doing a coop from a boat trailer..so can take flock to other home if wanted to overnight or few days

[ladyearth]

other home is not real far away and back roads
well anyway,bought trailer off CL $200 Then spent 300 dollars for new bearings, new tires, spare tire and rim... I said wow Honey how come??? well anyway its a strong 16 foot boat trailerby 5 foot...wide
Hubby wired up running and braking and lights he got recently . Case we drive somewhere after or during dark
so far Hubby bolted down pressure treated.. 2 by 8 's 6 feet long so far. trailer had no floor just galvanized I beams and leaf springs. I wanted him to just do plywood floor. But he said this way much stronger. But of course I said yeah making trailer heavier...LOL..Cause he said long I mean as wide, as he could make it would be 11 feet long the coop that is...and 6 foot wide....
got plywood for sides and several rv looking sliding windows....
trying to find corrugated aluminum to exterior face the coop.. making it lighter
So far can only find steel... corrugated panels.... yeah I know vinyl siding....
thinking about aluminum coil stock. But Hubby said hard to keep flat when installing it...
Several weeks ago a guy had some 3 ft by 12 foot , his ad, said , corrugated alum roofing salvaged from barn... But by the time I finally called the CL seller he already sold the 12 foot lenghts and had only 8 or so 2 by 8 ft lengths left. This supposedly all was from a salvaged barn materials. 40 miles away from here...
Wish I had a bunch of old licnse lates.. that would be neat.. got just several now
anyway got some "Zappone" brand shingles left from my former homes roof.. But they seem so nice to use on a chicken coop.. But did use a few scraps on some feed shelters..LOL. The shingles are textured and expensive and like 12 "by 6" and WHITE... or so...It was such a pretty roof....so I keep running on Sorry
we left the other whole box of shingles with the new owner.... which as prob a mistake .. but whatever....
so guess its yellow pages time or salvage places to find corrugated aluminum
so will post pic soon
I just trying to upload pic .. it must be too big... I cant remember how I was able to last time...yall
any more ideas yall???

 

[paintedChix]

The build is BEAUTIFUL!! Can't wait to see how you do nesting boxes, roosts and feed/water set up.

But - ??s:

1 - how do you tow it? That is a really short hitch/tongue length and really wide building on the trailer. I have a 16' stock trailer that I didn't realize before I purchased it new - right off the production line - had a REALLY short (but longer than yours) hitch tongue. I tore out the front of the trailer just turning into the gas station off of a major high way when pulling it home!! The bumper of our 3/4 ton Ford 4x4 hits the trailer any time it's got more than a 45* turn. Had to pay to have that repaired (we couldn't straighten the steel front or redo the welding). Have primer on it, but haven't matched the paint yet. It's a "bear" to haul and get it into gas stations (I now go to Truck Stops - but even they have tight turns around their islands for regular gas. Before I hook it, I make sure gas tank is full - but that doesn't help for long hauls across the state or out of state). Backing is also troublesome. Sure can't "jack knife" it into tight spots like I can my other bumper pull trailers!!

2 - That looks really heavy on those "little" tires. Again, even for 15 miles, how do you tow it? A fiberglass boat doesn't weigh anything close to a wood building that size.

3 - Double check that hitch and make sure it will hold well. Add heavy duty tow chains and clips (not light weight snaps). I've "jerry-rigged" a Ford Courier truck bed into a "stock trailer" (actually had it built and it is registered, insured and plated). We did great until we loaded too much weight too far back behind the single axle and hit a bump. The hitch came off the ball, one chain snapped, the hook on the other stretched out of shape and came loose, the trailer went off the road & flipped over - doing damage to the county paved road and to private property. The car behind us backed off and no one was injured. BUT the ticket (standard "reckless driving"), property damage, vehicle (trailer tongue banged into the mini SUV both under the hitch/bumper and then above it before going off road) & trailer damage and resulting INSURANCE INCREASE were darned EXPENSIVE!! We hauled less than 7 miles - part of our regular trash run to the local dump - was only going 35 in a 55 zone when it came off. Had old furniture in the trailer that we couldn't burn or re-purpose at that time.

4 - Insulation really needed in your area? If not, I wouldn't add it. I'd think about removing more of the sides and using hardware cloth - lighten the load for hauling and also add mega ventilation. Then cover it with a door that can be added or a plywood sheet/siding that you remove for bad weather and/or winter or plexi glass or green house panels or cloth on a wooden frame.

 

[MeepBeep]

1 - how do you tow it?  That is a really short hitch/tongue length and really wide building on the trailer.

I agree, looks like you have a very, very limited turn radius with that short of a tongue...

