Lighter trailer chassis?

[Breytie]

I am now totally disconbobobulated .I tried studying and reading up as much as I can find here, but my picture is now as clear is clinker brick .
I am building a lighter weekender, to be pulled by a tiny TV: a Corsa 1.4 hatch. No off-roading, no boondocking, only basic amenities on board.

Construction is mostly 1/4" marine ply single layer topside with 1x1 and 1x2 hardwood cleats supporting the joins. Floor is 5/8 marine ply on 1 3/4" sq framing, 4 cross members, half lapped joins. Weight is still low enough for 2 standard men to pick up and carry. Lifting it by one corner causes very little droop at the other corner.

I hunted all over for a trailer/ chassis for this thing, with no luck. Either hellish expensive perfect size and registered or affordable and needing massive rework and registering. And registering around here is no joke if you cannot prove the heritage of each part of the build.

So I want to "roll my own" chassis. I have access to a willing registered welder to do the hot part. I want it strong enough, but not overly heavy or expensive. I seen and heard advice on materials ranging from 1.5" x 1/16" square tubing frame with 1.5 x 2 x 1/16 A frame to more than double the price and weight in 2" x 1/8" sq tubing frame and 2 x 3 x 1/8 A frame.

And how important is the difference between mitered and butt-joint corners?

Please help, what will be right for me?

Thanks
Andre

[alaska teardrop]

viewtopic.php?f=35&t=12220 or http://www.angib.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk/t ... tear57.htm

[alaska teardrop]

Andre, After rereading this post & your recent comments in another thread, I can understand your frustration in finding Information about building a lightweight chassis for your cabin build. I also reviewed your build so far & I feel confident that the 'Minimalist Torsion Axle Frame" (chassis) design would meet your needs. If you chose to use it, I'd be happy to work out the details of which size tubing, ect. to use to meet your requirements. Andrew, I'm sure, would offer advice if you chose his layout.

Fred

[Breytie]

Andre, After rereading this post & your recent comments in another thread, I can understand your frustration in finding Information about building a lightweight chassis for your cabin build. I also reviewed your build so far & I feel confident that the 'Minimalist Torsion Axle Frame" (chassis) design would meet your needs. If you chose to use it, I'd be happy to work out the details of which size tubing, ect. to use to meet your requirements. Andrew, I'm sure, would offer advice if you chose his layout.

Fred

Fred
Sorry, I may just have been a bit too vocal . My apologies.
Thanks for the offer, I really appreciate it.
Please tell me a bit more about the 'Minimalist Torsion Axle Frame" or where I can read about it. I like the idea of a torsion axle for it gets the chassis lower to the road which will help with wind drag. It also looks like it may be easier to adjust for balance after the fact.
Thanks again!

[alaska teardrop]

Andre,

No reason to apologize to me. I was just sympathizing on how difficult it might be to cypher all the information that is available on this forum.

The first link above is to the 'Minimum Torsion Axle Frame' ( viewtopic.php?f=35&t=12220 <-click here). It is a design that can be formulated to encompass size, tongue length, weight & balance to meet recognized standards. Those standards can be found on Andrews 'Tongue Strength Pages' ( viewtopic.php?f=35&t=56880 <-click here ).

If you decided to use the design after carefully reading the thread & supplying the relative information, I'd be willing to make a drawing with call outs that your welder could use.

The second link above is to Andrew's 'Ultralight Chassis' design (http://www.angib.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk/t ... tear57.htm <-click here).

Fred

[Breytie]

Fred
Thanks for the links, study mode activated! looks like the MTAF will do what's needed.
I will start pulling together some of the specific numbers for my build so we can get a more accurate picture of weights and sizes.
Thanks again.

