Tow Bubble Fabrication Pictures

[Maverick71]

Howdy,

Since a picture is worth a thousand words, I don't have much to add other than this was a challenging project because this is not a true truncated cone. The 1/8 inch Baltic birch plywood facing does not like to bend in two directions at the same time. In retrospect, I would have made the spars out of 3/4 inch plywood and would have added one more rib.

Notice that I added scabs to the struts for glueing surface and stiffeners because the wind loading would cause the plywood to have excessive deflection.

Since the tow bubble is entirely closed, there is no accessibility for storage. The bubble is fastened to the adapter plate with coated deck screws after caulking the adjoining surfaces at the perimeters.

The bubble is supported by fir wood legs and tagged at the upper corners to the trailer sides. A space between the backside of the bubble and the front of the trailer is allowed to shed water.

Two coats of Woodlife, two coats of 1-2-3 Zinser primer, and three coats of Glidden polyurethane porch floor paint was used for weather protection.
The floor paint was virtually impossible to attain a smooth finish even with sanding between coats and thinning and using a painting pad.

The total cost of materials for the bubble was approximately $150.00 My goal is to increase towing efficiency by 2mpg and have better stability in towing.

Thank you for sharing this project with me.

Take care,
Maury

P.S. The plywood I beams are fabricated from one sheet of 4 x 8 Paranaply and coated with three coats of polyurethane. These make for an excellent adjustable surface and can be easily stored on a wall mounted rack.

[img]<a%20href="http://s1223.photobucket.com/albums/dd503/Wrenchhead57/?action=view&amp;current=DSC02512.jpg"%20target="_blank"><img%20src="http://i1223.photobucket.com/albums/dd503/Wrenchhead57/DSC02512.jpg"%20border="0"%20alt="Photobucket"></a>[/img][img]<a%20href="http://s1223.photobucket.com/albums/dd503/Wrenchhead57/?action=view&amp;current=DSC02516.jpg"%20target="_blank"><img%20src="http://i1223.photobucket.com/albums/dd503/Wrenchhead57/DSC02516.jpg"%20border="0"%20alt="Photobucket"></a>[/img][img]<a%20href="http://s1223.photobucket.com/albums/dd503/Wrenchhead57/?action=view&amp;current=DSC02531.jpg"%20target="_blank"><img%20src="http://i1223.photobucket.com/albums/dd503/Wrenchhead57/DSC02531.jpg"%20border="0"%20alt="Photobucket"></a>[/img][img]<a%20href="http://s1223.photobucket.com/albums/dd503/Wrenchhead57/?action=view&amp;current=DSC02536.jpg"%20target="_blank"><img%20src="http://i1223.photobucket.com/albums/dd503/Wrenchhead57/DSC02536.jpg"%20border="0"%20alt="Photobucket"></a>[/img][img]a%20href="http://s1223.photobucket.com/albums/dd503/Wrenchhead57/?action=view&amp;current=DSC02540.jpg"%20target="_blank"><img%20src="http://i1223.photobucket.com/albums/dd503/Wrenchhead57/DSC02540.jpg"%20border="0"%20alt="Photobucket"></a>[/img]

[pete42]

I just saw that Gas here in SW Ohio is $4.15 a gallon.

fixed incomes sure do slow down the fun factor of living.

[aggie79]

Maury,

The structure of your tow bubble is a work of art! Thank you for sharing your build pictures.

There is one thing that concerns me, though. It is nothing to do with the tow bubble; it's your attire - particularly the logo on your t-shirts and ball caps. Of course I'm just kidding but if you look at my forum name, you'll know where my thoughts originated.

Take care, Tom

[Shadow Catcher]

The question, does it work and to help with that task courtesy of some one else in the forum http://www.instructables.com/id/Measure ... f-your-car

I will invest in a set of air tabs http://www.airtab.com for both the Subaru and teardrop.

[Maverick71]

Hi Aggie 79,

Thank you for the compliment!

My attire has nothing to do with an association with an alma mater; but merely the association with poverty after I have helped three out of my four children through the University of Texas. In summation, I am left with nothing more than the cap on my head and the shirt on my back. At least this burnt orange attire allows me to wear it to the game in Austin on Saturday, wear it for deer hunting on Sunday, and wear it all the rest of the week while I pick up paper along the highway!

I am a proud graduate of the Universwity of Wisconsin-Stout and an alumnus of the University of Wisconsin-Madison Graduate School of Business. My colors are either blue and white or cardinal and white.

Take care,
Maury