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PostPosted: October 28, 2014, 1:42 pm 
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Location: Charlotte, NC
I thought I would throw this in this section as I have seen other trailers here. Quick shoot out and a thank you to Dick Bear. Idk if any of you have seen his dual race car/living quarters trailer but it's awesome. I took your ingenious idea and made it a bit smaller to suit my needs. :)

A little about me, most you know me, and my needs for this little trailer. I race go karts and my little 5x8 trailer isn't big enough for all the parts I have collected. I have to take both my bumpers off to fit the kart and the kart stand on the trailer. It's a pain.

I DD a focus and enjoy my 32/38mpg and don't plan on getting a suv or truck in the future so total weight needs to stay well below 2000 lbs, which shouldn't be hard.

Details on the trailer:

5x10 total with triangulated front.

Built using 1x2 16 gauge and 1x1 16 gauge box steel. I've measured all the tubes and total frame weight should be around 350lbs.

Back 6' for kart and electric kart stand. Has a 6x5 deck for the kart to be lifted up using a winch and bolted down to 2 brackets up front using 1/2" bolts. This will allow me to slide the kart stand under the kart. I decided to put the kart on top as the kart stand is only 16" tall vs the 26" for the kart.

Nose and 4' for enclosed area with 3 doors, shelf full width of cabin. Enough room for a tool box full of tools, extra parts, tires, fuel, tent, and whatever else I need. Shelf is 5' long by 2' wide, thinking 12 more inches and I could sleep on it if need be, never know. Haha

What I need help with:

What size and type of aluminum for deck? I would like to tow a lawn mower and my bike so 500lbs max give or take. I prob over built the frame in the rear but what's it going to hurt? Kart weighs about 220 lbs. it's pretty light.


What size and type of aluminum for the walls? What kind of sealant do yall use when attaching the panels to the frame? I want it to be water tight and not leak.

I've been looking at northern tool. They have those rubber torsion axles and they are 50 bucks more the. Their axle kits for the same 2000 lb pay load. I've read that they are way better then the solid axle with springs. Plus with these I can set my ride height to be a little on the lower side. Thoughts on these?

That's all I have for now. Thanks for looking gents!!

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These 2 show the deck. 1 up locked in and the other lowered.

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Last edited by Briggs on October 28, 2014, 5:38 pm, edited 4 times in total.

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PostPosted: October 28, 2014, 3:14 pm 
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That will be a pretty cool little trailer. I would definitely use the rubber torsion axles if you are trying to get the deck as low as possible. I used them for my trailer and they are very nice. An far as the deck, I would use wood instead of aluminum. It won't sag as much as aluminum for the same weight when you park something on it. I used some boards about 7/8" x 8" for my locost trailer. If I was going to cover the whole deck I would probably use 3/8" or 1/2" plywood instead. For sheeting, I would probably use .040" aluminum and silicone like I used on my locost. The silicone I used is the permatex ultra silver or something like that. I don't remember exactly, but it wasn't just standard bathroom stuff. I'd probably add some cross bracing on the sides to make a bit of a truss too, then you could probably go down to 1x1 on the sides.
Kristian

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PostPosted: October 28, 2014, 5:11 pm 
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I have a drop axle on my trailer which lowers the top of the trailer deck to about the center of the wheels or a touch lower. As the axle is bent it has some give which acts like suspension, that and high profile tires make for a nice simple smooth ride.
Not a great photo but you get the idea with the height drop. I think mine is a 3500lb axle but I am sure they have smaller ones. The drop axle will also keep the trailer center of gravity lower will also help with its stability.
Attachment:
IMG_1632.jpg

I would definitely try to make it large enough to sleep in. $100 hotel bills can get old and if you never sleep in it you will have extra space.


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PostPosted: October 28, 2014, 5:30 pm 
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Location: Charlotte, NC
wrightcomputing wrote:
I have a drop axle on my trailer which lowers the top of the trailer deck to about the center of the wheels or a touch lower. As the axle is bent it has some give which acts like suspension, that and high profile tires make for a nice simple smooth ride.
Not a great photo but you get the idea with the height drop. I think mine is a 3500lb axle but I am sure they have smaller ones. The drop axle will also keep the trailer center of gravity lower will also help with its stability.
Attachment:
IMG_1632.jpg

I would definitely try to make it large enough to sleep in. $100 hotel bills can get old and if you never sleep in it you will have extra space.


I think I'll make it a foot wider so I can sleep in it. Good idea and thanks!

Do you have a link to those axles?

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PostPosted: October 28, 2014, 5:44 pm 
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I found the dimensions of the torsion axles in northern tool and drew them.

I'm trying to figure out how to mount them. I can only bolt them in as any welding done with mess with the insides.

Top of the frame or bottom? This is where they need to be for the ride height I want it to be so the trailer will sit level when attached to the car. 10" of clearance. I guess I could bolt them straight to the frame. If I do that it will sit a bit over 3" lower. Still have 6"+ of clearance.

Ideas, thoughts?

