Recycling a trailer frame

[Malabar85]

Hello, I am new to the forum, as well as the world of Teardrops. I have been languishing over which body style I like and the ultimate purpose for the vehicle. As I live in Colorado, it is without hesitation that I tell you that I intend on frequenting the mountains, and as such, have decided that my little bundle of joy should be off-road capable. So my first post will be a question about the frame. I have considered constructing my own frame, simply because I have seen the mail order frames and am a little concerned with their durability. However, I have also come across a pop-up camper that is a bombed out shell with a solid, rust free frame. Now, if anyone has seen one of these frames, you know that an extension of the A-frame is going to be an obvious adjustment to this trailer frame. I am curious however; has anyone actually used a recycled pop-up frame as a canvas to build their teardrop work of art?

[doug hodder]

Welcome aboard! I can't give you specific names of people that build with an old pop up frame, but there are plenty of them around. The only thing that I can think of that might be a challenge is adapting that axle to an off road type use. Depending on how much "off road" you want to go, you would probably want the larger hubs and bearings to use a larger wheel/tire combo for ground clearance. A larger wheel is going to need a 5 lug hub. Doug

[angib]

Pop-up frames have been used to make teardrop-ish trailers and there are several in the forum if you search for them.

Modifying a pop-up to make a teardrop frame can be tricky as many pop-up frames are designed to extend wider than the wheels and narrowing them can lead you to a major rebuild.

A pop-up frame makes an ideal base for a slightly larger trailer such as a Widget, and here is a Widget modified to sit on a pop-up frame:





You should make a fairly detailed plan for lengthening the tongue on a pop-up before you decide to start there - several of the pop-up frames displayed on this forum would be quite difficult to modify much (particularly if you didn't want the extension to look like it was an afterthought) and they often use pressed parts that aren't too easy to join to.

Andrew

[Malabar85]

I think that I would, more than likely, end up doing a super modification to the frame. The temptation in going this route is more based in the "free" aspect of this trailer. I do intend on going with a six for by ten foot format, while still maintaining the four foot frame up height. I have really fallen in love with some of the boxier campers that are specifically designed for dragging into the remote locations on BLM land here in the rockies. The clearance provided by a large wheel and tire are imperative, just as the wider stance and a lower center of gravity. I will frame wells for the wheel travel, so I'm looking at 3500# axles and a pintle style hitch to round out the package. So essentially the frame of the pop-up will end up being donor steel, so you can understand the reasons for still considering the scratch build for the frame. I have yet to actually study the pop-up frame in a detailed fashion. So I guess I'm still in the dark about it's limitations. Thanks for the input! Looking forward to learning more and more about possibilities and options.

[Joanne]

I think that I would, more than likely, end up doing a super modification to the frame. The temptation in going this route is more based in the "free" aspect of this trailer. I do intend on going with a six for by ten foot format, while still maintaining the four foot frame up height. I have really fallen in love with some of the boxier campers that are specifically designed for dragging into the remote locations on BLM land here in the rockies. The clearance provided by a large wheel and tire are imperative, just as the wider stance and a lower center of gravity. I will frame wells for the wheel travel, so I'm looking at 3500# axles and a pintle style hitch to round out the package. So essentially the frame of the pop-up will end up being donor steel, so you can understand the reasons for still considering the scratch build for the frame. I have yet to actually study the pop-up frame in a detailed fashion. So I guess I'm still in the dark about it's limitations. Thanks for the input! Looking forward to learning more and more about possibilities and options.

It sounds like you have a pretty good idea of what you want. It also sounds like your trailer is going to get some serious off-road travel with the 3,500# axle and pintle hitch. My suggestion would be to start out with fresh steel and build from scratch.

I started with a boat trailer that I cut apart and put back together as I needed. In the long run it was way more work and I had to replace most of the components anyway, so there wasn't any substantial savings. The metal on the tent trailers is pretty light weight and wouldn't be the easiest to cut apart and rebuild to meet your needs. I think you will find that you won't be happy with the what you have to start with.

If you are going to put that much time, effort and money into building yourself an offroad capable trailer, start with a first class frame.

Just my 02¢ worth.

Joanne

[bobhenry]

Never did understand taking a perfectly servicable vehicle rock crawling to see what you can break so you can spend more money to fix it and see what breaks next time.

Getting off the beaten path is another thing!


I am currently building #3 on a 6x10 popup frame. The tires are wide and well suited to soft soil there is adequate spring travel for most primative vehicle paths. Take the frame and strap on 2 55 gallon drums of water and go "off road" The 900 lb payload should tell you real quick if the frame is adequate for your needs. If you find it less than adequate sell it and build a killer frame I am sure someone would find it a great base for a project trailer as is.

[Steve F]

I reckon build the frame from scratch and recycle the steel that you can from the pop up.

So what are you towing with, what size tyres are you looking at for the TD. 6x10 is a biggie for offroad.

