posted 12-15-2006 06:49 PM                  

The trailer is a Cargo Express STE 16 foot with the fold down ramp

The interior dimensions are: length - 16' 2", width - 7' 9", Wheel well to Wheel well width - 6' 10", and height - 6' 5"

The ramp was built to hold the Prowler trailer above the hood of the Prowler, so that he could pull this rig with a half ton pickup. He had a pretty nice design, just never finished it out, and he had some issues with the placement of his winches, something that I ended up replacing.

The ramp was constructed in the front of the trailer and is hinged at the rear. The hinged portion is 32" from the trailer floor, and the ramp is 73 1/2" long. The outer width of the ramp is also 73 1/2" and the inner width is 42 1/2". When raised from the floor of the trailer, the front of the ramp is 51 1/2" off the floor. As you can see, it is a pretty steep incline, so you have to have a winch to pull the Prowler trailer up the ramp, you cannot push it by yourself.

This was designed by the previous owner to allow him to load and unload the Prowler, the Prowler Trailer, and the Prowler Go Cart all by himself, and for him not to have to buy a one ton truck to pull it. Being I can only upload 4 pictures at a time, I will continue with this trailer description in another post!

posted 12-15-2006 08:32 PM                  

So I took out the winch and come-a-long system and first installed a winch at the top of the frame to pull up the front of the ramp once the trailer was loaded. The wiring will be cleaned up and concealed once I finish this thing up!!

This way, I can pull the front ramp up and let it down with the cable off to the side, so it won't touch the front of the trailer.

Next I had to figure out a way to pull the Prowler Trailer up the steep incline of this ramp, without damaging the rear valance and knocking the license plate off! In this next pic you can see that the winch had to be placed high on the rear of the ramp so that it could completely pull the trailer up, but that in doing so, the cable would have rested on the rear valance and license plate when the end was connected to the frame. I had to build a pull bar that would roll UNDER the ramp trays so that the chains could be attached to the frame under the trailer, leaving clearance for the cable not to touch the trailer. The pull bar had to be strong enough to handle pulling the weight of the trailer up the ramp, and was put on small wheels with fittings that wrapped over the top of the ramp tray so that it would ride under the tray without falling down.

When the winch is let out, the bar glides to the front lower ramp and the chains line up with the rear frame of the trailer

The two sides are then hooked to the frame of the trailer in the holes that already exist

posted 12-15-2006 08:42 PM                  

Since this is a one man operation, I had to find a way to allow the tongue of the trailer to roll on its own, and be low to the ground, so that I would have more clearance in the rear. So I mounted a trailer ball on wheels and clamped it in the hitch! It works!!!

Then I can begin pulling the trailer up the incline with winch #1.

This and the next picture show why I had to use a pull bar from under the ramp trays and why it did not work by just hooking the cable directly to the rear of the frame. Look how low the bottom of the trailer is compared to the angle of the incline of the ramp!!

See where the cables would have hit the rear of the trailer. That's why Don Ward had to fix the Purple trailer up before I would take it out! It was pretty banged up with cable rash!

posted 12-15-2006 08:52 PM                  

OK, here is the next pic as the trailer comes up the ramp. Again, the parts are still in design phase and the wires are everywhere, but I have tested it out a couple dozen times, and it works great! I will get it cleaned up at some point!

That shows how little clearance there was at that angle. Again, I think he had a good idea, it's just a pretty steep angle to have to pull from under the trailer!

This next pic shows it halfway up the ramp. There are some stops welded in the ramp tray to show where the tire should stop at.

And this is the point where it is ready to be strapped down. What I found was best is to go ahead and lift the front of the ramp level with winch #2 before strapping it down tight.

and this is how it looks once it is at it's wheel stop, before lifting the front

posted 12-15-2006 08:59 PM                  

I extend the front support of the tongue stand and allow that to rest on the front of the ramp frame. Then I strap it down and raise it up to the set pins, which brings the front of the ramp to 51 1/2 inches from the trailer floor.

