7'*18' V-Nose Cargo Trailer Toy Hauler Conversion

[BigDave_185]

What brand and size tire are you going with? I just put $400 bucks into some tires from Jacks tire n- oil on one of the work enclosed trailers. Zero warranty, zero balancing. Wasn’t real thrilled but it kept us rolling


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[flboy]

What brand and size tire are you going with? I just put $400 bucks into some tires from Jacks tire n- oil on one of the work enclosed trailers. Zero warranty, zero balancing. Wasn’t real thrilled but it kept us rolling


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The tires are GoodYear Endurance ST205/75 R15 Load Range D

[BigDave_185]

If I understand correctly, if we had 16 or I think he said 17.5(?) we could run the new semi trailer modeled tires. But I’m in the same spot as you. Lift the trailer for larger tires or leave it and keep a fresh spare always


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[flboy]

What a job, but all done. I went ahead and rust treated everything I could get to with spray on rust converter and then painted with black Rustoleum paint. The new Timken bearings are really packed well with a quality High Temperature grease. Also, I cleaned up and inspected and tested the electric brakes. It should be good for a while now.

Glad I did the maintenance. The left rear wheel had some play in the bearings and the inner bearing was showing some sign of breakdown. The seal was leaking and grease was black. The original grease in the other 3 wheels still had the red color to it.

Always best to do maintenance at home rather then have to repair on the side of the road. I see that a lot with RV and Boat trailers where they have shredded tires or wheel bearing failure on the side of the highway.

I still have about half the frame to repaint underneath. I sprayed the entire frame underneath with rust converter a few weeks ago. Now I just have to finish spray painting with Rustoleum. Just some minor surface rust, but wanted to stifle it before it got any worse. I think now that the trailer spends most of the time parked on the cement pad instead of the lawn, that helps.





Some nice looking rubber! Hopefully they will last a while.







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[McDave]

Hey Don,
Those are some good looking tires. Were the originals wore out or you just wanted to upgrade to D's? What do you figure you had for miles on the 1st set? That bearing maintenance really is a top priority. Do you have the EZ lube hubs? I have them and they make that job a lot less of a hassle. Still gotta jack it up and remove the wheel, but just so I can verify the grease is moving thru there and that it is all new clean stuff. I only have been taking 4-5 trips a year so I just do it before each trip. I check for proper bearing adj and tire psi and lugs torqued while I'm there. I put new tires on when I got the trailer and again after the conversion so I would say they probably have 20k miles on them and they still look useable. I do try to take the weight off when it is sitting all the time with the jackstands. Hopefully that will help prevent flat spots etc. But I am wondering how many miles to expect them to last? Any clues?

McDave

[flboy]

Hey Don,
Those are some good looking tires. Were the originals wore out or you just wanted to upgrade to D's? What do you figure you had for miles on the 1st set? That bearing maintenance really is a top priority. Do you have the EZ lube hubs? I have them and they make that job a lot less of a hassle. Still gotta jack it up and remove the wheel, but just so I can verify the grease is moving thru there and that it is all new clean stuff. I only have been taking 4-5 trips a year so I just do it before each trip. I check for proper bearing adj and tire psi and lugs torqued while I'm there. I put new tires on when I got the trailer and again after the conversion so I would say they probably have 20k miles on them and they still look useable. I do try to take the weight off when it is sitting all the time with the jackstands. Hopefully that will help prevent flat spots etc. But I am wondering how many miles to expect them to last? Any clues?

McDave

Hi McDave... Thanks. The originals were in overall good shape based on tread with the exception of one tire which was worn down on the inside tread. I do not know which hub it was off of as I wasn't paying close attention when I removed them. I wish I knew if it was off the hub with the suspect bearing/seal. Also, I have had the trailer 4 years and the date codes on the tires were a few years old when I bought the trailer (I find out later). Basically, "replace them at 6 years" regardless of tread wear is what I have been told by folks who haul for a living. Sitting and not being used contributes to sidewall deterioration... Now you will read variations of this on the WWW, but since I was inclined towards buying/upgrading new tires anyhow.... the age convinced me. For miles..I really do not know how many were on the tires. I'd say not more than 10,000. Mostly trips to Ocala NF with a trip to North Georgia and South Carolina a few times. I'd have to keep a log.. maybe I should on these new tires.


I do have EZ Lube axles and they had good grease coverage. I think the hub that looked bad to me probably had a bad seal (or bad installation) from day one. I probably did not need new bearings on the other three axles... but I just wanted to make sure I had good quality bearings since I was already in there. I know the MFG's will use the cheapest parts they can get sometimes. I don't know if all bearings made in China are bad... I just know I trust Timken bearings made in USA.

McDave... it sounds like you are doing all the right things... just keep a good eye on the tires if they are over 6 years old. A Lot of information and probably misinformation on what age is too old to trust. I know my goal this time is to wear the tread out before the tires get too old.. That means I am using the CTC which is my goal!

