Anyone have pictures of beehives on trailers, like a tandem axel utility type trailer

A friend of mine is giving me a 16' tandem axel trailer, all I have to do to it is put a new deck on it! Im looking for pictures of people with something like this so I can get ideas of what I want to do to it. I plan on putting a boom on it to lift pallets with two hives each on them. Basically I am tired of hand loading hives into the back of my truck when I move them to places and eventually I want to get into small orchard pollination as well. So anyhow, just looking for some pictures or ideas on this!! Thanks!!

I have 6, 16 and 20 hive trailers with two hive pallets on them permanently. On two, they face to the inside so that I can work them from the back and they face to the center of the trailer. On the 6 hive trailer, they face two to the front, two to the back and the center two to the sides. I can work all six without standing in the flight path of the others. The 6 and 16 hive trailers have screened bottom pallets, and the 20 hive trailer has solid bottom pallets. The 16 and 20 hive trailers have 4' tall removable sideboards to hide the hives. I can move them by just strapping them down and netting them. The 16 hive unit is really not a trailer, but a flatbed moveable by my drop box truck.

This is probably common method but new to me. I used an explosive nail gun to floor my 16 foot trailer with treated 2X6s. Easy and solid. Just my two cents....

If it were me, on a small sized trailer, I would make sides with heavy mesh wire panels that were insulated from the posts.(Removable of course to allow for hive loading with fork lift) Attach a solar charger system to the panels. You could haul your trailer full of hives to a new location and just leave it-without unloading. Charge the solar system to secure the hives from bears or vandalism and walk away until you need them back.

Lauri, that's exactly what I'm working on down here in the black bear heaven of SW WA! I have a trailer I think I can fit 8 hives in, and I'm going to tow it onto some property I've been placing and removing hives from each year. Hopefully I can eliminate most of the lifting!

I have run trailers behind trucks with the boom on the end of the truck. For you, be sure that you mount the boom on the front so you can also load the truck if needed. You may wish to consider loading single hives or stacks of 2 , one on the other rather than pallets of 2 hives. Issues you can run into are the unexpected move with supers on the hives and mismatched heights of hive pairs. Weight can be an issue when loading a trailer with a boom due to the torque exerted by the boom when hives are out on the end. Trailers are much lighter than trucks so more care must be used. 4 way leveling of the boom will be a must.

A guy here runs 4 hives per pallet. He turns the hives 90* to each other. Seems to work good for him.
I have seen a few of the beehive trailers before. Set it and forget it!
I like the solar charger idea Lauri. Keeps all kinds of pests from getting close to the hives.

Thanks for the replys!! I do plan on mounting a boom on the trailer itself, it will be a homemade boom set up using winches and stuff, still working on that design!! I just think a trailer would be the way to go and I can set it up the way I want to with storage and stuff. I will save a lot of time and wear on my back and if I need to move the bees I strap down and hook up and go!! Which will be handy in my situation.

As far as electrifying the trailer, I do plan on putting removable posts that extend out about 5' from the trailer that will hold a wire about 3' off the ground, but its more to deal with cows than bears in my country!! This way I can pull up drop the trailer set up the E-fence and leave, no more driving posts an dealing with barbed wire!!

Cant wait to get this rolling!!

Don't forget to post photos when you get it done!

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Originally Posted by Lauri

Don't forget to post photos when you get it done!

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Will do!!

Just wondering if you got a design in mind why are you asking ... for a pat on the back?

Ace, why are you responding to any of my posts period? Are you lacking attention and need a hug? Or have you not posted in a while and need to get your post counts up? Or perhaps your still distraught that I punked you on another bee site?

I'm ALWAYS looking for better ideas and open to suggestions, unlike the controlling personality you have where it's your way or no way, now take your toys and go home little boy.

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Originally Posted by BeeGhost

Or perhaps your still distraught that I punked you on another bee site?

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I am not sure what you mean. I left the other site because of its censorship tendencies over a year ago. Are you one of it's controlling members? I have no idea. Could care less...
So did I strike a nerve?

continue this in private.

Thanks to odfrank for the pictures of his trailers, very inspiring ideas!

Where are they?

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Originally Posted by BeeGhost

Thanks to odfrank for the pictures of his trailers, very inspiring ideas!

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I would like to see those. :D

BeeGhost, I have 20 hives on a tandem trailer. I screwed 4 rows of pressure treated 4x4's to the deck, and I use them as hive stands... two rows to the driver's side, two rows to the passenger side. That way when it's time to move, I can easily run a ratchet strap under each hive. I leave my hives on the trailer permanently, though they are not permanently attached to the trailer, they just normally sit on the 4x4's.

To move the hives:
1. Ratchet strap each hive together.
2. Take 1x4's the length of the trailer, and screw them to the front and another to the back, attaching each row of hives together. My hives face outward.
3. I take 4 1x4's and screw them to a pair of hives at each end of the trailer, and a couple of pair of hives in the center.
4. I run a heavy duty ratchet strap across the top of each row, from the front of the trailer to the rear.

Step one ties each hive together.
Step two ties all hives in each row together, so they don't shift (too much, sigh)
Step three ties the two rows together, so that on uneven ground, the row of hives does not fall over.
Step four ties the two rows of hives to the trailer.

I learned this almost the hard way.... This system keeps the hives from shifting in any direction, although if one drives not very slowly over uneven ground, or around corners, well, use your imagination.
Regards,
Steven
When steps 2 and 3 are done,

Not for nothing guys if you install shocks on your trailers you won't be reassembling your hives once you get where you are going.

Ace, get a tandem trailer with shocks, put 20 hives on it, some 3-5 stories high, move the trailer from one field to another via a paved highway, don't strap them down, and tell us how it goes.
Regards,
Steven