Tall Tails - an adventure into Teardropdom with an NT 5x8

[QueticoBill]

One advantage to the new axle. You can add brakes and you are going to need them. This is something few think about. From personal experience Subaru brakes are fine, if just for the Subaru. Or first tear did not have brakes our second did.

Do you know how much they weighed? Would seem relevant to needing brakes or not.

[Shadow Catcher]

Depends on which ones you get https://www.etrailer.com/dept-pg-Trailer_Brakes.aspx?gclid=EAIaIQobChMI8M6Do-Lz1QIVApRpCh1sVA1vEAAYASAAEgKYafD_BwE

[QueticoBill]

I meant how much the trailer weighed which you felt needed brakes.

[pg350]

I have the Northern Tool trailer 5 x 8 but in aluminum. My axle seems to be off like yours but I am keeping it due to how light it is. I am looking to be as light as possible. The dexter 3500 axle would be way over kill for my estimated 700lbs fully loaded weight. Also tires are very cheap so I can replace them easily. Maybe later I will replace but for now im ok with it as I got my 5x8 aluminum new for 400.00.

[Scotter]

I'm enjoying your posts. Keep the details coming!

One thing to clarify, could it really be an all aluminum axle? The spindles are surely steel which can't really be welded to aluminum. I suspect what you meant (or possibly misunderstood) is that your axle is (...at least looks to be) treated with an aluminized thermal spray coating.

Thanks! I suspect you're right, that would make sense that they cannot weld 2 different metals like that together, at least not safely. I'm not terribly worried about corrosion for the places we'll be driving, but i do have lots of black enamel spray paint left over from random projects and might look into giving it a once-over with that now per your advice....couldn't hurt, right?

Sorry you had so much trouble with the trailer. Mine went smoothly with moved axel and underslung springs. (photos in my build thread). I may replace whole spring/axle/wheel/titre/fender assembly someday but staring with stock.

Hey it happens. I would have been content with stock had the axle stubs been straight. Glad to hear yours is doing OK though.

Also meant to say that your experience with poor axle stub alignment is also most likely the same cause of extremely poor tire tread life on other peoples builds; that may not have been as observant as you. They put better quality tires on but still get poor longevity. Maybe? Seems like a 'no brainer'.

Interesting, I didn't realize others were having that issue. That may well could be the case. As I mentioned, I couldn't even tell there was an issue until I had a broad surface to judge from (like the side of a tire to the side of the frame) and even then it was easy to miss.

One advantage to the new axle. You can add brakes and you are going to need them. This is something few think about. From personal experience Subaru brakes are fine, if just for the Subaru. Or first tear did not have brakes our second did.

I'll keep it in mind. The main tow vehicle will be a Nissan Xterra which doesn't have fantastic brakes either, but is more suited to the task anyway.

I have the Northern Tool trailer 5 x 8 but in aluminum. My axle seems to be off like yours but I am keeping it due to how light it is. I am looking to be as light as possible. The dexter 3500 axle would be way over kill for my estimated 700lbs fully loaded weight. Also tires are very cheap so I can replace them easily. Maybe later I will replace but for now im ok with it as I got my 5x8 aluminum new for 400.00.

Congrats on the Aluminum version, I considered that one very hard and I've been enjoying seeing how people here are building them. I understand why you wouldn't want the heavier axle. I only went that heavy because that capacity level was so cheap to move up to from the 2000lb. axle....it is indeed overkill although I'm not as weight conscious as you are. Best of luck with the axle alignment, hopefully its minor enough that the tires don't really notice it!


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Thanks all, more updates to come soon. Working on priming the underside of the deck to prep for undercoating. I had to take time off in August/Sept due to family needs, school holidays, and a totaled car (got rear-ended at a light). The poor trailer has been shoved in the corner turning into a glorified shelf. Enough of that!

[atticdrop]

What color are those wheels painted/powder coated? They look great!

[Scotter]

What color are those wheels painted/powder coated? They look great!

Appreciate it! that's an old-school VW color called Dove Blue, color code L31. factory color on some old buses and beetles:


saw it once while randomly traversing the internet for one thing or another and fell in love immediately. i think it looks spot on in the "classic" department without being flashy or "hot-roddy", and at certain angles has nice hints of slate and grey and is non-metallic. it has a coat of gloss on top. blue accents and silver aluminum will look great together i think.

they were spray painted with 12oz. cans from automotivetouchup.com

[Scotter]

Early June I pulled the trigger on some baltic birch through Randall Brothers in Atlanta, which is about a 2.5hr drive for me each way. About a month later, just after 4th of July, my 12 sheets of wood finally arrived (after a supplier ran out and had to restock) and I was able to take the day off to go grab it with my son riding along with me. My plan was to utilize my bare-frame Ironton to haul the wood back. This was my first time towing a trailer long distance, and it was the first time the Ironton would be out on the open road at high speed vs. just a quick jaunt into town so I knew it would be an adventure.

The trip west on I-20 was uneventful and the trailer towed great, even unloaded, due in part i think to the slightly relocated axle and nicely balanced 15 inch tires. The bearings were a bit hot when I checked them at a rest stop (I made a note of it and after the trip, backed off on the axle nut a bit and added some more grease). The weather forecast was starting to look grim, with violent thunderstorms beginning to materialize all over the metro area moving east at high speed.

