I need to repair a dump trailer because the jack on the front has twisted
and honestly is in the wrong spot. Because of where the Jack is located you
can not unhook the trailer and then load it. Really stupid. So here is my
question.

1) Can I heat treat the piece once it is finished in my shop?
2) I know I need to heat it to about 800 degree's and then cool it fast. I
also think that at some point it will lose magnetism is that right?
3) The part will be a 1/4 steel plate with a 2" steel tube 2" long welded to
the face of it. This is the part that the Jack swivels on. SO how should I
cool the part for the most strength? The part will likely twist up where the
tube is welded to the 1/4 plate.

Side View
|_
|_|
|

Front
------
| |
| O |
|____|

If it's just cold rolled plate, you won't gain any strength by heat
treating.

You "can" stress relieve it by heating it up, and letting it cool naturally
though.

If you want to reduce torsion flex (twisting about the axis of the tube),
weld triangular gussets between the plate, and the flats of the square tube.

Mark

"HotRod" wrote in message
...
I need to repair a dump trailer because the jack on the front has twisted
and honestly is in the wrong spot. Because of where the Jack is located
you
can not unhook the trailer and then load it. Really stupid. So here is my
question.

1) Can I heat treat the piece once it is finished in my shop?
2) I know I need to heat it to about 800 degree's and then cool it fast. I
also think that at some point it will lose magnetism is that right?
3) The part will be a 1/4 steel plate with a 2" steel tube 2" long welded
to
the face of it. This is the part that the Jack swivels on. SO how should I
cool the part for the most strength? The part will likely twist up where
the
tube is welded to the 1/4 plate.

Side View
|_
|_|
|

Front
------
| |
| O |
|____|

That's not dumb, that's smart planning.

Take the trailer to a jobsite and un-hook. When they fill the trailer you
return and find the landing gear sunk down about 3' from the weight of the
load. Very few loading spots are on concrete, remember. Now you have to
figure out how to unload it with out breaking the landing gear or turning
over the trailer.

Sounds to me like someone was thinking.
--

Clif

"MM" wrote in message
...

If it's just cold rolled plate, you won't gain any strength by heat
treating.

You "can" stress relieve it by heating it up, and letting it cool
naturally
though.

If you want to reduce torsion flex (twisting about the axis of the tube),
weld triangular gussets between the plate, and the flats of the square
tube.

Mark

"HotRod" wrote in message
...
I need to repair a dump trailer because the jack on the front has twisted
and honestly is in the wrong spot. Because of where the Jack is located
you
can not unhook the trailer and then load it. Really stupid. So here is my
question.

1) Can I heat treat the piece once it is finished in my shop?
2) I know I need to heat it to about 800 degree's and then cool it fast.
I
also think that at some point it will lose magnetism is that right?
3) The part will be a 1/4 steel plate with a 2" steel tube 2" long welded
to
the face of it. This is the part that the Jack swivels on. SO how should
I
cool the part for the most strength? The part will likely twist up where
the
tube is welded to the 1/4 plate.

Side View
|_
|_|
|

Front
------
| |
| O |
|____|

In article ,
"HotRod" wrote:

I need to repair a dump trailer because the jack on the front has twisted
and honestly is in the wrong spot. Because of where the Jack is located you
can not unhook the trailer and then load it. Really stupid.

You're going to want to seriously upgrade that jack, not move it, if
you're going to try this. That placement is a "really stupid prevention"
design, but go ahead and prove it to yourself if that makes you
happier...

--
Cats, coffee, chocolate...vices to live by

Weld the tube to 1/2" plate and you won't need to worry about warping.
Did this to my tandem axle boat trailer jack mount. No need to heat
treat. Just make sure your weld is good, and weld inside also.
JR
Dweller in the cellar

HotRod wrote:
I need to repair a dump trailer because the jack on the front has twisted
and honestly is in the wrong spot. Because of where the Jack is located you
can not unhook the trailer and then load it. Really stupid. So here is my
question.

1) Can I heat treat the piece once it is finished in my shop?
2) I know I need to heat it to about 800 degree's and then cool it fast. I
also think that at some point it will lose magnetism is that right?
3) The part will be a 1/4 steel plate with a 2" steel tube 2" long welded to
the face of it. This is the part that the Jack swivels on. SO how should I
cool the part for the most strength? The part will likely twist up where the
tube is welded to the 1/4 plate.

