The first thing I did was to remove all the rust and crud from the frame rails. I used an angle grinder and wire wheel.
I made a 90 degree cut across the frame rail and then a 58 degree cut to bend the frame 2" in front of the crossmember. the rails were 36" long from the crossmember, 34" long from the 90 degree cut.
The front of the rails I cut at a 32 degree angle.
All cuts were made with a Sawzall and a 9", 10 TPI blade.
I cut the left side first. Not too pretty, is it?
But after i weld in some reinforcement plate, and the fill in and grind the top, nobody need ever know.
The mark of a craftsman is how well he hides his boo-boos.
These are the cuts I made on the right side. Still not perfect, but better.
After I made all the cuts I brought the rails together, and used a come along to draw them tight. Then i used some handy frame holes to align the side and get them snug together.
I gave it some thought and decided to lap the front of the frame. I think it will be stronger that way.
The angle of this photo doesn't show it very well, but the front edge is on center with back of the trailer.
I used a drywall square and two marks to check the tongues position to center.
This photo shows it better, that the front edge is on center. Having the couple on center line is very important to driveability, and it makes a big difference when backing.
I'm glad it came out well.
If the weather is good tomorrow, I plan to weld up the frame laps. I won't do the front edge until I get the coupler in. I also hope to get the reinforcements in the rear notches.
I plan to fill in the holes on the sides of the frame. I have a couple of ideas how I might do that.
