Hand truck ? trailer combo

[Frank S]

Nothing in the world is more aggravating when you have something to move but you must transport it across your lawn or worse in your corral or feed lot where the ground is to soft to support the tiny little 4.00x4 pheumatic tires on your hand truck or your hand truck is just THAT MUCH too small for the task at hand. In my case I usually fire up my 18,000 lb backhoe to get the job done but it is big and clumsy Plus depending on what it is you need to move. I may have to get off the machine and back on a couple of times just to move a 200 lb object.
This brought me to decide that what I really needed was a larger hand truck with the capability to traverse soft soil with a load. I also wanted it large enough to carry just about anything that I could physically move unassisted. While constructing the stipid thing the thought occurred to me that I also sometimes needed to be able to lift and transport an object that was too heavy for me to load in the back of my Ingersol Rand gas powered carryall club car, so why not also make the hand truck a little more versatile by adding a fold down trailer tongue. This way I could maneuver the foot of the hand truck under the object then break it over as if I were going to move it by hand but at the same time fold the tongue out and connect it to my carry all
Now the hand truck had become not only a means of lifting and transporting an object but one that could be pulled like a trailer I now could ride in comfort without having to strain to drag the hand truck possibly a few thousand feet.
Here is what I cam up with
first off I found 2 of the ubiquitous compact spare tires that it seems only I want to collect every one that I find. I cut 2 pieces of 2 3/8" heavy wall oil field tubing for the hubs then gave them a light clean out bore on each end for the bearings then simply welded the hubs into the wheels
I located a piece of 1" hot rolled round bar for the axle and as per my usual scrounging I also had 2 pieces of 3/4" sch 80 pipe bought in an auction along with a few tons of other stuff and a small sheet of AR 400 for the foot plate, left over from a previous job This was to become the basis of my hand truck trailer for the fenders since I didn't want to hack up my only large sheet of 11Ga I decided to use a couple short pieces of scrap 4x4x.11ga sq tubing then split it ahd re form it on a chunk of railroad iron that I refuse to cut up into the shape of an anvil

[Toolmaker51]

Recognize a need, conceive a solution.
Build what isn't sold.
Doing work to get other work done.
Yep, right there with you Frank S. Here at HOMEMADETOOLS.net, We don't need no stinkin' "Combat Kitchenware" to reinforce an identity!

[Frank S]

Around my place you can find dozens of 1 off not sold in any store things many of which I use on a daily basis.
I can see this hand truck getting a lot of use and probably some abuse. Just to test its resilience to my get it done attitude I floated the foot under a 1000 lb chunk of concrete then leaned hard on the handle the concrete was obviously too large to fit fully on the foot but I was able to lift the corner high enough that 3 6 x6 blocks could have been stacked under it, so it makes a pretty neat portable fulcrum as well as a hand truck /trailer

[DIYer]

Thanks Frank S! We've added your Combination Hand Truck and Trailer to our Trailers and Towing category,
as well as to your builder page: Frank S's Homemade Tools. Your receipt:

Combination Hand Truck and Trailer by Frank S

tags: trailer, cart

[C-Bag]

Good one Frank! I like this a lot and will partially use this idea. From your headline I thought you had made something I'd been pondering. But I should have know Mad Frank, King of HeavyMetal would take it to a whole 'nuther level

I bought one of those hand dollies for moving a small trailer by hand. Of course it was junk and now needs to be scrapped. So I've got one of those aluminum heavy duty hand trucks that can be folded down to make a cart with pneumatic tires on it. I'm going to either use the ball mount off the junk trailer Dollie or fab a new one to clamp on to the hand truck to use as a trailer dollie.

Thanks for posting and for the inspiration.

[oiu789]

I have been thinking of building a torch cart like this. That could be used in the shop and when needed towed to a out of shop site. I think the width of the tires would have to expand for towing and contract when in the shop. I have to think about the suspension, Maybe just run the tires soft.
William

[Frank S]

One of the reasons that I like those compact spare tires for many of my projects is their load capacity plus due to their shape they have a very low rolling resistance when lightly loaded. That coupled with the fact that I can usually get them for free or at most pay $5 to 10.00 for them makes them appealing for me to design around them.
I buy those stamped 1" bore 2" diameter fanged bearings in lots of 10 for $1.50 to $2.00 apiece, and the 2 3/8" oilfield tubing is perfect for making the hubs.
The upset ends are thick enough that I can machine them out to to accept the races for taper roller bearings to make standard trailer hubs.

[Frank S]

Here is how well the hand truck works
No she did not have enough weight or muscles to get the had truck and load into that position but she did manage to move it a few feet mostly just to see if she could.
the wood stove with the fire brick inside is over 200 lbs. I on the other hand had not difficulty in boosting it around with very little effort

[Frank S]

I have been thinking of building a torch cart like this. That could be used in the shop and when needed towed to a out of shop site. I think the width of the tires would have to expand for towing and contract when in the shop. I have to think about the suspension, Maybe just run the tires soft.
William

Here is my torch cart
http://www.homemadetools.net/forum/b...6088#post65897