Mounting base in enclosed trailer

[Drew933]

I have a 7x16 all aluminum enclosed cargo trailer,could i build a base in the trailer mount a 400lb anvil  and work metal inside the trailer?

[Irondragon Forge ClayWorks]

Welcome to IFI... Have you read this yet? It will help you get the best out of the forum. READ THIS FIRST

As far as mounting the anvil it can be done but is not easy. Might want to look at this thread for an idea.

 

[Frosty]

Welcome aboard Drew, glad to have you. If you'll put your general location in the header you might be surprised how many members live within visiting distance.

Sure a drop down anvil stand can be made, some reasonably easily some not, depends. Can YOU do it? I can't answer that. Are you a welder fabricator with experience working on street legal vehicles? How much do you want to spend? 

I'm not being flippant, you're talking about a non trivial modification to a licensed registered road vehicle and even inspected and approved by DMV, chances are your insurance company won't go for it without fine toothed comb inspections by guys not known for just saying no but saying  HECK NO.

Unless you have the certifications and know how you might talk to a company that builds commercial trucks. Most of what you see is sold by Ford, Kenworth, etc. as frame, cab power train and suspension. They're turned into: dump trucks, semi tractors, box vans, boom trucks, etc. by second party companies. They customize trailers as a rule as well.

I don't want to discourage you but this is not a trivial modification and YOU will be wholly liable unless you have it done by someone licensed and bonded to do the job. 

Frosty The Lucky.

[Drew933]

Thanks a lot for the info Frosty,ididn't really consider the legal aspect of it. So just to be clear,is it possible to just build a wooden base with vertical 6x6's inside the trailer and bolt it to the frame with U-bolts and brackets lagged into the base? Or does it absolutely have to have a drop down stand directly on the ground?

[Frosty]

Sure, there wouldn't be any issues with making a stand to rest or bolt to the trailer bed or clamp to a frame member. (Best double check on using frame members though. I am NOT in Canada.)  A 400 lb. anvil shouldn't do much if any bouncing regardless.

A little more thought and it occurs to me there isn't ANY reason not to slide under the trailer and place a jack under the anvil stand. You could put your anvil anywhere you wanted for a demo or event and put the jack under it for a good solid stand. 

Nobody could have an issue with that, it isn't a modification to the trailer so they have no jurisdiction, it's no hazard so insurance won't need to know. Hmmmm? 

Frosty The Lucky.

 

[Drew933]

Thanks again Frosty,you sound like someone who knows more about blacksmithing than i ever will lol.

[Charles R. Stevens]

Na, Jerry has forgotten more about blacksmithing than he knows ;-)

[Frosty]

Ah, you're young, you have time.  I'm just a likable story teller and been doing stuff more than 60 years so it's easier to sound convincing.  On the other hand I have built a few trailers and had them inspected and approved. Being a likable story teller lets me pump the DOT and insurance inspectors for what they're looking for. It's hard to make them happy with a Modified vehicle.

In return, let us know what it's like getting things like this through motor vehicle department in Canada. Eh? 

Frosty The Lucky.

[JHCC]

11 hours ago, Frosty said:

it occurs to me there isn't ANY reason not to slide under the trailer and place a jack under the anvil stand.

If your trailer already has leveling jacks in the corners, you're golden. Just level the trailer, crank the jacks a bit higher than needed on one side, slide a solid block under the anvil (preferably nice and wide, to distribute the hammering forces), and lower the trailer back down until it's resting on the support block and level all the way around.

[jlpservicesinc]

So with having a number of trailers both past and present under my belt. I can tell you it will work for sure. Problem is it won't work well.

If you are a young person you might not even notice any kind of problem, but my knees used to kill me at the end of the day working in a trailer. 

JHCC even with corner jacks like on a mobile home deal was not enough and in fact, I had trailers that I put jacks on to stabilize the platform and they all failed within short order. 

This last trailer has all the modifications done to it that I found lacking with all others. 

 

I have attached a photo of trailer 3.0 and the stand.  Personally, the stand for me is whatever is the easiest to make and mount in the trailer. It has to be bolted down unless you lay it down for transport.  In this trailer, with each hammer blow, the trailer would move a good amount even with a reinforced floor and jacks. I figured it would take 5X longer to make the same item vs at the shop. 

