9 replies to this topic

[pepper20]

hi all, ive made a teardrop trailer but want to wrap it all in some 3mm pvc sheeting ive got to make it water tight and hopefully stop it from rotting. only thing is for it to work i need to weld the pvc sheets together but dont know how or what i need. any help would be greatly appreciated. oh, and i dont really want to buy any more tools to do a small bit of welding (3m in long straight lines) i have access to a gas axe and maybe a hot air gun. any help would be greatly appreciated

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Edited by pepper20, 04 July 2010 - 09:02 PM.

[pepper20]

nobody?? i really need sum help with this pls. if anybody is local (hunslet, leeds) to me and is able to weld plastic, then maybe we could sort something out

[The Matt]

Welding plastics is tricky.

Basically you need heat, then pressure whilst the joint cools.

It'll be a case of heating, the clamping it/holding it together as it cools down. You can try a hot air gun, but it may not be hot enough. A gas axe will be hard to control. Have you thought of adhesives, rather than welding it?

There are some good adehisves for PVC. Bostik, Loctite etc. sell large tins of glue. But you need to use them in very well ventilated areas.

[GraemeC]

Nice looking trailer! Have you calculated how much nose weight it is going to have when loaded though - with the wheels that far back I can see it being very difficult to get the balance needed.

For plastic welding, see if you can find someone locally that fits vinyl flooring professionally - they usually have welded seam joins.

[pepper20]

graemeC, thanks, the lad i built it for is well happy with it. with the tow hitch, its been reinforced with 2 x 50mm box sections going right to the back of the steel frame, but balance?? not sure what you mean by that. ive now finished the trailer and its even had its first outing at bug jam. still not managed to have it welded tho.

regards to using adhesives, i dont really think it will work to be honest. also theres 2mm gaps between the plastic sheets as i cut the last sheet too short!
im thinking that as its bent so tight, it will eventually start peeling from the joints and a bit of glue i doubt will stop it, also, glue is not guaranteed to be watertight whereas welding will properly join the sheets preventing it from peeling and be fully watertight. oh, n so far plumbers pvc solvent, carpet fitters tile adhesive, contact adhesive, silicone, pink grip all dont seem to stick properly

[Deathrow]

You could try tiger seal? It's really strong stuff and it'd be watertight if applied properly.

You really need overlapping joins for this sort of thing don't you so you've got a good contact patch.

[mattdc2r]

We use hot air gun and rollers. Make sure you line everything up correctly and that the mating surfaces are spotlessly clean. Practice first as it isnvery easy to get wrong, too much heat and the material burns, bubbles and expands, making the joint scruffy. Any questions pm me.

[davidv]

Very nice Build.Plastic Welding is quite a skill and the equipment is expensive.I would look up a local small garage that does Plastic Welding and make a cash deal with them.There is a good one i know but its in Birmingham.

[Dan]

but balance?? not sure what you mean by that.

Trailers need to be balanced. Tow hitches on cars and other vehicles have a maximum vertical load as well as a maximum towed mass. It's referred to as nose load of the trailer. For most cars, the maximum nose load is between 40 and 50 kg. Breaking that is just as illegal and dangerous as towing too much total weight. I'd have to agree that this trailer is well out of balance. It's not an artic, it's a car. Artic tractors are designed for a kingpin load of several tons, and proper weight distribution to keep the axle weights balanced is something truck drivers must consider when loading up. Cars aren't designed for a lot of weight to be on the back like this, it overloads the rear body or chassis and puts the rear axle weight well up which in extreme cases in turn reduces the front axle loading and so the steering traction and braking effort by lifting the front wheels. It doesn't matter how strong the trailer is, the car isn't designed to tow it. You might get away with it in a Land Rover or something but not in most cars. And what's it like for manual manouvering when unhooked?

[davidv]

Thanks from me Dan on some trailer info. I do not tow anything myself.The family do a lot of towing with many things they are farmers. They work out all the details to be safe and with the law.
Aboves is going on the back of a Trike long wheel base with a few gerry cans in it and a dog.LOL