Mounting my Pitmaker Vault to a Trailer

[Panthers65]

Hey Forum, can I get some advise on mounting my pitmaker vault to my trailer project.

I have the below trailer I've removed the deck from and I'm currently getting it fit for the road (new tires, new coupler, new lights, ect...). I'd like to mount my Pitmaker Vault to it. Current plan is to mount it towards the back of the trailer, 70% of weight behind the axle, and then mounting a blackstone griddle and jobsite box to the trailer closer to the tongue. Might also try to mount a gas burner near the front for boiling noodles and brunswick stew.

Trying to figure out how to mount the smoker to the trailer, how would you guys do it? I"ve got some steel and was going to add a 2" .250 square tube at the back of the trailer near the rear leaf spring mount, and then I have a sheet of 1/8" steel that I was going to mount to the trailer for a base. Initial thought was to cut the legs off the vault leading about 1" of legs and then weld some backets or angle iron to the trailer and bolt the smoker legs to the angle iron. Is there an easier/better way to do so? I'd like to sit the smoker flat on the trailer, but I don't know about welding the smoker straight to the trailer.

Thoughts? Thanks in Advance!

 

[Sid Post]

Be careful with trailer weave with too much weight behind the axle.

Your trailer tires look pretty small. Probably fine if you are puttering around the neighborhood but, pretty sketchy for any rough surfaces (small diameter) or highway speeds.

If it were me, I would either move the axle farther to the rear or trim some distance off the back of the trailer.

As far as mounting, with a nice smoker like that, I would run cross members to match the down tubes from the smoker and weld them solid. That last thing you want is a bolt shearing if you hit a pothole on the roadway! :mad2:

I'm a bit of a trailer NAZI because I've seen too many and experienced a few, trailer mishaps. Whether it is a roller bag suitcase or a trailer, larger wheels are your friend. :wink:

Since you don't have trailer brakes, a death weave is even scarier then it is with a large trailer with brakes on both axles and a heavy tow vehicle.

I like my trailers to have a relatively long hitch (from the front of the trailer to the ball hitch) so crossing rough railroad crossings or bouncing down a rough patch of asphalt, the uplift on the rear of the tow vehicle is less. Plus, with a 24'x8.5' enclosed trailer at the gas pumps, having more room to turn really tight (~90 degrees trailer to tow vehicle) can be a life saver.

 

[Sid Post]

Rereading your post, I would not flat mount the vault to the trailer. Yes, you could weld it directly but, I would not want the rocks from the road pelting the bottom of my vault.

Leave a couple of inches of the legs and weld those. Then put flooring underneath the vault to protect it. :wink:

 

[Panthers65]

Be careful with trailer weave with too much weight behind the axle.

Your trailer tires look pretty small. Probably fine if you are puttering around the neighborhood but, pretty sketchy for any rough surfaces (small diameter) or highway speeds.

If it were me, I would either move the axle farther to the rear or trim some distance off the back of the trailer.

As far as mounting, with a nice smoker like that, I would run cross members to match the down tubes from the smoker and weld them solid. That last thing you want is a bolt shearing if you hit a pothole on the roadway! :mad2:

I'm a bit of a trailer NAZI because I've seen too many and experienced a few, trailer mishaps. Whether it is a roller bag suitcase or a trailer, larger wheels are your friend. :wink:

Since you don't have trailer brakes, a death weave is even scarier then it is with a large trailer with brakes on both axles and a heavy tow vehicle.

I like my trailers to have a relatively long hitch (from the front of the trailer to the ball hitch) so crossing rough railroad crossings or bouncing down a rough patch of asphalt, the uplift on the rear of the tow vehicle is less. Plus, with a 24'x8.5' enclosed trailer at the gas pumps, having more room to turn really tight (~90 degrees trailer to tow vehicle) can be a life saver.

Thanks, the trailer is 4x8. One of the things I am looking at is to, at least temporarily, making the smoker movable. That way I can move the smoker back and forth to adjust the tongue weight depending on how much other weight I have.

The axle is a 3500# tow dolly axle.

Original plan was to add the second cross brace, and then lay the full 4x8 sheet of 1/8" on the trailer and weld it in place, then position the smoker above the cross braces, that way the only secure I'll need is the trailer moving on top of the smoker/sliding/tiping over.

Rereading your post, I would not flat mount the vault to the trailer. Yes, you could weld it directly but, I would not want the rocks from the road pelting the bottom of my vault.

Leave a couple of inches of the legs and weld those. Then put flooring underneath the vault to protect it. :wink:

Thanks, plan was to lay the full sheet of steel on the trailer, and then put the smoker on top of that. There wouldn't be an "Air Gap" between the smoker and the trailer floor, but the trailer floor would be there to protect the bottom of the smoker