Extending Over The Wheel Wells Or Not?

[Franklin]

The Tractor Supply store got some trailers in and I liked a 5 1/2 x 8 foot trailer. It seems most trailer plans build out beyond the wheel wells - why is that? Cathy

[bbarry]

Many older "canned ham" trailers built over the wheels, but the majority of teardrops are built between the wheels and fenders are used. In my case, I had to widen my axle to move my wheels outward in order to have a 5' width inside my wheels. If you found a good deal on a 5' wide trailer and don't need to build wider than 5', then you are good to go. I'd make the decision based on 1) how wide a body do you want, and 2) what look do you want (fenders or not).

[bobhenry]

5'7" out to out 5'4" inside. Thats why we call him chubby. (like us)

[john]

It is first of all personal choice.

I prefer to put the fenders to the outside in an effort to maximize interior space.

Many of these trailers are small.

[bobhenry]

i went over the wheels to maximize space ! ???????

[Arne]

If i had it to do over, I'd put the wheels under the body for aerodynamic reasons..... my jeep fenders have to be causing some noticeable drag.

By under, I would have wheel sized openings in the side of the body with some type of small fender flare around the opening.. so the entire wheel would be visible, just not outside the wall.

[john]

i went over the wheels to maximize space ! ???????

Fenders outside are fenders not inside.
If they are outside more room is left inside because they are....uhh....outside.

[Nobody]

If i had it to do over, I'd put the wheels under the body for aerodynamic reasons..... my jeep fenders have to be causing some noticeable drag.

By under, I would have wheel sized openings in the side of the body with some type of small fender flare around the opening.. so the entire wheel would be visible, just not outside the wall.

That's the way I did mine Arne. Used a diamond tread fender from Northern Tool; split it lengthwise & cut to length for my 12" wheels/tires then modified each piece to fasten to the body. Ended up with about 2 1/2" fenders (flares?) at each wheel well opening. Used it like that for a while but then took the diamond tread 'cut outs' that came from the lower trim when I cut the wheel well openings & fastened them to the fenders as a sorta 'skirt'. The fenders & skirts improved the entire look IMO.

Original look


Fenders w/out skirts


Skirts added

[Toytaco2]

I built out over the wheels because I wanted a 5' wide trailer, but started with the 4x8 HF frame on account of its low cost (got the heavy duty 1,740lb HF on sale with a coupon for $269). I have to say I thought building in the wheel wells on the inside was kind of a pain. I used rubber fender molding from Austin Hardware around the wheel openings. Like everyone on the forum says: "Its your trailer, you can build it any way you want". By the way, mine's not only 5' wide, its also 5' tall.

[bobhenry]

This is all I had 1 1/2 " bumps so I added 2 layers of 3/4 blue foam and capped over the entire floor including the wheel wells with a sub floor of 7/16 osb. Sprayed liberally underneath with truck bed liner for protection and I now have a perfectly flat 5'4" by 9' floor that is fully insulated.



So I guess there is outside , inside , and underneath

[john]

Hmmm. I forgot the underneath route

even though I was once there too.

[Steve F]

Mine are half in and half out I wanted to match the track of my Jeep as it runs better offroad like that but I also wanted to keep the body in the draft of the Jeep to help minimise drag. Basically it's the same sort of setup as the jeep.





Cheers
Steve

[Arne]

Those wheel positions and skirts are exactly what I had in mine (too late).. I like the idea of using a fender inserted into the cut out w

tion from debris like the diamond one above. I had not thought about that.

I'm still thinking of making that a project, to narro the axle and put the wheels under. I agree that in most cases, the intrustion into the cabin is not a big deal. I rarely sleep against the wall.

Good ideas all, thank you.

and also, it makes the trailer easier to garage... right now, I have a 9" fender on each side, total 18 inches or 1.5 feet... would be nice to not have that sticking out.

[Nobody]

Like Steve F I wanted to 'match' the track of my tow vehicle(s) so I selected the HF 1740# trailer. I also wanted a 5' wide so that required building over the wheels. I built my floor frame of 1 3/4 X 1 1/2" (ripped spruce 2X4's) set with the 1 3/4" side vertical. My wheel wells provide approx 2" of vertical clearance above the tires & intrude only a little over an inch vertically into the cabin (using a 4" memory foam mattress with a 1 1/2" memory foam topper we never even know they're there). I've since added a 1" thick steel 'spacer' between the spring & the axle seat to provide additional clearance when off-roading or carrying more 'stuff' in the TD. Never had any contact between the tire & wheel well but springs do have a tendency to 'sag' over time & I thought, "better safe than sorry."

Floor being 'framed out'


Bottom of floor (& wheel wells) after being asphalt coated & insulation installed


This is how much the wheel wells intrude into the cabin. The galley/cabin bulkhead was installed at the very rear of the wheel wells

[GregB]

All right, I'll be the oddball. I built mine 63" wide with wheels inside. I used the HF 1740 frame heavily modified. I've got 15" wheels, so the frame sat pretty high, 15" from the ground and the wheel wells still intruded into the cabin 8" vertically. I like the look of the fenders so I've bought another axle (that's 3 for those keeping count) that pushes the wheels outside the body and allows me to drop the whole trailer about 4". Track is now a massive 79", but it should look better, and this time I ordered brakes.

For those who are keeping track, you may be wondering how a 79" hubface to hubface axle will mount to a 48-1/2" frame. If you don't care, feel free to skip the following discussion. I was worried about all that unsprung weight hanging out so far from the axle mount and whether it would eventually bend the axle. Andrew also thought that this would not be a good idea. While figuring out a way to extend the width of the frame, I called Dexter and explained my concerns. The engineers at Dexter said that this was not a problem, and that I should simply use a #10 (3500 lb rated) axle instead of a #9. Since my trailer will be about 1500 lbs finished, the beefier axle should easily handle the strain.

My new axle will be done next week and the cool new fenders got here yesterday. I'd rather not deal with a wider track but the trailer will now sit down lower like it should, plus, it will look cooler. As a bonus, I now have external wheel wells that are just big enough to hold, wait for it,... a battery on each side! Now my batteries are right along the axle along with the water tank. That is almost 300 lbs. right at the axle which should significantly lower the polar moment of inertia and make the trailer easier to turn and less susceptible to shimmy and sway.

Anybody want to buy a pristine 2K lb. axle?

GB