Cheers
Steve

[daveleb55]

My first tear is a popup conversion, I basically gutted it down to the two side walls, the aluminum frame that went around to support the canvas, and the floor, which was in good shape. Joanne and I did extend the tongue about a foot, which helped eliminate fishtailing. I removed around 500 pounds of cabinetry and whatnot, replaced the weight with a plywood body. It came out pretty good for my first effort. I've not taken it off road, as I only have a 4cyl 2 wheel drive, and would be royally screwed if I ever got stuck!

Other folks on this board have built off-road trailers, you may want to research a bit. If you intend to be boondocking in the Colorado Mountains, you might want to have oversize tires and a heavy duty suspension on your trailer. There's plenty of info and knowledge on this board, take your time and do it right the first time!

Dave & Kathleen

[Malabar85]

Alrighty, I have now been through the multitude of strings and photo albums, and was blown away by Steve F's off-road rig. My hat's off to ya Steve, it's almost identical to what I had envisioned. I have abandoned the recycling the pop up concept, as the frame wasn't nearly a beefy as my rig will require. But I do have some updated and more knowledgeable questions. First I should specify that my pick-up is a 2003 4x4 Dodge Dakota, short bed, with a 4.7L V-8. I have no fear that I could drag a teardrop up a trail without wheels attached. I am sporting 29" tires on 15" stock aluminum rims and the truck is equiped with a tow package to include a seven pin wiring pack. Given that info, I will be trying to maintain a level frame for the trailer. So here's the questions that are currently bouncing around in my skull. I have been through the weight and cost charts included in the Sawtooth XL string and need to know if anyone has any questions about the accuracy of the info. Everything seems almost too reasonably priced and substantively lighter than I would ever have guessed. It would be a absolute boon to those of us still in the planning stage, to have access to an itemized list similar to that of the Sawtooth, that addresses weight per foot of the various steel and per panel of engineered wood, etc. etc. etc. I also would like to know if there is a specific mathematic calculation for determining the percentage of total trailer weight should be ahead of the axle and how much should be aft. Having a structural design background, I see a lot of flawed concepts in the frame constuctions, but with that said, my expertise is in non mobile structures. So please chime in, I would hate to be seemingly ready for my first camping adventure only to find that the trailer pulls like a sack of potatos on a bungee cord. Remember, I have a load of interstate highway before I get to journey into the back country.

[Dale M.]

Here is one of the better examples of a off road tear drop in my opinion....

http://www.outbackteardrop.com/

Dale

[angib]

I have some weight estimating data on panel construction and a few typical trailer components in PDF or Excel format:
http://www.angib.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk/t ... t-data.xls
http://www.angib.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk/t ... t-data.pdf

And please note that while page 1 is in scary metric units, page 2 is in pounds and feet!

Andrew

[Malabar85]

C'mon now Angib, not all of us here in the Colonies are afraid of the metric system, and you do have to admit that a 'stone' is a silly unit of measure. I still think we English speaking lands should have some loyalty to the length of Henry VIII's foot. At any rate, thank you for the charts, they are, as you would say, "brilliant".

Say howdy to the Queen for me.......... Elton that is.

[angib]

What we're used to seems easy and logical and what we're not used to seems hard - that's a fair definition of growing old (even in our twenties)!

I grew up and did school woodwork in inches and eighths, but I've only ever worked professionally and around my house in millimetres. Going back to inches/fractions for American teardrop designs was a real struggle - I know it used to be easy, but now it's just a PITA. Even just writing them is a nightmare!

And the silly unit award has to go to the 'slug' - I never had to use it but if I remember rightly it's the force to accelerate a mass of 1 pound at 1 ft/sec2, so 32-ish slugs is 1 pound-force. Used by aeroplane guys.

Andrew

[Juneaudave]

Pop-up frames have been used to make teardrop-ish trailers and there are several in the forum if you search for them.

Modifying a pop-up to make a teardrop frame can be tricky as many pop-up frames are designed to extend wider than the wheels and narrowing them can lead you to a major rebuild.

A pop-up frame makes an ideal base for a slightly larger trailer such as a Widget, and here is a Widget modified to sit on a pop-up frame:






You should make a fairly detailed plan for lengthening the tongue on a pop-up before you decide to start there - several of the pop-up frames displayed on this forum would be quite difficult to modify much (particularly if you didn't want the extension to look like it was an afterthought) and they often use pressed parts that aren't too easy to join to.

Andrew

Hijack...Dog gone it...every time I see the Widget...I want one. Maybe I ought to start planning with a completion date of 2016!

[Malabar85]

okay, next question. I am also making a cedar strip pontoon fishing boat that consists of, obviously the two pontoons and the detachable platform. I will be mounting the pontoons securely to a rack on my pickup, and plan to put the deck on the top of the camper. Are there any strings or does anyone have first hand experience in creating a frame that provides ecto-skeletal protection for the camper, while dragging it through the forest, while also serving as a rack for a boat? The platform of the boat is 72" by 96" overall and weighs in at about 60 lbs.