Hybrid Foamie in Southern Alberta

[Shar]

Back from our first road trip with our trailer! We traveled just over 5,000 miles in 16 days, and spent nights in ten different towns and cities as we visited Mark's relatives. Some of his family invited us to use their guest rooms, but I told them, "Thanks, but I'm like a kid with a new toy. I want to sleep in my trailer!"

The trailer was perfectly watertight, no leaking anywhere. The first night, however, we discovered that mosquitos could get around the edges of the door! In the morning we visited a hardware store and bought some weatherstripping, which solved that problem. Then it turned out there was a gap in our commercially made windows, which let them in! I covered that gap with masking tape for the duration of the trip- I will have to think of a more permanent solution. We had no trouble with bugs after that.

Our gas mileage was 18 miles/gallon. I had hoped for better, but perhaps that will improve next spring, when I build that wind deflector in front.

On the trip back, I detected one other problem; the tread is wearing off the tires. I have posted a photo of this. We are trying to figure out why they're wearing out so soon. As you notice, the inner side of the tire is wearing off first. Any suggestions?

[GoTurtleGo]

What a nice foamie! Good job. And what a great trip. That was a major test of success. I am thinking that the build went faster than normal.

I particularly learned a lot because I would be towing with my old Subaru outback - all that business with connectors and lights.

Here is a toast in your honor! Cheers.

[Shar]

Thanks, GoTurtle! As far as the time it took me to make it, I started thinking about it last fall, spent the winter researching and sourcing materials (and buying some of them) and then built it in a frenzied 3-4 months in which the rest of my life fell into a state of neglect. I would have preferred to go at a more leisurely pace, but we had that trip planned (and no garage), so...that's how it went.

I would recommend taking your time, but if you have a deadline, you might end up being a trailer slave like I did.

The great thing is, whichever way we do it, we have many years afterward to enjoy using the trailer. I can hardly wait for our first "real camping" trip where we get to chill at a campsite, cook outdoors, and all that good stuff.

[Shar]

We just got back from a camping trip, the last weekend of the season here in Alberta. The temperatures went down to 5 degrees above freezing at night, but were mild during the day. We kept warm at night with piles of duvets on top of us! The insulated floor of our trailer seems to have worked well; we didn't feel any cold from that direction. Next year I might bring a small heater with us, if we stay at campsites with electricity. Let the adventures begin!

[IamJerryP]

Just read this thread, enjoyed the pictures, and commentary of your progress, Well done, Well done indeed!!!

[Shar]

Thanks JerryP! It was well worth the effort. One advantage of towing a handmade trailer is all the attention you get from other drivers at gas stations. We got a lot of compliments and questions; kinda makes you feel like a celebrity.

[noseoil]

How many miles did it take to wear down the tires like that? There are several possibilities. The inner edge is "scuffing" on the pavement, so I would check a couple of things.

First, alignment. When the axle was set, did you measure from the tongue to the center of the axle on both sides? The axle needs to perfectly straight with respect to the tongue, both wheels need to be the same distance from the front point of the tongue to the center line of the axle.

Second, Alignment. Park on a perfectly flat surface (concrete apron which looks very flat). Use a framing square to see if the wheels (tires) are perpendicular to the pavement. They should be straight up and down (no gaps at the top compared to the bottom), when the trailer is in the towed position behind the car and loaded like it is for a regular trip.

Third, tire pressure. Check the load rating of the tire. It will say something like 800# at 60 PSI (just an example, read the sidewall!). Figure out your rolling weight and see how it matches up with the combined total of the tire capacity. If the capacity of the tires is 1600# at 60 PSI and you are rolling with 900#, try dropping the pressure a bit (a little, not a lot). Normally, over-inflated tires will wear in the center. Under-inflated tires will wear on the outside edges.

Please let us know what you find about the tire wear, I'm sure others would like to know the results.

Hopefully, someone else with more experience will add to this post and provide better information and perhaps a solution. You could also do a bit of research on the web to see what's out there about uneven tire wear on trailers.

Here's a couple of links
http://blog.easternmarine.com/whats-cau ... read-wear/
http://www.etrailer.com/question-40826.html

Glad it was a good trip! Deet is our friend for those pesky critters. You might try spraying some deet in the cracks from outside where they're getting in until you have a solution.

[Shar]

Thanks for the feedback, noseoil. The tire wear was after a single trip of slightly over 5,000 miles. Everything was brand new at the start, so clearly something is not right.

When we assembled the trailer frame, we did check it for square, but not in relation to the axle/tongue; we just checked the four corners of the frame itself. I called the trailer company that made it, and they suggested checking to see if there was too much play in the bearings, as well as the ideas you suggested. I will admit that it's been such a busy summer that we haven't checked for any of those things yet.

I wonder if it's already time to pack the bearings again, since we took such a long trip.