Widening existing trailer
Posted: Tue May 24, 2005 12:48 pmAnyone out there tried to widen the 4' Harbor Freight trailer to 5"? Any solutions?
don't know if my site still exists, but try here:
www.freewebs.com/arnereil
Teardrops n Tiny Travel Trailers
or t n ttt for short (tnttt.com)
https://www.tnttt.com/
Widening existing trailer
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Posted: Tue May 24, 2005 12:48 pmPosted: Tue May 24, 2005 4:11 pmPosted: Tue May 24, 2005 4:27 pmArne,
It looks like it's still there...
Still working on the photo issue though...
Mike...
It looks like it's still there...
Still working on the photo issue though...
Mike...
Posted: Tue May 24, 2005 4:55 pmThanks arneriel. Your pictures did the trick. That was my second choice, until I tried to find C-channel to match that on the frame. 
I think you did the right thing. 
I'm going to run a 3" x 3" pipe from the center most crossbeam to the trailer hitch. I plan on extending the beams which were originally holding the hitch and welding them to the new hitch beam for lateral support. The new beam will extend 51" in front of the trailer frame which will give me room for a large box for battery and propane tank. 
Have you been happy with your solution?
I think you did the right thing. I'm going to run a 3" x 3" pipe from the center most crossbeam to the trailer hitch. I plan on extending the beams which were originally holding the hitch and welding them to the new hitch beam for lateral support. The new beam will extend 51" in front of the trailer frame which will give me room for a large box for battery and propane tank. Have you been happy with your solution?Posted: Tue May 24, 2005 5:46 pmI found out about tear drop trailers 5 weeks before our 1 month trip. I started building 1-1/2 weeks later and finished one day late....
The trailer has no major flaws.... I did just add the a/c, but time did not permit it before..... I also recently moved the axle forward 4 inches to lighten the tongue weight a bit (from 130# to 110 or so).
given the rapidity of the build (no galley btw), I'm pleased with it... the widening worked very well... making the bed is a bit 'snug' as the inside width and the mattress width are the same....
I also added a 'below deck' 12v battery... and only need a couple of reading lights and that's it...... I consider the h/f 1800 a great base for a tear... I did put the axle on top of the spring recently. that drops the height of the tear by 3 inches...
Oh..... I wish I had made it 120 inches long instead of 104.... but that's about it....
If you put your axle on top of the spring, which is not difficult, you do have to notch the spring mounting bracket (but not the trailer frame). I think Mike has a good pic of the notching available. Again, you do not notch the trailer frame, just the spring mounting plate.....
Right now, the tear has over 7,000 miles on it.. it was built 8 months ago. First trip was 5,000 miles, then 2,000 miles, most recent, 400 miles... no problems..
The trailer has no major flaws.... I did just add the a/c, but time did not permit it before..... I also recently moved the axle forward 4 inches to lighten the tongue weight a bit (from 130# to 110 or so).
given the rapidity of the build (no galley btw), I'm pleased with it... the widening worked very well... making the bed is a bit 'snug' as the inside width and the mattress width are the same....
I also added a 'below deck' 12v battery... and only need a couple of reading lights and that's it...... I consider the h/f 1800 a great base for a tear... I did put the axle on top of the spring recently. that drops the height of the tear by 3 inches...
Oh..... I wish I had made it 120 inches long instead of 104.... but that's about it....
If you put your axle on top of the spring, which is not difficult, you do have to notch the spring mounting bracket (but not the trailer frame). I think Mike has a good pic of the notching available. Again, you do not notch the trailer frame, just the spring mounting plate.....
Right now, the tear has over 7,000 miles on it.. it was built 8 months ago. First trip was 5,000 miles, then 2,000 miles, most recent, 400 miles... no problems..
Posted: Tue May 24, 2005 5:50 pmIs this the one you are thinking of?
Mike...
Mike...
Posted: Tue May 24, 2005 6:50 pmI think it was a close up, or maybe I made a close up of that one...
btw, I can't bring my photos from my album in. Has anything changed?
