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Trailer and Machinery Welding Repairs in Wollongong and the Illawarra
We do trailer repairs and machinery welding across Wollongong and the Illawarra, on site, because a machine that cannot be driven cannot be brought to a workshop. Cracked chassis rails, snapped drawbars, tipper hinges, forklift mast brackets, mower decks, bucket wear plates and ute trays.
Trailer and machinery repairs, done where the machine sits
Downtime is the real cost on this work, so the first thing you get is an honest answer on whether it is a same-visit weld or a bigger job. It runs off the same mobile welding setup with its own generator, so no power in the yard is not a problem. The work is licensed and insured. Send a photo to 0413 147 335.
Trailer repairs
Box trailers, tandems, tippers, car trailers and plant trailers. Most of what comes in is one of five things.
Chassis and drawbar cracks
Cracks usually start at a weld or a bolt hole and run from there. The fix is to grind the crack out to clean metal, weld it full depth, then plate or gusset the area so it does not come straight back in the same place. Patching over the top of a crack without removing it is the repair that fails.
Couplings, jockey wheels and safety chains
Replaced and welded to the right rating for the trailer. Chain and coupling ratings have to match the aggregate trailer mass, and a mismatched coupling is both a safety problem and a defect risk.
Tipper hinges, rams and mounts
Hinges wear oval and mounts tear out of the floor. Both get rebuilt with new steel rather than built up with weld, because weld build-up on a worn pivot wears again quickly.
Guards, racks, ladder frames and headboards
Built to suit the trailer rather than bolted on as a compromise, which usually means measuring the trailer rather than ordering to a standard size.
Floors and sides
Rusted sheet cut out and replaced, rails straightened, and the new steel treated so the repair is not the next rust point. Where rust is the whole story rather than a crack, see rust and weld repairs.
Repair, modification and certification in NSW
Worth knowing before anything is cut. In NSW it is modification rather than straight repair that triggers certification, and a modification is signed off by a VSCCS certifier under the Vehicle Safety Compliance Certification Scheme, not by an engineer's certificate. If your job crosses the line from repair into modification, you get told before the grinder comes out, along with what that means for the paperwork.
Machinery and plant welding
Plant work is where a mobile welder earns the callout, because the machine is usually the thing that cannot move.
Forklifts
Mast brackets, fork repairs, counterweight mounts and guard frames, done where the forklift stands rather than after a tow.
Earthmoving and attachments
Bucket wear plates, cutting edges, boom cracks, pin bosses and quick-hitch repairs. Hardfacing goes on wear surfaces where it will actually extend the life of the part rather than just add weight.
Mowers, ride-ons and small plant
Decks, chassis, brackets and linkages. These are often cast or thin sheet, which needs a lighter touch and a different process to structural steel.
Farm and acreage gear
Slashers, troughs, feeders, gates, loader frames and three-point-linkage repairs. Helensburgh, Jamberoo and the Berry hinterland are all in range, along with the rest of all our Illawarra and South Coast service areas.
Ute trays, canopies and racks
Tray floors and sides, headboards, drop sides, toolbox mounts, ladder racks and canopy frames. Aluminium trays need a different technique to steel, which is the reason a lot of welders will only quote on steel trays. We weld both. There are finished examples on our work.
The metals, and the awkward ones
Mild steel and aluminium are everyday work here. Process follows the metal: MIG for mild steel and thicker section, TIG for thin-wall stainless and aluminium. Stainless gets used where food, water or salt is involved, and near the coast 316 resists chloride pitting better than 304, though both grades can tea-stain and it is the surface finish and regular rinsing that decide how they end up looking. Aluminium does not rust, but it does pit in salt air and it suffers galvanic attack where it contacts steel or stainless fixings unless the two are isolated.
Cast iron is a different job again. There are two accepted approaches: pre-heat the part and let it cool slowly, or weld it cold in short runs with nickel rod, peening each run and letting the part stay cool in between. Either way the point is to keep the heat-affected zone from shrinking faster than the parent metal, because that is what cracks cast iron beside the weld. It is slower than a steel repair, so it gets looked at and quoted as its own job.
How we quote trailer and machinery work
This work is quoted on what the repair actually involves rather than on a published rate: the metal and how much of it, whether the machine has to be stripped down to get at the damage, the condition of the parent metal around the crack, the access, and the travel. A photo of the crack and the area around it usually gets us most of the way there.
You get a firm figure in writing before the work starts. If something else shows up once the paint is off, it gets agreed in writing before it is done rather than appearing on the invoice. For a business comparing quotes that means a number to compare rather than a promise. Use the instant estimate on this page for a ballpark, or call 0413 147 335.
Get a machine back to work
Send a photo to 0413 147 335 or call. You will get told whether it is a same-visit fix and what it costs once it has been looked at, and if the honest answer is that the part is cheaper to replace than to repair, you will get told that too. For fabricated or repeat parts see custom metal fabrication, and everything else we do is on welding and metal fabrication.
Our Work
Recent Work
Trailer, plant and machinery repairs done on site where the gear sits
Videos
Watch Our Machinery & Trailer Repair Work
Real jobs from our own crew, filmed on site. See all our work videos.
Want a firm price on this?
Send a photo and a short description. You get a straight answer on what it needs and what it costs before anything starts.
Questions
Machinery And Trailer Repairs Questions
Can you repair a cracked trailer chassis?+
Yes. The crack is ground out to clean metal, welded full depth and then plated or gusseted so it does not reopen at the same point. Welding over the top of a crack without removing it first is the repair that comes back.
Do you come to the job, or does the machine have to come to you?+
We come to you. That is the point of this service, and most plant cannot be moved once it is down. The gear runs off its own generator, so a yard or paddock with no power is no obstacle.
Can you weld aluminium trays and boats?+
Yes. Aluminium needs a different machine setup and filler to steel, and thin-wall aluminium is TIG work. It is the kind of job plenty of welders turn down.
Can you weld cast iron?+
Yes, using nickel rod. There are two accepted approaches: pre-heat the part and let it cool slowly, or weld cold in short runs, peening each run and letting the part stay cool in between. Both are slower than a steel repair, because rapid cooling is what cracks cast iron next to the weld.
Will my trailer still pass inspection after a repair?+
A straight repair is not what triggers certification in NSW. Modification is, and a modification is signed off by a VSCCS certifier under the Vehicle Safety Compliance Certification Scheme rather than by an engineer's certificate. We will tell you which side of that line your job sits on before starting.
How do you price a machinery repair?+
On what the repair involves once it has been looked at: the metal, whether the machine has to be stripped down to reach the damage, the condition of the parent metal, the access and the travel. Send a photo of the crack and the area around it, and you get a firm figure in writing before work starts.
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