Aero-1, the build....

[Arne]

Added another paragraph to page 11 with 5 pix (I think).

Another 'guess what' clue, spare tire mount and first roll-out pic.

Still to do:

finish wiring running lights....

fenders; figure out what I'm going to do about them. Once I figure out what 'them' are even going to be....

Axle, remove and paint.....

Rear of tear: what to put on it so people stay back and don't hit me.. It is built too light to take any punishment...

Install Battery Tender to keep battery charged....

The interior is finished, and in the next few days, the bed will be made up. After that, I'll be heading to VT in 2 weeks for it's maiden voyage.

[Hoosier Greg]

Arne.
I like very much the way you mounted the spare tire.
Having experience with exposed locks on my Tear drop dog kennel . I think you will have as much trouble as I did if not more with exposed locks . Due to road grime getting in the key way of the lock.

Just a thought.
Greg.

[Arne]

Nope... the lock is wrapped with electrical tape... It wraps around it twice, around the key hole and up through the hasp.... when I need to remove the lock, I just cut the tape on one side, peel it off, and the lock it good to go. On tear no. 1, I had the lock in place for three years.... when I removed the spare, the lock opened up no problem..

Also, yes, there is some road grime, but I don't think any water gets up there. The bottom of tear no. 1 after 30k miles was quite clean.. almost as good as new.

I always carry at least one roll of black elect. tape in my glove box... saved my bacon on more than one occasion. Right now, I took a look and there are 3 rolls in there... Only one full one...

[Hoosier Greg]

Well ok. As long as you have your basis covered..

Greg.

[Arne]

I'll let you know next time I have to take the spare off..... :}

I agree it could be a problem, but this one does not get rained on and the tape keeps the grim out, so I think I'm ok..

---

I'm going to add a few pix... I painted the axle with rustoleum. I can not believe how well it went on.. the primer dried quickly as promised... and the red should be okay to touch in an hour or two... used to take overnight... and it looks really good.

oh, and the final pic of the 'guess what'. Bottom of page 11.

[Hoosier Greg]

Like I said . I like the clever way you went about finding the right spot for the spare tire. I'll be checking to see if there is enough room under my trailer to mount a 14" or possibly a 15" spare..

You're one clever fellow Arne.I like your trailer and the thought that went in to it...
Best, Greg.

[Arne]

Greg, keep it as close to the axle as you can. That gives you max clearance.

[Arne]

Aero-1 has to be ready by the 18th of this month. Given shipping times, had to figure out what to do about fenders.... spent a couple of hours and finally found several motorcycle trailers with nice looking diamond plate aluminum fenders on them... called one mfgr and asked about buy fenders from him.... he asked me; "do you see fenders for sale on my site"... I said, no, but was wondering if I could get a couple.....

He said, "northerntool.com" and hung up on me.....

So, went to northerntool.com and found these... and ordered a pair. They should be 'reasonably' simple to mount, and that is the last order of business out of the way..... They are too big, but hope I can cut the legs down to make them more presentable....

[Hoosier Greg]

Arne.
How will you mount the fenders,bolt through the interior skin? I'm assuming the interior of your build has been completed.
Greg

[Arne]

I'll build some mounts from flat stock and bolt them to the frame. If I need it, I will put one bolt through the body at the underside of the top of the fender.. The bolt will be buried in the wall and not visible from inside.

If I do need the top bolt and can not locate it on a wall stud, I'll do something similar to the spare. I'll bore a hole in the wall and epoxy in a 1.5" wooden plug. Then drill and counter sink the bolt (stainless steel) and plug the top. Paint over it and it will become invisible.

[Arne]

Added misc. pix to bottom of page 11. Including interior shelf, trailer running light wiring and sealing t/d body to frame.

I am going to be building galley drawers today and mounting clearance lights (which I had forgotten all about).....

The fenders should be here next week, and they will be the end of the phase 1 of the build.

Other things will be handled as they arise...

In other words, for all practical purposes.... I will be done..!!

[Arne]

finished up trailer wires and having little else to do while waiting for fenders, decided to build galley drawers.

Still have to have finishing applied, but building was all done today... came out nice with a few minor glitches....

Have first coat of poly on them, with finish up tomorrow. page 12, first paragraph.

[Arne]

Added paragraph to page 12. "The end is in sight".

Except for fenders and a bit of touch up painting on the frame (and making up the bed), Aero-1 is done and road-worthy.

It tows very well. I'm going to get it weighed and expect it to be under 1k pounds. The van accelerates and brakes much better with this tear. On the highway, it handles very nicely.

First trip to VT is scheduled for the 18th of this month. By then, the fenders should have arrived and be mounted.......

Total cost, about $2k.... including petcool.

Now, I can get back to a normal kind of life.

[01Sport]

Congrats Arne, I can't wait to be that close to being done.

[Arne]

Thank you. With me, the excitement of the build wears off after I'm about 60-70% done... after that it becomes a chore to finish. It's still fun, but not as much as in the beginning.. I'm hoping the fenders get here in time. It dawned on me they may come by truck which would take longer..

I converted the garage from a work shop back to a place to park cars yesterday. I've put a few fun pix at the bottom of page 12 (with an explanation of why I have to back my van in).

The tear came out great and I'm definitely looking forward to doing some traveling.... a few minor finishing details, like painting the inside of the black plastic taillights white so they will be brighter, and of course, the fenders.

Will post a few more pix as I get those things done.

Also, next year's project will be to tidy up the exterior. I have a lot of dimples from the brad nailer and a few seams to fix up. I didn't want to take the time to make the outside finish perfect, that can be done when I get back in the mood.. since it's painted on the outside. The inside I spent more time getting right, since I don't want to have to move the mattress out for a while.