[ctstaas]

Hi Andre, I hope I'm not too late to be of any help. I built my 4 x 4 x 8 with a steel tube frame. The tongue and axle tube is 3" x 3/16" tubing. It forms a tee and has a receiver in the back. The remainder of the frame is 1 1/2" x.065" tube around the perimeter. The cabin is bolted to the 1 1/2" and is super strong. On my next build I will replace the 3" x 3/16" with 3x .120" tube. 1 1/2" x .065" weights 1.27 # per foot. 3" x 3/16" square tubing weights 6.86 # per foot and 3" x .120" weights 4.7 # per foot. I mitered my corners and their covered with the cabin so no one will ever see my joinery, but I'll know.
Enjoy, Chris

[dmdc411]

Hi, I haven't been here much in a while. As far as a lighter trailer frame goes. I used a floorless 5x8 landscape trailer from Northern Tool. Its made with 1/8"X1 1/2" X 1 1/2" angel. I had the diagonal tongue mod done with 3x2 tubing running from the front leaf spring attach tab forward and stepped up for a more level tow with my truck/SUV. If you want to see pics look up my build page, I have pics there. Don't know if it automatically links on comments. I fab'd a floor to sit inside the trailer frame, and attached the walls through the vertical angle of the frame. I haven't towed it yet, but the entire tear drop is ready for aluminum skinning, and it's very stiff. I'm not concerned about it flexing or anything. My walls are 1x3 skinned with 1/4" ext. and 5mm int. Floor is 1"X2" and 5/16" top and 1/4" bottom. I honestly think after building my teardrop to this point, I should have used no thicker wall skins than 5mm exterior and 1/8" interior. Floor top & bottom-1/4" . Its way over built as it is. All framing is good at 1" X 2", just double them in high strength areas like the rear hatch attach point or the roof vent opening and 1"X 3" in window and door areas. Everything glued too! I even filled all cavities with foam insulation and glued both sides for "shear" strength. Hope this helps...Good luck

[Breytie]

Thanks for the responses guys.
BUT (I hate that word) I ran into enough licensing issues to scuttle a dozen projects. Our licensing / regulating whatever they are supposed to be non authorities cannot understand that you do not need full frames consisting of massive girders to have a safe efficient trailer. Plus teardrops fall in so many trailer categories that they cannot say as what it will register and what the minimum spec is.
So I ordered and am now waiting for the material to build a 4x8 flatbed trailer with an (easily removable) ply deck. The frame is 2x2 and the tongue 3x2 by 2mm. Two cross-members and the rubber torque axle stiffen thing up. The axle can be moved forward and back to balance it. Parking jacks on the rear corners together with the front lifting leg (no wheel) stabilize the trailer to allow the safe loading of sheet materials and motion sickness free sleeping. Wheels will be 14" with lowish profile tires to sorta match the TV.
A registered trailer builder will assemble and certify (at a price) the whole trailer with the materials I provide. That will simplify registration enormously. At home I can simply pull off the deck and pull on the teardrop cabin when I feel like camping or put back the deck for transporting sheets of ply and other bulky goods.

[dmdc411]

Hi, are you in the states? The trailer I bought was built by a manufacturer and comes with a certificate that allows me to register it as well as title it. What ever I do with it is my business. All I did was bring the papers down to Department of Motor vehicles, I'm in Minn, give them $50 and I'm done, I'm told. I haven't done it yet.. l guess I should get that done. Sorry to hear about the problems.

[Breytie]

Nope, I live half a planet away. I am in South Africa where the West and Africa combine in a parody of extremes. While we were and sometimes still are the best in the world at some things, there are a lot of things we are the worst at.
While our roads overflow with thousands of deathtraps rattling along at death defying speeds, trying to register a homebuilt trailer is worse than getting a homebuilt plane registered. You need to prove who you are, where you live, where you work, where every bit of comes from, fill in dozens of documents, stand in line at many departments while officials start work when they please and take more breaks than work hours. In general, it costs a lot of aggravation and even more time ( up to 4 days if unlucky) to do it yourself legally.
Some registered builders sell papers at exorbitant prices to whoever has the cash for it. Fortunately I found a registered manufacturer willing to assemble (at his high standards) my components into my design and furnish the documents needed to painlessly register it on my name. I get it done for a very good price as I have done his Father-in-Law a few favors through the years.
Be glad you live in the USA where, to a large degree, common sense still has a place.