Mobile welding

[Welding Wisdom]

Are there any moble weldors who wish to share tips to an upcoming mobile weldor ? I will be getting my 300 amp trailblazer in feb.

[Franz]

Since you're in Montana, Carharts & thermal underwear, several sets of both. Plenty of insulated gloves won't hurt either.

[DrIQ]

The most common mistake is the wrong size welding cable
Get the proper size welding cable for your ground and electrode cables. You will need to decide how long you want the cables and figure both the electrode and ground as total length when sizing the cable. If you undersize the weld cables you will have too much voltage drop in the cable and will not get the performance the machine is capable of.

Are you starting out with stick or are you getting a wire feeder with it ?

[Snidley]

How is the unit of your becoming mobile?? Do you have a service truck (1 to 3 ton) or will it be in the back of a 1/2 ton or on a trailer?

What kind of work will you be doing with it? How much additional equipment will you be taking along? There can be quite alot of stuff to haul when you are doing repairs, etc. For example I've hauled some steel stock, chop saw, Oxy-propane tanks, clamps, vice, grinders, a small work table, drill, air compressor, tool box, and of course all your other necessary items such as your helmet, grind mask, rods, gas cans, extra clothing and other spares (including a small asssortment of nuts and bolts) you will need. It's surprising how much room it all adds up to. Not to mention the stuff you may need for you vehicle at the sites such as shovels, tow chains, jacks and blocking. You have to be pretty self sufficent. And don't forget your lunch, because you can't usually go anywhere.

Of course some sites are much more civilized (and in town) and you won't need most of this stuff. But sometimes you do.

[MAC702]

You will LOVE that machine. Yes, please tell us more about what you will be putting all your equipment on, and what kinds of jobs you want the ability to do, as well as what other equipment you already have.

For mobile work with steel, I would put a priority on a good oxy/acet torch before the plasma cutter. But it is nice to have both eventually. A wire feeder is nice for many jobs because when it is good enough for the project, it can really up your productivity, especially for those times when you are getting paid to get the job done, not by the hour. Get a suitcase if you do, the CV one for that machine.

How far do you expect to be from your service truck/trailer? Make all your cords good enough. Don't use a 16-gauge extension cord to even run your grinder 100' away. Get all 12-gauge cords.

Will you be doing this from your daily driver or from a dedicated platform? I recommend the latter, which is why we went with a trailer, and then loaded it for bear. It was a huge hassle trying to load the truck for every job, and then not having what you really needed because you didn't think you would need it and was trying to save time/space.

The only thing mounted to the truck full-time is my air compressor. It was too handy and I wanted it with my for emergencies when I wasn't on a job, too. But the 150' hose reel is on the trailer; only 25' on the truck with an air chuck.

[Welding Wisdom]

little details thats what I need! A trailer will be my first project,because my 4x4 F 150 Ranger is my daily driver.I work for a fabracation shop and am setting up a moble service so I can start making a living instead of a company making a living off of me. Iplan on a Mig and Tig after I get the trailblazer with ofcourse income tax return .I have a vickor torch setup already.Those cable Ideals are well in my head now because of you guys .The clothing has also been marked down.Could someone give a list of tools needed for this type of work .It will be different than the shop work .I can layout, fab and weld ofcourse .so iam not without understanding. However ,this will be a time of learning.In this field Ive never stopped learning and never will.

[boilerman]

off the top of my head and i'll give this more thought
1. spare clear lens for helmet
2. spare helmet or duct tape to fix the one you was useing
3. shades 9 to 11 lens
4. grinder wheels and cut off wheels for grinder
5. tool kit for the little ****S that happen
6. spare tire for trailer and spare bulbs..keep cops at bay
7. come alongs and chains or porta power....people can really twist stuff up
8. spare striker and flints
9. soap stone
10. ferrous monofilament utility connector..very valuable
11. clamps and magnets
12. dry socks and spare shoes ...so you don't have to wear muddy and wet ones in truck...i always got pair in glove box wrap up lens to keep from getting trashed
13. RAGS!!!
14. Qt. of oil for welder or truck
15. degreaser spray or acetone or instant start....i usually carry instant start cuz it is duel purpose
16. pry bar ...works good on tempermental farm dogs to


most of my calls are for farm equipment and they are usually broke down with mud and sh*t on it so if you get a call like that ask if he can power wash or clean it up before you get there.

[JPCWELD]

THERE ARE MANY THINGS YOU NEED TO START MOBILE WELDING . MOST OF THE TOOLS HAVE BEEN SPOKEN FOR MY SELF I HAVE A SMALL TIME REPAIR BIZ. I HAVE A HOBART CHAMP 10000 , MM210 , MM175, LINCOLN SP125,DEWALT GRINDERS AND SANDERS.MILLER SPEC. THUNDER , AND ALL THE CUTTING TORCH NEEDS YOU CAN THINK OF BUT, AND I DONT WANT TO DISCOURAGE YOU BUT, WITHOUT CUSTOMERS THE TOOLS ARE USELESS. I HAVE TRIED THREE TIMES, FAILED TWICE ,NOW ALL THE PIECES ARE COMING TOGETHER AND I AM LOOKIN FORWARD TO A GOOD YEAR. JUST REMEMBER TO KEEP YOUR QUALITY UP ..JPC

[Paychk]

JPCWELD

You seem to be new to forum posting, so let me pass on that typing in caps' is considered shouting. This is fine for emphasis, if that is what you are trying to accomplish, if not then the use of lower case is recommended.

By the way (BTW) Welcome to the forum!

[customwelds]

Originally posted by Paychk
JPCWELD

You seem to be new to forum posting, so let me pass on that typing in caps' is considered shouting. This is fine for emphasis, if that is what you are trying to accomplish, if not then the use of lower case is recommended.

By the way (BTW) Welcome to the forum!

Unless you are ROCK, then you can use millions of periods at once or type in caps or nothing if you wanted, hehe. Of course he was never intending any bad tones at all. **** the situation with him...

[Welding Wisdom]

True without customers it goes nowhere .But as I ve learned from Plowsite.com another forum about welding Farmers which we have alot of here in Montana-contractors,excavation contractors ,carpenters,landscapers,snowplowers,garbage trucks,roll off boxes,even the highway dept are potental customers.So at the moment I need and am prepareing for many types of jobs and am hoping to get understanding so as to limit myself and not carry tons of tools .But have the right tool -s for the job

[dulknife]

welding trailer

just thought i would a pic of my trailer.

[Welding Wisdom]

Very nice ,That gets my mind going.You have three boxes .Whats in them?

[dulknife]

welding trailer

every thing that is in my shop. plus jacks and tools also a huskvarna chop saw. the item under the blue cover is an air compressor. the trailer is 5 x 10 it has a 5000 lbs axel under it. but no matter what you carry you always forget something.
thanks ken

[Welding Wisdom]

Thank you also