The trailer chassis is going to be made of 6061 T6 Aluminum I-Beams which only weigh 1.9lbs/ft. Compaired to the 2x2x1/8 angle iron from the superlight chassis plans I got on the forum here the aluminum will only weigh about 4.5 pounds more, so depending on cost and availability (not to mention finding a welder) I may simply go with the angle iron instead. There's about 18-ish feet of 6061 in the chassis, so it should end up weighing around 34lbs before putting on the axle, hitch coupler, and the trailer jack. The axle will be a Dexter torsion axle (about 52lbs according to NorthernTool), with 15-inch rims and two Goodyear Assurance TripleTred tires (about 32lbs for the rims and 36lbs for the tires). The trailer jack is going to be a simple side-crank jack (12-15lbs). My total trailer chassis weight should be right around 166lbs. My bike can pull a total of 480lbs with up to a 60lb tongue weight after taking my body weight, my sidecar, my dog, and my usual gear weight into account, which means I need to keep my teardrop body around 214lbs to give myself allowance for up to 100lbs of gear, food, supplies, etc. The tongue box is a nice idea, however that will be the first thing to go if I think it'll put me over weight.
The body of the trailer will be an assortment of 1/8, 1/4, and 1/2-in marine ply, with 1x2 pine framing and 1x12 hard insulation foam. Pretty standard from what I've read on the forum here, though I'll be using mostly 1/8" ply to cut down on weight. Overall dimensions for the trailer body will be 56"x102".
One of the parts I think will be neat is the ice box built into the galley. The compartment on top will house the ice, and the bottom will have roughly the same space as a 40-qt cooler. Both will have a drain plug. I've found several places selling reproduction ice box hardware, so I'll have a nice vintage looking ice box when I'm done instead of a refrigerator. I'm also planning on using plexiglass on the top cabinate doors in the galley and inside the trailer cabin. I think it will look nice. All of my cabinate hardware will come from the same sources as my reproduction ice box hardware, so it will all have a vintage 1930s/40s look.
The mattress is going to be a 6" memory foam mattress, which should stick up about two inches above the door jamb. I'm planning on building my doors and windows, though I'm still working out what type of glass to use in the windows. Recommendations would be appreciated, though I'm wondering if I can go to the local pick-n-pull and grab a couple of door windows to cut down. I'm not sure if I can cut auto-glass like regular glass though.
I'm going to be working with my mentor (a carpenter) on this, as well as going to 10BitWorks here in San Antonio to use their workspace and tools (not to mention learning how to use them from the far more experienced folks there). I'm even considering taking their welding class and possibly (emphasis on "possibly") trying to weld the chassis myself...though, I am still heavily leaning towards hiring a welder for that part.
That's all I have right now, but I'll keep updating this as I get new parts in, work out more ideas, and start getting some building going.