[aggie79]

Don,

Good job on the bearing replacement and rust removal/painting!

From someone that used to be a procrastinator, I now am a firm believer in preventative maintenance. I too would have changed all four bearings even if only one needed to be replaced. I do the same for taillights, headlights, etc. If one gets changed, all get changed. On my travel trailer, I noticed one of my incandescent tail lights was getting dim. By the end of the day, I changed all taillights, marker lights, porch light, and interior lights to LED.

It may be a sickness or being anal, but it brings me comfort to do maintenance on my schedule rather than being forced into emergency repair mode.

Take care,
Tom

[McDave]

It may be a sickness or being anal, but it brings me comfort to do maintenance on my schedule rather than being forced into emergency repair mode.

Bingo! I am in emergency mode most of the time anyway, so when I do take time to do regular or preventative maintenance I try to be thorough. I'd rather not have to be turning a wrench while I am on vacation, but I always do. C'est la vie...

McDave

[flboy]

I put a facelift on the Tow Vehicle. I always liked the Raptor style grille and I needed some sort of light bar for the forest and off road at night.

Pulled the CTC around front and into the driveway today. I needed to do some spring cleaning in there and I rewired the rear Solar Array to be in parallel instead of series. Also need to start packing during the week. Leaving for ONF Thursday AM for the weekend with my Valentine of 36 years. Glad she's up for the trip. Going to do some hiking along the Florida Trail, relaxing, Ham Radio Ops, and just some good old camp cooking. I am not taking my dirtbike for the first time I can remember. Going to a new place Tommy and I discovered last month. Looks to be a real nice spot. I will make a video.






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[McDave]

Oh Yeah! That looks real good. Those light bars are incredibly bright and I like the way its tucked in there. Nice job.
36 years!? Wow. I'd say she's a keeper. Amazing how fast time goes by. Our 25th is this year and I swear it was just a blink of an eye. She hasn't changed a bit, but I'm starting to feel a little older. Shoveling all that snow takes a lot more out of me than it used to. Sure wish I'd met her sooner.
Congratulations Mr. and Mrs. Smith. It takes two good people to last that long.

McDave

[Augie Dog]

Hey Don,
I was camping Veterans Day week end and was talking to the camp host who was camping in a cargo conversion by the way. Anyway he shared with me he used to work for Camping World as a tech so we were talking about the advantages of using a CT over a factory built RV. Long story short he shared with me a fool proof sealer that can be used on the roofs of CT,RV,mobile homes etc. It's called Crazy Seal and comes with a 50 year warranty against any kind of leakage after it's applied. I went to their website and checked them out here is the link. https://crazyseal.com/crazy-seal/

[flboy]

Oh Yeah! That looks real good. Those light bars are incredibly bright and I like the way its tucked in there. Nice job.
36 years!? Wow. I'd say she's a keeper. Amazing how fast time goes by. Our 25th is this year and I swear it was just a blink of an eye. She hasn't changed a bit, but I'm starting to feel a little older. Shoveling all that snow takes a lot more out of me than it used to. Sure wish I'd met her sooner.
Congratulations Mr. and Mrs. Smith. It takes two good people to last that long.

McDave

Thanks McDAve... We married young. She was 19 and I was 20. Just kids! We grew up together and raised three great children. Thankful every day.

Time sure does fly by! Congrats on the 25 years! That's a big one. Do something special for her.

[flboy]

Hey Don,
I was camping Veterans Day week end and was talking to the camp host who was camping in a cargo conversion by the way. Anyway he shared with me he used to work for Camping World as a tech so we were talking about the advantages of using a CT over a factory built RV. Long story short he shared with me a fool proof sealer that can be used on the roofs of CT,RV,mobile homes etc. It's called Crazy Seal and comes with a 50 year warranty against any kind of leakage after it's applied. I went to their website and checked them out here is the link. https://crazyseal.com/crazy-seal/

Augie Dog, Thanks for the tip. Will keep that in mind when it is time to reseal. The roof's on the CTC typically only will develop leaks along the edges and where any holes are cut. The roofs themselves are metal so not prone to holes. My problem was a poor seal I had around an antenna I put on. Fixed that. That was the only one I did not Dicor seal because it had a rubber seal (that dried up) and is meant to swap out when needed. Needless to say, it is now drowned in dicor. A tree branch could still catch it like last time, so I watch it. But regardless, nothing lasts forever and everything requires some maintenance.. so I keep an eye out.

[flboy]

At Hopkins Prairie. Beautiful place. Enjoying theCTC.



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[McDave]

Wow. That is beautiful. Looks like you got the place to yourselves for now. Well, make her a nice dinner for St. Valentines Day. Enjoy some of that peace and quiet.

McDave