old_CWO
Well-known member
Anyone know how to compromise for someone seeking to minimize weight?
Smaller tires.
Steel commonly used for trailer chassis building doesn't have that much difference between suitable sizes. For example, 2x2 - .120 is something like 3 lbs per foot and 2x3 - .120 is close to 4. Assuming you use approximately 2 sticks to make a Jeep trailer, the weight difference is around 40 lbs. between the two. Even going a little thinner to 2x3 - .083 doesn't help that much. It weighs about 2.75 lbs per foot or 50 lbs less than a chassis built with .120 rectangle and only 10 less than the 2x2 - .120 square. Not huge.
OTOH, two 13" trailer radials on aluminum wheels weigh less than some single unmounted LRE all terrain tires. An oversized, cool lookin' wheel tire combo can weigh 80 lbs. or more. You're easily peeling off 100 to 150 lbs running 13s instead of matching meats. If you have the smaller diameter tires, a 2K axle is more than fine. There's a few more pounds off with the smaller tube and lighter duty attaching hardware. You probably won't need brakes- there's what, another 40-50 lbs with the brakes, drums and breakaway system? The required fenders are smaller and skinnier, say another 5 pounds. stabilizer and tongue jacks are now shorter and consequently lighter. Even carrying a spare tire now that it can't share with the truck, I can easily see something in the neighborhood of 200 lbs. lighter. Nothing to sneeze at.
It doesn't necessarily look all expo sexy but you would still have ground clearance equal to or better than many stock trucks. Morris Mule "field grade" trailers come with 13s and he's got those looking really good proportionally and 10.75" clearance even running spring under axle.