Wood Trailer Frame

[Jwh92020]

10 years ago, I posted about a set of plans I bought for a teardrop, and unknown to me, it came with a plan for a wood frame. The idea was met with skepticism and are you crazy comments. I was scrolling through some old threads when I can upon a thread from 2006 where Ted and LuAnne had purchased the same set of plans in 2006. They posted pics of the frame and some of the forum OGs like Andrew (angib) and Mikeschn thought it was a viable plan. Let's get some modern thoughts on it. Unfortunately, it seems that none of them are still particiapting, but it would be interesting to hear their thoughts on the idea 20 years later.
Edit - here is a link to the thread about it: Trailer without a frame...

 

[GTS225-TNT]

W'aaalll. Seems to me you've opened yourself up to a short-lived chassis. Between roads chemicals, (anti-freeze, oils and fuels), plus plain old water and dirt that chassis will be subjected to, it'll start to rot pretty quickly. You can buy yourself another handful of years if you take it somewhere and have it coated with spray bedliner, but I'm not going to guess how well it'll adhere to a wood substrate.

That being said, I've scrapped a couple old campers that had a chassis very similar to what you've shown. (The wood was already half gone when I got them.) They even had manual stabilizing jacks at each corner.

Roger

 

[Jwh92020]

Appreciate the response. I believe the frame in the picture was fiberglassed after assembly but before the tongue assembly was installed. I've also seen numerous metal frame trailers where the underside of the deck was covered in PMF or fibreglass. Then there are the multitudes of trailers where the underside was painted. Wouldn't all of these undersides be protected from the issues you mentioned? Not saying I am going to build such a frame, but the plan set it came from has been rolling around in the back of my mind for 10 years now, and to find one on here that a member had built & used sort of brought it back to the forefront of my wild imagination.

 

[GTS225-TNT]

Of course.....paint will buy some time, as will fiberglass or PMF. Any coating will extend the life of the wood. BUT......it's still a cellulose material subject to rot as soon as there's road damage to the topcoat.

Now, I do wonder how well treated plywood would hold up. It's supposed to have a 20-year warranty, ( ), so it might do pretty well without surface coatings.

Just an observation.....Roger

 

[Tony Latham]

Let's get some modern thoughts on it.

I don't think towing such a trailer at 70 with oncoming traffic is a good idea. Common sense comes to mind, but the adage, "What could go wrong?" Jumps at me.

If it failed at highway speeds, it could result in fatalities.

Tony

 

[QueticoBill]

I believe the original teardrop in Popular Mechanics was wood frame. Like a wood boat, maintain it and it will last forever.

 

[DrewsBrews]

Welds crack or rust through from the back side that couldn't receive paint. Bolts loosen until nuts fall off. Metal trailer frames aren't immune to age either.

 

[Jwh92020]

I don't think towing such a trailer at 70 with oncoming traffic is a good idea. Common sense comes to mind, but the adage, "What could go wrong?" Jumps at me.

If it failed at highway speeds, it could result in fatalities.

Tony

I don't think towing such a trailer at 70 with oncoming traffic is a good idea. Common sense comes to mind, but the adage, "What could go wrong?" Jumps at me.

If it failed at highway speeds, it could result in fatalities.

Tony

Sent you an email

 

[Jwh92020]

I believe the original teardrop in Popular Mechanics was wood frame. Like a wood boat, maintain it and it will last forever.

Sent you an email

 

[Jwh92020]

Welds crack or rust through from the back side that couldn't receive paint. Bolts loosen until nuts fall off. Metal trailer frames aren't immune to age either.

Your point about water isextremely valid. If I was to attempt this, I would fit all the "tongue mount" angle, pre-drill it and the platform, put it in place, then set the tongue tube on. Iwould have a eelder tack the tube to all the angle pieces, then remove the whole assembly and weld it completely. At that point, the assembly could be primed and painted all the way around. The rest of the metal can all be primed and painted prior to install as well. I'm not saying I'm going to build it, but I find the idea intriguing. There are many who came before that used non all metal frames with success, so I don't think the idea is something to be arbitrarily dismissed (not saying you're doing that) without some discussion.