i have a gravity-tilt car trailer, and have been considering making it power-tilt.

not sure about what sort of cylinder to use or what type of valving and such i would need. or how much i should expect to spend on something like this.

i'm also not really sure what sort of geometry would be ideal for installing/mounting the hydraulic cylinder. or does it matter a whole lot?

advice/ideas?

4/16/2012 4:16:59 PM

trailer size and 'lifting' capacity necessary? pivot point? intended location of cylinder?

4/16/2012 5:11:28 PM

curious as to why you are interested in this conversion?

4/16/2012 7:48:55 PM

Sizing/positioning/mounting the cylinder is easy. I just want to know how you plan to pump the hydraulic fluid? To me, that seems like the main challenge to me.

4/17/2012 7:41:26 AM

....12VDC linear actuator, anyone?

4/17/2012 7:49:09 AM

^that would be the easier way to go imo. not as fast as hydraulic but probably cheaper

how much money do you have in the hydraulic system for that log splitter you built?

[Edited on April 17, 2012 at 8:46 AM. Reason : expect to spend no less than $400 between properly sized actuator and brackets/fab]

4/17/2012 8:24:48 AM

the thing i would worry about with hydraulic is the ability to out lift the structural stability of the trailer.

4/17/2012 8:43:23 AM

^yeah, hence the linear actuator statement

4/17/2012 9:01:07 AM

A double acting 12vdc pump would be a good choice, along with a smaller(maybe 1.75" bore) cylinder. Double acting would save you the cost of buying/plumbing a valve to control flow, it could be done with switched/relays. I obviously haven't run any calcs, but something along these lines would likely get you in the ballpark:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/SPX-12V-DC-Double-Acting-Hydraulic-Pump-/350557726882?pt=BI_Pumps&hash=item519ede68a2

and

http://www.surpluscenter.com/item.asp?item=9-7157&catname=hydraulic

I wouldn't worry about trailer integrity unless you were trying to dump some incredibly heavy loads. any load large enough to put that much strain on the tongue while dumping is too big for the trailer in the first place.


EDIT: I was imagining this was a "lawnmower" size utility trailer, and sized smaller components. I just reread and saw this was a car trailer, so obvioulsy you might want more HD parts, but the concept is there. I think most dump trailers have 12vdc pumps and are heavier than car trailers.

[Edited on April 17, 2012 at 10:25 AM. Reason : edit]

4/17/2012 10:20:37 AM

You don't need a double pump, the weight of the trailer would bring it back down.

4/17/2012 3:30:03 PM