Trailer Lid Hinges

[MoreGone]

I used some 4" hinges from Home Depot for the lid. They seem to have shifted and allowed to lid to move forward so I am looking to upgrade. Thinking weld on hinges. Right now I am looking at the two options below. Please let me know what you think or if you would go a different route.


Trailer for reference.

First option are these hinges on amazon. Look pretty good. Not sure if there is an up side or down, but seem beefy enough. Would be able to mount about the same place I have the hinges now. Like that I could remove the lid if needed it seems.


http://a.co/eLiLGJC


The other option would be a heavy duty piano hinge. I believe the one I posted a link to below would be the right one. Trailer is 48" wide, think the 36" hinge would be the right width? I don't know about strength but I believe the one I linked to is 1/8th steel, or .120" of an inch.


https://www.grainger.com/product/GRAINGER-APPROVED-225-Continuous-Hinge-Without-2ZFE1

 

[Graeman]

I would think that the piano hinge style would be the better option for keeping the lid in place. The other style would be good if you want to have the option of taking the lid off from the trailer.

 

[Flipper]

I would go with the piano hinge, you might want to check out marine hinges especially the piano hinge so it will be stainless. Check out Defender Catalog. As a last resort West Marine but their prices are way over the top. Some marine hinges seperate that are used for engine hatches so the hatch can be taken out to get to the engine easier.

 

[VCeXpedition]

I'll bet if you changed the direction of your struts you might eliminate the tendency of the lid's weight to be on the hinges.

The way you have them now, when the lid is open, the struts aren't working in your favor, they're actually pushing the weight of the lid onto the hinges.
With the struts facing forward, in other words pushing the lid to the rear of the trailer, they will actually be helping to keep the weight of the lid off the hinges.



Dan.

 

[MoreGone]

I'll bet if you changed the direction of your struts you might eliminate the tendency of the lid's weight to be on the hinges.

The way you have them now, when the lid is open, the struts aren't working in your favor, they're actually pushing the weight of the lid onto the hinges.
With the struts facing forward, in other words pushing the lid to the rear of the trailer, they will actually be helping to keep the weight of the lid off the hinges.



Dan.

You know, that makes a lot of sense. I set those up pretty quick with no instructions or reference in 110 weather.

They are 100lb each, 20o total. Would I just take the side on the trailer in the front and put it on the trailer and flip the rear to the lid side??
Thanks

 

[TreadHead Garage]

I would recommend bullet style hinges, they weld on. We use them for all the tailgates etc on our inhouse built trailers

https://www.kmstools.com/4-steel-weld-on-hinge-3326

 

[VCeXpedition]

You know, that makes a lot of sense. I set those up pretty quick with no instructions or reference in 110 weather.

They are 100lb each, 20o total. Would I just take the side on the trailer in the front and put it on the trailer and flip the rear to the lid side??
Thanks

Not sure what you mean, but what you want to do is change the way the force is acting on the lid, right?
So you would probably change the pivot points if you're happy with how those lift the lid... are they strong enough, does the open lid bounce up and down on a windy day, that kind of thing.
You'd want to work out the geometry to make sure your extended and compressed lengths work out, and you lift your lid high enough for you, but basically this idea.




Dan

 

[PCO6]

I would recommend bullet style hinges, they weld on. We use them for all the tailgates etc on our inhouse built trailers

https://www.kmstools.com/4-steel-weld-on-hinge-3326

I like bullet hinges too. One thing that makes them a bit better is to cut about a 1/4" off of one of the pins. It makes it a lot easier to install a lid for example if you can locate the longer pin first and then the shorter pin. Two pins of the same length means that you have to hit both receiver holes at the same time. I shortened one pin on each of my Jeep LJ doors and it makes a BIG difference when installing them … MUCH easier.

I got a bit frustrated when trying to find the "best" hinges to use for my off road trailer. I finally made my own. May not be the best but they work great. See post #8 in my build thread below.