Monday, August 30, 2010

Finishing the trailer frame and making the floor

So here is the frame, all done with new suspension and everything. Ok, not everything. I still need to get 2 decent rims, weight rated tires and grade u-bolts to hold the axle. However that is fine for now, I needed the thing to stand on it's wheels so I could start the build while having an idea on how the trailer sits.

Next step was to get some lumber, resin epoxy, roofing tar, nuts, washers and bolts. I used 1/2 thick first grade plywood and 1"X1" pine to frame it.


The plywood was cut, glued and screwed into the framing. Notice the notch made to clear the wheel. Once the lumber was all put together, the top of the floor was epoxied using fiberglass resin to seal it.



The next day we flipped the floor and rested it on the frame to apply roofing tar to the bottom.






We used 3/4 of a gallon of the stuff. Be generous, you want to seal that underbody real good. Remember that water will be sprayed up there at highway speed. I'm not done yet for protecting from water spray in the wheel wells, I have another trick up my sleeve, but that will be for another post.

The floor was then bolted to the frame and it now sits ready to accept the walls. Many thanks to the good folks at Remorque BGS, they are very good people and they do cater to the hobbyist as well as the pros. Go see them.





Gerry :)

Saturday, August 7, 2010

Stretching the frame

The basic boat frame is way too small to accomodate the 110 inch by 62 inch floor I want to put on it, so I must extend it. Having no welder or any type of knowledge on how to use one, I figured I would have to bolt the extensions on.

The first thing on my mind was to find material to make the extension. A short trip to the local big box hardware store and I found that they only had 4 foot long sections of angle iron at $30 a pop! There was no way that this was viable for me since the size and price were nowhere near what I needed.

The answer came when I went to our City's recycling center, to dump the remains of the box we tore off the trailer when we got it, bed frames. I managed to get six angle iron bed sides for a wopping $15! It was the right length and the price was more than adequate.


The next step required cutting the pieces to the proper length with an angle grinder, thanks Bob for the tool loan, drilled some holes, got some nuts, bolts, lock washers and put the whole mess together. It seems to hold up pretty well as my slave monkey is demonstrating below.


                                                          




Money spent and made comes out presently at $127 out of pocket. Keep posted as we will get the thing back on its wheels real soon so we can get some wood on it.

Gerry   :)