ATV Hunting Trailer - Design Input Request

[BC-Kiwi]

Hi all

I am building a hunting trailer to go behind my small ATV and am seeking input from people on features that should be in it. I know there are quite a few out there on the market but this will be a little different.

In principle this will be constructed from carbon fibre to make it as light as practical. There will be two 18x9.5 wheels on each side connected through a walking beam which will help with a lot of the rough ground and also make climbing obstacles easier.

The current concept is to have an enclosed body, approximately 65"L X 48"W (above the wheel wells) X 24"H. The back vertical will be sloped as this will have the option be a cross use trailer and dump. The box will have a lid that can be removed when required and will have tie rails around it for top loading anything you don't want inside. The entire box will be removable and have points to secure from a tree if desired to be used for storing food etc. Beneath the main box will be a flat deck with tie rails so the trailer is still useable when not used as a dump box.

The trailer tongue will be rotational to prevent the trailer torquing on the ATV when transitioning slopes. I am still working on the hitch point to allow the freedom needed for significant movement.

Braces will be installed in front of the forward tires to prevent hanging up on trees when in tight areas. Fuel tote holders will be mounted on the front of the trailer.

At this stage the finished weight will be under 130 lbs.

I have been considering adding the option of demountable hoist with outrigger but this could also be unnecessary weight.

Please offer any input and suggestions you have from experience towing trailers while hunting. The good, the bad and ugly.

Thanks

[Drillbit]

Seems good. Your wheels aren't sticking out, so that's good. Might want to go 44-46 wide (or 2-4 inches narrower than your bike), easier in the trees if it's a little narrower than your bike. But not too narrow that it tracks wrong in ruts. With narrow tires you should be able to do it.

By braces you mean a triangle coming down from the bottom of the trailer so, say a log, will ramp on that a bit before hitting the tire? 18 inch tire, so the bottom of the triangle will be 9 inches or so from the gorund?

[Drillbit]

Wouldn't bother with a hoist. Extra weight. Use the bike winch and a snatchblock, lift item and push trailer under item. Or, with two bikes, back under it.

[BC-Kiwi]

By braces you mean a triangle coming down from the bottom of the trailer so, say a log, will ramp on that a bit before hitting the tire? 18 inch tire, so the bottom of the triangle will be 9 inches or so from the gorund?

Hi Drill Bit. The triangles I have in mind are horizontally mounted, narrow point forward coming out to the width of the tire. That way if I cut the corner the tree will run into this and force the trailer sideways instead of hanging up. With 13" ground clearance I wasn't planning to put any downward frame work.

[BC-Kiwi]

Wouldn't bother with a hoist. Extra weight. Use the bike winch and a snatchblock, lift item and push trailer under item. Or, with two bikes, back under it

Thanks, good point. I obviously want to save the weight for carrying what is important

[f350ps]

I'd keep your centre of gravity as low as possible, you really don't need any more ground clearance than the tow vehicle. K

[srupp]

Hmmm or you could just come and buy one already made with those thoughts in mind..
Still have mine for sale..
Cheers
Srupp

[Drillbit]

Srupp, is there pics of your's on here somewhere? gear/other for sale?

[Dre]

Love the carbon fibre idea. Some durability issues come to mind though with the carbon fibre. Depends on the use and or abuse I guess. I built a couple a few years ago out of aluminum and learned some lessons the hard way....the tongue should be steel or stainless, at least 1/8" wall thickness. We experienced fatigue cracking in the 1/4" wall aluminum tongues and had to do repairs 70kms from the nearest town. They were loaded with close to 1000lbs each. On the way back, one of the tongues snapped and the trailer flipped end over end, 20 kms from the truck. We had to leave it and come back to get it with the other tongue, at least we made them interchangeable. A carbon fibre tub with a steel or aluminum/steel exo-frame might be a compromise without adding too much weight. I think the most punishing are the creek beds full of rocks. Post up some pics when you get'r done.

[srupp]

Srupp, is there pics of your's on here somewhere? gear/other for sale?


Pm me with a email adress and will send ...sorry for hijack
Steven

[BC-Kiwi]

Pm me with a email adress and will send ...sorry for hijack
Steven

Hi Steven, i emailed you the other day and have just PM'd my email address to you now
cheers

[srupp]

10..4
Cheers

Steven

[allan]

Carbon fiber would make me nervous to use for durability issues.
would be my choice of materials, steel axles and steel hitch or tongue.

However I know very little about carbon fiber so if you go that route please post your build and product testing. I would love to see it.

[.330 Dakota]

I bought a plastic one from Costco 6 years ago,,,tough as nails,,,hauled lots of rocks in it,,,$300

[BC-Kiwi]

Carbon is one of those products that when used in the right application is amazing, it doesnt fatigue like metals and quite often shen during cycle testing for aircraft components they turn off the machine before the carbon structure fsils. That being said it isnt the best for abrasion, this is where a final undercarriage skin of aramid (kevlar) will be used.

for those interested i will post pictures of the build and abuse it will take during testing.

i am still finalising the design, components are already arriving.

