Teardrops n Tiny Travel Trailers

Hey Guys,

Now the excitement of the new trailer is growing thin, I took a long, hard look at the frame of the new trailer and think the welder may have made a boo boo. It's a big thing and I should have noticed it since it's so blatantly obvious but he used aluminum angle for the trailer rails instead of c-channel which would have given the desired flat top to lay my floor. The angle is not going to lend itself to installing the floor so that the side walls hang over the sides of the trailer. Am I screwed? How can I build it so that I can over-hang the walls? I have made more mistakes than I can count in my building efforts but this is the biggest.

Any ideas as to how I can change my design?

Try some wood. A little framing in the angle will fill it nicely.

Sandman,

Don't sweat it... you can use your fancy new trailer.. just like it is...

I don't know what size the angle iron is, but you can lay some 2x2s in there for a subfloor, put plywood over the whole thing overhanging your angle iron, and then attach your sidewalls to your plywood floor. If the plywood floor is too thin for that then just bolt an angle iron on the plywood floor, and bolt your walls to your angle iron...

Here's a quick pic


Mike...

Would the wooden frame make the trailer sit too high...especially for fender placement? Hmmmmmmmm Thanks for the idea, MiriamC.

That's not a real biggie... You could build your walls inside the angle, and paint to match trailer... Or , build your floor thicker to raise above the angle, and cover with your side walls......

JEEZE... Some of you Guys/Gals type real real fast......

We try!!!

Mike...

Micro469 wrote:JEEZE... Some of you Guys/Gals type real real fast......

That’s the same way I made my frame. The floor is inside the frame and the side wall is flush with the outside of the frame, with the siding going over the frame.

sandman wrote:Would the wooden frame make the trailer sit too high...especially for fender placement? Hmmmmmmmm Thanks for the idea, MiriamC.

It shouldn't set any higher that way than it would have if the side rails were C chanel. This will also allow you to add insulation to the floor easily, if you want.

Or you could set your table saw up to the height you need and run your 2x down it so that it sit out flush with the outside of your angle.

The red lines in drawing.



Borrowed Mikes drawing, sorry.

...not a biggie SM...just follow all of what everybody else said...if you fill n with wood, it wont be any higher and it give a good place for the insulation...is other words...what everybody else said.....
madjack

Thanks for all the suggestions and the especially the pic, Mike. I am a very visual guy and pics do me a lot of good in trying to comprehend what folks are trying to tell me. I guess everything is ok then. The angle iron rail is like 2" tall. I put a 2x4 inside the rail and the lip of the angle iron was still taller than the 2x4. I guess I need to rip the 2x4 like 2" tall so it will be fush with the top of the angle iron rails?

I am heading out tomorrow to get some self-etching primer and going to shoot the trailer tomorrow and then paint it black on Saturday. I feel much better now that the brain-trust of the site has given their words of wisdom. And I'll say it again, this is one of the coolest, info-filled forums I have ever been a member of. Can I make some type of donation to the site somewhere to help fund it. I have a Paypal account.

2x2 should do you. REal 2" x 2" not that other stuff.

At the top right corner of the Menu bar is a place for donations.

SM, there is a "donate" button in the top index.......................

Just remember that no project will end up like you have it drawn out on paper. And as these guys pointed out, you're right on track.