7x16x6.5 Featherlite Build

[featherliteCT1]

View attachment 170104 Featherlite Drawing Final update 3.pdf

Here is my new 16x7x6.5 Featherlite all aluminum trailer I had built. I plan on using it to haul my motorcycle from time to time, and to sleep in it on a boondocking basis. For now, all I want to do is get it insulated, add a few shelves, extend DC power to it, and add three 100 watt solar panels, all so I can take a few vacation trips … as soon as I get it rigged out!. It will be pretty primitive, but functional, to start out.
I have no present intention of installing AC, toilet or running water … at least for now.

[edit: at 7-26-17. I am now thinking about installing a window type AC unit]

I discovered this wonderful web site in December, 2016, and have learned a LOT from looking at and reading about what you guys have done. You guys are AWESOME! I am starting to show signs of addiction.

I will be attempting to post photos as I progress. Not having previously posted photos, I am not sure how this is going to go … but here goes!

The first thing i am going to try to do is attach a drawing of the trailer in pdf document format.

 

[featherliteCT1]

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[featherliteCT1]

 

[featherliteCT1]

 

[featherliteCT1]

I weighed the trailer at a truck stop and found out the trailer weighs 2,200 lbs., empty, including the spare tire. The 4,800 lb axles and 16" wheels with 8 bolt lugs added a few extra lbs.

 

[Ed Harris]

That is one beautiful trailer!

Did you get the removable fasteners so that you can insulate too?
There seems to be a few options that need to be ordered together to get the panels to easily remove later or otherwise they will be riveted on in some way.
I imagine this one was also pretty spendy?

Here is mine,there are a few of us here.

 

[featherliteCT1]

That is one beautiful trailer!

Did you get the removable fasteners so that you can insulate too?
There seems to be a few options that need to be ordered together to get the panels to easily remove later or otherwise they will be riveted on in some way.
I imagine this one was also pretty spendy?

Here is mine,there are a few of us here.

Yes, the inside panels are screwed in and thus removable. Featherlite has a beautiful trailer with aluminum interior walls with a tremendous electrical package, at a very competitive price, but with no windows or insulation . However, you can make no modifications. The aluminum walls on that discounted model are glue taped on and not removable. At least rivets could have been drilled out. So to get windows and removable walls I paid several thousand more dollars ... I stewed about it for a few months but finally decided to bite the bullet and get what I wanted.

Your rig looks very functional ... I like a V nose too.
I also have a 1/2 ton Chevy Silverado truck with a camper shell ... very handy to have.

 

[McDave-TNT]

Whoo Boy! That is Cadillac Style right there. Somebody's livin' right. Can't wait to see what you do with her, what an excellent way to start. Congratulations.
Now GET BUSY!

McDave

 

[featherliteCT1]

Whoo Boy! That is Cadillac Style right there. Somebody's livin' right. Can't wait to see what you do with her, what an excellent way to start. Congratulations.
Now GET BUSY!

McDave

McDave,
When I was about 7 years old, my Dad found, on the side of a country road, an old rusty, abandoned farm wagon where all the wood had rotted off leaving just the tongue, axles and rims. He took me with him to haul it home. In the field, he repacked the bearings and mounted some old wheels. His VW bug had no trailer hitch so he wired the tongue to the bumper with a coat hanger and we hauled it home. He then built a wood bed with sides that we used to haul our gear in when we went on camping vacations.

Ever since, whenever I drive down the road, I look at every trailer as I drive by, usually rubber necking as I pass. From the cheapest, smallest, rustiest ones to the large fancy ones.

My first trailer was a $100 4x4 harbor freight that I hauled a jon boat on, my second was an $1,800, open 10x7 Aluma that I hauled my motorcycles on. I still have those two trailers and probably ought to get rid of them. And now, after all these years, I decided to splurge and buy this Featherlite. I would be embarrassed to say how much I paid for it.

Thanks for the encouragement!
Ron

 

[Ed Harris]

Well I know we are all dying to know what ballpark it was in but I have a feeling I already know too?
I found mine for under 3K in pretty decent condition and am pretty thrilled at that so the thought of a brand new one,bigger and loaded with options makes me a little weak just imagining it.

They do seem to be built better though which is really what I was looking for in the end anyway.

I also have several other CT and never considered the notion of getting rid of any?!?

Last week when I needed to evacuate my warehouse in the flood plain they all came in pretty handy for sure!

 

[low277]

Featherlite makes a nice trailer! Nice platform to make your own custom creation.

 

[aggie79-HILO]

Very nice trailer!

In my dreams, I've been considering a Featherlite. Could you say what the interior width is please (face of plywood to face of plywood)?

Thank you,
Tom

 

[featherliteCT1]

Very nice trailer!

In my dreams, I've been considering a Featherlite. Could you say what the interior width is please (face of plywood to face of plywood)?

Thank you,
Tom

Thank you, exactly 76 inches wide, plywood to plywood.
One of the ways that I justified spending so much money is that Featherlite has a reputation for relatively high resale values.

