7 x 14 Trail Boss

[hankaye]

Stormcrow, Howdy;

Is that your Safety Officer in the last photo? I'd follow any recommendations.

hank

[Stormcrow]

Stormcrow, Howdy;

Is that your Safety Officer in the last photo? I'd follow any recommendations.

hank

Safety Officer, Security Supervisor, and all around Good Boy!

[Stormcrow]

It seems Mother Nature has decided to provide Phoenix’s average annual rainfall in the course of this week alone. Getting that out of the way early this year, I suppose. Unfortunately this kind of put a damper on my plans. So instead painting it outside - I rigged up a sort of temporary, poor-man paint booth:





Kind of kooky, but got the job done. Primer coat:



A run here or there, but this isn’t exactly a show car. Good enough to keep rust to a minimum. Oh, almost forgot the safety chains. Threw those on last-minute before starting all the painting shenanigans.






Will wait a couple days to let it cure before doing any more work to/around it. Wiring is up next along with sourcing a new axle replacement.

[Stormcrow]

Productive weekend on the trailer. Removed and replaced the bad axle with a new one, including the spring-over conversion. No pics, it’s pretty much exactly the same as the first time I did it…grrr. Kind of annoying to have to re-do things, but I guess you live and you learn. That being done I moved on to the electrical portion of the program.



Salvaged the original connector and made a new 7-pin harness from the truck back to the junction box. Pulled all the wiring through the conduit. A buddy showed to help and found out that the trailer jack handle was about ready to fall off. So he fixed that while I continued to solder and heat shrink connections.

Didn’t think to take pics of the broken handle until it was welded back together and cleaned up. It broke at the thin points where the roll pin passes through the bar. The pin is what connects the handle shaft to the gear, allowing it to rotate together.


The handle was bent so he broke out the torch to straighten it out a bit




Installed back into the jack. Glad this was found at home and not out on the road.


Got a little more background story on the trailer incident…turns out it when the wheel bearing blew it not only took a hop, but that hop was into a nearby ditch. That would explain the trashed spindles and the tongue being bent upwards. Probably also what bent/broke the jack handle. I think everything related to the crash has been fixed or replaced. New axles, tires, and tongue…should be good to go.

Managed to finish the wiring enough to test it out and de-bug a thing or two. My buddy has a 2008 Silverado 2500 with a built in brake controller, but for some reason the truck isn’t registering the trailer. Everything else is working, including the break-away kit for the brakes. He’s towed other trailers with electric brakes without an issue, not sure what the problem is. Took it out for a test trip around the block and seemed to tow fine. Parked it back in the shop and called it a night.

Tonight I’ll put it back on the lift, inspect welds and such, verify all bolts are tight, and button up the wiring cosmetics.

[Stormcrow]

Odd…Photobucket decided to delete the last two days worth of pictures I downloaded. Had to go back, re-upload, and edit the posts?

Wrapped things up last night – mostly cosmetic wiring and double-checking bolt tightness and making sure my weld joints aren't ready to fall apart.

Started with the wiring and adding loom for protection and to make it look clean.


Inside the box – wiring junction and brake battery before


All done


Good enough to tow stuff




Might not have been 100% necessary, but added some protection to the brake wiring, too. Actually glad I did because the second I touched one of the wires the factory crimp connector fell off. So took the other one off and soldered/shrink wrapped them. I also added a weatherpack connector to the one side for easy disconnect in case I needed to remove the axle yet again.


The trailer is good enough to haul stuff and take camping here in a couple weeks. Time to start tinkering on the quads and wrap up a couple other projects until it’s time to put some more time and money into the trailer. This should be my last update for a while, thanks for tuning in!

[Stormcrow]

Back from the weekend camping trip in the Chiricahua’s and everything was good. A little chilly at night but nothing a good campfire and a couple sleeping bags didn’t fix.


Traded in the 1500 for a 2500. Truck and trailer towed great with no problems.


Hitch/coupler set-up. The adjustable ball mount was a gift from my folks. That thing is a beast! The safety chain clip quick links wouldn’t fit on the new heavy duty hitch so had to use the hooks off my M101A3 trailer.


