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THE SIMPLE
The idea behind this trailer was to design the simplest 4ft x 8ft trailer to be built on a Harbor Freight utility trailer kit. There are two alternative profiles shown with either a square back or with a partial sloping back like a Grasshopper.
The design has been drawn to a reasonably light weight using 1/4" ply for the front, top and back, 1/2" ply for the sides and main bulkhead and 3/4" ply for the floor. It could be made lighter by using 1/8" ply for the front, top and back if 50% more ribs were used. Alternatively it could be made simpler but heavier by using 3/8" ply with 50% of the ribs left out, though this would also be a more top-heavy design.
As many of the fittings as possible have been left out - the design includes wooden hatch props (which work semi-automatically) and polycarbonate/acrylic sheet windows which are hinged directly to the door - just like the 'Trailer for Two' design, actually!
The measurements of the side profile are given. Note that these are for the actual side panels when using 1/4" ply for the front, top and back - it would need to be adjusted for other ply thicknesses.
Oh, and by the way, it looks as though it would be much simpler to build a square teardrop than a rounded one but, like it says in the song, it ain't necessarily so! Whilst there are no curves to draw or cut in the Simple, there are a few joints that require some skill that, in a rounded design, wouldn't be joints at all. As ever, there's no free lunch… The alternative is the 'Rimple' (Rounded Simple) below.
The design shows the Harbor Freight trailer with its axle in the standard position - it would be better if the axle was moved rearward a few inches, so that any weights in the galley do not reduce the nose weight too much. The alternative is to check the nose weight each time the trailer is towed and if necessary move some weights (eg, cooler) forward.
2-D Design
The design is in several layers of a single drawing file, shown below:
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| 2-D DESIGN |
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| All views in a zipped .dxf file. |
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| View all the drawings as a .pdf file |
There are some photos of a Simple in the Hall of Fame.
This design is just the Simple with rounded corners - hence the 'Rimple'. The radius of the corners is the same at both ends, so maybe this isn't technically a teardrop!
A couple of changes are required: reducing the front/top/hatch skin thickness to 1/8" and moving the galley hatch hinge point forward - this keeps the hinge in the straight section of roof, keeping everything as simple as possible.
If you are happy to draw out some circular arcs (remember, a bit of string and a nail?) this design is probably easier than the Simple to build.
2-D Design
The design is in several layers of a single drawing file, shown below:
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| 2-D DESIGN |
Action |
| All views in a zipped .dxf file. |
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| View all the drawings as a .pdf file |
