is made of angle iron cross bars which add traction and make it easy to walk on. I built a box into the gooseneck frame which is handy for carrying tools. I mounted red and white 3M reflective tape on the sides of the bed and hitch and also on back. Makes the trailer easy to see."