The Mid-Life Crisis Build

[Shar]

The hammock style bunks look great! Lightweight and removable, too, I expect.

[mrwall1]

Nice Job, Thanks I got quite a few tips... my trailer has a similar style! I was wondering how I was going to do the hatch...Yours is exactly what I was looking for.

[pjo129]

One interesting note about the trailer is that I extended the leaf spring brackets down by about four inches. It worked really well and allowed the tires and fenders to sit under the frame.

Do you have pics of how you did this? I'd love to see how you did it.

[climbnkd]

Pete, I'll get some close up pics of the raised suspension this weekend. Be sure to check back in a day or two.

[pjo129]

Were you able to get any pics of the suspension?

[climbnkd]

Well, time to resurrect my old build thread. I wish I could say I finished the trailer back in 2014 and have been camping like crazy but I'd be lying. Mostly it has sat in my garage and irritate my wife that it's not done. So, I actually have been working on it in the past little while and thought I would update those who are interested. One of the things that always bugged me about the design was the tires. I debated for a long time trying to figure out what I could do to allow the tires to extend past the trailer. First I considered cutting and extending the axle but I just didn't have enough confidence to do it myself and I'm too cheap to pay someone. I finally decided to buy a new wider axle with matching hub pattern to my Tacoma. The hard part was deciding how wide I wanted the axle to be. I bought some matching rims and wheels (32x11.50R15) and tried to estimate how wide I would need the axle to be.

Well, maybe I'll let the pictures do the talking.



You can see that the tires are definitely past the trailer now. I ended up with a 3500 lbs axle that I de-rated by removing one of the leafs from the spring. Now the problem is that I think I went too wide. I measured from the outside to outside of the tires and it is just a bit over 7' wide. You can see that my fenders I bought and not quite wide enough.



For now I am just going to live with it. I've got an extra 1.5 - 2 inches on each side that I could stand to lose. As I see it, my options are to 1) leave it as is, 2) have the axle cut down a little on each side, or 3) get skinnier tires and rims with more backspacing.



Another modification I did was to redesign the back hatch. I had some issues with it sealing correctly and I just wasn't happy with the overall function so I removed the old hatch and rounded the back corners. I'm in the process of rebuilding the back hatch now. I'm hoping to have it done by early December.

As for my overall impressions of building a teardrop...I love it. I already have the frame built for my next one. I have learned a ton of lessons and the next one will be even better. But that's a story for another build thread.

If anyone's interested, I'm pretty sure I ended up more than doubling my original cost estimate.

[Talia62]

I'm curious as to why you chose the foil-backed bubble wrap since it's a radiant barrier rather than an insulation? Radiant barriers need to be exposed to do any good. If it's enclosed within the walls of the trailer, it can't do the work it was designed to do.

[climbnkd]

That's a great question. I think the biggest reason was for the ease of installation. I compared the R value with the rigid foam insulation and was satisfied that the R value of the barrier was close enough to the foam that it wouldn't make much difference. According to the manufacturers information the barrier does not need to be exposed to work as insulation. I guess we will see if it is sufficient when I go camping in the cold (hopefully soon). Just FYI, the R value of the barrier is R-3.7 for a single layer and for 1" rigid foam (at Home Depot) the R value is 3.85.

If I were to do it over again (which I probably will , on a new build that is) I would probably use the rigid foam for the floor and use the barrier for the ceiling and walls. I have definitely filled my book of lessons learned with this build.

[Vedette]

Glad to have you back.
Increased backspace on your rims is the easiest to solution to your problem.
Good Roads
Brian & Sandi

[felixx]

I have the same bunk in my 8x4
It works a treat and when greta is too tall for that, I will remove the bunk and put some cupboards in there

I am designing a canvas awning for when the kids will not fit in here

Good on ya for including your children in your adventures

[dales133]

How do you find 1w00 wide?

[climbnkd]

Not sure what you mean. What is 1w00?

[climbnkd]

I'm planning to work on the trailer over the Thanksgiving holiday. I got the rear hatch framed up now and it turned out very nice. I found a supplier for 1/8 inch birch and I am using that to cover the hatch. I am installing two sheets and I have to say it's a lot easier to work with than the 5mm stuff I used before. The trade off is the cost. Yesterday I got the first sheet on the hatch and today I will finish it off. Then seal and paint.

I think I found a solution to my undersized fenders without having to do a bunch of fab work. I am going to use 3/8" pipe to act as a spacer between the body and the fenders. Each spacer will be about 3" long so I will end up with a 3" gap between the body and the fenders. Hopefully it will work out well. I'll definitely take some pics and post tomorrow.



Here's the start of the hatch.

[KCStudly]

Check out how noseoil did his fender spats on the Tucson Tortoise. He made diamond plate shields to protect the side walls behind his non-lined fenders.

[climbnkd]

So I got the fenders attached and to my surprise they are very strong. I expected there to be a lot of flex but they are really solid.



I also got the skin on the hatch.