I highlight the url, copy it into the note, then highlight the url and click on img, but the pic does not show up.....
like this...
Tried to put this elsewhere as it shows the two powerstrips I have installed...
btw, I can't bring my photos from my album in. Has anything changed?
I highlight the url, copy it into the note, then highlight the url and click on img, but the pic does not show up.....
like this...
Tried to put this elsewhere as it shows the two powerstrips I have installed...
Posted: Tue May 24, 2005 6:52 pmI've been changing code and testing all evening. Something changed, but I can't figure out what....
In the meanwhile, all you can do is post your link without the img tags...
http://tnttt.com/album_ ... ic_id=1503
Sorry...
Mike...
In the meanwhile, all you can do is post your link without the img tags...
http://tnttt.com/album_ ... ic_id=1503
Sorry...
Mike...
Posted: Tue May 24, 2005 7:53 pmmikeschn wrote:I've been changing code and testing all evening. Something changed, but I can't figure out what....
In the meanwhile, all you can do is post your link without the img tags...
http://tnttt.com/album_ ... ic_id=1503
Sorry...
Mike...
Mike,
What Dean did for my picture posting problem was change the word "page" in the URL to "pic" and the photo loaded fine.
Posted: Tue May 24, 2005 10:49 pmarnereil,
Thanks for the info. Think that's the route I'll be taking. Haven't decided on the exact length yet. My girlfriend and I are leaning toward a Modernistic/Cub style, we think. But we are going to be in attendance at Minden, so we'll get a chance to look, touch and swim in the glory of teardrop trailers...... 
........so I imagine we'll come home with some definate opinions. As far as the axel, we are planning on trading out the spring axel for a torsion so we don't tear up the nice extras we are hoping to install. I'm a custom furniture builder and pretty much the perfectionist, so I doubt we'll have a trailer to use as quickly as you managed. (shortcoming on my part)
Thanks for the info. Think that's the route I'll be taking. Haven't decided on the exact length yet. My girlfriend and I are leaning toward a Modernistic/Cub style, we think.
But we are going to be in attendance at Minden, so we'll get a chance to look, touch and swim in the glory of teardrop trailers...... ........so I imagine we'll come home with some definate opinions. As far as the axel, we are planning on trading out the spring axel for a torsion so we don't tear up the nice extras we are hoping to install. I'm a custom furniture builder and pretty much the perfectionist, so I doubt we'll have a trailer to use as quickly as you managed. (shortcoming on my part) Posted: Wed May 25, 2005 2:28 amKevin A wrote:mikeschn wrote:I've been changing code and testing all evening. Something changed, but I can't figure out what....
In the meanwhile, all you can do is post your link without the img tags...
http://tnttt.com/album_ ... ic_id=1503
Sorry...
Mike...
Mike,
What Dean did for my picture posting problem was change the word "page" in the URL to "pic" and the photo loaded fine.
Son of a gun! That works!!!
Mike...
Posted: Thu May 26, 2005 9:10 amHere's another way to widen a 4' HF trailer...
http://tnttt.com/viewtopic.php?p=91#91
Mike...
P.S. too bad Roger & Mary's site is no longer on the web. Ross, do you know if they have a new website?
http://tnttt.com/viewtopic.php?p=91#91
Mike...
P.S. too bad Roger & Mary's site is no longer on the web. Ross, do you know if they have a new website?
Posted: Thu May 26, 2005 9:21 amAh! Good news... I found Roger and Mary's Teardrop on a Yahoo photo album... you can see it here...
http://pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/rlchurch2 ... /my_photos
Mike...
http://pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/rlchurch2 ... /my_photos
Mike...
Posted: Thu May 26, 2005 9:21 amYes, Mike, that was my first choice, and I may yet do it that way. It just seemed, initially, like a lot of extra welding................but then............at least I wouldn't have to cut every cross-member on my trailer to get what I wanted, huh? 