Building on a 41inch x 48 inch harbor freight trailer

[bobhenry]

I curled up in Eggbert (above) as a bad joke and I am on the wrong side of 300#

I probably looked like a quart of pickles stuffed in a pint jar. Sure glad we missed that photo op . I did notice, however, that I could sleep comfortably in there is I had support for my legs. This led me to thinking about a pull out shelf or storage drawer that would extend the length and with the right hatch profile it could be propped up and a side curtain attached from hatch to shelf.

[tinksdad]

:thumbsup: Yes, the kit is pretty much the standard "eye candy"..The main problem with designing a 78 incher, is of course sleeping area,,,"Toe room".. adding a curve to the bottom front looks better, BUT, you lose floor length..Thus the solution is, Kit profile, with no,or, very little bottom front curve..This should be ok for all but the tallest people.. I have it drawn up 3 ways..full curved front, partial curved and ,flat bottom front.,, if you look at most kit knock offs, they use the no bottom front curve approach..

To get in the 78" length, the authentic Kit profile would have to be scaled by 81.25%. (I had a similar thought once about building a mini-Kit for myself; but then I got a permanent camping buddy!) I can't locate my drawings for it at the moment. The only way it becomes usable sleeping length is to virtually eliminate the lower galley cabinets so your legs can go under the counter top. It's do-able; it just depends on your own imagination to how you want it to function. Proportionately scaling the profile does make the door shrink a little (ends up roughly 24" wide, 30" high) and about 36" ceiling height.

[Danny]

:thumbsup: Yes, the kit is pretty much the standard "eye candy"..The main problem with designing a 78 incher, is of course sleeping area,,,"Toe room".. adding a curve to the bottom front looks better, BUT, you lose floor length..Thus the solution is, Kit profile, with no,or, very little bottom front curve..This should be ok for all but the tallest people.. I have it drawn up 3 ways..full curved front, partial curved and ,flat bottom front.,, if you look at most kit knock offs, they use the no bottom front curve approach..

To get in the 78" length, the authentic Kit profile would have to be scaled by 81.25%. (I had a similar thought once about building a mini-Kit for myself; but then I got a permanent camping buddy!) I can't locate my drawings for it at the moment. The only way it becomes usable sleeping length is to virtually eliminate the lower galley cabinets so your legs can go under the counter top. It's do-able; it just depends on your own imagination to how you want it to function. Proportionately scaling the profile does make the door shrink a little (ends up roughly 24" wide, 30" high) and about 36" ceiling height.

Thanks T.D. but, i already have it drawn up..3 different versions,doors, everything except, now looking for trailer My doors will be like my first build, 24x30 with radius corners..galley 24 deep x 24 tall ..sleeping and cooking, might add 12 volt for radio and light.. we shall see. Danny..

[jhanlon]

I have access to this 'stuff'. It's 4' x 8' or 10' sheets of totally weatherproof 3/4 OSB with some kind of white pebbely plastic bonded to it. It has UL rating stamps all over it. I'm told it's certified for food storage freezer rooms and commercial food preparation areas. Will not promote bacterial growth. The plastic is tough! I had to predrill holes for self tapping screws. I ripped some 12 " runners for my van bed support.

Could I use that with the white side down instead of that black mastic stuff used so much here? Epoxy the raw edges of the OSB.

john H

[Roly Nelson]

Danny, I built my 72 inch "Stacker" on a 40inch by 48 inch HF Frame. I guess I am one of the fewbuilders that feel that a trailer frame is bolted to the super-unflexable trailer body simply to provide a connection for the suspension and the tongue. My Stacker body is a ridgid all-wood unit glued and screwed together and weighs only 140 lbs. and with the 95 lb HF trailer bolted to the bottom, totals 245 lbs. If you check the pics in my Gallery, you can see my unorthadox method of gittin-er-done.

My 8 ft 1/2 Nelson Woody has a 6 ft HF under it, and the floor framing extends farther forward than it does in the rear, so the wheels are farther back to provide better handling and a tongue weight that is within limits. If you check out my Woody build pics, that can be clicked on below, you can see how I managed to conceal the entire trailer frame from view. If you have any questions, please PM me and I'll go into more detail. Good luck on your build, I'm sure it will serve it's purpose well.
Roly (PS, I just finished my 3rd build, the 3' by 3' TD, whiich provides me with a 75 inch bed and tips the scale at 85 lbs before installing the single wheel and hitch, with absolutely no trailer frame below it.)

[Danny]

Danny, I built my 72 inch "Stacker" on a 40inch by 48 inch HF Frame. I guess I am one of the fewbuilders that feel that a trailer frame is bolted to the super-unflexable trailer body simply to provide a connection for the suspension and the tongue. My Stacker body is a ridgid all-wood unit glued and screwed together and weighs only 140 lbs. and with the 95 lb HF trailer bolted to the bottom, totals 245 lbs. If you check the pics in my Gallery, you can see my unorthadox method of gittin-er-done.

