Time for an update..
I spent the last two weeks working on finishing the deck and trailer. I wanted upgrade the trailer axle primarily because I wanted to add electric brakes to the trailer and once I saw the stock axle that came with my NT 5x8 it definitely felt like it would be a worthwhile upgrade. Here some some pictures of the progress thus far:
Once the glue had dried on the deck, I used a flush trim bit to tidy the overlaps on the skins and I used a 7/8" spade bit to create holes on the bottom of the deck for the frame bolts. I drilled the holes to 3/8" and used a dowel to make sure I got the right depth:
I decided to paint the bottom of the deck with truck bed liner (Herculiner) - This stuff is not the easiest to work with, so if you don't like the "black sticky stuff" commonly used then you really won't like this but I am really happy with to results - I made sure to put a thick coat on the seam where to two pieces of bottom skin joined. Once cured it really looks very durable. If you are going to used Herculiner, make sure you have some acetone handy for cleanup, some gloves and a respirator are also a must.
Once the bottom of the deck was done, I cut some countersink holes for the carriage bolts. I was worried about tear-out so I decided to use a plunge router instead of a spade bit. I cut 1 1/4" diameter holes that were 1/2" deep and made sure to tape everything well to prevent tear-out. The holes turned out pretty good.
I also coated the top of the outside railers (where the deck will sit) including the bolt heads with Herculiner and painted the entire bottom or the trainer with Herculiner after masking out the areas I did not want painted. I am really happy with the results:
Next up, finishing off the trailer.. Here are some pictures of the stock axles and wheels next to the new ones:
I ordered everything from Southwest Wheel here in Dallas (
http://www.trailerpart.com/)- Their prices are great and it was super handy to be able to just driver over and pick everything up. For anyone interested in the upgrade, I used the following:
I had originally thought I would change the stock leaf springs as well, but the sizing made that really difficult, the stock ones are 20.5" long and 2" wide - most of the ones I could find where longer than that and I really did not want to need to change the hanger brackets on the frame. I also had to get new u-bolt plates as the ones I got from Southwest Wheel were for standard 1 3/4" wide springs so they were not wide enough. I managed to get some suitable ones at my local Northern Tool.
I got everything bolted together and fitted the deck to the trailer, I used a 1 1/4" hole saw to cut plugs for the carriage bolt holes.
I am now starting to think about the walls.. I picked up some 3/4" Ply earlier today, after visiting a few local lumber yards, I ended up having to cough up for what was labelled as birch plywood because the regular 3/4" ply that had looked pretty rough. I could have driven to Forth Worth to get some of the good stuff, but the gas money for that trip probably would have been more than the extra 12 bucks I paid per sheet. When I arrived home and unloaded the three sheets, two of them looked very different to the other one and when I looked at them in the sunlight they were oak and the other was birch.. I haven't changed it, as I didn't figure it would make a big difference.
I started routing out the 3.5" sections for the overlap joins:
In hindsight:I only used 2/3 of a can of Herculiner (1 gallon) for everything, it seems a little wasteful, I probably could have bought smaller cans.
Things I have learned so far:I definitely need help lifting things more often than I thought I would - This isn't a 1 personal job!
I'll probably be cleaning sawdust out of my garage for the rest of eternity
That's it for this update!
Cheers,
g
