HF or NT 5 X 8 trailer entension?

[John61CT-TNT]

that'll be a long wait

 

[QueticoBill]

I used the Northern Tool no floor landscape trailer. I paid a local welder to add diagonals, and lengthened the tongue. That cost $275. Add the $425 I paid for the trailer. Welder guy says, "I can build you a much better trailer for what you have in this". So, haven't taken him up on it yet! But I am waiting for lumber cost to go down!

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I extended tongue on mine for $25 piece of steel tube. There were other changes including planned axel, wheel, and brake upgrade, but killer for me would have been registration. Easy in some states, killer in others. Maybe some people like standing in line at DMV.

 

[John61CT-TNT]

Maine rego's are apparently available mail order no inspection.

 

[QueticoBill]

Maine rego's are apparently available mail order no inspection.

You still need a vin. In NYS for weight up to 1000 pounds you need a lot of paperwork to get that and only can get it when registering. Over 1000, more paper and inspections at their convenience. I have no patience for DMV bureaucracy.

 

[western traveler-TNT]

Did you take a look at this in the Build Journals?

viewtopic.php?f=50&t=73426

 

[TheOtherSean]

I am building a 6'6"W x 9'6"L x 6'3"H wooden canned ham on the Northern Tool 5 x 8. The only modification I made from trailer frame instruction was to mount the axle back about a foot from original position. The floor is 3/4" ply that overhangs about 9" in each direction, and is reinforced underneath the perimeter by 2x4's. It is just barely campable at this point, and I have towed it about 300 miles. It seems fine so far. I plan to start a build thread for it later this week.

One thing I would caution about is making sure all the nuts and bolts are snugged down both before you start the build, and before departing for the first time. I had them pretty tight on trailer assembly, but my initial camper build on the trailer ran into problems, and it was a few years before the I got around to building the current camper. In the mad rush to get out for our trip, I somehow missed going back and checking the nuts and bolts, as I discovered to my misfortune along the way. Definitely make sure you have them nice and tight. Check periodically along the way to make sure nothing loosens up, and carry something with you to tighten them up if need be.

After the first problem, I tightened up everything up until it was quite snug, but after about 1200 miles one of the bolts holding the coupler to the tongue had loosened up, and around 2000 miles I noticed one of the lug nuts missing from the wheel. So give the trailer a once-over whenever possible, and carry something to tighten things up if necessary.

 

[John61CT-TNT]

Loctite, maybe even Red

 

[TheOtherSean]

Loctite, maybe even Red

Thanks for the recommendation. I actually had purchased a tube of it, and was planning to use some on some of the bolts (but not the lug bolts!) when I would snugged them up after getting it campable. I'll put more details in my eventual build journal, but long story short get enough sleep, or coordination, judgment and memory can all really suffer.

 

[veedabowlu]

The floor is 3/4" ply that overhangs about 9" in each direction, and is reinforced underneath the perimeter by 2x4's. It is just barely campable at this point, and I have towed it about 300 miles. It seems fine so far.

Can you share some pictures of this?

As for the Loctite..."Loctite threadlocker blue is designed to easily be replaceable with common tools, whereas red is a more permanent fix". I only use red Loctite when repair manuals recommend it, otherwise I go thru blue Loctite like water... OR use lock washers OR use nylon lock nuts.

 

[DrewsBrews]

I took a HF super duty kit (4x that I got on craigslist years ago and used the rails as steel stock to reconfigure to a 5x10 frame via cutting\welding\stitching together to make longer rails. The middle 4 cross bars are added 2"x1/8" hot roll steel angle. Used a NT axle appropriate for 5ft frame (think it was 58-59" spring centers). Used the same tongue bars welded to a HF 50deg A-frame coupler. Springs (and I think the hanger kit) from trucksprings.com 700lb(ea) double eye. Still using 12" wheels with radial ST tires.

Floor overhangs the front corners.

I imagine something could be done in a bolt together situation, though would probably need to take a bit of a different approach... Attaching the tongue might be tricky.

 

[comp]

Never thought about the centrifugal forces placed on bearings before. I had always assumed going to larger tire was easier in all respects on every component. It is less RPM per MPH and more cushioning for all the sprung and non sprung components. I love the fact that centrifugal force was brought up.. this forum is great.

all this accident/insurance talk is BULL...

