help with my floor

[rhltechie]

thanks for the info kerry. bobhenry did suggest maybe finding a friendly telephone pole..lol.

i have some pretty hefty trees in the yard, so maybe i will give that a go when i get more time to do work. it really sux i spent the entire day basically tearing apart when had taken me three weekends roughly to put together!

now that its DST, the weekends are pretty much it. once the sun goes down..brrrrr...holy moly its cold!!! looking into a small ceramic heater though...maybe to get out there in anyways.

oh well...i expected frustrations being a complete noob so i will press on no matter how bad it sucked today!!

[S. Heisley]

Hi, Mandy:

I may be all wet; but, here's an idea:

I would build a wood frame that sits down inside the angle frame and comes up just level with the top edge. Put 3 coats of CPES on it so it doesn't rot. (I think you've already done both of these.) Next, I'd Bolt nice, strong and straight CPES'd 2x4's (or 2x6's?*) all the way around the outside edge, bolting them all the way through the metal and the inside wooden frame. *These should cover the outside frame and come up above it some as they will probably become a trim feature on your trailer. This may straighten the metal frame(?). If it doesn't, you can always trim down the outside bolted wood boards in the places where the metal bulges and fill in any areas in the inside frame area that aren't filled with wood. (If the spaces are big spaces, glue wood in them.) Do not trim down except where metal is as the area above the metal frame is where you will be squared off properly. Now, you can sit your walls against the trim boards and attach them to both the floor and the side trim boards and hopefully be square.

Again, this could be all wet and wrong. If this idea belongs in the scrap pile, please, people, speak up and say so, as I wouldn't want to make things worse for Mandy.
Thanks

[rhltechie]

Hi, Mandy:

I may be all wet; but, here's an idea:

I would build a wood frame that sits down inside the angle frame and comes up just level with the top edge. Put 3 coats of CPES on it so it doesn't rot. (I think you've already done both of these.) Next, I'd Bolt nice, strong and straight CPES'd 2x4's (or 2x6's?*) all the way around the outside edge, bolting them all the way through the metal and the inside wooden frame. *These should cover the outside frame and come up above it some as they will probably become a trim feature on your trailer. This may straighten the metal frame(?). If it doesn't, you can always trim down the outside bolted wood boards in the places where the metal bulges and fill in any areas in the inside frame area that aren't filled with wood. (If the spaces are big spaces, glue wood in them.) Do not trim down except where metal is as the area above the metal frame is where you will be squared off properly. Now, you can sit your walls against the trim boards and attach them to both the floor and the side trim boards and hopefully be square.

Again, this could be all wet and wrong. If this idea belongs in the scrap pile, please, people, speak up and say so, as I wouldn't want to make things worse for Mandy.
Thanks

I was actually leaning towards the putting of the boards on the outside anyway to hide the angle iron...so i follow you there. I had not thought of it helping to square things up by bolting all the way through the trailer and the frame....this sounds like a good idea. I am def considering this!

thanks for your replies!! you are all most helpful..as usual

[S. Heisley]

While, I normally have good problem solving skills, I, too, am a novice at building TD's and TTT's. So, I would very, very much appreciate it if someone else would give their opinion of the above idea.

Please 'n' Thanks.

[dmckruit]

You could do several things. You can try to force the trailer square by putting some screws (using a washer) into the side of the frame where you are trying to make it true. I would insert some shims in between the wood and the frame on the other side though.

Or you can get one of those ratcheted tie downs and wrap it around the trailer where you want to even it up and crank er down.

As for the floor, I would just get another piece of plywood and lay it on top of the existing floor, so that it is above the angle iron and at least flush with it on the sides.

[rhltechie]

You could do several things. You can try to force the trailer square by putting some screws (using a washer) into the side of the frame where you are trying to make it true. I would insert some shims in between the wood and the frame on the other side though.

Or you can get one of those ratcheted tie downs and wrap it around the trailer where you want to even it up and crank er down.

As for the floor, I would just get another piece of plywood and lay it on top of the existing floor, so that it is above the angle iron and at least flush with it on the sides.

I had def thought about the ratcheting tie downs and got them out..but i was thinking the wrong way..i was trying to go longwise and i only had 15' ones.

i had planned on washers below the subframe to keep the wood up and let any water that did get it...get out!

as for my existing floor...poor thing. after i ripped the plywood from the 2x4's i felt like i had just kicked my dog (not that i kick my dog..but yeah, anyway). i am not sure i can reuse it. i will have to see when i take another look.