They are set on both sides, and have pins on the back to prevent them from working out. This is what it looks like raised all the way

and a shot from underneath

posted 12-15-2006 09:11 PM                  

The car then pulls up underneath the trailer, and straps down to the D rings in the floor. There is only a few inches clearance from the trailer lid to the ceiling, but there is now way for it to bounce.

I take the roller off the front of the trailer and strap down the tongue before loading the car. The whole process goes pretty easy and fast. I think when I dropped them off at Don Wards for touch up work and pin striping, it only took about 15 minutes to unload both the car and trailer, and when I picked them back up, maybe about 20-25 minutes? I load the whole thing myself, and now that I have tested it out and feel that I have worked out the problems he had with it, I am going to clean up the install and paint the ramps and structure.

Seems like a lot to go through, but this is one heavy trailer even unloaded, and those of you that have pulled a trailer big enough to fit both you Kat and trailer know that a half ton truck has a tough time doing it. This guy wanted to design something to keep from having to get a larger truck, and after some modifications, it seems to work pretty good! I have actually used it a lot! And the best part is, that it really came free when you consider the deal I got on the Kat.

So, I am open for suggestions or comments (I know, that might be a mistake!), so that I can make adjustments before I button her up!

posted 12-15-2006 09:33 PM                  

A couple of things. Black iron or galvanized pipe is not designed for strength although it appears to be sufficient for the task. I have no idea of the weight of the trailer. Also could a piece of channel welded on both sides create a track in wich to have the wheels ride?

It appears that the frame flexes a bit when the winch on the side is lifting it up. is this something that could cause a problem down the road? If the winch were in the center and turned 90 degrees could you run twin cables across the top and down both sides or would the winch interfere with the trailer when it is up?

All in all you done good. Good Luck

But ain't it a b*tch getting out of the car? I'm looking to put a door on the drivers side of mine to ease the entrance and exit.

posted 12-15-2006 09:50 PM                  

I am looking at that angle iron rail, I think that will help. The center pipe is pretty heavy, the smaller ones that wrap around the top don't carry any load, they just hold it up to the ramp when there is no load on it, and keep it straight when it's gliding up and down. I should construct it out of iron instead of pipe next, but I wanted to see if pulling it from under the ramps would give me the proper clearance first.

As far as the winch to the side, he did not build his structure out far enough to clear the front of the trailer, so the cable cut into the lid the first time he tried it! I moved it to the side to solve that. The frame does flex some coming up, but is secured on both sides with the pins once it reaches the correct level, and all pressure is then off the winch. I still don't like the fact that there is no safety in case the winch fails, but maybe with some input from ya'll, I'll come up with something!

All in all, he was on the right track, I just would have probably gone with a system that lifted all four corners at once, but instead of tearing it all out, I thought I would just make this design work.

Thanks!!!

posted 12-15-2006 10:56 PM                  

If you take a piece of 3/8" steel in roughly a banana shape, drill a hole near one end but not too close and mount it inside the vertical track on the winch side. when flipped outward, aas the bar raised they would push in and fall back outward as the bar passed by creating a safety cog. If the hole is drilled right and the balance is correct when you manually flip them all the way up they would stay in the track allowing you to lower the lift.

posted 12-17-2006 10:57 PM                  

Dave, I agree, I don't like it over the hood like it is, but the trailer came with the Kat purchase, so I am doing my best to refine his design so that I can use it until I find a larger one. Then I might sell this one.

I might be putting the go cart body back on the Prowler go cart soon, so I'll post pictures of that soon I hope. We took the body off to have Don Ward paint it to match the purple kat, but I have been playing on the cart too much and don't want everyone messing up my new paint job, so I left it off for now!

posted 12-18-2006 11:01 PM                  

The paperwork shows an empty weight of 2900 lbs with a carrying capacity of 4100 lbs, with a gross weight of 7000 lbs. The tag on the trailer shows GVWR 7000, GAWR Front 3500 lbs, GAWR Rear 3500 lbs.

It has a Draw-Tite Weight Distribution Hitch System with a 2 5/16 ball and 1000 lbs tounge weight bars. Maybe that is where I saw tounge weight at ?

SOOOO, not knowing much more about trailers myself, that's what I have so far. Does that help?

That was his picture taken before I bought it!