I agree with you that its BS. Everybody is free to decide what they personally are comfortable doing once they have all the data. I'm thinking about doing a lot of the things you mention doing with your build. Including overhang, and also towing more than I probably should with a weak engine.

 

[TheOtherSean]

The floor is 3/4" ply that overhangs about 9" in each direction, and is reinforced underneath the perimeter by 2x4's. It is just barely campable at this point, and I have towed it about 3000 miles. It seems fine so far.

Can you share some pictures of this?

Sure. This is what the front portion looked like while painting and during installation. I hope you find this useful.

Front floor section upside down during priming:

Front floor section upside down during lining:

Front and middle floor sections during installation:

 

[MickinOz]

Never thought about the centrifugal forces placed on bearings before. I had always assumed going to larger tire was easier in all respects on every component. It is less RPM per MPH and more cushioning for all the sprung and non sprung components. I love the fact that centrifugal force was brought up.. this forum is great.

all this accident/insurance talk is BULL...

I agree with you that its BS. Everybody is free to decide what they personally are comfortable doing once they have all the data. I'm thinking about doing a lot of the things you mention doing with your build. Including overhang, and also towing more than I probably should with a weak engine.

The centrifugal force on the bearing is actually less, as the bigger wheel is spinning slower for a given road speed.
Other forces, the names of which escape me, but think of the wheel as a lever trying to bend things sideways, are increased.
So, thinking of the wheel as a lever as you apply sideways (axial?) forces, and you can see a bigger wheel places more load on the bearing and axle.

It has been pointed out that many people who want bigger wheels upgrade to a bigger axle.
I'm one of those people. Here in Oz, it's a very cheap exercise to go from a 750 kg 39mm round beam axle to a 1000kg 40mm square axle.
I spent $180 or so, and sold the old axle for $80.
I should point out I did the upgrade because I wanted extra length. I wanted the axle to stick out further from the springs, to get the wheels further apart, and one parts supplier told me the distance I wanted was a bit more than he would usually recommend. So I chose to go to a heavier axle for insurance.

A little research helps.
In my case, my first trailer came with 10 inch cast alloy boat trailer wheels, and I wanted at least 13 inch wheels. I figured the 10's were just plain going to look stupid.

The stud pattern was HT Holden 5 stud which was used on Holden cars with 13 and 14 inch wheels. This included such race winning road weapons as the 327 and 350 powered Monaros, and the mighty GTR XU-1 Toranas.

A little research showed that the trailer manufacturers all offer the 5 stud HT Holden hub, with Holden LM series bearings, for 14 inch wheels on 1000 kg axles.
So my hubs and bearings were good for what I wanted to do.
So, have a look at the bearing numbers on the trailer, and then do a bit of Googling, see what typical setups use this bearing number. Should soon find out whether the bearings are right for the increased diameter.
But take a critical look at the axle. Is it a u-shaped channel with stubs welded into it? That might be too light for the job.

 

[friz-TNT]

I'm running stock NT bearings repacked with good grease. Almost ready for my third set of tires. Hubs still running cool. Thousands of miles of interstate driving.

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[MickinOz]

Your bearings should last longer than you. The sin bin only weighs about 20 lbs doesn't it?

 

[friz-TNT]

Your bearings should last longer than you. The sin bin only weighs about 20 lbs doesn't it?

Soaking wet.

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[QueticoBill]

Friz - did you upgrade wheels and tires and if so, to what?

Thanks!

 

[saywhatthat]

all this accident/insurance talk is BULL...

LOL better check with your insurance agents about modifications. especially the August 13th crowd have you ever heard of an insurance company wanting to pay out if there's an easy way not to. You think the repair shop is going to store for free if you don't have any work done . Again we do a few a year most owners say it B Especially when we turn over to a collect agency what the lien sale did not cover .Easy to match the wheels with the axle.

 

[friz-TNT]

Friz - did you upgrade wheels and tires and if so, to what?

Thanks!

12 inch alloy wheels with radial tires. I'm guessing from etrailer. The originals became spares.

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[QueticoBill]

Thanks!