ae6black wrote:... When I built my tear, I built heavy duty with 3/4 plywood ... what is the heaviest weight on this forum for a 4 x 8 teardrop? ...
* I think my 4x8 (at
2220+ lbs) may still be the heaviest, due to using 3/4" plywood all-around, then bracing inside with 1" and 1/2" oak boards, and later reinforcing the frame with 1/4" steel angle. I used 10-12 tubes of PL adhesive, 5 gallons of poly & paint, probably 50 lbs of steel bracing & hardware in the shell alone, 150 lbs of A/C and on-board generator equipment, and ?? lbs of storage solutions everywhere. The list goes on and on....
* The trailer frame I started with was very small, with a feeble axle, which was inadequate to carry the load, even on my first trip (
1438 lbs), so I upgraded the axle and beefed-up the side-rails to carry the load, which had already become
1600 lbs. At one point, I tried to reduce the weight, but then decided to go with the flow, and just kept adding-to.
* On my last trip in 2020, my trailer weighed (not scaled in a few years, but all "added load" pieces are weighed before addition or subtraction from the total) around
2220 lbs (+/- 100 lbs). Still heavy. Glad I opted for a 3500 lb axle and 3000 lb springs.
* Concerning the basic frame's weight, I believe it was
236 lbs (50" x 60", with 1000 lb axle? and 8" wheels/tires). After enlarging it to 50" x 96" with welded-on steel tubing, with a new 3" square tube tongue, coupler+chains+jack, a 3/4"+ thick floor (1/2" ply, +1/4 Luan, + Titebond2 and +46 fasteners), new axle hubs/bearings+ 1.5" wheel spacers, +14" wheels and tires, the total rolling weight was
400 lbs, as weighed at a recycler's scale.
* Later, just prior to packing for the first trip, I weighed it again at a steel supplier's scale, at
1280 lbs (the last time I actually weighed the trailer as a whole).
Perhaps my trailer now weighs possibly less or more than my guesstimated 2220 lbs, but I do weigh all items added on a bathroom scale I keep in the garage.