This is a continuation of the ramp thread from earlier.
I swapped the utility trailer I had for sale for a homebuilt 2 rail car hauler. Its definitely not heavy duty,has no suspension and is built right on the axles. I don't plan on hauling things very far obviously, I just figured if I was going to have a trailer it might as well be able to haul a car which the utility could not. The hauler was used by an old guy who probably didn't ever think about safety. I know he hauled cars from time to time including a bobcat and track ho. For what I got out of the utility trailer I was able to do some updating on this thing and still have some cash left over so far. The rails were decked with about 8 different pieces of varying size and thickness of wood(barely held on). I have since replaced it all with 2x12x16' pressure treated lumber, rewired the lights and installed a new jack. I wanted to redo the deck with diamond plate but the cost of metal alone would have put me over the cost of a brand new trailer. I am thinking about just putting wood over the entire thing and making it one solid deck rather than just the 2 rails.
My question is how would I ever be able to tell how much weight this thing can hold? I know its not something I would haul a car from state to state on and primarily just got it to haul locally but I want to make sure its safe. The welds all look solid but the axles are rated for? And are from? The goal is to not spend beyond what I was able to get from the other trailer or spend so much I could have just bought an engineered new one for. I still need to figure out some sort of ramps to use so cheap suggestions are appreciated.
Anything to consider before using this thing or a way to determine its capabilities? I hope to get some pics tomorrow.