Jumpin in on my first build "The Danger Cart"

[Cummins01]

Is that an El Camino in the back ground?
Keep up the good work!

That it is: it's my dad's '72 project.

[Cummins01]

So we started working on the "dreaded axle". I was nervous to do it just because of the math making sure that I cut the tube to the right length and got both spindles inserted the same depth, while making sure we kept the clearance from the tire side wall to what will be the body side wall etc.... So after measuring multiple times we got to it.
Of course, the obligatory "action shot"

I don't think the welds turned out too bad (for a plumber)


And the major milestone............ she's standing on her own 2 feet.


The jacks we are using for the rear are probably overkill at 6500# capacity each..... but they were cheap on craigslist so I figure, she can crank them down and lift the tires up enough to be on very solid footing.
I was pleased to see that the center caps even fit on the wheel over the axle hubs, I think they give it a very clean finish.

And here the trailer is finished.....................

not really, this one was at the RV show over the weekend, same 5x10 measurement and the "special show sale price" was $10,200.00
Holy cow !
The only fab work on the frame that we have left is getting the rear jacks mounted and we have one more piece to put in to tie the first 2 crossmembers to the tongue coupler and then its time to let some sawdust fly

[Cummins01]

Not much to show here but we got the supports for the stabilizer jacks to mount to. And we hooked it up to my sisters truck and towed it for a short little trip around the property to make sure she can see it in her mirrors etc... She can see the tires so she'll see the fenders but still be able to see down the sides of the trailer.

We are going to mount a gray water tank between the stabilizer supports for the sink in the galley. It would be nice to get about a 10-15gallon tank in there for when she goes camping someplace with hook-ups.

I think we are going to flip the axle. It will lower the rear end 4" and tow level plus it will look alot better IMO.

[Robbie]

I don't know how much that axle is going to move when it's being towed over bumps but it looks like if you were to flip the axle it might be too close to the frame rail? It looks like there is only a few inches between the U-bolts and the frame right now. Just look out for the axle hitting the frame over big bumps. Another option is to maybe get a drop receiver and flip it over so it raises the ball? That might be a better idea so it picks the tongue jack up in case she pulls it through some big dips. That way she won't be scraping the tongue jack on the ground going over or through big dips. Even just mounting the ball on the other side of the receiver she's got now will raise the front of the tongue ~4". Maybe give that a try before you go flippin the axle. Just something to think about...

[Cummins01]

I don't know how much that axle is going to move when it's being towed over bumps but it looks like if you were to flip the axle it might be too close to the frame rail? It looks like there is only a few inches between the U-bolts and the frame right now. Just look out for the axle hitting the frame over big bumps. Another option is to maybe get a drop receiver and flip it over so it raises the ball? That might be a better idea so it picks the tongue jack up in case she pulls it through some big dips. That way she won't be scraping the tongue jack on the ground going over or through big dips. Even just mounting the ball on the other side of the receiver she's got now will raise the front of the tongue ~4". Maybe give that a try before you go flippin the axle. Just something to think about...

good point! The springs are pretty darn stiff, it's hard to guess how much they will flex until we get a little further on the build and see how much the thing weighs. We were looking at it last night and where it sits right now, the countertop in the galley will be somewhere in the 40"-43" neighborhood which is a tad high I think. So that's one of the reasons we were thinking of flipping the axle. We'll see once we actually get building............ hopefully in the next week or so.

[WhitneyK]

I don't think the welds turned out too bad (for a plumber)

Might fine looking weld job there!

.....And we hooked it up to my sisters truck and towed it for a short little trip around the property to make sure she can see it in her mirrors etc... She can see the tires so she'll see the fenders but still be able to see down the sides of the trailer.

Should work out JUST RIGHT
Here's a shot of what I see out my side view mirrors: I like not having to use mirror extentions.

Keep up the good work

[Junkboy999]

Looks like the Danger Cart is coming along.
Ha haha
your welds look great. I jelous.

Is that a 1972 El Camino and the background there?

[KCStudly]

Making good progress!

A small concern I see: Your axle U-bolts seem to have a lot of space on the sides of the springs. Don't these usually fit the axle or spring much more closely? In fact, doesn’t the spring plate usually go on the spring side with the nuts and the U-bolts wrap around the axle tube (also fitting that snuggly)?

Although they look beefy, I would be concerned about the flat part (the bottom of the 'U') possibly forming itself over the spring (overtime and cycles) and maybe resulting in them getting loose. Any concerns about that?

Just asking. I'm sure there are many ways that have been done successfully.

[WhitneyK]

A small concern I see: Your axle U-bolts seem to have a lot of space on the sides of the springs. Don't these usually fit the axle or spring much more closely? In fact, doesn’t the spring plate usually go on the spring side with the nuts and the U-bolts wrap around the axle tube (also fitting that snuggly)?

Although they look beefy, I would be concerned about the flat part (the bottom of the 'U') possibly forming itself over the spring (overtime and cycles) and maybe resulting in them getting loose. Any concerns about that?

Just asking. I'm sure there are many ways that have been done successfully.