Didn’t really have a good place for the emergency brake cable, so made this little bracket and bolted it to the bottom of the hitch.


Also swapped the older incandescent dome light for an LED version. Brought an extra car battery and temporarily wired it directly into the wiring junction box so we had light without needing the truck to be plugged in. Didn’t get any pictures of the trailer packed up, so imagine this plus another quad and various totes, coolers, chairs, and sleeping bags stuffed on either side of the quads. Messy but got the job done.


At camp.


Bare-bones inside, but still better than a tent!


Simple kitchen set-up


That's about all for now. Still tons of work I'd like to get done to the trailer but think I'll switch gears and work on a couple other projects I've been putting off for a while. Thanks for stopping by!

[wanabxtrm]

Glad to hear post repairs it rode well. I'm curious how you aligned the axles when you did the spring over conversion. I assume the spring mount location wouldn't change and all you need to align is the axle perch directly over the existing lower perch, ensuring its perpendicular to the axle?

Any other lessons learned on it?

Thanks,

[Stormcrow]

Glad to hear post repairs it rode well. I'm curious how you aligned the axles when you did the spring over conversion. I assume the spring mount location wouldn't change and all you need to align is the axle perch directly over the existing lower perch, ensuring its perpendicular to the axle?

Any other lessons learned on it?

Thanks,

Hello wanabxtrm – first off…nice work on your trailer! It looks like you and the family are getting some good use out of it!

Regarding axle alignment –After centering the new perch over the old one I used a set of digital calipers to ensure the old and new spring mounting surfaces were parallel to each other. The new perches have bolts welded inside at each end, and with the coupler nuts it makes for simple adjustments.
Considering the nature of the parts - I’m sure that none of these surfaces are 100% flat and true, so getting the perches parallel within +/- .005 on a set of cheap calipers should be “good enough” for non-aerospace applications.


Lessons Learned? Absolutely.

A vented heater got bumped up on the priority list. I have a Mr. Heater/cooker unit that works great for pre-heating prior to sleepy time, but always worried about not waking up in the morning if left on for too long.

A 4” thick piece of memory foam wasn’t enough for sleeping on the deck. Maybe it was old? It compressed enough to make it uncomfortable. Had to roll over frequently to ease hip pains. This is making me second-guess my original fold-up bunk plans, which was going to basically use the same material and thickness. Maybe not memory foam and something a bit denser?

Those cheap, aluminum, stabilizer stands work great. The increased felt stability is worth the minimal effort of putting one at each corner.

[Stormcrow]

Hello Folks,

Been a while since my last post, where does the time go? Been using the trailer as intended – mostly it stores the quads but also serves as a cargo trailer, helping to move people or larger stuff for myself. I’ve also used it for camping, basically just a bare metal tent on wheels. But now I’m at a point where I’d like to put a little money, time, and materials towards some improvements. Really the catalyst is that I’m heading down to Mexico in June and camping on the beach. The spot has full hook-ups so I’d like to run A/C as it can get a bit hot there. I plan on heading out today after work and picking up an 8k btu window A/C unit. This will be installed on the street-side trailer wall.

This is currently what I’m working with, pretty much still a blank slate:
20180424_192559

The first thing I’m looking at addressing is this pre-existing condition:
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Standard two-outlet box, by itself nothing unusual. What I’m a little puzzled by is what’s on the outside of the trailer:
20180424_192339

So why would you do this? To plug the trailer in, I’m envisioning an extension cord with two male ends which to me just seems like not such a good idea. I’m considering removal of this assembly and enlarging the hole slightly to temporarily allow pass-through of a standard extension cord to run the A/C unit (and maybe a USB charger) from the inside of the trailer. Temporary measure until full electrical set-up is installed. Possibly use that hole for a future outside shower or some such. Before I tear it out, am I missing something? Any reason to keep it?

And while I’m asking questions, what is your opinion on this – I think it’s just a rub-rail and/or for tie-downs. At least that’s what I’ve been using it for. The 1” square tube is welded to the inside of the internal frame-work: 20180429_092943

20180429_092954



I’d like to add insulation and put up some interior walls and this kind of complicates things. I was considering cutting this rail off, sectioning it, and welding it back flush in between the vertical studs. Additionally I would add another set of horizontal tube sections above or below it so I can sheet-metal-screw some e-track in its place. I like having the attachment points. Good idea, bad idea, just personal preference? I do a bit of reading on these subjects, but value your real-world trailering experience and viewpoints.

