In article ,
says...

I recently acquired a nice Rotax-powered two-seater, but am hard pressed
for storage. So I might well want to store it on a trailer, that I could
well build myself. Friends I consulted seemed to take it for granted I
begin by welding together a frame of steel profiles, paint it with
primer and gloss, then attach an axle and a few other paraphernalia.

But why not bolt together a few lengths of aluminium? No need to paint
or weld - or is this over simple?


Firstly: you'll find steel in all sizes/quantity anywhere, aluminium
beams in the sizes required nowhere.

Secondely: the aluminium beams need to be anodized, a process which in
Belgium is very expensif and hard to find due to the impact (of
anodizing) on the environnement.

Thirdly: your trailer will weigh a minimum of 150 kg regardless of
construction material. The cost of raw material Fe compared Al is a
factor 30 in favor of steel.

For reasons of security (for a trailer) welding has a far better
pedigree than bolting: assuming that you will be able to bolt it
together, it *will* come loose and that -of course- at the worst moment.

The total weight (trailer and your airship) *has* to be under 500 kg in
order to not needing brakes nor an insurance premium.

The axle will either be solid (no springs) and steel. Better is to go to
a breakers yard and get a sprung axle. Peugeot 205 rear axle works
great, get the wheels too and throw out the brakes.
The other method is to buy a sprung axle at a specialist dealer.

Best and cheapest way is to make a welded steel trailer with a PVC or
plastic cover. Standard trailers are quite cheap but don't expect that
to be the case if it has to be custom made.

Congrats with the 2-seater!

Tom De Moor