Good catch KC, got me to thinking too after you mentioned it. Here's how mine originally was, so I put it back that way. Mine had the hole in the plate that aligned the axle with the pin on the springs, keeps it from moving around. Also the u-bolts fit close to the axle. (I don't have but a few inches between axle and frame. It worked out fine)

[Cummins01]

Looks like the Danger Cart is coming along.
Ha haha
your welds look great. I jelous.

Is that a 1972 El Camino and the background there?

Hah! maybe we'll just have to name it the Danger Cart

Yep a genuine 1972 Chevrolet El Camino (my dad's project)

Making good progress!

A small concern I see: Your axle U-bolts seem to have a lot of space on the sides of the springs. Don't these usually fit the axle or spring much more closely? In fact, doesn’t the spring plate usually go on the spring side with the nuts and the U-bolts wrap around the axle tube (also fitting that snuggly)?

Although they look beefy, I would be concerned about the flat part (the bottom of the 'U') possibly forming itself over the spring (overtime and cycles) and maybe resulting in them getting loose. Any concerns about that?

Just asking. I'm sure there are many ways that have been done successfully.

Yea they were the only square U-bolts ACE had at the time, I told her that she'll need to keep her eyes open for some that fit better and we can change them later. We were in a hurry to be able to roll it around.........

Good catch KC, got me to thinking too after you mentioned it. Here's how mine originally was, so I put it back that way. Mine had the hole in the plate that aligned the axle with the pin on the springs, keeps it from moving around. Also the u-bolts fit close to the axle. (I don't have but a few inches between axle and frame. It worked out fine)

Yea these springs also have the alignment pin that keeps the axle from moving side to side. Do you have any issues with how close your axle is to the frame being mounted above the springs?

[Cummins01]

well, we were able to get the rear stabilizer jacks mounted on the frame and found an RV waste tank on CL locally for $20 so I figured thats better than the one I found online for $75 plus shipping (plus that was only a 5 gallon tank). We are going to basically cut this one in half and put a new cap on the end before we mount it. I did the measurements and calulations and it should be 15-18 gallon capacity which is more than enough for what she's going to use it for. There's just going to be a sink in the galley. We installed the last piece of structural metal on the frame between the coupler and the front 2 crossmembers so that felt pretty good to get done. This is the least fun part for me, it seems to take too long (probably cause I dont like doing it as much) so I cant wait to get the wood and start building so it will look like something. We did manage to hit the frame with a wire wheel to knock off all the old loose paint etc, prime and paint it so as of last night, it is all black.


I checked around yesterday and couldn't find better fitting U-bolts so I guess we'll have to order them online, they aren't too expensive I just hate waiting for stuff to be shipped.
Has anyone plumbed gas to their galley and installed a propane tank on the tongue? I am just wondering if my sister will encounter any licensing issues if we end up doing it. I guess I can always just run a piece of 1/2" under the frame to the galley and hook up the cooktop but remove the tank on the tongue during travel.
We're going to try and get all the plywood for the floor and walls plus the 2x for the floor frame and ridgid insulation this week and start building next weekend.

[Cummins01]

We went to the "Orange Store" this weekend and bought some 2x4 and 1-1/2" rigid insulation to start the floor on the Danger Cart. We also flipped the axle over on top of the springs and found the correct u-bolts. The u-bolts are 2"x6" and 7/16" thick, they fit wwaaayyy better so I'm not concerned about them loosening up when my sister is pulling it. I weight 195lbs and I jumped up and down on the frame over the axle and didn't get it to hit so we'll see what happens once its all built and going down the road. If it ends up hitting, it's not the end of the world, we'll just reverse it and put it back under the springs but it looks sooooo much better behind her truck being 4-1/2" lower!


We built the outer frame for the floor and then cut the insulation just a tad bigger so it fits inside very tight. The 2 pieces toward the back will be to mount the gray water tank to that will hang under the trailer. Then we smeared a generous amount of that nasty black asphalt emulsion on the bottom side, good lord that stuff seems to get on everything. I also had a can of Duplicolor rubberized undercoating that we sprayed on to give it a little texture before putting a second coat of asphalt stuff on. My 3-year old wanted to go over there with me Saturday so of course he walked over and put his hand on the coating and before I could stop him wiped it right on his sweatshirt ha ha oh well.




We also got the stop/turn/tail light wiring done and all hidden in the frame so maybe one night this week we'll flip the floor frame back over and secure it to the steel frame. Next weekend we should have the plywood screwed to the top side of the floor and we should have our profile figured out, cut and hopefully stood up.

[Cummins01]

We're going to name the tear "The Danger Cart" after Junkboy999's observation of how it looked when I brought it home.

[WhitneyK]

If it ends up hitting, it's not the end of the world, we'll just reverse it and put it back under the springs but it looks sooooo much better behind her truck being 4-1/2" lower!

I think you'll be fine Movin' along quite nicely, keep up the good work.

[KCStudly]

If it does end up bottoming out a bit you might be able to get away with just swapping in some slightly longer shackles, rather than losing all of the drop by moving the axle back.

1 inch longer shackle should give you about 1/2 additional clearance. (That may already have been said by someone else ^. I didn't look to see who it was; sorry.)