Harbor Freight Trailer to Floor - Am I Missing Something?

[Doc Milo]

I'm just about to the point of attaching the floor to my trailer, and something sort of struck me as odd. On these trailers, the side rails sit about 1/8" (or so) above the level of the cross members, which will result in a gap between the frame and the floor across the width of the trailer. Now, I've been reading build journals and searching around this board for quite a while, and I cannot ever recall having seen anyone else mention this issue.

It's possible (even probable) that I've overlooked something pretty obvious here. What I'm inclinded to do is to insert something (either a wooden or plastic slat or something similar) to serve as a cushion or spacer of sorts, but I know that others have had to deal with this before with all the HF builds that have been done!

Any suggestions???????

THANKS!!!!

[GlennL]

I ripped thin strips from a leftover piece of Trex plastic decking in order to fill the gap.
Glenn

[pohukai]

I shimmed just at the attachment bolt. I just didn't want to bend the frame while anchoring the wood framing.

[jeff0520]

I drilled a shallow recess to allow room for the bolt heads, and ignored the other space




I still need to drill that one a little deeper in the picture, but you get the idea

[down under tech]

Hello Doc: This is what I did to cure this issue. I got three pieces of 1/8" aluminum flat stock and drilled holes through them and counter sunk the bolts used to attach it to the cross members. It was then even with the frame side rails.





On this picture you can see the aluminum stock spanning the top of the three center cross members.

P.S. Welcome to Teardrop Building 101...

[Lgboro]

I built up the same putty tape I sealed the trim with on my tractor supply trailer.

[Nobody]

I just used large, thick washers as spacers between the cross members & the 2x2' floor joists. Drilled holes for the hold-down bolts, tapped the washers in between joists & x-mbrs from underneath, used a tapered 'spud' to align the holes, inserted the 3/8" carriage bolts, & tightened everything up. 6yrs & more'n 12K miles, & one rear end accident later, no problems.

[Heifer Boy]

I'm just starting my investigations into a teardrop build using a hf-type trailer and have a similar kind of question about attaching the floor.

Why does everyone make up, say, a 2x2 wooden frame and attach the flooring ply to that rather than just directly to the trailer?

It can't be for support as the wodden frame is generally the same layout as the trailer frame unless it's being extended so the supporting structure is the same. I can understand the need to rebate the floor in places to clear the trailer bolts but that can't be enough reason to add all the 2x2's.

Is it just to have something to attach the walls too?

Cheers,
HB

[les45]

I'm just starting my investigations into a teardrop build using a hf-type trailer and have a similar kind of question about attaching the floor.

Why does everyone make up, say, a 2x2 wooden frame and attach the flooring ply to that rather than just directly to the trailer?

It can't be for support as the wodden frame is generally the same layout as the trailer frame unless it's being extended so the supporting structure is the same. I can understand the need to rebate the floor in places to clear the trailer bolts but that can't be enough reason to add all the 2x2's.

Is it just to have something to attach the walls too?

Cheers,
HB

I asked that same question when I started my build several months ago. I could see the need for something to nail the side walls to, but it made no sense to me to build it "upside down". After several other forum members agreed, I bolted my plywood floor directly onto the trailer frame and bolted my sidewall cleats on top of that. I also cut some 1/8" wood shim strips to lay across each crossmember and drilled out the plywood where the frame bolt heads were located on the corners.
Larry S.

[Oldragbaggers]

I'm just starting my investigations into a teardrop build using a hf-type trailer and have a similar kind of question about attaching the floor.

Why does everyone make up, say, a 2x2 wooden frame and attach the flooring ply to that rather than just directly to the trailer?

It can't be for support as the wodden frame is generally the same layout as the trailer frame unless it's being extended so the supporting structure is the same. I can understand the need to rebate the floor in places to clear the trailer bolts but that can't be enough reason to add all the 2x2's.

Is it just to have something to attach the walls too?

Cheers,
HB

I asked that same question when I started my build several months ago. I could see the need for something to nail the side walls to, but it made no sense to me to build it "upside down". After several other forum members agreed, I bolted my plywood floor directly onto the trailer frame and bolted my sidewall cleats on top of that. I also cut some 1/8" wood shim strips to lay across each crossmember and drilled out the plywood where the frame bolt heads were located on the corners.
Larry S.

Some people (me) build up their floor in order to insulate it.

[les45]

Although I didn't plan it at first, I ended up insulating my floor but from the top down. Because of a problem that I outline in my journal, I ended up with a bunch of 1/2" rigid foam board left over so I filled in the space between my 2X4 side cleats with insulation and topped that with luan which became the floor of my cabin area. I still think that, even if you insulate the floor, it makes more sense to lay the plywood directly on the trailer frame to make a smoother bottom. You eliminate the 2X pieces over your middle cross beams and it makes it a lot easier to apply your bottom sealer. Also, if you don't insulate the floor, you gain 1 1/2" of headroom in your cabin.