The interest in a teardrop is amazing.

[GPW]

... and I felt guilty about dragging along the dog ...

[Pizzaguy]

HAPPY EASTER! ...... um what were we talkin' about?

[Mayberryman]

It sounds like your first trip with the trailer was a fairly good "HOP". Sorry, I just could not resist.

[pete42]

HAPPY EASTER! ...... um what were we talkin' about?

Now that's just not right I hop the GF doesn't see it.............

[Artificer]

Now that's just not right I hop the GF doesn't see it.............

Did I mention that this is a meat breed of rabbit? Someone calculated that if you start with a mated pair of rabbits Jan 1st, by the end of the year, if didn't control who did what to whom, you would have 250 rabbits. At 5lbs each, thats close to the weight of a steer.

No, the GF wouldn't freak. She's had to take bunny "parts" from the dogs when I've processed.

Michael

[TheBizMan]

I raised rabbits for two years. Canned some of the meat for the family and sold the rest. Also sold the pelts and the droppings. Back in the '70s, we made and extra $500 a month. Rabbit is good eating.

[Deryk the Pirate]

heh I hear roof rabbit is good lol

[Artificer]

Well, its back. 6,400 miles or there abouts later and it seems to be holding up. The one thing I'm not happy with is the Carlise tires. The driver side tire has a section of the tread that is worn more than the others. Its a band about a quarter of the way in from the outside edge. If you look at the left tire in the photo here: http://www.carlisletire.com/products/tr ... atalog.jpg, the wear is on the second band.

Would driving 1500 miles with 25-50mph winds from the side cause this wear?

Michael

[bobhenry]

If this looks like a grove you could wind up with this........



one ill placed bolt

[Artificer]

No, its not rubbing. I made sure it was clear since the trailing arm suspension moves a lot. (up to 4") The wear looks like scrubbing. I checked the alignment before, and it was under 0.5deg. from straight. I'll have to check tire pressure when I get off of work. Should have taken a picture of it.

Michael

[pete42]

Personel experience with Carlisle tires is not good.
they have been cussed and discussed many times on other forums.
conclusion is they stink as trailer tires.
if you have a choice I would recomend you do not buy them.
pete

[Artificer]

Ok, the bunny run is done. I don't want to say it was stressful, but I lost 10lbs, and I wasn't even on the trip. I was worried about the 2x2x16ga box tube tongue fatiguing off. I hadn't planned on AC in the front, but thats where it ended up... on the tongue.

The next thing to worry about was how the ATV coilovers would last. Would the aluminum attach points wear and break? Would the fenders flap and break off?

Anyways... the trip is done, and none of that happened. The unusual tire wear didn't cause a blowout. The rest of the tire caught up with that wear level. Much more tire wear than I would expect in 12,000 miles with such a light load, but I can deal with it.

I didn't do a minute inspection of the tongue, but I don't see any signs of yielding. I plan on adding 3/8" diameter bar stock truss member to the bottom of the tongue to strengthen it. 4" below the box tube, and it should be much stronger.

The independent trailing arm suspension worked like a dream. My concerns over the coilover spring rate seems to be unfounded. When we get the cages out of the trailer, I'm going to ride in the back while Ann drive over the railroad tracks near the house. Should give a good idea of how they are working.

The single layer of 20oz fiberglass roving worked well as the only covering of the roofs foam. I need to sand it and fill in the weave pattern with microballons because Ann wants a nice smooth top.

The pet cool died or didn't work well. I've heard about the poor performance of them... after I bought mine for a lot of money. Oh, well... the $112 Walmart special AC unit worked well with the inverter. Now I have to decide if I want to find a way through the firewall for the 4awg wires, or go smaller if I only plan on running the AC in the future. The other option is to just put some alligator clamps on the end of the cable, and temporarily hook up the inverter when we need AC without shore power.