Also back to load limits, if you can't make out the load limit of the axle itself (I suspect about 1500-2000lbs for a single boat trailer axle) then check the tire ratings for load, and make sure they are always properly inflated to the max psi...

I know it might sound like nit picking but many people overload small trailers and it becomes a real life road hazard, 1500-2000lbs sounds like a lot but it actually adds up real fast... I have a small trailer I use to move hay/straw and it's highly annoying to stay within the load capacity of the trailer, 20 small bales (not even two full layers) on the trailer and I'm maxed out at about 1500lbs...

 

[MeepBeep]

DId yall look a the original picture of the boat trailer before anything done to it ?  first pic...

I did look at all the available pictures but none show the tongue length fully...

A five foot wide 'flat front' trailer should have the tongue a minimum of 42" from the front wall/deck, 48" or more would be more ideal and allow a better turn radius... If you have that amount of length then disregard...

And although not as big of concern, it appears from the pictures that the deck was extended forward to the end of the 'v' of the frame, this appears to put the axle further back than ideal and might cause excessive tongue load... Axle should ideally be located 60/40 (front/back) under the deck, this is not a huge concern but it can cause issues depending on the towing vehicle choice...

If one is curious as to where the 42" recommended tongue length is derived from the picture should explain it, the picture is also to scale...

Most full sized vehicles are about 80" wide, thus with a 42" tongue you in theory get a full 90° of turn/rotation... Now granted you will likely never use that much rotation when pulling the trailer (and some hitches might limit it as well) but it's very handy to have that much rotation when backing up the trailer to avoid potential damage to the vehicle or trailer and allow maximum maneuverability...

 

[ladyearth]

If I cant get these poor chickens itching and excessive scratching under control... all this might be for nothing...
Hubby has the floor on now and some of the roof joists and plywood sides....I should have asked him to take pics as he progresses. He out in the garage now He needs to call it an evening and get off his feet....
would so like to cover the plywood outer walls with aluminum sheets.. but cANT FIND it.. did find some large baking sheets... he said ...Naw... The You tube homemade camper guy said he got from a salvage yard.... also he got his door from a salvage yard.... It is a jalousie. Heck we had jalousie windows on our former long time home on the dide of the attached gaage. personally I like jalousie storm doors...
I suggested aluminum cans for the sided and roof. he said" naw"... again.... he asked am I trying to dive him crazy.

"Ondura "is sold at Lowes. I dont want steel ..too heavy. Fiberglass corrugated is hard to find. Some we have is prob close to 50 yrs old.
ours, heavyweight corrugated fiberglass in green is off of old patio cover from a former neighbor remodeling... We have those pcs here on a shed, open air shed...
also thought about aluminum awnings, old ones... but long way off found some...on Craigs List...
trying to repurpose stuff.
thanks all

 

[thomasboyle]

Keep the pictures coming!!

 

[ladyearth]

heres so far....Hubby is now cutting down the used camper door he bought this morning. lots of work. I found a nicer unit... whole topper, 2 hrs away from here each way.....already small door with two built in side windows..... but he doe not want to drive the distance..
The local guy also had a rectangular window... unfortuntely window arent quite where they should be.. cause the plywood was from where he prev was going to add to the Tractor coop.....
also he bought a bolt on jack that swivels up for the trailer tongue....
need some more suggestions......Yall some input please


I dont know how to rearrange these pics so that whole Rv shows first.. before I submit button.. ah well
wish I could find more of those new elongated trapozoid looking ones

 

[aart]

Wow, that's big, looks cool.
What's the load rating on that axle?

 

[ladyearth]

yeah aart concerned about ventilation too but safe too. Raccoons are bound at other place.... That why I wanted him to make it less tall so it could be put in a garage at nite... HUBBY said "make up your mind" heck I don't know I have to see something Can not visualize stuff very well....Its kind of big approx framed in at 11 ft long and about 6 feet wide. It was a boat trailer..... cause it about 16 feet long. and still had old boat winch on it....
It didn't seem that big when we were discussing it Heavy leaf springs on it..too.. only reason we bought it. Guy on You tube made a camper out of one w/o plan... wish we could fin aluminum sheet siding, used...def don't want heavy steel....
Its old I beam construction... I dint even want Hubby to use 2 by 4s... I dont know why he couldn't have used 2 by 2 or 2 by 3s.... I said to him "more places for the mites etc to hide"....
I wish we had pulled thru the local " dump "and asked the lady to weigh it...before he started work on it....
The dump is only mile or so away... Its called a" transfer station"

 

[aart]

Load rating should be on a tag on the trailer.
Should be fine for moving around the yard, but taking it on the road could be another story.