Thanks for your time and input!

[Ol' D]

Stormcrow,
Hi , I like your trailer, it has nice possibilities . With the receptacles you could bring in a power entry above or below the receptacles and run power to the inside receptacle and daisy chain the outer one from the inside giving you a power outlet inside and out. I would suggest that you change out the first receptacle with a GFCI one.

[Stormcrow]

Stormcrow,
Hi , I like your trailer, it has nice possibilities . With the receptacles you could bring in a power entry above or below the receptacles and run power to the inside receptacle and daisy chain the outer one from the inside giving you a power outlet inside and out. I would suggest that you change out the first receptacle with a GFCI one.

Ol’D – This is why I ask questions - I had not thought of that! Appreciate the feedback. I had not planned on having external power, but it gives me something to consider, thank you!


So picked up the A/C unit:
20180430_172353

I was originally going to buy one of those RV cargo hatches and install that for the opening in the side of the trailer…but then thought: “Nah, way too easy. There’s got to be a way to over-complicate this and make more work out of it.” So basically my plan is to make a hatch out of angle-iron and bolt that to the internal frame-work of the trailer. This should be a modular concept, allowing me to use it for the A/C, or just put a window-screen in there for nice weather, and when it gets cold, a different insert for a heating exhaust vent.

Getting started: Measured, cut, squared, and in place to weld
20180502_185424

Welds blended flush (except the inside corners there) and corners rounded off
20180503_174718

So now it’s time to make the stop, or frame-within-the frame. This is where the hatch plate will seal against. It’s just half-inch square tube cut to size and tacked in place
20180503_190700

20180503_191213

Checking it against the A/C unit. I made it about 1” larger overall, leaving ½” on all sides for wiggle-room. Figured any gaps would be filled with weather-stripping of some sort.
20180503_191048

That’s as far as I’ve gotten so far, hopefully will have some time this weekend to weld it up and drill some holes.

[hankaye]

Stormcrow, Howdy;

Good to see another Tim "The Tool Man" Taylor join the crew. Always interesting to
watch as they fabulate something wondermus.

hank

[Iconfabul8]

Nice work, it is always nice to see someone else doing the steel fab thing!

[Stormcrow]

Stormcrow, Howdy;

Good to see another Tim "The Tool Man" Taylor join the crew. Always interesting to
watch as they fabulate something wondermus.

hank

Not sure I’m quite up to Tim’s standards. I feel more like: Todd “I-Hope-This-Works” the Tinkerer. Thanks for following along and as always the comments, criticisms, and suggestions are appreciated!

Nice work, it is always nice to see someone else doing the steel fab thing!

Thank you! Metal work I’m familiar with, but unfortunately the pounds add up the more you put into the trailer. Hopefully I can incorporate some aluminum work into this project, unfortunately I just don’t have a lot of experience in carpentry. I suppose I’ll have to hobble through it eventually, though.


Have been doing a little bit here and there after work, temps are back in the 100+ category and it’s a bit sweaty in the shop.

Welded up the ½” tubes inside the frame:
20180506_175331

Drilled the holes that will mount the frame to the trailer and then squared them for the carriage bolts
20180508_171008

20180508_171022

Cut some sections of 1” tube that will make the interior framework of the trailer where the hatch-frame will bolt to. Lined it up with the hatch and drilled matching holes for them to bolt together. Once the new interior framework has been completed I’ll weld it in place and that should be my guide for cutting a big hole in the side of the trailer.
20180508_174844

20180508_175302

[hankaye]

Stormcrow, Howdy;

Another impressive build with all sorts of metal fab work going on, I feel so inadequate ...

Yup, 7 month Summer startin' had our first 100° day yesterday again today ... an the ''lectric meter
goes roundy-go-roundy faster an faster day after day BUT! On the bright side, it's
a dry heat only 8% humidity.

hank