[toypusher]

Mandy,

I think that I said it above but just to be sure, you could use the ratcheting straps to 'rack' the trailer frame. Just hook them to the opposite corners and the longest measurement. This may be safer and less likely to overdo it than using force on one corner and bracing the other. Just a couple of options that I know for a fact that both of them will work because I have used both methods. I have also used rope or chain and a strong stick or bar and created a turniquit(sp?) so to speak.

Get the frame straight and then get your floor system bolted in place and you should be good to go.

You really need to put the trailer on something solid supporting each of the 4 corners and get the wheels off the ground or remove them entirely. Do this even before attempting to straighten your frame (unless backing it into something is the method you choose. Double check for square, especially if it is moved at all after you straighten it.

[Miriam C.]

well...i cant so much return it as i have already modified it. my dad welded some stuff on for me to create an a frame tongue, so i am pretty much stuck with the trailer, just need to decide how to move forward. it doesnt seem to be too terribly off, just enough to cause me some grief.

when you say axle measurements, do you just mean from the front of the trailer to the axle on both sides?

Yep. If you look at Kerry's picture and put in Axles. If the axles are even from the tongue but your sides are more than a little bit out, you need to get your dad's help. You need to end with the axle to tongue measure the same on both sides. ( now a little bit won't matter)

If your trailer is out less than a 1/4" I would ignore it and build---but that is just me.

[Steve_Cox]

Here's a pic of my frame straightener.

[reiltear]

Hi Mandy!

I'm sorry, I guess I'm a little late with my post. I had an idea that might have helped.



If you measured your plywood frame and cut it parallel to the corner metal in your trailer frame, I think it would have been a fairly easy matter to fill those gaps with some straight wood. Just glue and screw the daylights out of it and then reCPES it.



The walls would have covered the new seams, or, if not, corner round would.



I think that the trailer being 1/8" out of square(unless I misread one of your previous posts) isn't that big of a deal. How clean are the corner welds, etc.?

And don't despair, the only people who don't have "learning experiences" are the ones who don't do anything.

[rhltechie]

Hi Mandy!

I'm sorry, I guess I'm a little late with my post. I had an idea that might have helped.



If you measured your plywood frame and cut it parallel to the corner metal in your trailer frame, I think it would have been a fairly easy matter to fill those gaps with some straight wood. Just glue and screw the daylights out of it and then reCPES it.



The walls would have covered the new seams, or, if not, corner round would.



I think that the trailer being 1/8" out of square(unless I misread one of your previous posts) isn't that big of a deal. How clean are the corner welds, etc.?

And don't despair, the only people who don't have "learning experiences" are the ones who don't do anything.

I very much appreciate your putting your time into making a sketch for me...it's hard to find good people elsewhere to put in this much effort to help someone they do not know!

steve, miriam, and kerry...i think you all have the same main idea of the whole getting the trailer square thing. I will def try this after i get my floor framing back together as for the axle measurements, they are the same on each side. it just seems to be a little out of square, so hopefully i can pull it in and move on from the floor...finally!!

[bobhenry]

Here's a pic of my frame straightener.

" You'll put your eye out kid " ( Santa to Ralphie Parker)

[S. Heisley]

So, you straighten it like you would a fence gate. Who'd think you could do it with something that big...and heavy metal at that! When you see a picture of it, it looks do-able.

[b.bodemer]

Mandy,

I had a similar problem with the same trailer when I was helping my friend Kate build her convertible td. Look closely at the front and rear profile to see the uneven area.

We made sure the floor was level and then simply hid the frame with trim at the end of the build..........just like Steve Cox suggested.





Barb

[S. Heisley]

Metal has a memory. Chances are, the frame got tweaked out of shape during shipping and will pop right into square when you do what Steve and Kerry demonstrated here. But, it's also possible that the pieces of metal were out of shape when they were made into a frame. If that is the case, the metal could 'remember' and pull back to its original wacked-out shape. After you tweak it, you might want to take it down a bumpy road to see if the shape holds. If the shape doesn't hold, you'll definitely want to hide it.

Just my 2 cents.