Side View
|_
|_|
|

Front
------
| |
| O |
|____|




--
--------------------------------------------------------------
Home Page: http://www.seanet.com/~jasonrnorth
If you're not the lead dog, the view never changes
Doubt yourself, and the real world will eat you alive
The world doesn't revolve around you, it revolves around me
No skeletons in the closet; just decomposing corpses
--------------------------------------------------------------
Dependence is Vulnerability:
--------------------------------------------------------------
"Open the Pod Bay Doors please, Hal"
"I'm sorry, Dave, I'm afraid I can't do that.."

Right now the jack is slowly working it's way to a nice 45 degree angle. The
jack is handling the weight but if someone dumps dirt into the trailer the
trailer does a sudden jerk and the jack bends just a little. I was
originally thinking about making the tube go on the inside of the tub on the
jack but after reading some posts I think I may put my tub on the outside
with angle pieces and if I really want also one on the inside.

Thanks for the posts. Since it doesn't look like heat treating it is
going to make things any better.





"HotRod" wrote in message
...
I need to repair a dump trailer because the jack on the front has twisted
and honestly is in the wrong spot. Because of where the Jack is located you
can not unhook the trailer and then load it. Really stupid. So here is my
question.

1) Can I heat treat the piece once it is finished in my shop?
2) I know I need to heat it to about 800 degree's and then cool it fast. I
also think that at some point it will lose magnetism is that right?
3) The part will be a 1/4 steel plate with a 2" steel tube 2" long welded
to the face of it. This is the part that the Jack swivels on. SO how
should I cool the part for the most strength? The part will likely twist
up where the tube is welded to the 1/4 plate.

Side View
|_
|_|
|

Front
------
| |
| O |
|____|

On Thu, 6 Oct 2005 09:56:50 -0400, "HotRod"
wrote:

Right now the jack is slowly working it's way to a nice 45 degree angle. The
jack is handling the weight but if someone dumps dirt into the trailer the
trailer does a sudden jerk and the jack bends just a little. I was
originally thinking about making the tube go on the inside of the tub on the
jack but after reading some posts I think I may put my tub on the outside
with angle pieces and if I really want also one on the inside.

Thanks for the posts. Since it doesn't look like heat treating it is
going to make things any better.

Sounds to me like you are looking at the problem backwards. You
need to rework that crank-down tongue jack you use to hitch up the
trailer so it works - and then stop using it as tongue support while
the trailer is parked. Take it totally out of the picture, so when
you need it to hitch the trailer again it still works.

Remember the r.c.m Motto: Adapt - Improvise - Overcome.

And another good one: Don't raise the drawbridge, Lower the river.

I would rig up some beefy fixed supports for the trailer bed - two
at the sides of the tailgate, and two at the front corners. Here's my
initial idea as to design, feel free to modify this as you wish.

The miracle material is heavy gauge Telespar or Square-Fit tubing -
telescoping seamless square tubing factory punched with holes on all
four sides every inch, the same stuff they use for street signs. The
main advantage being you don't have to drill or punch a whole lotta
holes yourself, or get them all straight.

The basic idea is to permanently weld jackstands on each corner of
the trailer, designed to be as bulletproof as possible. But
upside-down, so the slider drops down to the ground.

Make 4 lengths of Telespar tubing for the corner support feet, and
weld a round or square 1/2" plate steel ground foot on the bottom of
each foot.

Go longer with the drop-down legs than you think you'd normally use,
trailers get parked at odd angles on sloped lots. (And make a couple
of extra legs for when - not if - they get bent up.)

Now that I think of it, make your bottom feet with a short chunk of
telescope tubing welded on, and then bolt them to the bottoms of the
legs - so when the leg tubes get bent and trashed there's no welding
needed - just cut another chunk of leg tubing and bolt on the foot.

Get the next larger size Telespar and weld a chunk to the trailer
chassis at the corners, and gusset or strap them from all possible
angles to take side force stresses. Get clevis pins and spring cotter
keys to set the height of each support foot - you might want to use
two or three clevis pins per foot to spread out the shock loads and
not make those round holes oval, nor the pins jammed in place.

(Bolts and nuts work too, but then you need to carry wrenches.)

