A few newbie questions (Please?)

[emiller]

The Kuffel Creek plans are great but have the sides go over the frame for a better look, my first tear was built on top of the frame then I built my second over the frame which looks alot better, remember if you build over the frame you will have to narrow the frame what ever thickness wood your using unless your going for the wide tear

[TomS]

TomS,
Is the trailer the problem or is it because of shifting the axle back from it's normal position causing the bolt head problem that you refer to? How does the integrity of the center seam (middle) that the spring hanger would tie together normally being moved affect the rigidity of the frame. Did you reinforce that area? Just curious from looking at the picture

The bolt head interference problem is caused by shifting the spring hanger back.

The seam is reinforced with a cross members that are cut and inserted lengthwise inside the C channel side rails. In my case the insert is 46 inches long allowing almost two feet of overlap on each side. Then a wooden cross member is fabricated to replace the ones used to reinforce the side.

I briefely considered further reinforcing the side rails by having my son weld a bead along the outside of the seam. Ultimately I decided against it. Plenty of Cubbys have been built using the Kuffel Creek method. And, I was worried that the heat from welding could weaken the insert.

[Woody]

TomS
That is what I had thought by looking at the picture. I was just curious. Thanks

[asianflava]

Tom

Those are some cool looking bar clamps. I've never seen ones like that.

[IraRat]

Yeah, Tom. You're right. Let me take a few deep breaths and start over Saturday.

It's just SO aggravating to have to remove those bolts and redrill, especially since drilling those holes was 90% of the work in the first place! This is a major point that should have been addressed in the plans, and I can't believe this isn't also an issue on the heavier trailer.

But I'm surprised--you're only using 2 bolts through the bottom and 2 through the sides for the hanger? I was thinking of that figure for each SIDE of the axle cutout.

For the reinforcing cross members, I used 6, 3 on each side of the seam. So I have A LOT of bolt heads in the way. (And one annoying head is like just half under the edge of the hanger! I HATE THAT BOLT!))

I don't think notching will help me on my trailer, because not only is that a pain in the a**, but the bolt positioning would require notching out half of the hanger. And I would have to make at least 4 notches! I definitely don't want to eliminate any of those reinforcing bolts, and as a matter of fact, I'd like to add two more!

While tossing this around in my head, I figure I have two options. One would be to drill through the hangers and into the frame and reinforcing members. I'm afraid to do this because I don't know if it's the structurally smartest thing to do, having the bolt go through 3 members.

My next choice would be to simply drill 1/2" holes into the hanger, and leave them holy, to accommodate the rise of the bolt heads.

Am I brilliant or what?

Or stupid?

I COULD BE SITTING ON A BEACH SATURDAY DRINKING PINA COLADAS, BUT INSTEAD, I'LL BE DRILLING MORE HOLES!

[TomS]

Tom

Those are some cool looking bar clamps. I've never seen ones like that.

I picked them up at Lowe's. I really like them. They're excellent for clamping things down to my work bench, like when I sink pocket screws. I've been thinking about picking up two more.

But I'm surprised--you're only using 2 bolts through the bottom and 2 through the sides for the hanger? I was thinking of that figure for each SIDE of the axle cutout.

I agree that this is a critical connection. The last thing you want is for your axel assembly to come off while you're tooling down some interstate at 70 MPH.

DISCLAIMER: I'm not an engineer, but I play one on the Internet.

IMHO (with special emphasis on OPINION), four bolts is plenty. provided they're substantial bolts of good quality secured with with Nylox nuts. I dogged them down good and tight with an air wrench. The more bolts you put on, the more interference problems you'll encounter. After a while you'll reach a point of diminishing returns. Regardless of how many bolts you use, you'll still need to check them from time to time to make sure they are not loosening up on you.

If you're that worried about it, take it to your friendly neighborhood welder and have him weld it on for you.

For the reinforcing cross members, I used 6, 3 on each side of the seam. So I have A LOT of bolt heads in the way. (And one annoying head is like just half under the edge of the hanger! I HATE THAT BOLT!))

Right now I've got two bolts on each cross member, bottom and side, except for the wooden cross member which as a single long bolt passing through the top and bottom. When I attach the floor assembly, I plan to pass the mounting bolts through the top, bringing the total number of bolts to three for each side of the cross memebers.

As for the notches in my spring hangers, I had a square carriange bolt hole in the upper right that partially overlapped a bolt head. So, I cut down and across to square it off. On the upper right, I had a small lip curving up to a point. I cut that off square for cosmetic reasons. Then, I cut the notches for the axel travel.

While tossing this around in my head, I figure I have two options. One would be to drill through the hangers and into the frame and reinforcing members. I'm afraid to do this because I don't know if it's the structurally smartest thing to do, having the bolt go through 3 members.

My next choice would be to simply drill 1/2" holes into the hanger, and leave them holy, to accommodate the rise of the bolt heads.

I think the first option is best. That's what I did; I drilled right through the spring hanger, the side rail and the insert. Again, this is only my OPINION and I'm no engineer. You want those bolts to grabbing as much steel as possible while removing as little material as possible from your spring hangers. Drilling larger diameter holes only weakens your spring hangers. When doing this, don't make the mistake that I did and drill a bolt hole that intereferes with your spings. Or, you'll wind up with unecessary holes like I did. Consider the springs when you drill your holes. Also, remember the back end of the spring slides along the spring hanger as it compresses and flexes. You don't want to impede it's movement.

I COULD BE SITTING ON A BEACH SATURDAY DRINKING PINA COLADAS, BUT INSTEAD, I'LL BE DRILLING MORE HOLES!

It's good for you. It builds charachter. As for me, I'm already "a charchter"

Do yourself a favor and get a new nice sharp bit. I've gone through three 3/8" drill bits since I started work on my frame. I got sucked into to buying those fancy Titanium bits at $10 a pop. Being a bicyclist, I'm a sucker for anything Ti, What a marketing scam! Wouldn't you know it, the cheap black steel bit cuts best.

[IraRat]

Well, I'm printing THIS post out for reference. And right on about those bits:

In my long Sunday morning update post above, I said the exact same thing. I used a brand-new titanium bit that I had, and after a store-run to pick up a few things and the cheaper B&W black steel bit, I was amazed to see how much better it drilled!

There's one point though to how you're doing a lot of this that simply isn't in the Cubby nor HF plans for my trailer: bolting the reinforcing cross-members up and down. I've just gone on the horizontal with the bolts for these.