Need your trailer extended to fit a new side-by-side? That was this customer’s problem. At our Flint shop we cut a section of the front top rail off his utility trailer, extended the front 6 inches and put expanded metal on the bottom. Three hours later his new Can-Am fit. More on our trailer repair and modification work.
IronMann Industries welds, repairs and modifies trailers for customers across Flint, Burton, Fenton, Grand Blanc, Davison and Lapeer.
A customer needed his trailer extended to fit his new Can-Am side-by-side. He had an appointment to pick the machine up the next morning, and the trailer was too short for it. So it came to our shop on Lapeer Road in Flint, Michigan.
We cut the front top rail, added 6 inches of length and floored the new space with expanded metal. Total time: three hours. Same day.
Trailer Work in the Vehicle City
Flint was calling itself the Vehicle City before it was a car town. Its carriage and road-cart makers hit 150,000 road carts a year, and W.C. Durant of the Durant-Dort Carriage Company incorporated General Motors here in 1908, with Buick as its first car. The Vehicle City historical marker tells the whole story.
Today Flint is the county seat of Genesee County, about 66 miles northwest of Detroit, per the City of Flint. We’ve been welding here since 2014. Building and fixing things that roll is an old habit around here.
How Do You Stretch a Trailer Without Buying a New One?
Short answer: Cut the front top rail section off, build the new length out in steel, put a floor in it and weld it back into the frame. On this trailer that meant 6 inches at the front with expanded metal on the bottom.
The tool list was short. Grinders, a saw, a plasma cutter and a welder. Here’s how the job went:
- Cut the front top rail section off. The front rail decides where the load has to stop, so that’s the piece that had to go.
- Extend the front 6 inches. New steel goes in where the old rail section came out, pushing the front of the trailer forward.
- Put expanded metal on the bottom. The new space needs a floor under it, or the extension is just a frame.
- Weld it in. The welds are what make the extension part of the trailer instead of something hanging off it.
Why Expanded Metal for the New Floor?
Expanded metal is steel sheet that’s slit and stretched into a diamond mesh. It’s open, so rain, mud and snow fall through instead of sitting on the floor.
The raised edges of the diamonds give tires and boots something to bite on. And it suits this trailer. It already had a mesh gate on the back, so the new floor doesn’t look like an afterthought.
End result? Now there’s enough room to fit his new Can-Am side-by-side.
Three Hours on a Friday Afternoon
He brought the trailer in Friday at 3 o’clock. We had it finished before the end of the day, which mattered, because he needed it the next morning to keep his appointment to pick up the new UTV.
Three hours, start to finish. The customer was extremely happy with the job and impressed with how fast it got done. Small jobs go quick when you know where the cuts go before the plasma cutter comes out.
Is Your Trailer a Few Inches Too Short?
Short answer: Measure before you shop for a new trailer. When a machine is a few inches too long, the front rail may be the only thing in the way, and moving it is shop work, not a new trailer.
Measure the inside length you actually have, front rail to gate or ramp. Then measure the machine. If the difference is inches, not feet, give us a call before you spend money on a new trailer.
One honest caution. Letting a machine sit further forward can put more of its weight on the tongue and your hitch, so check your hitch rating. If you’re not sure the frame is up to it, have it looked at first. Our free trailer safety inspection covers brakes, lights, bearings, frame, coupler and chains. No charge, no obligation.
Towing a modified trailer? Our guide to Michigan trailer laws and the spring trailer inspection checklist are worth ten minutes.
Why IronMann?
We’re a family-owned shop in Flint, not a corporate line. Our owner, Dennis Julian, is an AWS Level I and II certified welder, and that’s the standard our certified welding and repair work is held to, trailer frames included.
Small shop jobs come through here all the time, like the custom cantilever steel rack we built for another Flint customer. More about who we are.
Call us at (810) 407-7585 or reach out through the contact page and tell us what you’re trying to fit.
New toy that doesn’t fit your trailer?
Send us what you’re hauling, your trailer’s make and deck length, and how much room you’re short. We fabricate custom trailer extensions, modifications, and repairs for side-by-sides, ATVs, and equipment across Flint, Genesee County, and the surrounding area.
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