The 2006 VW Jetta TDI pulled the trailer with no problems. Up the mountains you could tell it had more weight to pull, but you expect that with any towing rig, unless its something like our F250PS diesel truck. It wouldn't even know the trailer was back there. 15mpg vs 32mpg... I thing the Jetta wins for long trips. (not to mention the lack of constant bouncing in the truck)

Ann called and said she was going to stop using truck stops. Either that, or paint a sign on the trailer: Yes, its home made. Yes, the car is diesel. Yes, you can drive 70mph... The attention is nice, but 15 extra minutes at every stop when you're behind schedule can be frustrating. The most amusing story was about coming out of the building at a rest stop on the trucker's side. 1/2 dozen truckers gathered around the trailer, looking under it, checking everything out. After noticing the ATV shocks, it was almost obligatory to grab the top of the trailer, and pull down to see suspension deflection. She told everyone about the forum, so we may see more new users. A couple of people indicated that they would like to build a trailer.

I don't know if it was because the trailer was unfinished, and people could see how it was put together, or just a decent quality build without being intimidating, but quite a few people indicated that "they could do that" and were contemplating building one. I know I get intimidated by a bunch of the woodies, and some of the jaw-droppingly beautiful trailers i see here.


So.. the 12,000 mile test drive is done. Now I have to finish the trailer. Removable 2 part galley, a real door with window, fiberglass the bottom, fix the tongue, paint the bare metal... I should see if anyone is interested in an offroad trailing arm suspension that uses air bags to raise/lower the trailer. As durable/safe as a leaf spring axle, independent, better clearance, hmmm...

Michael

[anntann]

Helllooooo from the GF.

The trailer is a gem. Pulled beautifully, and did everything required of it and more. (Now if we can just get it finished out and beautiful enough to post pictures of it.....)

We have another teardrop, which we don't use because it needs the truck or van to pull it (5'x10' great size, but heavier ). I've never experienced the OOOOOOs and AAAAHHHHSSS!!! that I got on this trip. Seriously EVERY time I stopped, someone would come over to ask about the trailer. Sometimes the rabbits were the draw (how often do you see someone at a truckstop or rest area with 50 blue rabbits?) but the trailer was the most interesting to folks.

It's very lightweight (Mike built the frame from, um...something light but strong..welded it up with plenty of cross beams) so I can actually unhook it and push it to where I want to plant the thing for the night easily.

My fuel mileage was great, imo. Normally, no trailer, I get 42-45mpg with the Jetta. Pulling the trailer I averaged 31.3mpg over 12,200 miles. flat highway speeds, normal winds, I was getting 35mpg. Up mountains it was lower (using a scan gauge so I can watch rpm's and calculated consumption), and when I had to flip on the car AC it dropped a few mpg. The high head winds across Montana and ND dropped it to 22. A trucker suggested we put a..I think they're called "bubble"? on it to deflect the wind...and keep the trailer light

I ran into some extreme side/quarter winds across Texas (35mph constant, 55mph gusts) and simply decided "this is nuts" so pulled into a spot for the night.

Now...about that picture.... That's excellent! We had a dog who would bring rabbits in from hunting. One time she had the head firmly in her mouth, rest of bunny hanging out (bunny dead as soon as she shook it the first second). That dog would NOT give up her "treasure". Mike held her between his legs, held onto her head while I pried open her jaws and removed what was left of the rabbit.

[canned o minimum]

HAPPY EASTER! ...... um what were we talkin' about?

Don't tell me... the dogs name is Elmer.. and HE pronounces it.. WABBIT ..

Sumbody HAD to !!! LOL !

[eamarquardt]

that helps! . what exactly removes the au de buni fragrance from a small, enclosed trailer I wonder?
...

When the trip is done, I get to finish the finishing, if that makes sense. I'll put a layer of Zinzer 123 primer/sealer on the inside. That should take care of any residual reminders of the bunnies. Add a couple layers of latex paint on the inside (enamel on the outside) and it should be good to go. Then I get to make the removable galley for it.

Michael

I think that I'd go for a plastic tarp over the floor/under the cages NOW.

Just a thought.

Cheers,

Gus