Can anyone advise if it is possible to weld to the frame of my caravan without causing any electrical problems with such things battery charger, solar, A/C and D/C circuits, fridge and anything else electrical in the van.
I would make sure that all power was switched off, no connection to 240 volt, and that the battery was disconnected.
The welding is very minor, just tacking a couple of things to the draw bar.
Gavanator, As the draw bar is subjected to high stress from weight, twist, etc. I would suggest that you clamp items to draw bar with "U Bolts" instead of welding which may effect the tensile strength of you unit - Many a van has had it's back broken by welding. Additionally ensure you are watching your weights if adding things on to draw bar that were not on original design calculations. (both ball weight and total mass).
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Have a clean earthing point close to your area to weld and weld. You only have problems when you spread the distance from point of earth to point of welding. You don't think they run around disconnecting all the power from a metal factory when weld to the frame which could have all sorts of electronics in it
cheers
blaze
Thank you all for the information, I wonder at times when I see metal screw bolts drilled into the draw bar eg outside water tap, brackets etc surely they must have an effect on strength of things, my welding is only a tack, about 5mm to stop my Anderson hitch moving forward when traveling, it is currently held in place by heavy plate steel brackets bolted top and bottom and an Allen head screw screwed into the draw bar. The movement of the steel brackets is small, about 5mm. Maybe I am being over cautious.
Several STAGGERED holes. NOT in line.
Chassis normally High Tensile Preheated jobs.
You neeed to reheat to reset.
Not practical.
Hot galv chassis fine.
Any H\T Treatment they ever had.
was gone when they were dipped into the hot vats for coating.
If load bearing.
A good idea is a spacer sleeve on bolt. measured to outside width of chassis rail. and inserted through one of the side holes.
to stop compression\distortion of chassis rail when tensioning bolt.(old school)
If overlong. just file down to suit. Too Short. Flat washer to suit.
Just play to evade any pre stresses b4 any loads appplied.
Being a caravan ? I assume it would be fairly light material ? Boxing with anti crush bolts and a little weld to hold in place . Depending what you want it for ? A rear box etc . Strength is king but as light as possible !!
Hi Gavanator, rather than welding your draw bar, would it not be easier to weld a bracket between the two Andersen brackets which in turn will stop them moving both forward or backwards.
As others have mentioned, its not a straight forward job welding to the draw bar.
Im not a coded welder so cant comment on that process.
Hope this helps.
Kezngaz.
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Commitment shows. Quality is what is done when no one is looking.
I have welded and repaired a few A frames on trailers and a couple of vans, good engineering practice and the ability to see you are not weakening the structure by the welds is the key.
Also manufactured 3 trailers 8x4, and a car transporter, non have failed and as I always over engineer, don't suppose they will.
Most weld failures are caused by bad practice and stress cracks due to this.
Have a clean earthing point close to your area to weld and weld. You only have problems when you spread the distance from point of earth to point of welding. You don't think they run around disconnecting all the power from a metal factory when weld to the frame which could have all sorts of electronics in it cheers blaze
Totally agree
The main thing is to have the RETURN /earth firmly clamped as close as possible to a clean bright metal surface of the part being welded to.
NO joints between the clamp & area being welded
Then ensure that is the only area that the the arc touches .
Be sure you are not creating stress raisers in parts subject to flexing
Welds in the wrong places can ended up with cracked draw bars
-- Edited by oldtrack123 on Sunday 6th of August 2017 10:54:22 AM
As stated disconnect batteries, is always good policy and saves money............Since you have to ask the question I would say have an experienced welder do the job on your draw bar, they aren't like truck chassis, just normal old steel and not much of it and a handyman with a stick can blow a hole so easy, if you must weld on it never weld across the top of the bar even though you will see brackets stuck on that way it is not a great idea, same goes for holes drilled into it...It's load bearing and does have to cope with some stress.
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