My 8 ft 1/2 Nelson Woody has a 6 ft HF under it, and the floor framing extends farther forward than it does in the rear, so the wheels are farther back to provide better handling and a tongue weight that is within limits. If you check out my Woody build pics, that can be clicked on below, you can see how I managed to conceal the entire trailer frame from view. If you have any questions, please PM me and I'll go into more detail. Good luck on your build, I'm sure it will serve it's purpose well.
Roly (PS, I just finished my 3rd build, the 3' by 3' TD, whiich provides me with a 75 inch bed and tips the scale at 85 lbs before installing the single wheel and hitch, with absolutely no trailer frame below it.)

.. I am a big fan of your builds..So, any input is most welcome Roly..Please post some pix of your Uni-wheel drop soon..We all want to see this..Building light( with 1/4 inch and 1/8 inch) and small is a challenge..But I agree with you on the box, it must be rigid.. I also built my first tear box off the frame then put it on afterwards..Danny

[Danny]

OK, sold my other teardrop tonight,,so, as soon as this heatwave goes away, The new build will begin..Promise..Garage is cleaned up and ready to go. ..This time, I am going to make a template,I have a plan I don't think I can top Roly's 254 pounds but, I will try..Balsa wood? Just kidding..

[jhanlon]

I pick up mine when HF opens in the AM. Sat and Sun off. Out to the farm to build the trailer and weld it up.

I'm not a 'Oh, just bolt it together" guy. Built too many drag cars, rock crawler jeeps, a 1 liter(997 3 cylinder Geo Metro engine) LSR attempt to trust bolts only. I'll test it to my conversion van hitch. I may need to lower the van back down from it's desert pre-runner suspension. Center of ball to ground is 24 inches.

It's supposed to be 100 degrees with a 'feels like' of 115+

John the Vanner

[Danny]

Does anyone have any photos of Roly's finished stacker(painted),also his new Uni-wheel trailer? Thanks.

[Danny]

I pick up mine when HF opens in the AM. Sat and Sun off. Out to the farm to build the trailer and weld it up.

I'm not a 'Oh, just bolt it together" guy. Built too many drag cars, rock crawler jeeps, a 1 liter(997 3 cylinder Geo Metro engine) LSR attempt to trust bolts only. I'll test it to my conversion van hitch. I may need to lower the van back down from it's desert pre-runner suspension. Center of ball to ground is 24 inches.

It's supposed to be 100 degrees with a 'feels like' of 115+

John the Vanner

Did you get your trailer? If so, are the side C channels 2 " high or 2 1/2 " high? Also, is the frame a true 41 x 48 ?... just wondering, I have not picked mine up yet and want to make sure my template holes are all correct..Thanks for quick response..Anyone?

[Danny]

Went to lumber store last night, got enough plywood for (2) teardrops. I have this drawn up 3 ways and I really like all 3 mini kit profiles.so,...We shall see. Anyway started layout of profile #1, like a "kit" only 77 inches long..Boy, does it look small drawn out on a 4 x 8 foot sheet of ply..surprisingly the galley space is going to be pretty big(more details later,and pix soon) The only thing that may suffer a little is the cabin shelf and since they make itty bitty DVD players and stereos these days, no real problem that i can see..It will be at least 8 inches deep preliminary figure..All depends on how much floor to galley bottom space I decide on ..I like 18 inches minimum... Door will be only 24 x 30 still plenty big I think for a mini design..

[jhanlon]

I pick up mine when HF opens in the AM. Sat and Sun off. Out to the farm to build the trailer and weld it up.

I'm not a 'Oh, just bolt it together" guy. Built too many drag cars, rock crawler jeeps, a 1 liter(997 3 cylinder Geo Metro engine) LSR attempt to trust bolts only. I'll test it to my conversion van hitch. I may need to lower the van back down from it's desert pre-runner suspension. Center of ball to ground is 24 inches.

It's supposed to be 100 degrees with a 'feels like' of 115+

John the Vanner

Did you get your trailer? If so, are the side C channels 2 " high or 2 1/2 " high? Also, is the frame a true 41 x 48 ?... just wondering, I have not picked mine up yet and want to make sure my template holes are all correct..Thanks for quick response..Anyone?

I'll be out to the farm this weekend and measure it all for you. Work really does get in the way of relaxing.

[tinksdad]

I can split the difference or you. Just went out and measured the side channels on mine. They are 2 1/4". Probably be best to measure yours and make sure they haven't changed the specs. Just my two cents worth. The 41 x 48 are not exact either. If memory serves me correctly I believe they are 1/4" over.

[Danny]

I can split the difference or you. Just went out and measured the side channels on mine. They are 2 1/4". Probably be best to measure yours and make sure they haven't changed the specs. Just my two cents worth. The 41 x 48 are not exact either. If memory serves me correctly I believe they are 1/4" over.

OK, I drove over to the HF store and measured the floor model, it has 3 inch side rails..I asked the clerk, and He said all the trailers have 3 inch rails now.. CRazy huh..Chinese consistency strikes again lol..Anyone else have anything different?

[Danny]

OK, the build is on..I started a thread over in the build journals forum..Danny