Over Engineering

[Forrest747]

Hi my name is Forrest and I am an Engineer.

Ok they say the first step is admiting you have a problem. Well I am sure I am over engineering "Charley". Having never build a trailer before and not sure what is safe limit is I tend to try to make it as bomb proof as I can.

Yet at the same time i am sure I did not need to do half the things and could of made thinner walls and small spars and other items and would of been just as safe.

So what in your opinion is something that most builders over engineer?

[Larwyn]

Not being an engineer I tend to use what I have seen work and to avoid what I have seen fail in a similar application. I design on the fly and try to use what works. Most of my projects do come out over built even though the design and construction methods are loosely based on engineering to which I have been exposed. When I get stumped, I have found that a good "engineering fluid" can be helpful. The absolute best of these specialized fluids is Guinness Extra Stout, which results in what I tend to call "Irish engineering". Shiner Bock is yet another excellent engineering fluid, but as a product of Texas can lead to over sized engineering....

Engineers have likely been a bad influence on me, I reckon.

[GPW]

Prior planning and all ... a distinct advantage ...

Not being an engineer , we must rely on the experience of 10,000 teardroppers for finalizing a design ...

[M B Hamilton]

Larwyn, you just had to go and mention the Shiner. Living in a State where the Liquor Commission appears to believe our residents must be protected from this substance you have now put me into a FUNK for the balance of this week. Maybe longer.

Forrest, a common statement here is to the effect that a first build was overbuilt (and therefore could have been a lot lighter). Andrew and Gage would head my list of those who could offer insightful opinions.

[bobhenry]

Based on what I have seen on here I would say the single
most over engineered item is the frame.....

Yet ironically the tongue remains under engineered. I have
seen on this forum ....bent tongues, broken tongues, and
have attended gatherings where a on the road failure left
a $300 dent in a fellow campers wallet for an on the road
weld job.

My solid 3/4 osb sub sides are over engineered
not quite bear proof but over engineered.

A lot of us over build simply because we are not engineers.
I do not see that as necessarily bad. The engineered design
tends to sometimes creep a bit close to the edge of failure
simply to save a few cents. Most add a safety factor which
is great but then there are those that smugly say thats
close enough.

All of mine have turned out well and I am proud of the fact
they have been tried and proven so just build in whatever
reinforcements that makes you feel comfortable and be
grateful you have the added engineering knowledge to
draw upon.

[Tumbleweed_Tex]

I think the main weakness in the whole engineering concept is based on one of those “that’s-the-way-we’ve-always-done-itâ€

[jss06]

In my opinion over-enginering is relative to the use of the trailer. But then I am the guy that bought a 3500 Diesel to pull a 14K lb. rated gooseneck for a 3500 lb. jeep. But I never had a problem with either the truck or trailer so there you go. I have a tendency to go stronger then necassary so I don't have to worry about it.

Knowing full well what I plan on potentially doing with my teardrop, I want it to be over engineered to keep from having to fix it.

[NathanL]

To paraphrase a famous quote in engineering.

It's not perfect when nothing can be added.

It's perfect when nothing can be taken away and it still function.

[glassice]

BP Engineer are fixing the Gulf Coast Oil Spill
thous that cant do teach thous that can't teach Engineer
there real world the political then engaNEER
I see it dose not work there no place to hang it I can be wrong I'm a Engineer
I see it to big it to small it works on paper but I can be wrong I'm a Engineer
that why prototype are made so there mistake can be fix I can be wrong I'm a Engineer

BUT most mean well I have a friend that a engNEEn but don't tell any one
a engineer is some one you can go to and say I have a projective that i can't remember I need in 12 mi and all the power is out they will show up in 7mi with it done
I have found Engineering is a good starting place better to be 100 time over Engineer than 1% under
If you don"t have to work with Engineers you will not understand this

[rxc463]

HUH?

[caseydog]

I studied art in college, and so far, my TD has survived.

Yes, I think it is quite common to over-think these things.

CD

[caseydog]

HUH?

My thoughts, exactly.

[glassice]

If you don"t have to work with Engineers you will not understand this it a joke with some truth in it.
I bet if your in the Gulf Coast at a bar you will tell no one that you are a BP Engineer

[GPW]

BP is a bad word here ...

[Shadow Catcher]

To take off on the Dilbert the optimist sees the glass as half full, the pessimist sees it as half empty, and the engineer sees it as the wrong size.
I think most tears a grossly over engineered, you look at the aluminum square tubing used in trailers and you know that. most think of walls as discrete structures and not as part of a system composed of walls roof floor that stiffen and reinforce each other. I will tend to agree with Bob Henry the tongue which is subject to bending needs to be well designed. The most failures you see other than suspension and as a result of rot or rust involve the tongue.
Tips: Trailer ball, tighten with torque wrench as follows: 3/4â€