Simpson strong ties for connecting camper to HF frame

[steve_29045]

Hello to all.... open to your thoughts or opinions on a build idea I have here...

I want to go bigger with the HF frame and make it into a 5' x 10' camper if I can. My idea is to build a 2 x 4 frame to act as the subfloor and then lay the plywood on that and build up the walls from there.

My idea is to use the "part A" picture along the cross rails and mount them to the frame using #10 self tapers and lay the wood frame in the bracket screwing it in with strong tie screws. Then run the "part B" picture along the side rails with the same #10 self tapers and follow through with strong ti screws. Of course leaving a cutout over the wheel wells as needed.

I've seen someone do this same concept a few years back on this site and it seemed to be an ingenious idea for making a bigger camper out of a HF 4' x 8' frame.... using this idea, how tall could I go with the wall height versus wind shear and all that stuff?

Any ideas or thoughts would be appreciated greatly......

Steve

[Nobes]

Sorry, double post

[Nobes]

Exactly how I am building mine. I am using only the 'A' tie you show. I saw a foamie thread by jseyfert3 that detailed it and I am following his ideas, adding one wrinkle: I am using a sandwich floor, so I cut out the lower ply and foam above the wheel. Ie, above the wheel is only the upper ply. The bottom of the upper ply is 3 7/8 above the tire. I think that will be plenty of clearance. I used 1x4s with 'doublers' at the joint with the metal tie. Here's a couple of pics:

[absolutsnwbrdr]

I'd be a little weary having only a handful #10 self tapping screws holding hundreds of pounds of wood to a trailer frame travelling 65mph down the highway. With all the vibrations and crazy forces, I'd be concerned that the screws could work themselves loose over time, or just snap.

I'd suggest removing a few of the bolts on top of the trailer frame, and replacing them with 4" or 4.5" lag bolts with lock-nuts, going down through your 2x4 floor framing. You can see the recessed heads of the lag bolts in this picture....



I also doubled up on my 2x4's because I was hanging solid 3/4" MDO plywood sheets from the ends of the boards and wanted a little additional support. This may not have been necessary, but I'd really suggest using an additional form of mechanical attachment to your frame. Maybe bolting your "part A" (second picture) to the top of the frame using the existing trailer frame bolt locations would do the trick, but do at least consider buying new (not chinese) bolts and nuts for those spots.

[Midget]

We did the same as Absolutsnwbrdr when we built the Midget. The floor was built from 2x4's on the vertical with 1/2 inch bolts countersunk going all the way through the frame. We used nyloc nuts to keep everything tight. We have 8 bolts in all holding the cabin to the frame. It has worked for 12 years now with no issues.

Bob

[steve_29045]

All very good ideas, and I like your advice as well absolutsnwbrdr which I will follow for the added peace of mind in "holding" it down to the frame....

Now that we agree it is doable and safe.... what would be a "safe" wall height now for a build like this??