Westward Joe

...ask your questions in the appropriate forums BUT document your build here...preferably in a single thread...dates for updates, are appreciated....

Westward Joe

Postby Joe4Camping » Wed Dec 06, 2017 11:56 am

Hi all,

So, after months of lurking and absorbing as many fantastic build ideas I can from this priceless forum, I've decided to take the plunge and start a Build.

My wife and I are planning on taking a month-long journey to camp Out West (hence the subject line for this thread. yee-ha), and visit National Parks (sooooo many to choose from). The Foamie will be our home away from home for the duration of the trip.

As far as the build is concerned, the only guidelines I have so far is that it will be a Foamie (walls will be 1.5" thick, covered in glue/canvas/paint). It will be built on a Northern Tool 5x8, queen-ish size bed with kitchen in rear. The rest of the plan will grow from there, with inspiration from several of the great builds documented on this forum.

I ordered the trailer online last week, and picked it up Saturday. Laid out the frame .... 275 lbs of possibilities!

151853


After quickly bolting together the base frame, I threw down some masonite sheets from a recent garage remodel just to get perspective. Cooler and stove happily obliged as full-sized stand-ins:

151867

I felt the 12" stock tires (left in photo) that came with the trailer kit weren't beefy enough, so I ordered 13" Range D tires. My wife peered at them and pronounced, "I feel safer already."

151887

And so it begins!
Joe4Camping
Teardrop Advisor
 
Posts: 63
Images: 88
Joined: Thu Nov 09, 2017 6:24 pm

Re: Westward Joe

Postby Woodbutcher » Wed Dec 06, 2017 4:05 pm

Good luck with your build. Be sure your new wheels have enough set back. I used the NT trailer on my build and needed to add wheel spaces to get larger tires on. Enjoy the building process, it's a big part of the fun. :applause:
User avatar
Woodbutcher
Platinum Donating Member
 
Posts: 4187
Images: 45
Joined: Fri Mar 10, 2006 10:01 pm
Location: Chicago Suburbs

Re: Westward Joe

Postby Joe4Camping » Thu Dec 07, 2017 12:28 pm

Thanks Woodbutcher. Yes, I'm sure wheel spacers are in my future, but first I will need to repack the wheel bearings. They had minimal grease, and the grease looked more like Vaseline. :roll:
Joe4Camping
Teardrop Advisor
 
Posts: 63
Images: 88
Joined: Thu Nov 09, 2017 6:24 pm
Top

Re: Westward Joe

Postby Joe4Camping » Fri Dec 15, 2017 11:16 pm

Not much done on the actual trailer itself during these frigid winter days, but I have put together a full-size mockup using hot glue and remnants of all the Amazon boxes we accumulate from online shopping:

151934

This helps me visualize the height of the main cabin area, as well as the placement of the door (it's the rectangular cardboard cutout with the newspaper representing the actual 'window' size and shape). Door placement is important, as this is the perfect spot to enable a 'sit-and-spin' maneuver to allow easy entry into the cabin and immediately lie down onto the bed and pillow with a minimum of shimmy.
Joe4Camping
Teardrop Advisor
 
Posts: 63
Images: 88
Joined: Thu Nov 09, 2017 6:24 pm
Top

Re: Westward Joe

Postby Joe4Camping » Mon Dec 25, 2017 9:58 pm

Nothing much else to do on these frigid winter days, except figuring out the size and layout of the TD itself on the NT 5x8 frame. I thought I would need to move the axle to accommodate correct weight distribution, but, through the magic of lengthening the front of the build, adding a tongue box, AND extending the tongue, I can keep the axle placement as-is, and still have a 10.5% weight on the hitch. I hope my guesstimates are correct. :worship:

I hope to pick up an 8' length of 2x2x1/8 steel tube for the tongue extension; this should give me an additional 24" beyond the trailer's stock "A" frame. That should give me about 80 degrees of swing for the TV.
Joe4Camping
Teardrop Advisor
 
Posts: 63
Images: 88
Joined: Thu Nov 09, 2017 6:24 pm
Top


Return to Build Journals

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: Google [Bot] and 19 guests