building for real

[Woody]

I would figure/engineer it to be supportive from the teardrop body itself, instead of the tongue or with minimal support from it. It would be a concern of tongue flexing or twisting issues and transfer it to the shroud assembly and then to the front wall framing and skin. Possible future leak or cosmetic issues down the road (literally) If you look at , for example a Camp-Inn trailer, The front box is integral with the trailer body when it is built.

May be Cary from Camp-Inn could shed some light on their design pertainig to this issue and if this problem was considered

[s4son]

Question? How do you determine the placement of the axle before building the body with the A/C. stove, etc. I am very concerned with tongue weight as my tow vehicle will only support 100 pounds. I think I'm going to have a welded frame built for me but i'm not sure what to do about axle location.

[toypusher]

Since the teardrop floor (or deck) is already built and fastened in place, then I believe that some bracing from under the frame would be best. Possibly a couple of metal brackets that go under the frame and bolt to the front and 2nd crossmembers and extend out as far as the A/C unit does. Then you could put verticle supports on to suppor the back of the A/C (the part sticking out of the tear).

Kerry

[madjack]

...my tongue sits 2" below the frame, my front box goes down to the tongue but makes up the front bulkhead of the trailer. The box is built complete on work bench, then using 1" aluminum angle cleats it is mounted to floor and then screwed into front of trailer frame, while it does hang down 2 " it is independent of tongue. Once again using angle for cleats the sides are put up and screwed to the box and floor making it all one structure, with the installation of the footwell bulkhead and the main galley shelf, all similarily installed with the angle cleats it has made an extremely rigid structure...The ceiling, which is already perpared is a piece of 3/8 bendy ply with the spars and other ceiling framing allready attached will instal as one piece further stiffening the overall body
hope at least some of you understood what I said
madjack

[toypusher]

Here's what I was referring to in my previous post:



Just a rough sketch, but hope it conveys the idea. The red is the bracket and of course the angled lines would really not be wavy.

Kerry

[Woody]

Mad jack,
I hadn't made the connection

[madjack]

Mad jack,
I hadn't made the connection

...that's why your still at the station, lookin' kinda dum....er ah LOST
madjack

[Woody]

You mean the train left the station already? I missed my connection. Dag Nabbit

[IraRat]

Here's what I was referring to in my previous post:



Just a rough sketch, but hope it conveys the idea. The red is the bracket and of course the angled lines would really not be wavy.

Kerry

Thanks for the sketch, Kerry. I'm leaving the office now but I'm gonna look at this tonight from home. I guess my main confusion is how to best do it with the deck already bolted down and such. However, according to your sketch, this wouldn't affect skinning at all. Like, I can do this after I'm fully skinned.

[toypusher]

Ira,

I think that it would work this way just fine, and you could wait until the rest of the tear was skinned (or even pealed )

Kerry

[madjack]

Question? How do you determine the placement of the axle before building the body with the A/C. stove, etc. I am very concerned with tongue weight as my tow vehicle will only support 100 pounds. I think I'm going to have a welded frame built for me but i'm not sure what to do about axle location.

...s4, thers a lot of factors to figure in, 1rst of all how long is your trailer going to be, is it a more or less traditional tear design, are you going to have onboard water, A/C, microwave, battery(s). You also need to consider your door location so that your fenders will not interfere with closure and are you going to have a tongue box(storing?)
Having said all of that, a good starting point is 3ft for an 8fter and 4ft for a 10fter(others may disagree but this is my post)
I used the K.I.S.S. principle...I drew out my profile to size along with all of the items I mentioned above and using an eye experienced with 25yrs of driving/loading big rigs I placed axle so that all the weight of the heavy addons were directly above and behind the axle...when I marked that point it came out to 3' on my 8'er
Somebodies site(angib?) has a worksheet for figuring exact placement
My tear is not finished so I cannot be exact but I am figuring around 800#s and between 80/100#s tongue weight(I have A/C, onboard water, cookstove and batterysystem
madjack

[s4son]

Madjack,
Thanks for the info. I have planned my frame and will be getting a welder to put it together for me. I'll have to play around with the axle and weigh some of the components you mentioned to figure the best way to distribute the load. By the way, your tear looks great. I especially like the box in front.

Scott

[doug hodder]

MadJack..........great design!!! I've got the same fenders, really a classic look I think.... I didn't get a chance to do my front box prior to Minden. Maybe I'll lay something out this weekend and get going on it. No AC, just a battery, and a place to store some of the basic tools I might need, plus some leveling boards.....After Minden, I'm thinking about some other design ideas for my next one. I'd like to have a new one to take to Minden next year....It's like building boats, build one to learn, build one that you want to keep.....Doug Hodder

[madjack]

...building one to learn was always the plan. We spent so much time trying to design the "perfect" tear we almost forgot that idea. We are happy with everything in front of the galley, not so much with the galley. Our galley was designed around A/C and a themo-electric refrigerator...will probably go with a Pet-Cool(maybe) and definetly no fridge on the next one. Doing away with those 2 items will open up a lot of options for the galley and interior cabinets. Squeezing an A/C into a 4x8 tear was a real "shoehorn" experience, along with adding the fridge, greatly limited our design options
madjack

[Woody]

Madjack'
where did you get the fenders from?