Ron

 

[aggie79-HILO]

Thank you. They make amazing products.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[McDave-TNT]

Whoo Boy! That is Cadillac Style right there. Somebody's livin' right. Can't wait to see what you do with her, what an excellent way to start. Congratulations.
Now GET BUSY!

McDave

McDave,
When I was about 7 years old, my Dad found, on the side of a country road, an old rusty, abandoned farm wagon where all the wood had rotted off leaving just the tongue, axles and rims. He took me with him to haul it home. In the field, he repacked the bearings and mounted some old wheels. His VW bug had no trailer hitch so he wired the tongue to the bumper with a coat hanger and we hauled it home. He then built a wood bed with sides that we used to haul our gear in when we went on camping vacations.

Ever since, whenever I drive down the road, I look at every trailer as I drive by, usually rubber necking as I pass. From the cheapest, smallest, rustiest ones to the large fancy ones.

My first trailer was a $100 4x4 harbor freight that I hauled a jon boat on, my second was an $1,800, open 10x7 Aluma that I hauled my motorcycles on. I still have those two trailers and probably ought to get rid of them. And now, after all these years, I decided to splurge and buy this Featherlite. I would be embarrassed to say how much I paid for it.

Thanks for the encouragement!
Ron

Wow,
That was like looking in a mirror. You just described my childhood and my dad to a T. Even right down to the HF trailer, which I still have. It's hard for me to shake that need to make something from nothing. I got to hand it the old man, I had no idea we were poor, none. Work was what was did for fun. Still do, I guess.
Thanks Dad.

McDave

 

[featherliteCT1]

Yesterday afternoon, while standing in the trailer, much to my dismay, I noticed that I could see daylight coming through one of the seams where the exterior aluminum panel was riveted to the rear corner of the trailer, near the ramp door. I pushed on the panel a little bit with my finger and more daylight came through. The aluminum panels are lapped so that the seam is oriented towards the rear. So, I went outside, and with a little plastic bottle filled with water, squirted water towards the seam. I went back inside and saw that the water had leaked through the seam and puddled on the floor. Same thing with the other opposite rear corner.

I was especially concerned about road dust from a dirt or gravel road infiltrating the wall cavity … hidden from view … and then getting wet … repeatedly … over time, accumulating into a moldy mess. Or maybe I am blowing things out of proportion.
I went to bed stewing in my mind weather it was an isolated manufacturing mistake where someone forgot to caulk or use sealing tape or whether the entire trailer was built this way. If the latter, what kind of a piece of &^%$#@! did I buy?

Today I removed one of the interior wood walls on the trailer. I discovered that all of the exterior aluminum panels I exposed are riveted to the posts without any caulk or seal at the lap joint.

If I had known this in advance of buying the trailer, I would not have bought it. I would have bought a trailer with glued on exterior panels.
A contractor buddy of mine who build steel buildings recommended that I caulk the seams with Geocel silicone caulk. He said it is far superior product to anything he has ever used, by a large factor.

Now I am asking myself whether it is a good thing to allow the wall to breathe and dissipate any condensation that might arise. I doubt it, but pose the question. I am having a hard time justifying this kind of a design.

You can see the seams in the photos I just uploaded with this post.

By the way, I just spent three days reading every post I could find on this forum about insulation and about best insulation practices, including the practices set out in the 1,134 page long “2013 ASHRAE Handbook” (American Society of Heating, Refrigeration and Air-Conditioning Engineers. My Gosh, this stuff is PhD level physics!

I hope to eventually share if an how I plan to insulate the trailer …. i.e., with or with air gap, which way to face a radiant barrier (if any), how to deal with condensation, and how to deal with solar gains and losses due to convection, conduction and radiation.

Teaser: Henry 587 coating is good for the roof!

Ron

 

[featherliteCT1]

 

[featherliteCT1]

 

[flboy]

I think that is typical... I did the water test with all my plywood down while I was insulating and found some similar issues. I fixed them and moved on.. No way I was toting that trailer back up to Georgia for warranty work...

I think some breathing of the walls is good between the Aluminum and insulation. I taped it all off well and foamed where needed to ensure no thermal bypass.. But at the end of the day, I think there will be condensation and there needs to be some air exchange to prevent mold and to dry out. For that reason, I did not seal along the bottom of the panels at the frame like I see a lot of folks do. If water gets in, I want it to run right back out.. The insulation will not absorb the water so no worries. There should no be any water getting getting in... I am mainly thinking of condensation ... but you never know..

 

[McDave-TNT]

I had LOTS of gaps and daylight. Not at the wall seams, but practically all around the nose at the floor. Didn't see any sealant or tape either at seams. My wall panels are screwed on and overlapped toward rear.
I'm with Don, maybe run a bead of sealant of your choice on the inside. That still looks like superior workmanship and materials to the average CT. Certainly better than mine. Pace Journey 6x12.

McDave