Teardrops n Tiny Travel Trailers

Not sure about the tire clearance, but that looks like a real nice design Roger. Just my opinion, but I don't think the trailer is that ugly... coat of paint and it'll look fine... as I say, just my opinion.

Btw... I think someone is smoking inside your second design... seems to be clouds eminating from the vent

Cheers, Dewi

Dr. Hodge is back on the trail…
I read some time back posts by few folks lamenting/complaining about a newbie asking for advice and them falling off the map- something I intend to avoid.
The latest on my trailer:
I removed the extra sheet metal ?steps? and removed the leaf springs/axle. I know there are ‘extra’ springs but they won’t affect ride height.
Now the plan is to eliminate the rust. The plan is angle grinder and wire brush or other attachment.
My crazy neighbor showed me a product that “transforms rust into black primer” Is this complete bovine poo?

RogHodge wrote:Dr. Hodge is back on the trail…
I read some time back posts by few folks lamenting/complaining about a newbie asking for advice and them falling off the map- something I intend to avoid.
The latest on my trailer:
I removed the extra sheet metal ?steps? and removed the leaf springs/axle. I know there are ‘extra’ springs but they won’t affect ride height.
Now the plan is to eliminate the rust. The plan is angle grinder and wire brush or other attachment.
My crazy neighbor showed me a product that “transforms rust into black primer” Is this complete bovine poo?

Roger,
Good to see you back! Don't know about the product your neighbor mentioned, but here's a product that lets you paint right over that rust. I've never priced it, but it's probably $$$.
http://www.por15.com/

There are several products that will turn rust to metal. Most only do light rust so you need to get the heavy stuff off.

POR15 is good stuff. I've never used it myself, but I did quite a bit of research about it a couple of years ago when I was thinking of restoring my grandmothers '69 Dodge Dart. Things didn't pan out with the car but I learned quite a bit about dealing with rust. POR15 is used all the time on rust bucket restorations. It is pricey...

I think on the trailer you may want to do some repairs such as repacking or replacing the bearings, oh and I would definitely replace the missing lug bolt.

Rog,

Where'd ya go

I’m still here- slowly moving along.
Life continues to be active and keep me from working on the trailer- It’s good when I’m busy since busy means clients which means $$$. But it also means I don’t get to play.
I’m going to try to yank the wheel bearings this weekend, and maybe clean up the axle. I would send pictures but it’s not much to see right now.
Burke- good catch on the missing lug bolt- and the PDF threads are great- now I can read through them without going online. No doubt the masses will want to have access to my build thread soon- LOL

Okay I pulled a hub… Outer bearing came out easy, inner bearing?!?! I beat the crap out of the proper places- no wait… I applied pressure to the appropriate location in an amount that I calculated to provide sufficient motivation to unseat the inner ?race? to no avail.
Now what? I guess I could have the local trailer repair people repack the stuff for me. I hate to pay for work that I should be able to do myself.
Any thoughts?
I might post a photo if it would help

I'm going to get blasted for saying this, but I almost never replace the bearing race. I do inspect the race for obvious problems like cracks, major overheating, brinelling and such. I just pack the new bearing and slap it in the hub. But that's me.

Juneaudave wrote:I like the shape a lot just as it is!!!

As far as the flat part goes for the vent...if you have concerns, I would just park the trailer at a slant for storage so it drains or add a little trim to build up the vent mount. This isn't finished or my best trim job, but I epoxied a 1/4 inch thich picture frame onto the roof to set the vent on. I figure that the water can pond quite a bit before it gets past the trim...

I gotta admit...I wish I had curved the corners of the frame to match the vent, but I missed that detail..oops

Not trying to change the thread but I just looked at your album did you do blue prints of you wood TD I loved the wood strips would you bee willing to shear your plans if you have any????

What about me?!?! What about my needs?!?

Well as it turns out if you apply enough pressure enough times things will change. Disassembly of one side complete- might try side #2. Pressing them back in might be a chore. I guess we’ll see. Side 1 looks good.
I don’t know if there is a way to NOT remove the seal to get to the inside bearing. I might never do this again…*Now with photo!*
The cleaner hub shows the inner race pushed out a bit which allowed the bearing to come out. Most thoughts about what to look for or how to proceed are appreciated.

[/img]

RogHodge wrote:What about me?!?! What about my needs?!?

Thanks for the photo, we can all relax now, knowing you're getting trailer work accomplished.

RogHodge wrote: Pressing them back in might be a chore...
I don’t know if there is a way to NOT remove the seal to get to the inside bearing.

Yeah, you have to "remove & replace" the seal to get at the inner bearing. A seal driver set would make the installation infinitely easier.

The new races are trickier. You'll need some sort of "arbor" to allow you to press the race back in. Once again, the seal driver would be an OK choice for this. Here's the tricky part. Put the races in the freezer for an hour or so, you'll want them to be as cold as possible. Clamp the hub in a vise and apply heat with a propane torch to the portion of the hub where the race will go. Get it good and hot. Now...run to the freezer and grab the race (preferably with some pliers, don't let them get warm)...now run back and...hopefully drive it in with no problems. The window of opportunity is pretty short so do it quickly. Good luck!

RogHodge wrote:What about me?!?! What about my needs?!?

Well as it turns out if you apply enough pressure enough times things will change. Disassembly of one side complete- might try side #2. Pressing them back in might be a chore. I guess we’ll see. Side 1 looks good.
I don’t know if there is a way to NOT remove the seal to get to the inside bearing. I might never do this again…*Now with photo!*
The cleaner hub shows the inner race pushed out a bit which allowed the bearing to come out. Most thoughts about what to look for or how to proceed are appreciated.

[/img]

I'm kinda at a loss as to why you would have to force the race out to get the bearing out??? If that were the case you have a serious issue.
In pondering it I think the reason you worked at it so hard is that you used the race to push the seal out????
You want to find something that will just fit thru the hub (a wood dowel or even a square piece of 2x2 trimmed down to fit) from the front side and stuff it in there and pop it with a hammer a few times...the bearing will drive the seal out and fall out without any interaction with the race.