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PostPosted: October 28, 2014, 6:06 pm 
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I think it is basically the same idea. I didn't make my trailer and it is currently park at a friends house until my car is assembled again. However mine looks like it was a straight piece of metal that was bent like a stretched S. If you look at the image in the link it looks like the one on the right. Mine is then a part of the structure rather than a bolted on/attached axle. If you need more info PM me and I can go to my friends house and take some better photos for you.
http://pacwesttrailers.com/catalog/axle ... p#3.5Kdrop

here is a similar one where you can better see the shape or the axle. Then the wheel hub/wheel is connected to the end the axle is fixed.
https://sites.google.com/site/taylorand ... vpaaxfb2a4

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PostPosted: October 28, 2014, 6:15 pm 
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Here is one on ebay but shipping is expensive. (Make sure you check all the measurements before you buy this is just a random one)
http://www.ebay.com/itm/RELIABLE-80-Rou ... 1629191576

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PostPosted: October 28, 2014, 6:34 pm 
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Location: Southern Ontario
I would think you would want to keep your tongue weight to 200 lbs I think your axle placement will have to be moved forward


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PostPosted: October 28, 2014, 7:18 pm 
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h20loo wrote:
I would think you would want to keep your tongue weight to 200 lbs I think your axle placement will have to be moved forward


Correct. I plan on building the frame, loading everything in and putting a scale under the tongue and moving a jack stand or something till the tongue weight is reasonable.

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PostPosted: October 28, 2014, 7:22 pm 
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wrightcomputing wrote:
I think it is basically the same idea. I didn't make my trailer and it is currently park at a friends house until my car is assembled again. However mine looks like it was a straight piece of metal that was bent like a stretched S. If you look at the image in the link it looks like the one on the right. Mine is then a part of the structure rather than a bolted on/attached axle. If you need more info PM me and I can go to my friends house and take some better photos for you.
http://pacwesttrailers.com/catalog/axle ... p#3.5Kdrop

here is a similar one where you can better see the shape or the axle. Then the wheel hub/wheel is connected to the end the axle is fixed.
https://sites.google.com/site/taylorand ... vpaaxfb2a4


Ok, I've seen those before. I think I'll stick with the torsion stuff. It's pretty cheap and seems simple enough. Thank you tho.

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PostPosted: October 28, 2014, 7:24 pm 
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I think you may have an issue with the trailer not towing well. With the built up part on the front forward of the axle the turbulence and the center of pressure are in front of the wheels. I don't know how much of an issue it would be but with a light tow car you don't want it to be hard to tow.

I used to tow my single axle Formula Ford trailer behind a 1978 Fiesta for a couple of years. The trailer and FF must have weighed the same as the car, but it worked.

I agree with making the sides of the trailer into a truss. It can combine with support for the fenders. Think triangles, a peak over the axle with tubes descending to the ends. That way you don't have a beam section of 1 or 2 inches, you have maybe 18", which will be vastly stronger. I would use 1/8" think stock and maybe 1.5" square tubing. The 1/8" thick material is going to be easier to attach things to.

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PostPosted: October 28, 2014, 7:53 pm 
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You definitely want to truss the sides of the flat deck. As drawn it will be pretty flexible. A small ladder rail on the sides will add a lot of strength. The triangle truss mentioned is also a great way to add rigidity.
On the torsion axles, they mount under the chassis, with the flat plate against the chassis. You can get them with different angles on the arms up or down from center. The down from center tend to ride a little better, but raise the trailer.

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PostPosted: October 28, 2014, 7:58 pm 
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Briggs wrote:
I'm trying to figure out how to mount them. I can only bolt them in as any welding done with mess with the insides.

Top of the frame or bottom? This is where they need to be for the ride height I want it to be so the trailer will sit level when attached to the car. 10" of clearance. I guess I could bolt them straight to the frame. If I do that it will sit a bit over 3" lower. Still have 6"+ of clearance.

Ideas, thoughts?


Top. You need that torque arm pointing down because it needs to swing up under load and bump, and from what I can tell from the Q&A section on Northern Tool the 45 degree initial angle is full droop and the axle swings up 90 degrees to 45 degrees up at full bump. Also, with regards to ride height, remember that the way you have the axles drawn is full droop not static ride height.


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PostPosted: October 28, 2014, 8:34 pm 
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You can rotate the torsion axle to virtually any angle by adding a triangle bracket (sorry JD) to the trailer. Might raise the frame an inch? Easily recovered by the angle of the torsion swing arm. Did you model the suspension as it would be loaded or as it is shown in the catalog? I have seen other torsion axle sites with different swing arm angles available too.

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PostPosted: October 28, 2014, 8:42 pm 
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The Parents of the Stalker company, who drive around in a Blue M12 Stalker have a really nice trailer similar to mine (although much nicer) but with a full cover that lifts up like a giant hood or clam shell. You could make something similar where you have a front compartment for gear, tools, sleeping area, and a rear area for the cart and stand. Then the top covers the whole thing but its only about 4' tall so keeps the trailer nice and aerodynamic behind the car.

Something like this. Which is what I will probably do to my trailer eventually.
http://www.worthingtontrailers.com/recr ... ure-combo/

These are also really cool.
http://www.brianjames.co.uk/pdf/RS.SSweb_1.pdf

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