Adjustable Axle Placement

Ask questions about Harbor Freight trailers, or questions about building your own...

Adjustable Axle Placement

Postby RexInTheCity » Tue Dec 16, 2014 11:14 pm

I didn't want to hijack the original thread (viewtopic.php?f=2&t=61918) this was posted in so I'm making a new one.

drhill wrote:stand by. I think I have some pictures. If not I will go take some. The teardrop is done now so now enough time to post some pictures.

OK, back to edit this. Turns out there is a good picture already in my album.

125109

The 2 x 2 x 1/4 angle sits inside the outer frame rails that are 3" channel. There are 4 - 7/16" bolts holding each angle to the frame with nylock nuts. The mounting holes are drilled 4" apart and when I drilled them I used the template to also drill the pilot holes 4" and 8" forward and back of the initial axle position. I did end up moving the axle forward so it was easy to finish drilling out the 7/16 holes at that time. The fenders are mounted to angle iron that is welded to the 2x2x1/4 angles so the fenders and spring mounts all move together. I have had a utility trailer built from a boat trailer, axle too far back, and then one I built, axle to close to the balance point and I knew I just wouldn't get the axle placement right the first time on this teardrop.

This picture was actually taken to show off the unique spare tire mount. I went with a compact spare to save weight and space as in 40 years of towing trailers I have only had one flat (a few days after my spare was stolen!) The bike frame had a broken chain stay so this was a worthy use for the frame. A cable tie stops the turnbuckle from loosening off.

By the way, the teardrop pod doesn't overhang the frame by several inches at it appears to in this picture. The pod is sitting on blocks on top of the frame when this picture was taken.

finally, figure out the picture posting [album]#####[/album]



Has anyone else done this before? It seems like a great idea for trailers in general if your load outs vary a lot.

Assuming good steal and grade 8 bolts are used does this setup add a likely failure point?
RexInTheCity
Teardrop Builder
 
Posts: 28
Images: 3
Joined: Mon Nov 24, 2014 6:53 pm

Re: Adjustable Axle Placement

Postby KCStudly » Wed Dec 17, 2014 11:38 am

RexInTheCity wrote:Assuming good steal and grade 8 bolts are used does this setup add a likely failure point?


It seems to be built sturdy enough that I would say no, not likely to fail.

The thing is it trades extra weight for the capability; a feature that I doubt gets used but one time. For me, that extra weight is something I would do a little more planning to try to avoid. $0.02
KC
My Build: The Poet Creek Express Hybrid Foamie

Poet Creek Or Bust
Engineering the TLAR way - "That Looks About Right"
TnTTT ORIGINAL 200A LANTERN CLUB = "The 200A Gang"
Green Lantern Corpsmen
User avatar
KCStudly
Donating Member
 
Posts: 9613
Images: 8169
Joined: Mon Feb 06, 2012 10:18 pm
Location: Southeastern CT, USA


Return to Trailer and Chassis Secrets

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 18 guests