[Buck]

Good stuff i just bought a new ATV so will be following this closely

[Good2bCanadian]

Key points to our quad trailer.

Triangle wedges in front of tires to allow the trailer to pivot around trees.
Custom made axle with raised center section to allow dragging thru ruts without high centering.
Large buoyant tires.
Fully enclosed plywood box. Fits an entire Elk quartered.
Pintle type hitch for non binding thru rough terrain.
Top of box makes a great work station for lunch or cutting.

Downsides,

Leaf sprung and very bouncy with no load.
Need to weld on extraction points on all corners.

[bcsteve]

Have you had a look at some of the previous threads, lots of good info and pictures.

http://www.huntingbc.ca/forum/showthread.php?21202-Home-Built-Quad-Trailer-for-game-recovery&highlight=trailer

http://www.huntingbc.ca/forum/showthread.php?53333-ATV-Trailers&highlight=trailer

[Brett]

i built this 2 years ago, just under 48 wide, 5 foot long tub, frame is 6 foot to allow fro Jerry cans. steel thin wall frame with walking beams, the beams are a MUST, i could pull this thing loaded at speed over stuff anything you would ride over without it.....the pin hole for the removable tongue got elongated pretty quick...and it was great to have the rack for packs and other gear...


http://i606.photobucket.com/albums/tt149/quaddamg/IMG_6100_zpsd27b0873.jpg (http://s606.photobucket.com/user/quaddamg/media/IMG_6100_zpsd27b0873.jpg.html)

your plans sound goo and i imagine there will be some slight changes as you proceed. I do have a question, How are you getting 14" of ground clearance with an 18" tire? The tires on the above are 28"/2=14" at center, so i had 12" at lowest spot and exactly 14" to bottom of the frame.

[.330 Dakota]

Key points to our quad trailer.

Triangle wedges in front of tires to allow the trailer to pivot around trees.
Custom made axle with raised center section to allow dragging thru ruts without high centering.
Large buoyant tires.
Fully enclosed plywood box. Fits an entire Elk quartered.
Pintle type hitch for non binding thru rough terrain.
Top of box makes a great work station for lunch or cutting.

Downsides,

Leaf sprung and very bouncy with no load.
Need to weld on extraction points on all corners.

For the axle, those tor-flex axle stubs,(rubber torsion axle type) you can get them in a bolt on stub so there is no center section,,,should work great---Princess Auto

Your idea for the wedges is awesome,,,I made a receiver adapter for my quad with a rotating head using a piece of round pipe over another then welded to the square receiver so the trailer can sit off camber without effecting the quad

[BC-Kiwi]

Cheers guys, all good input. I am achieving my ground clearance in the centre but obviously not directly at the axle connection point. The stub axles mount in a carbon female reciever laminated into the bottom of a 2.5" H x 1.5" W walking beam section. That is centre connected to a pivot bonded to the outer edge of main frame. From that main frame down is where i am getting my ground clearance.

The frame is designed to be its own self supporting structure with 3 mounting points for the box. The main reason for this is i can use the trailer around the property for dumping contents in the off season. I have it so the box can be lifted off when at the main camp and left as a storage box. The lid is two pieces, the lower seals the box and the second mounts on the main frame and becomes a flat deck with side and forward rails that can be used to drag animals onto. This also means when travelling back to the vehicles with a load of meat you can leave. Secure box of your gear while transporting meat if weight becomes an issue.

i considered the torsional axles but with the walking beam design it will lift over larger rocks and logs.

the hitch i am considering options on, one being bringing the tang from a higher point to prevent it catching when traversing a log, design still in process, the second i am considering going with the old style ring connection to allow a lot more freedom in all axis

Thanks for the input and look forward to more

[M.Dean]

The quad trailer I drag around works great, I've hauled lots of green birch, bricks, rocks, dirt etc with no problems. As far as using it to haul moose and deer, my trailer has hauled more meat than some Safeway trucks! And, as far as suspension go's, you don't need any coils or springs etc, put on quad tires, adjust the air pressure accordingly and the more weight you put in it, the box will never touch the tires. A friend of mine helped load a moose into the trailer years ago, he's a welder, the next day he came by with a roller setup for the top of the bulk head, it bolts onto the side top rails with the roller going the full length of the bulk head, now I can load a moose or deer alone, which I do quite a bit. I back the trailer up to the cleaned out animal, unhook it from the quad, lower the rear door and then tilt the trailer up so the lowed door is real close to the animals head. I turn my quad around and drive it under the up turned tongue until my front rack touch's the tongue, then I run the winch cable over the roller and through the box and around the animals head, then winch it in. After I've got it's head touching the top roller, I then tie it tight to one of the many eye hooks I have all around the trailer, let the cable off and retie it to the animals rear legs and get the hind end into the trailer, close the door, turn the quad around, hook up and drive home, works great! I'll try to post a few pic's with a whole moose in it, and the trail I take home has a few real good slopes in it, and I've never rolled the trailer with meat in it, yet! Wet birch, yes!

[waistdeep]

Post a pic of that set up please.