Teardrops n Tiny Travel Trailers

by **elmo** » Mon Mar 19, 2007 3:21 pm

I personally think 6 is more than enough...one each corner and 2 in the middle. Some truck beds are only held on by 4.

How many is enough? How many did you use?

by **sandman** » Mon Mar 19, 2007 3:34 pm

Excellent question, Elmo. I am just about to bolt my floor to my trailer today or tomorrow and was wondering the same thing. I was thinking about 8-4 on each side. I wonder what would be the best size to use 1/2". 3/8"?? Sorry, didn't mean to hijack your post.

by **elmo** » Mon Mar 19, 2007 3:44 pm

sandman wrote:Excellent question, Elmo. I am just about to bolt my floor to my trailer today or tomorrow and was wondering the same thing. I was thinking about 8-4 on each side. I wonder what would be the best size to use 1/2". 3/8"?? Sorry, didn't mean to hijack your post.

No problem...I have hijacked a bunch of threads...mostly my own! :lol:

By the way...did you wire your trailer yet? I used the same RV converter thing you bought...boy did that make it nice, easy and clean looking.

by **sandman** » Mon Mar 19, 2007 3:51 pm

Dude, I am not even at that stage yet since I had to start over..lol. I ended up having to recut a wall when I tripped in my shop and fell onto the wall right after I had attached it to the floor several weeks ago. I just finished painting my custom made 6x12 trailer this morning. I have been waiting for good painting weather for days. I started painting on Friday and just did little by little and finally finished it this morning. As soon as the paint hardens up, it's time for the walls once again.

Did you get a Parallax Power Center like I bought off Ebay?

by **elmo** » Mon Mar 19, 2007 3:58 pm

sandman wrote:Dude, I am not even at that stage yet since I had to start over..lol. I ended up having to recut a wall when I tripped in my shop and fell onto the wall right after I had attached it to the floor several weeks ago. I just finished painting my custom made 6x12 trailer this morning. I have been waiting for good painting weather for days. I started painting on Friday and just did little by little and finally finished it this morning. As soon as the paint hardens up, it's time for the walls once again.

Did you get a Parallax Power Center like I bought off Ebay?

Same one...I was thinking about getting it about the same time you got yours. Pretty straight forward and looks good!

Sorry not the best picture, but you get the idea. The unpainted wood frame next to it is for the battery and all the wiring is behind it.

by **tonyj** » Mon Mar 19, 2007 4:15 pm

I don't have the technical info to answer (Andrew will probably pipe in!), but I think it will not necessarily be the number, but the combination of the grade of bolt, size of bolt, number of bolts, and weight of the box on the frame.

The worry is not that the box will blow off (if it did, you're using waaay too small bolts, dude!), but the shear strength of the bolts should there be a "driving speed" to "zero speed" incident that would make the weight of the box want to leave the frame and visit the inside of your vehicle. The next variable would be whether or not the sides stay affixed to the floor assuming the floor to frame bolts held.

Since I don't have the technical info to come up with the correct grade and sizing, I erred on the overbuilt side (I hope!) and fastened my floor to frame with 12, 3/8 inch grade 8 bolts spaced equidistant around the perimeter of the frame. I applied roofing emulsion to the top of the frame before laying the floor on it, so I think I get some additional adhesion strength there as well.

Not to leave the proper engineering out, I wanted to make sure that if the box left the frame, more than likely whatever I had just run into had already killed me. Like the old "bug hitting the windshield joke," I didn't want the last thing going through my mind to be my trailer.

by **Miriam C.** » Mon Mar 19, 2007 4:21 pm

Did mine like Tony's. 12, 3/8. Put 4 on top and bottom and 4 on each side. I may put some more in the middle. Can't hurt and doesn't weigh that much.

by **Denny Unfried** » Mon Mar 19, 2007 4:23 pm

An important decision is the type of bolt used. I used (six) 3/8" carriage bolts with fender washers through the 3/4" plywood. With such a large footprint on the wood there is little chance of the bolts pulling through. I then used two nuts locked together on the bottom side to secure.

Another good choice would be elevator bolts which have large heads.

by **Micro469** » Mon Mar 19, 2007 4:35 pm

tonyj wrote:I don't have the technical info to answer (Andrew will probably pipe in!), but I think it will not necessarily be the number, but the combination of the grade of bolt, size of bolt, number of bolts, and weight of the box on the frame.

The worry is not that the box will blow off (if it did, you're using waaay too small bolts, dude!), but the shear strength of the bolts should there be a "driving speed" to "zero speed" incident that would make the weight of the box want to leave the frame and visit the inside of your vehicle. The next variable would be whether or not the sides stay affixed to the floor assuming the floor to frame bolts held.
Since I don't have the technical info to come up with the correct grade and sizing, I erred on the overbuilt side (I hope!) and fastened my floor to frame with 12, 3/8 inch grade 8 bolts spaced equidistant around the perimeter of the frame. I applied roofing emulsion to the top of the frame before laying the floor on it, so I think I get some additional adhesion strength there as well.

Not to leave the proper engineering out, I wanted to make sure that if the box left the frame, more than likely whatever I had just run into had already killed me. Like the old "bug hitting the windshield joke," I didn't want the last thing going through my mind to be my trailer.

If I go from "driving speed" to "zero speed" I assume I've been hit by a Mack truck..... The last thing I'll be worrying about is the trailer. By the way... does Madjack drive a Mack?????? :roll:

by **tonyj** » Mon Mar 19, 2007 4:40 pm

That was kinda my point. If I am saved by the air bag, I don't want my trailer wapping me on the back of the head because I didn't buy a few more bolts. I figured that was the safety issue. If the trailer blew off the frame while I was driving, I was gonna scurry on down the road an a hurry so I wouldn't have to pick up the mess. That reminds me--I need to steal a license plate just for that reason--no identifying marks! :lol:

by **elmo** » Mon Mar 19, 2007 5:18 pm

Denny Unfried wrote:An important decision is the type of bolt used. I used (six) 3/8" carriage bolts with fender washers through the 3/4" plywood. With such a large footprint on the wood there is little chance of the bolts pulling through. I then used two nuts locked together on the bottom side to secure.

Another good choice would be elevator bolts which have large heads.

This pretty much what I have planned on, using the elevator bolts.

by **Joseph** » Mon Mar 19, 2007 6:06 pm

I used a bunch of stainless steel wood screws.

Joseph

by **Micro469** » Mon Mar 19, 2007 6:40 pm

Joseph wrote:I used a bunch of stainless steel wood screws.

Joseph

Most utility trailers have the floors screwed on. Don't know about a fullsized mini trailer tho.... :roll:

by **bledsoe3** » Tue Mar 20, 2007 2:02 am

I used 10 3/8" carriage bolts with fender washers and Nyloc's. Two on each end and three on each side. I welded metal tabs (pieces of angle iron) to the inside of the frame and drilled through the floor and the tabs.

by **asianflava** » Tue Mar 20, 2007 2:18 am

I used 8 3/8 in bolts

Teardrops n Tiny Travel Trailers

How many bolts are needed to hold the TD to the trailer?

How many bolts are needed to hold the TD to the trailer?

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