Offroad Bulk Liquid / Pallet Transport Trailer

This was one of the first projects that I had full control over, start to finish, in a professional capacity. I delivered this project beyond client expectations in terms of budget and functionality, and provided a successful product that has been in use for nearly 2 years.

This project developed my project management skills from an early point in my career. I gained valuable experience in determining client and stakeholder needs, defining a scope, working to a budget, and creating a solution that exceeded expectation.

The initial rubric for this project was to design and manufacture a trailer for the purpose of weed-spraying on a rural property, to comply with EPA request. It had to be able to handle off road terrain while carrying a large quantity of weed spraying chemical, and remain as cheap as possible. 

Upon consultation with the client, I determined there would be much more value in making the trailer as multipurpose as possible. To that end, i was able to expand the scope of the project to allow the trailer to fufill various other needs of the property, inlcuding fire control and transport of palletised goods to locations on the property delivery trucks could not access.

I then conducted research into what makes a good design for a trailer. This included aspects such as load distribution, drawbar length, overall size and load capacity. I did this through online sources, as well as through discussions with an expert, a supplier of the company with a wealth of experience in the trailer building industry. 

With this knowledge in hand, I was able to finalise the design, reusing parts where possible, and spending money on vital components, where the most value could be added. The design utilised 2 44 gallon drums to store liquid, which were plentiful on the property, and was also capable of carrying a standard IBC tank, or standard width pallet. It used hubs to and wheels to match the tow vehicle, and the chassis was as simple as possible, with no unessecary joins to create weak spots or rust. 
Finally came the manufacturing process, where I got to hone my MIG welding and metal fabrication skills while giving life to my design.