Getting Close On My 5' X 8"

[MontanaTeardrops]

My wiring is almost done. I decided to put the power center up front in the tongue storage box because I don't want to hear the cooling fan running inside the trailer. Also, I decided to make Tambour Doors in the Galley Cabinets. I don't really like slides or doors. This took some long hours of thinking and measuring, but they came out pretty good. I just need to design a detent to keep the Tambour Doors in the open position now.

I could use some advice on tires and wheels if anyone is willing to help. I have the dimensions from my hub face to the trailer wall, and want to buy some nice looking wheels with small 15" tires. Can someone steer me to a good source? Hub to wall dimension is 4 1/8"

[Vedette]

Wow! Your new teardrop is looking just Beautiful!
I used 15" Radial WW tires on Miss Piggy that are nice and narrow. They are very popular with the VW guys. 165's
The wheels I had made to my offset specifications (2 2/7" back space) I think their standard is 3" backspace on a 5" wheel.
They were not expensive at all. Come powder coated in a variety of colours.
Wheel Company is in Morrow Bay California.
PM me for more details.
Good Roads
Brian & Sandi

[steve cowan]

Looks great,very nice work!

Steve

[MontanaTeardrops]

Thanks Vedette and Steve. Vedette, I'm not sure which terms mean what on the wheels. I will call those guys tomorrow on the wheels. I think some of these outfits offer better deals with wheel tire combos.

[Woodbutcher]

Your doing great work, you should be very proud!

[MontanaTeardrops]

Thank you so much for that kind remark Wood Butcher. I don't want to think about how many hours I have in this. I take longer than most people would I think. Especially when I'm changing things in the middle of the project.

[Racquetman]

WOW, nice work!

[S. Heisley]

Your teardrop is well thought out and the details show that you have put much time into it. Good job!

[MontanaTeardrops]

I have to give credit where it's due, to my son David who did all the heavy work for me. I am still dumbfounded by the talent I have seen on this forum, and you people on here inspired me to build my first Teardrop. Thanks everyone, for sharing your ideas and keeping me interested and fired up.

[MontanaTeardrops]

I need to figure out how far back to set my axle. Does anyone have any recommendations on this? I know it has to go back quite a bit to get the fenders away from the doors. I know someone will come back with "There's a lot of information on this" but there may be someone out there with the same specifics I have that I will be working with, so there is no right answer anywhere under the search option. I'm just thinking in a sense that someone that has done this might have a pointer or two to share and possibly save some time.

[tony.latham]

Holy Buckets!

(There's quite a bit of info on this forum concerning axle placement.)

Tony

[MontanaTeardrops]

Holy Buckets!

(There's quite a bit of info on this forum concerning axle placement.)

Tony

Maybe so Tony, but maybe I have a unique situation, or maybe I didn't find what I was looking for. Has anyone here tried polling a teardrop with a UTV or ATV? My original intention was to occasionally pull the Teardrop with my ATV for short distances to get into some places I don't want to take my pickup. I am contemplating mounting the axle so that I can move to different sets of holes in the farm to change axle positions. It would involve taking out 4 bolts that hold the axle assembly to the frame.This is just a thought so far.

[tony.latham]

That's the beauty of shop-built teardrops, they're all unique.

I'd guess you'd want less tongue weight for the UTV? If you're going with a Dexter Torflex, you could weld on two sets of mounting brackets, one in a position for your truck TV and one set forward with UTV in mind.

Here's a thread on axle placement that got my attentions: http://tnttt.com/viewtopic.php?f=35&t=49993

It's got this quote: "According to teardrop rules of thumb (see outback.com) it should be 34.5 from the rear on an 8' trailer, and add 6" for every foot. So for your 5x9 it would be 40.5" from the rear." Outback.com will take you to the steakhouse's website, so dunno about that part of it.

You might try starting a thread specifying your axle placement issue.

'Been cranking on a little 4x8 for my sis. I'd say it's about at the 60% done point.

Tony

[MontanaTeardrops]

I got my aluminum in all bent to hell from CDA in Missoula. I asked them if they drug it over here behind the truck from Spokane. Worst part is, I wasted a 250 mile trip to go get it, then find out they deliver daily to Kalispell. They're bringing new stuff Wednesday, but I had to get .050 for the roof and .040 for the sides. They said the machine is broke down for making .040 5X.

[tony.latham]

That stinks. They're delivering four sheets of 040 over here Wednesday.

Tony