5X8 Modified Benroy Build (Flat Back)

[Eulalia]

Time for a real progress report!

Trailer frame front.JPG (220.79 KiB) Viewed 4012 times

Got the axle all bolted together and attached, and had to stick my sweet junkyard-find wheels and tires (only $55!) on to see what it all looked like for the first time.

One more picture, just for fun.

Trailer frame rear.JPG (220.04 KiB) Viewed 4012 times

I now need to take the u-bolts off and remove the axle and wheels again so I can finish painting it. The rims may need paint too at some point, but I think I'll go with a different color for some contrast. I might wait until the end to see what would look best.

The coupler I have is the bolt-on kind, so I will wait until later to fine tune my balance and bolt it on. The wheels are a little bigger than I originally had in mind, but I couldn't pass up the price. As it sits now, it's about 19" from ground to frame level, which could be a smidge high with a mattress inside, but we shall see. The tires are just snow tires with studs pulled out, so some smaller diameter, lower profile tires may be in my trailer's future. For now, though, she's a roller!

Jesse

[noseoil]

Jesse, nice job so far on the frame. Simple & strong, looks good to me. I would keep the larger rims & tires, at least for now if at all possible. It's an easier ride and less wear & tear on the tires & bearings at higher rolling speeds. At slower speeds & bumpy roads, you will never regret having a larger tire to step over rocks & make the ruts a bit smaller.

[Eulalia]

After a rather busy fall, what with school and the holidays, I have only recently made any real progress on my trailer. Today I got the floor attached. Time to go buy some more plywood to move on to walls and cabinetry. Things are pointing towards a design based on the Generic Benroy plans (With a few modifications of my own, of course). I think I'll save my previous plans for a possible future project (oh dear, I haven't even got remotely close to finishing this one, and I'm already planning on another ). Here are some pics.

[Eulalia]

I just got my doors today from Vintage Technologies, and couldn't wait to get them mounted. My walls have been sitting with the profile cut out for about a week now. It was the work of a couple hours to get them traced, cut out, and all that. All in all it feels like a successful day. I'll try to keep updating as I do stuff on the trailer. I've started putting all of my photos in my gallery, if you want to check out what I've got so far.

Not as fast a build as some, but I think I'm still on schedule for camping Memorial Day weekend

Wall Profile

Doors!

Tracing the door cutout

Cut out the door hole

Test fit

Painted floor


You can also see a bit of my change to the wall attachment strategy in the last picture. I added a rabbet after discovering that I would probably be to close to the wheel with my wall If I attached it to the outside as originally intended. Shrinks my interior by a mere inch and a half, and I don't end up with the exposed bottom edge of the plywood that I was concerned about anyway. I plan to run the siding material down past the 1x floor framing and then stick a T or L shaped trim piece between the siding and the frame.

[Eulalia]

Teardrop got walls. They feel quite solid without anything but the bottom attached to anything. I think with cabinets and roof spars it should be rather stout.




- Jesse

[Sheddie]

Hi Jesse,
looking good keep it going

[flbikejunkie]

Nice job! I couldn't wait to see what my doors looked like too. [SMILING FACE WITH SMILING EYES]

[rebapuck]

They say ... "Slow and steady wins the race". Just keep going forward and it will get done.

[Eulalia]

If you squint and use your imagination, you can see my little Ranger loaded with cabinets and interior trim. Seriously though, there are benefits to working for a remodeling business. We pulled up 75-100sq ft of red oak hardwood flooring the other day. Most of it is still in very good condition due to not having been secured very well when it was installed back in the nineties.

Much sawdust from the table saw and little planer as I cleaned up a few pieces of flooring.

Testing the look and placement of the main interior cabinet face.

This stuff seems to clean up nicely although it may take a bit more time than just buying the wood, but you can't beat free, and I have time to fuss with it. There should be plenty of material to get creative in other areas as well.

[KCStudly]

Nice deal.

[Sheddie]

Nothing wrong with recycling good timber, especially if it only costs a bit if time and elbow grease. When we built our boat got hold of a stack of mahogany display stands from a carpet store. Cleaned up beautiful

[Eulalia]

Saturday I got the framing installed for the counter and figured out my plan of attack for remaining cabinets. I also pulled all the nails on the hardwood and was able to get a better idea of how much useable wood there was. Not many pieces are long enough to span the interior width, but there should be enough to work with as long as I can stay somewhat careful. There are plenty of short pieces ranging from 4ft to 1ft that can be used for the rest of the frames and the cabinet doors. I also plan on using some as a sort of beadboard/accent wall at the foot of the bed (and possibly the flat section of the front wall at the head of the bed).




By the way, thanks for watching and commenting. Feel free to ask if you want to know anything about what I've done so far.

Jesse

[Eulalia]

Over the last couple of days, I got some interior partitions in place and finished some little detail bits. I'm trying to work outward so I have as much maneuvering room as possible. I think dealing with more head-scratching now to avoid headache later should prove to be worthwhile. The pictures don't show a lot, but that might spare you kind folks the pain of the disaster area that is the shop. Things are really starting to pile up but it's getting wet out this weekend so I'll have to deal with the tight space until I can wheel my trailer outside.

-Jesse

[Sheddie]

I'm trying to work outward so I have as much maneuvering room as possible. I think dealing with more head-scratching now to avoid headache later should prove to be worthwhile.
-Jesse

Hi Jesse, it's sure is a good idea to get as much of the interior done as you can before you close in the top I had some cupboard doors to do after our first trip away and it's not easy working in there.

[Eulalia]

Ceiling is mostly in on the inside. My next major step is wiring before I can close things up or do much more in the way of finishes. I tested the vent in the hole and it fits like a glove. I got an offer of help with fiberglass so it's looking like that's the direction I'm headed for the exterior.
My hurricane hinge also just arrived this afternoon. I framed my hatch up with some normal 3/4 plywood that I had but I think I'm going to just get another sheet of the same wood I used on the walls. It's far more substantial and also easier to sand and shape since it doesn't chip and splinter so easily. That way I can leave the inside of the hatch unskinned and the ribs will look nicer.


Galley cabinets. Still need doors and a countertop surface.

Front upper shelf.

A start on 12v lights and accessories. (You can see my usb and 12v socket in the recessed shelf.)