Help required

[t4camper]

Guys im in the process of seeking a suitable chassis to build my Tear upon, and wondered if, as i have been offered a caravan chassis in ali if this could be used to form the chassis.
What i really need to know as i have looked at many pictures now of completed and likewise part complete ones if i would be able to have the wheels/axle almost at the rear of the chassis making adjustments to it far simpler and if so what are the pros and cons of having the wheels at the rear rather than in the centre.
And what if any recommendations do you have for a minimum overhang at the rear.
This trailer will be quite lightweight as its only going to be sleeping space so will not have cooker, sink etc etc onboard and only really some lights and a matress, a few windows and a door, basically a rectangualr box with a roofbox mounted on its top to give storage and some aerodynamics to it.
Hence my worry about the wheels at the rear and the lack of weight in it, so was worried it wouldnt tow very well as a result.
Slanj

[Bristol Delica]

Hi

It really depends on how long the chassis is to begin with. I started with an old 2 berth caravan and and ended up cutting the best part of four feet of the back of the chassis and about two foot of the front of the floor panel to give me what I thought would be a good placement for the axle.







I did a rough calculation on the likely weight of the materials to build and fortunately this turned out fine as the nose weight is OK. If it hadn't been I might of had use ballast on the front or rear to get the balance right.

HTH

IanJ

[t4camper]

The chassis im looking at is ali so i really dont want to be having to weld it a sit goes into the specialist catagory for such and rather expensive with it
it is currently 13x7 ideally we were looking for a 7x5 or thereabouts just big enough for a double bed really plus insulation etc etc.
so what we were thinking was to lop off whatever overhang there is after the axle to the rear which would leave us with somewhere around 7 x ? and as i say do i need to have an overhang at all or could i just frame it out a small bit after the axle by simply nutting and locktight bolting a piece of the chassis back in thus avioding expensive not nesseasry welding.
Dont fancy touching the front end at the draw bar to complicate really for my talents
HELP
!!!
NEED TO DECIDE IF THIS IS THE ONE BEFORE IT GOES AT £50 its reasonable priced and he will deliver which is a bonus of course.
Slanj

[Rigsby]

Is it definatly an alli chassis or is it galvanised steel? For £50 i would get it any way and weigh the alli panels in and use any bits you can for the build. Personaly i would go for a custom chassis, something like the one i built

or the one i welded up for Northern Munkie
http://tnttt.com/viewtopic.php?t=25491

[t4camper]

Is it definatly an alli chassis or is it galvanised steel? For £50 i would get it any way and weigh the alli panels in and use any bits you can for the build. Personaly i would go for a custom chassis, something like the one i built

or the one i welded up for Northern Munkie
http://tnttt.com/viewtopic.php?t=25491

What would something likes of that cost to get made up then ?? , and would it really be my best option, i suppose from poi nt of view of the fact i would be able to have it made to measure so to speak it might be the best option for this type of build howver buying indespension units for it would not be cheap, although i do like the alloys on it it would be cool if i could get the trailer to accept wheels the same as my vans ones !!!

For now
Slanj[/img]

[Mini Renegade]

Dougie, whilst I can weld I wanted a pro to do the job for me. the basic chassis below including a load of left over steel (enough for 1 more chassis ) cost me £85 plus 15 for a ready made cross beam with mounting plates fitted.


I added a couple more crossmembers myself the painted it.


the cost for it all inc suspension units was £200.

its more viable to spend £200 on an old caravan and strip it.

[Rigsby]

The most expensive bit of my chassis , was the wheels at £20. All the metal was salvaged from one place or another and the axle came from an old trailer. It might be an idea to look on ebay for a 6x4 or a 8x4 trailer and adapt that as a chassis for the td. I asume that being in the Dub scene you will know a welder that will do a few mods to a chassis for a favour or a beer
steve

[t4camper]

Thanks guys
I whilst in the dub scene as it was put, i prefer the T4 scene personally as the dub scene prevokes inages of hippies which i most defo am not and my missus has killed for less of a description of us !!!!

Anyway being that we live in a very small village around 20 mls from both Stirling and Glasgow does tend to present us with a few issues over getting anything major done for us, due to there being very few companies doing anything out here let alone fabricators...

I have ads all over the place looking for a suitable chassis, caravan or trailer one of the best choices to re-cycle i beleive is an old trailer tent due to their suspension and chassis designs but unfortunately nothing is as yet forthcoming.

As the weather is sadly worsenning as the days go by now anyway i'm not to sure i want to be out in the garage for fear of getting blown away not by my design prose but more likely due to the gale force winds we are currently experiencing right now, god is it wild out there..and we are going to a forest in Pitlochry this evening to a sound and light extraviganza, are we mad or what ?, that's the last time my missus gets to run a mock with the credit card online, however this is where my T4 comes into it's own as a disabled driver we are allowed to get access direct to the forest where others have to wait for a shuttle bus so at least when it's over we will be tucked up in a warm dry camper and heading home down the dreaded A9 before the buses even hit Pitlochry to allow the passengers to get their vehicles so not bad from that point of view..

So if we manage to get there and back in one piece my search shall continue tomoz in earnest, as i refuse to give up the first hurdle, i have scetched plans etc and just have to work out how to get them on yawnder tinternet now to show you all just how brilliant i really am...

For now
Slanj

[t4camper]

M R i see youa re also into the old faithful Mini, which was for many years a previous passion of mine i have stripped, rebuilt and redesigned every possible model many times over, and onwed and driven to desrtuction many 1460cc mega mad models.
I also owned a specialist restoration company in Glasgow for a few years until my haelth got the better of me, so it's a subject close to my heart and one i know considerable amounts about.
Good on you for keeping the iconic marque alive and kicking


Slanj

[Mini Renegade]

Ilike to keep them standard, mine is a 1981 clubman estate, one of the last built, apart from the 1960`s Cooper S reverse rims is 100% standard with only a new os sill, doorstep, A post and A panel that isn`t original.

[t4camper]

Good on you keeping it alive
Slanj