Chris And Carries Build

[geochris35]

Hi Everyone,

Northern Tool Trailer showed up yesterday so I am starting my build this weekend. I am doing the basic Benroy Build posted on this site. Here are the first pics. I will hopefully have more on Sunday.

Box as I got it, pretty messed up


Unloaded parts, looks like everythings here!


Thanks,
Chris

[pete42]

Aah the saga begins may it be a happy one..........

pete

[Junkboy999]

Man another messed up box. I’m glad HF Tools is a block away from my house and Northen Tool is 5 miles
down the road. Both will ship the trailers to these locations and set it up if needed. But of course I just
bought a FH trailer that had a TD build on top of it all ready. Saves time that way.

Lets see some sawdust flying. I love the Benroys. Mine Benroy build is still “ on-paper “ stage.

GL and have fun.

[Robbie]

Another Utah Benroy!!! Glad to see it! Are you following the plans exactly or deviating slightly? 4x8 or 5x8? Details! Details!

Getting the trailer is a good place to start! I built almost my entire shell before I had the trailer. Just set it up on blocks in the garage but having the trailer from the beginning would have been much easier! I'm glad to see another Utah teardrop. I'm in West Valley and there quite a few others from Utah. You'll love having a teardrop! They are the easiest things to camp with.

I look foward to seeing your build!

Robbie

[Forrest747]

A frame and soon sawdust life is good. Good luck and if you need help call Robbie!

[geochris35]

I am deviating somewhat. I am doing a 5x8 but am not shortening the width of the trailer at all. I am going to leave the trailer five feet wide and am just going to build on top of that. Really that's as far as I have gotten. I am not much of a planner on paper so I am following the basic plans and am making adjustments as I go. Hopefully it all comes out ok.

Anyone have any advice as far as wether to go with aluminum vs painting. Still on the fence as far as that goes. Some pros and cons of each would be great.

Cheers,
Chris

[Forrest747]

Well there is alot more prep work taht goes into painting. have to sand and sand and sometimes it doesnt come out just right. you do get teh color you want and teh design if you chose too. less money than al.
Aluminum does look great easy to maintain. alot less prep work to teh wood underneath. more expensive. people like the look and its shiney going down the road. will not let UV through to teh epoxy.

[Robbie]

Forrest nailed it. I went with aluminum because I liked the look and it seemed virtually maintenance free and the durability was a big factor as we camp in the woods often. I had originally planned on painting mine but later changed my mind. There are many people who's build threads I have seen where they have to do extensive prep work and like Forrest said, they still run into problems or they don't get the finish they wanted or the paint splits down the road, etc.

But if you are looking for an easy covering that you put on and forget about (not completely but pretty much) I'd go with aluminum, but if you want to personalize your trailer further and get that glossy gleaming finish that looks amazing then I'd go with paint. Or you can paint the aluminum and have the best of both worlds!

I built my Benroy the same way as you have described with building entirely on top of the frame. The overall width of my tear is 60".

[bigblockbarry]

Stick with the 5 wide,you will never regret it. I built my tear 5x8 and it turned out to be just about the perfect size. Let the sawdust fly.

[CarlLaFong]

Well there is alot more prep work taht goes into painting. have to sand and sand and sometimes it doesnt come out just right. you do get teh color you want and teh design if you chose too. less money than al.
Aluminum does look great easy to maintain. alot less prep work to teh wood underneath. more expensive. people like the look and its shiney going down the road. will not let UV through to teh epoxy.

Not to hijack the thread, but I just have to ask. I've been wondering, for quite some time, why you spell "the" as "teh"? Is it a secret code that only veteran TTTers use? Am I out of the loop?

[Forrest747]

I cannot type and have learned not to worry about it. At work word fixes it automatically. But here I don't do spell check.

[KCStudly]

why you spell "the" as "teh"? Is it a secret code that only veteran TTTers use? Am I out of the loop?

I find that I frequently misspell "the" as "teh" and then the spell check fixes it. I think it has to do with my hunt and peck method where my right index goes for the 'T' and 'H' at the same time that my left index is going for the 'E'. Sometimes the left hand gets there first. That's all; no secret.

[geochris35]

Hi Everyone,

Had a productive day, got the trailer frame put together as the stock version. Thanks for all of the responses about aluminum vs. paint. Gave me a lot to think about, unfortunately still haven't decided. I have a while though. As far as the trailer goes, I have a couple of new questions. I am trying to keep this as simple as possible so I didn't really want to move the wheels back. Do you think this is really necessary or is it simply cosmetic to make it look better. I have heard it is supposed to be 60% of the weight in back and 40 in front, I am going to put a 10 gallon water tank under the kitchen so that will be a substantial amount of weight. Another consideration is the max tongue weight of a 98 Subaru forester (my tow vehicle) is 165 pounds. Wouldn't it be better to keep the wheels forward and keep this weight down? I guess in summary, will it really matter if I move the wheels back, as I would like to leave them where they are unless it is a safety concern? Thanks for all the help everyone, I am having a ton of fun building this thing, just sweating some small stuff that I probably shouldn't even be worrying about.

Also, here are some pics. This is the Northern tool 5x8 that is on sale right now. Seems like a pretty solid little trailer.

Trailer in Initial building stages


Me and Brie(Dog) working on trailer


Trailer with axle on


Finished Trailer


Thanks
Chris

[Forrest747]

The only thing i would keep in mind is the doors; will they clear the fenders. I would keep it during the build unless the doors get in the way. build it find out of the tongue weight is off, then move the wheels back. good luck and let us know if you need any help.

[geochris35]

Thanks Forest. Exactly what I was thinking and hoping to hear. I start buying wood for the floor tomorrow!