Anyone built a bolted angle iron frame...

[BobR]

I would like to see pictures of a bolted together angle iron frame (not HFor Red trailer). I thought I saw one in a thread a while back but can't seem to find it now.

[toypusher]

Check out this build: http://pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/guffdrop/album?.dir=5fdf&.src=ph

or this pic:

[BobR]

Kerry

Thanks, thats the one I was looking for...

[doug hodder]

Jerome Guffey just finished up his latest build and pulled it across the country....all bolted up....Doug

[BobR]

Thanks Doug...I have been in contact with Jerome.

[Finntec]

We used a bolt together trailer. It was sold at Pep Boys. I would not use the frame again. Reason: I had to place shims under the cross member pieces to support the floor. The bolt heads caused the floor to have to be routed out to make it flush with the trailer frame. Other than that, it worked out well.

[Laredo]

Okay, cluelessness running riot.

Rather than shimming the underfloor members, why not use longer bolts and countersink the nuts & lockwashers into the finished floor? Wouldn't that add overall strength?

[toypusher]

Have a look at this drawing to help understand what the shim was for.

[Laredo]

Oh, I see.

No, that' s not what i thought you meant at all. My bad.

[Finntec]

I actually did both. I countersunk the floor, and shimmed the frame. His pictures do show (very well) why this is needed. I hope that helped too. -Ray

[Arne]

I had the same shim thing with the h/f 1800 trailer.. Home depot paint sticks worked well... they don't have to go from side to side, as I used 3/4 decking, so a couple spaced out on each x-member worked fine...

[toypusher]

I only shimmed the center of the rear crossmember. It was the only place that it really mattered for anything to fit correctly. I probably should have done all of them, but did not realize that it was a problem until I was putting the lower cabinets in the galley. It also created a problem with the hatch sealing correctly along the bottom center. A piece of 1/16" x 1/2" aluminum about 10" long did the trick.

[TomS]

I encountered a similar problem with my Red Trailer frame. I didn't shim the cross members. I assumed the floor assembly wouldn't deflect when bolted it down to the trailer frame. I was wrong.

It didn't notice any problems until I installed the lower bulkhead. That's when I found a very slight dip across the width of my floor. It didn't affect my hatch fit. And, I don't notice it when sleeping on my mattress. I had to do some shimming when I installed lower galey frames.

Of course if I had to do it all over again, I'd shim those cross members. But, it' certiantly wasn't worth ripping out the flloor and sidewalls.

[bdosborn]

Tom,
Same thing happened to me. I read about the paint sticks about a week after I'd put the deck on but it had already sagged down to the crossmembers by then. I just kept going and filed it under "to do on next trailer..."
Bruce

[Arne]

Bruce, my dog saw your avatar and wants me to buy a convertible.../g/

I've often thought when wracking my brain trying to do anything, it would be nice to help someone else do 'theirs' and then go home and do 'mine'. No where does hold more true than building a tear.

My next one will be 'perfect'.... It will be lighter, more aerodynamic (so much so, it might even help push my van up hills), better layed out, etc.... It will have a shower, a full bathroom, be 3 feet shorter.... oh, and a mud room.. I hate sand in the bed.