When you park the trailer you unhitch and move the tow vehicle, then
get it fairly level. Chock both trailer tires on both sides, you can
make two sets of linked chocks so they can't slide away from the tires
- if the trailer is a dual axle, get the wedge-style chocks that clamp
between the two tires. The chocking system is your primary means of
making absolutely sure the trailer doesn't try to move fore or aft and
bend the legs.

Drop the rear support feet and pin them. Raise the tongue jack a
little, and drop and pin the front support feet. Then raise the
tongue jack to the totally retracted position so it can't get screwed
up again - the chock blocks will absorb the front to back thrusts, and
the support feet are strong enough to resist the rest. And if they
aren't, they are replaceable.

-- Bruce --
--
Bruce L. Bergman, Woodland Hills (Los Angeles) CA - Desktop
Electrician for Westend Electric - CA726700
5737 Kanan Rd. #359, Agoura CA 91301 (818) 889-9545
Spamtrapped address: Remove the python and the invalid, and use a net.

Your right I think I'm going to try something like this instead. THANKS

"Bruce L. Bergman" wrote in message
news
On Thu, 6 Oct 2005 09:56:50 -0400, "HotRod"
wrote:

Right now the jack is slowly working it's way to a nice 45 degree angle.
The
jack is handling the weight but if someone dumps dirt into the trailer the
trailer does a sudden jerk and the jack bends just a little. I was
originally thinking about making the tube go on the inside of the tub on
the
jack but after reading some posts I think I may put my tub on the outside
with angle pieces and if I really want also one on the inside.

Thanks for the posts. Since it doesn't look like heat treating it is
going to make things any better.

Sounds to me like you are looking at the problem backwards. You
need to rework that crank-down tongue jack you use to hitch up the
trailer so it works - and then stop using it as tongue support while
the trailer is parked. Take it totally out of the picture, so when
you need it to hitch the trailer again it still works.

Remember the r.c.m Motto: Adapt - Improvise - Overcome.

And another good one: Don't raise the drawbridge, Lower the river.

I would rig up some beefy fixed supports for the trailer bed - two
at the sides of the tailgate, and two at the front corners. Here's my
initial idea as to design, feel free to modify this as you wish.

The miracle material is heavy gauge Telespar or Square-Fit tubing -
telescoping seamless square tubing factory punched with holes on all
four sides every inch, the same stuff they use for street signs. The
main advantage being you don't have to drill or punch a whole lotta
holes yourself, or get them all straight.

The basic idea is to permanently weld jackstands on each corner of
the trailer, designed to be as bulletproof as possible. But
upside-down, so the slider drops down to the ground.

Make 4 lengths of Telespar tubing for the corner support feet, and
weld a round or square 1/2" plate steel ground foot on the bottom of
each foot.

Go longer with the drop-down legs than you think you'd normally use,
trailers get parked at odd angles on sloped lots. (And make a couple
of extra legs for when - not if - they get bent up.)

Now that I think of it, make your bottom feet with a short chunk of
telescope tubing welded on, and then bolt them to the bottoms of the
legs - so when the leg tubes get bent and trashed there's no welding
needed - just cut another chunk of leg tubing and bolt on the foot.

Get the next larger size Telespar and weld a chunk to the trailer
chassis at the corners, and gusset or strap them from all possible
angles to take side force stresses. Get clevis pins and spring cotter
keys to set the height of each support foot - you might want to use
two or three clevis pins per foot to spread out the shock loads and
not make those round holes oval, nor the pins jammed in place.

(Bolts and nuts work too, but then you need to carry wrenches.)

When you park the trailer you unhitch and move the tow vehicle, then
get it fairly level. Chock both trailer tires on both sides, you can
make two sets of linked chocks so they can't slide away from the tires
- if the trailer is a dual axle, get the wedge-style chocks that clamp
between the two tires. The chocking system is your primary means of
making absolutely sure the trailer doesn't try to move fore or aft and
bend the legs.

Drop the rear support feet and pin them. Raise the tongue jack a
little, and drop and pin the front support feet. Then raise the
tongue jack to the totally retracted position so it can't get screwed
up again - the chock blocks will absorb the front to back thrusts, and
the support feet are strong enough to resist the rest. And if they
aren't, they are replaceable.

-- Bruce --
--
Bruce L. Bergman, Woodland Hills (Los Angeles) CA - Desktop
Electrician for Westend Electric - CA726700
5737 Kanan Rd. #359, Agoura CA 91301 (818) 889-9545
Spamtrapped address: Remove the python and the invalid, and use a net.