I threaded through downtown Atlanta with white knuckles in mad-max noon-time traffic and got the cargo strapped down and tarped top/bottom just before the sky opened.  so much sweat.


this was the sweetness i had to wait on for longer than anticipated. made it home OK without a single drop getting to the wood. good thing too, the rain was a total deluge at times.


mah brothas! They're genuinely a nice company to work with, and even though the wait was annoying, it wasn't entirely their fault


My son was riding along because of the holiday break in summer camp, and after such a busy morning we had to find a place to eat pronto or he was going to melt down.  went to a place i knew had decent food but it was slammed even at 2pm.  made it in OK, parked OK, but on the way out we got this souvenier:



got hit by one of these, he pulled up behind me as we tried to leave the parking lot and didn't see the trailer over the front of the hood.  hit the trailer frame square with the little point on the chrome part of the bumper, dead center.

he actually got it worse than i did, but he really didn't care about the truck and was pretty apologetic.  that's just how it goes in Atlanta, its chaos all the time.  the impact was pretty light, just pushed the Xterra a little and didn't damage anything else like the hitch pin or ball hitch.  unfortunately i was on a tight schedule because i had to pick up my wife 2.5 hrs away (its her car and she can't drive mine with the manual) so we just decided to not get anything involved, traded info just in case and move on.  could have been way worse if he was lifted or was moving faster than an idle crawl. Got home OK otherwise, pulled the trailer in the garage and just decided to deal with it the next day.

Next afternoon comes around and I decided I had to face how to fix this thing. I just sort of sat there staring at this bent crossmember trying to figure out what to do. tried wailing on it with a sledge, nothing, just made loud noises. as i'm hammering away, wife pulls in the driveway and i had an epiphany, i know what will bend this back. i told her to stop, laid out 2 small scraps of plywood and bridged the middle with the crossmember, bent part sticking up. she's looking at me like I'm more of an idiot than usual. but i wave her forward, she stops the xterra's front tire on top of the crossmember, and then backed back off again.

BAM! straight as an arrow again, ha! brute force rules.

the hit did throw the frame a bit out of square so i did get to apply my sledge skills to a corner to persuade it to budge 1/4" back in one direction and line stuff up again. the frame will never be perfect now but its 99% lined up and that's fine, its not like this thing is going into outer space.

[Scotter]

floor time! i used pine 1x3's and the kreg pocket jig to build the frame.


look ma, no wheels. the wobbly tongue wheel wasn't gonna cut it and i don't like that the tongue wheel is offset to one side of the tongue which torques the chassis torsionally. i had to add some 1x3 pine scrap to make a spacer between the gear and frame mounting point to allow the gear to fold all the way up securely. $20 for the pair on amazon, woot


deck resting nice and flat after using a forstner bit to allow the chassis bolts to recess in the deck



this hard styrofoam insulation getting fitted to the gaps in the deck

[Scotter]

installed the underfloor storage box with extra scrap plywood. then, flipped the deck over on the frame, 2 coats of Zinsser primer on the exposed underside to ensure that extra bit of waterproofing protection underneath the undercoating that i'll apply


the strips of wood help bridge the gap between the deck and the chassis rails that go the width.


1 quart was the perfect amount


followed up with 3M undercoating. i considered Henry's but wanted something that would harden up a little better. grabbed 5 cans of this at the local auto store.


then i drilled out 14 holes around the perimeter of the deck to fasten it down, using the 1.25" forstener bit to allow clearance for the toothed washers.  sunk the first bolt as a test-fit, all good. i hit the washers with some undercoat to help insulate the washer and bolt from any metal reaction.


finally, to use all that flooring i got off craigslist:


closeup of the flush mount lid pulls on the floor compartment.  had to chisel out the reliefs for the pulls, which was time consuming, but it came out OK. functionally, we just needed to be able to lift up the mattress and access one side at a time for nicknacks, so a hinge didn't make sense.


i know the flooring is heavier than it needs to be, but i just love how it looks and i'll be using the camper on some occassions without the mattress in it, such as for race weekends where i'll be storing tools/spares next to my bedding as well. for those situations i wouldn't mind having a nice stout floor.

[Scotter]

finally, walls! i spend WAY too much time here


splice time. 2 inch lap joint secured with Titebond III and lots of weight.

i took too much material off both sides, so i made a filler strip which you can see right in the middle (lighter wood) and it worked great, thankfully.


made my grid and mapped out my shape.  dusted off my ancient used jigsaw and went to town.


closeup of that sexy 70's fecal brown color, its what contractors ask for!


acquire humans, test fit them.  we're using an 8 inch foam mattress.  kiddo is sleeping width-wise on a loft (shelf) over our shins until he's too long and then i probably get kicked out to a tent so he can sleep lengthwise.  i moved the bulkhead at my wife's feet back about 2 inches for a little more foot room, and the loft up another 2 inches so we can sleep on our sides without cracking our knees on the edge.  the galley counter is oriented to clear a Yeti 75 on the floor, and is deep enough to allow space for opening a Coleman Triton propane stove.

[tony.latham]

I think you're right on the money!

Steve Fredrick's shop manual is indispensable, and a good investment early on. In my case, it easily paid for itself in saved materials, saved time, and a better built TD than I could have done without it.

Ditto....

Tony

[Scotter]

thanks! I DO need to get Steve's manual, its on the to-do list before i get too far along.

[KCStudly]

I have the same jig saw!

[KTM_Guy]

I have the same jig saw!

I have one too that is enjoying retirement since I got the Bosch.


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