by 91kuhndog » Sat Feb 02, 2013 5:56 am
The profile came from a lot of different trailers I've seen and I actually sat down and penciled about 20 or so different profiles but kept coming back to this one. Woodbutcher, you're right about a couple things I've considered. Since I'm fabricating my own trailer, two things I've doing t keep the deck as alow as possible is to use a 4" drop spindle axle and mount the axle on top of the springs. The springs I'm using are 2000# rated and I'm estimating my weight to be around 1300# empty and 1600# loaded (heaviest senario). I've opted for 15" wheels since the majority of the time, the trailer will be on the interstate, at highway speeds.
The side walls are goign to be built using the sandwiched wall design using 3/4 plywood between luan on the outside and oak paneling on the inside. Ultimately, the outside is going to be covered in aluminum and painted. The front will be covered using diamond plate aluminum and the roof is going to be luan covered in EPDM rubber membrane material. Why a rubber roof? I have a large piece left over from my 5th wheel roof I replaced 2 years ago. It's actually very easy to install and seal.
The frame will be 2x3x1/8" box with 2" angle cross bars 24" on center. I'm installing quite a few nicities since I often cook for 14-20 at the races... (tailgating & camping a NASCAR race is more fun than the races themselves sometimes). It'll have a sink, 6 gal hot water heater, A/C for the SouthCarolina summer nights, ENVI ceramic wall heater, small RV microwave and a Koolatron refrigerated cooler. A two burner Coleman stove will be added to the cabinet as to maintain the countertop space and remain portable.
as for the shape and the rear 1/4th of the trailer causing downforce? I've put a lot of thought into this and even had a couple of my Boeing C-17 engineers look at it to opinionate... I've come to the conclusion that since the trailer is only going to be about 70" tall, it still wont be tall enough to stick up past the top of the Nissan Quest nor the bed-cap on my F-250. The axle location is push the axle back to around the 70% mark in an effort to keep weight centered under the tear and allowing for added weight on the front of the trailer... I hope I'm right!
Also, the front of the trailer will have a 36" x60" cargo rack to allow me to haul stuff like the inverter/generator, water tank, smoker, and portable fire ring.