JHCC has worked in the newer trailer and I'm sure will back up the fact that the anvil is mounted pretty solidly.. 

 

By the way, this anvil stand was from trailer 1.0 and back then I used to haul the trailer with a 1970 SAAB 96V4. 

[JHCC]

Yes, indeed. 

[pnut]

Welcome to IFI, I have one question for you that would make a big difference in the advice you get. Are you planning on moving the trailer or leaving it stationary like a permanent shop? If you aren't planning on pulling it anywhere it will be a lot easier to make it rock solid.

Pnut (Mike)

[Charles R. Stevens]

I have built a few trailers, and have modified more than a few. Jerry’s concerts are valid as to what your state, country and insurance will allow, but structurally, as long as you don’t go cutting any of the frame rails and loading all the heavy stuff behind, or to far in front of the axles the trailer will be structurally sound. This assuming it’s not a stress skinned structure like a modern semi trailer. 

Baring any leagal isues, the best set up I have seen used a hole in the floor just in front of the axle. The anvil stand was two peice. One was a square trunk mounted over the floor and the second was a solidly mounted rectangular stump. The stump and trunk were cross board to fit a large rod threw it for travel. a frame and cut along were used to raise and lower the stump tree the Floor to the ground. Complicated. For the amount of work, simply jacking up the trailer and placing cribbing under the box were the anvil sets and jacking it down on top worksneirly as well with a lot less fus. 

other set ups that work well involve removing the anvil and stand and setting up on the ground and having the forge set right at the rear or at a side door. The advantage here is you don’t have to choke up on your swings when you realy need to reach for the sky to get a pice of stock moving. This is your better set up. I have seen a tommy lift used with a power hammer, the hammer was slid from over the axles to the lift, lowered and secured. But most low boy trailers lack tommy lifts. A small bed mounted Crain will lift and swing out your anvil, and a compound can be erected or a small RV retractable awning can be used. Grinders and work benches easily fit in side the trailer. 

Anither trick from the farrier side of things is to mount the anvil on a slide (in your case #400 + drawer guides) the anvil is pulled out and the stand installed under it. Jacks are often used but as pointed out they fail. Use the jack to lift the anvil enugh to install a stand. 

Plots of ways to skin this cat, but they all have their down sides.

 

[Frosty]

I'm always conservative with advice on an open forum. It's also a good way to get folks who have done some of the trickier things to show us how. 

Frosty The Lucky.

[Drew933]

Thanks a lot Frosty,and i would really like to thank everyone else for all their great advice. I think between all of you you've given me all the possible options for the trailer setup. With any luck i will be able to find a small storage space or workshop to set up in. I just got a new job with better pay so the time to try my hand at forging again has finally come. I had a little setup a few years ago with a simple coal forge and a piece of rail track,the only thing i made was a tomahawk from a ball peen hammer. I drew the ball out into a nice spike,it was a really cool experience and i've been looking forward to doing it regularly. I hope to be rolling in a couple months or so. Thanks again to everyone.

[Frosty]

Our pleasure, glad to help. To be honest though you COULD'VE let this go on a while longer, we could've picked up some more ideas. 

Frosty The Lucky.

[Drew933]

Believe me Frosty i would love more ideas about the trailer option because it is still very much on the table. I would love to have a shop with everything set up and ready to go but nothing is set in stone yet....other than the fact that i'm buying the biggest anvil i can find (400lbs minimum) ,that's gonna happen lol

[JHCC]

"Set in stone" isn't the best option for a trailer.

[Drew933]

Lol

[jlpservicesinc]

Not set in stone, but set in place and once there feels like stone...

[Drew933]

Lol well said

[Frosty]

Excalibur Trailer John?  What kind of Draw bar do you think it'd take?

Frosty The Lucky.

[JHCC]

If you make it from gun barrels, it's definitely ex-caliber.

[ThomasPowers]

My local scrapyard has a gun barrel in two pieces, the breech piece is a bit bigger...

[Frosty]

Estimating from the 2' x 4 fragment that looks to be 19.9" - 20" in Dia with about a 5" bore? I'm not getting out my dividers or calipers but. . . Nice anvil or stand. All I can say is. Shoot!

Frosty The Lucky.