"TrailTop" modular trailer building components

[jscherb]

A few more views of what a TrailTop tilt-up camper might look like on my yellow trailer. The guy laying down is about 6'2".



My trailer is 7' 5" long, if you built a Dinoot tub trailer as a base for this camper the standard Dinoot sizes are 6' 6" and 8' 3".

[djb_rh]

I'd build my 2" receiver hitch based enclosed two-bike hauler. Just big enough for two XL sized MTBs, which would mean road bikes would fit easily, too. You'd remove the front wheel and do a fork mount on the floor. The doors would be two barn-doors, and there would be a way to put each front wheel on the inside of each door.


--Donnie

[jscherb]

I'd build my 2" receiver hitch based enclosed two-bike hauler. Just big enough for two XL sized MTBs, which would mean road bikes would fit easily, too. You'd remove the front wheel and do a fork mount on the floor. The doors would be two barn-doors, and there would be a way to put each front wheel on the inside of each door.


--Donnie

I've been playing with receiver-mounted cargo box ideas for several years - I drew the concept below back in 2012 when I was doing what became the Dinoot kit:



And this January when I molded some extension panels to make the black Dinoot tub in my workshop the same length as my yellow trailer, I mocked this up:



Your bike box idea would be a larger version of these concepts but with barn doors, seems very reasonable to build using TrailTop parts.

[jscherb]

I've been busy with a few other projects so I haven't had time to begin the assembly of the TrailTop proof-of-concept #2 until now. Here's some of the assembly steps.

First I needed to trim the as-molded corners to remove the bottom flange. The corners have flanges on all sides so they can be used in any corner situation, but for the simple hard cover, a flange on the bottom isn't necessary. In this photo, the corner on the left is as-molded, the center one is trimmed for this application, and on the right is the scrap that was trimmed off. It's a handy scrap to hang on to because it can serve as a joiner piece in the event two straight pieces need to be joined into a longer piece.



Next, test-fitting the corner on the tub. A little bit of sanding was required on inside of the bottom where the flange was trimmed off to make the corner fit precisely.



Next I'm test-fitting a straight section so I can mark the correct length.



With the straight section cut to length, I trimmed the tabs so the straight butted perfectly to the corners. Here it is on the bench temporarily held together with clamps and masking tape:



And sitting in place on the tub for a test fit before a little final trimming for a perfect fit.



After doing a little final trimming, the parts will be ready to bond together. I'll make a second end piece identical to this one, and once that's done I can trim straight sections to the proper length to fit the sides and then bond everything together into a completed frame.

[jscherb]

The two end pieces ready to bond together.



Once they're bonded I'll trim to straight pieces for the sides and bond them to the ends to form the complete frame.

[jscherb]

When I assembled the TrailTop parts to make the proof-of-concept Teardrop, I bonded the fiberglass parts together with auto body filler. The body filler worked great - it's inexpensive, cures quickly and it's gap-filling. But this being the second proof-of-concept, I decided to bond the parts together a different way to test another method. This time I'm using fiberglass - I put two layers of 1.5 oz. fiberglass mat saturated with polyester resin in the joints, clamped the joints, and I'll let it cure overnight. Here are a few photos.

Fiberglass mat in place and saturated with resin:



I applied the resin with a brush until the fiberglass was well saturated, and then clamped the joint together. Any resin that oozed out was wiped off with a paper towel with a little acetone on it.



This will make a very strong joint, but it's got to cure overnight.



Next up: cutting the side pieces to length and bonding everything together into the complete frame.

[jscherb]

I disassembled the teardrop this morning because I need the yellow trailer for the second proof-of-concept build. In the process I made this disassembly anim:

[jscherb]

Here's the "kit" of parts for the teardrop:



And running the animation in the other direction, it's an assembly anim .

[Hardryder56]

Jeff
Excellent work there. Love the videos Don't have a clue what you might have up your sleeve for your next project. Sure hope someone picks up and markets your DIY system soon.
Tom

[djb_rh]

Just curious, but what's the preferred method of cutting the fiberglass parts?

And thanks for the hitch box pics. That's a neat idea, too, for the Jeep crowd.

Just waiting for someone to take my money and ship me TrailTop parts (and CJ front body parts, but...).


--Donnie

[jscherb]

Just curious, but what's the preferred method of cutting the fiberglass parts?

Fiberglass is best cut with abrasives. You can use an ordinary saw, but the impacts of the teeth can cause microscopic cracks that can spread over time. A hacksaw blade works better than a woodcutting saw, as does a fine metal-cutting blade in a jigsaw. But I pretty much always use abrasive cutting tools. Here's my arsenal of cutting and trimming tools:



Right to left:

- 4 1/2" angle grinder with a 1/16" thick abrasive cutting disk. For fast cutting of large, more-or-less straight edges. I use this tool more than any other for cutting fiberglass.

- Die grinder with a 1.5" diamond cutting disk. For more intricate cuts, more accuracy. I haven't used this on the TrailTop parts because all of the cuts required in these parts are straight. I use this for trimming other parts, for example the wheel arch curves of fiberglass fenders like those on the CJ Grille Kit.

- Angle die grinder with Rolok attachment for sanding disks. For fine adjusting of the trimmed cuts. I've been using a 50-grit disk in this to fine trim the tabs on the on the ends of the TrailTop where they join together.

- 6" D/A sander. For quick adjustment of larger cuts. Haven't used this on the TrailTop project.

- In the back: a 30" long board sander. To ensure long straight cuts are really straight. I'll probably use it along the bottom edge of the TrailTop parts for the hard cover proof-of-concept I'm working on right now.

If you didn't own any of the above you could do just fine with a hacksaw, a sanding disk in an electric drill for trimming, and a couple of files for fine trimming.

And thanks for the hitch box pics. That's a neat idea, too, for the Jeep crowd.

Or for a tongue box on a trailer.

Just waiting for someone to take my money and ship me TrailTop parts (and CJ front body parts, but...).

--Donnie

Could happen with the TrailTop parts, haven't decided yet if they should be commercialized.

[Corwin C]

I few more important items when cutting fiberglass ... breathing, skin, and eye protection. You are essentially making powdered glass fibers which easily become airborne. They irritate and can cause damage (sometimes severe) to sensitive skin, eyes, and lungs. It can be done safely, but there are risks that you need to be aware of and take precautions against.

[jscherb]

Test fitting one of the hard cover end rails I bonded the other day:



It needs a little trimming along the edges for a perfect fit, but for a first test fit it's pretty much there.



I then fit the other end rail, and trimmed two side rails to complete the frame. Here's everything clamped
together:



Next I'll do some final fitting/trimming and bond the sides to the ends, using the same fiberglass technique I used to bond the end rails together.

[jscherb]

All the parts are now bonded together; I'll let the fiberglass cure until tomorrow. I bonded everything right on the tub to ensure a perfect fit; the tub is protected from dripping resin by waxed paper.

[jscherb]

The fiberglass bonding the TrailTop frame cured overnight so this morning I pulled the clamps off and trimmed the excess fiberglass mat sticking out at the joints.



Off the tub:



What'll happen next is some wood framing will be installed, followed by a 1/4" plywood skin:





Here's the frame sitting on the Dinoot test tub in the workshop; I'll do the woodworking in the workshop because that's where the woodworking tools are.