Sailboat trailer toTangerine Teardrop

[Autobo7]

So we have begun..
My wife and I have been lurking these forums for months and we have finally started a teardrop. Our goal is something very light, 400lbs or so unloaded. This way we can use a mid size car for towing and can take long trip with decent gas mileage(gotta be green). The kitchen will have a 2 burner Colman stove, a cooler and a few shelves and that is it to start. Depending on weight when we are done we might add a sink and a water tank. Electric, we will only have battery power push lights to start and a 200 watt inverter, powered from the car to charge a laptop. If our budget is okay at the end, we might get a little solar setup for a small sound system or a tiny LCD TV. I will keep this updated as our work progresses.

[Autobo7]

My wife and I got our trailer and started our build this past weekend. We got a 12 foot sail boat trailer to use as the base of our build. The trailer frame has just a little rust, the tires are old, but not worn or dry rotted at all, so I think we will use them for a while. I am nervous about it because I have only seen a few build using boat trailers. Seems most people go for the HF Trailers.

We began by removing the runner boards and brackets that supported the boat. We took off the winch stand and cut off the fenders as they were a little too tall for our deck.
Next we constructed a frame out of steel studs 5x8. This didn't take very long, but is a bit tedious. We went with the studs because they are very light and road legal we hope.
After that we screwed on some 1/2 plywood. This is just a beginning we still need to weld a few piece to secure this to the trailer, and construct so jack stands so we dont need a car(or bucket) for support when we want to take a day trip.

Probably wont update this for two weeks till we return to our build site. Once the trailer is road worthy we can take it home and finish the fine details.
Here are the fruits of our labor.

[clermont cubby]

Good Luck with the build and keeping the weight of the TD low. Built mine to withstand an earthquake. Wished I built lighter.

Larry

[Autobo7]

I will also post the money we spend on this thing as it goes so people can see what a build can cost.

12' sail boat trailer(free)
2 8' steel studs
3 10' steel studs
2 sheets of 1/2" plywood
Self tapping screws

Money to date:
$89.94



also Thanks Larry, we will need all the luck we can get

[Junkboy999]

Does not matter on what trailer you use as long as you don’t overload the axle. The HF tools trailer are just easier to get a hold of in most states. There are some lightweight build where there is no trailer at all, just an axle and a tongue bar welded to the axle. The axle and tongue are just bolted to the floor. In those cases the floor need to be a bit more substantial, because the floor is acting as the frame. You should be fine with you you got there. And you can’t beat Free. Keep us posted.

[KCStudly]

Looks like a nice light weight start.

Have you looked at the Foamie section at all? Lots of light weight build solutions there.

I'm curious about how you plan to secure the metal studs to the round main rail/tongue tube. I'm thinking something like a muffler clamp with a backing bar (perhaps aluminum for the backing bar), but then that style of metal stud doesn't like point loads too well due to the thin gauge.

I would be a little concerned about just screwing into the top of the tube in multiple locations, unless it is fairly thick wall; wouldn't want to create a failure point.

Welcome to the forum. I am looking forward to following along on your journey!

[Autobo7]

I'm curious about how you plan to secure the metal studs to the round main rail/tongue tube. I'm thinking something like a muffler clamp with a backing bar (perhaps aluminum for the backing bar), but then that style of metal stud doesn't like point loads too well due to the thin gauge.

I would be a little concerned about just screwing into the top of the tube in multiple locations, unless it is fairly thick wall; wouldn't want to create a failure point.

We wont be drilling the tube(although we could it is probably almost a 1/4" thick). We took off a few heavy pipe clamps that held the rollers for the boat. The plan is to drill bolt holes through them and the run bolts through the studs into a piece of iron on the other side to clamp the studs in place. I have looked the the foamie section and gave it some thought but I'm apprehensive having never seen something like that done in person. I'll post close ups of that when its done Im sure other people have looked at a boat trailer and been unsure about how to proceed I still am .

[Junkboy999]

I did not look at your picture in full size. I thought you had the floor mounted already. As I said above, people that made lighter trailer or have less structure in their frames usually have to beef up your floor. You have two places in back where it looks there will be no problem mounting the aluminum studs to the trailer. If the front and the next stud back you can beef this up by using some U shaped strapping. Adding a 2x4 along the length of the two studs and a U strap to the tongue should do it.



In the drawing above the 2x4 has a groove in it to accommodate the lip of the stud.

[KCStudly]

Nice sketch, Junkboy.

I like the addition of the backer, but perhaps a short (maybe 1 ft) piece of aluminum flat bar or angle would do the job and be much lighter.

I would also prefer to see U-bolts passing thru the sandwich (metal stud wall and backer) rather than the straps. The straps might not pull down all the way, or could flex and loosen over time (tabs could bend), whereas the u-bolt would pull up tight and is loaded in tension (no bending).

Not sure what the original "heavy pipe clamps" look like, but there is no room for anything heavy in a 400 lb. TD.

The reason I mentioned the muffler clamps is because they are essentially a u-bolt with a saddle clamp, and the saddle has a flat surface on the back side. Combine this with the backing bar and you have a relatively light weight and inexpensive fastening system.

This build is going to be unique. We like unique because it challenges our creativity.

[Autobo7]

Untitled.png (13.87 KiB) Viewed 1237 times

Thanks for the rendering! I had to make my own low quality one since you took the time! That sketch is almost exactly what I had in mind. The clamps are 3/8 galvanized steel they start at about the middle of the pipe and camp it between them, I will weld the bar to the top and sandwich the studs between that and I guess another piece of iron or aluminum.

[KCStudly]

I don't mean to beat it to death, but if you can save a pound off of each of those clamps at five xmbrs, that's a 5 lb. saving. To hit your 400 lb weight goal you need to start pinching every chance you get.

5 pounds doesn't sound like much now, but if you can save 5 pounds 20 or 40 times during the course of your build, that could make the difference between a 500 or 600 lb (or worse) camper and a 400 lb one.

Take a look at this style clamp and see what you think.
www.delcity.net/store/Saddle-Clamps

Also available for Jegs, Summit, any local auto parts store.