Rogers Build- Here we go again.

[stomperxj]

Well it looks like I’m committed now- or should be.
I bought a trailer- former u-haul. I’ll post more info after I see it in the light.
So now that I have a frame I can REALLY start to plan- and plead for help.

I'm interested to see more pics of the trailer. Remember to take lots of pics. We all love pics...

[RogHodge]

I'm Done!

That is sun and grass- for those who forgot

[Miriam C.]

Good job. The kids will love it.

Ya know, looking at the trailer from this angle it looks almost like you could remove the outer tongue and leave the rest. Have someone put an A frame coupler type of thing to bring it together.

The guys in "Trailer and Chassis" secrets might have some inexpensive fixes and be able to tell if this will work.

[RogHodge]

As the kids say “I got jokes”
So the trailer is not complete
I think its going to work out fine- though the light weight goal may be out- the tongue extension is 4”x1.75” and HEAVY-
Groovy drop axles- about 33” from the rear
15” rims- 6 lugs?!?- u-haul
The rails- or ‘styles’ are 2+” tall but also where the springs are mounted so I’m leary about grinding them to flat- at least not in those areas.
50.5” between the side rails so a 48” wide might be funky- I may have an easier time going 5’ wide and building over the tires- again wood does what I tell it to metal- well…
What else do you all need to see to be informed and then to tell me what to do- I need a scapegoat

[stomperxj]

I agree with Miriam. Looks like someone added that huge tongue later. Here's a crude MSpaint version of what i would do:



cut the big tongue off, put a 1/4" or 3/16" plate to connect the two original tongue angle pieces and run a new single 2x2 tube from below the front crossmember through the plate. That would be an easy way to fix that and shouldn't cost that much for a shop to do. That white added tongue is ridiculously long....

*edit* You dont want to cut any off of the side angles. those are your main frame rails and give you all your strength... the rest is heavy duty and should be fine. I'd make it as wide as the trailer is.

[RogHodge]

The forward most cross member is only 7' from the rear- the ball is 5.5’ from a point 8’ from the rear.
The “box” is roughly 4x6 so this thing is quite small if I’m going to sleep in it I need to build over the tongue.

[Steve_Cox]

Sure has lots of leaf springs 3 or 4 too many

[Mark McD]

That frame screams Trailerboat.
Two toys in one.
Build inside the rails and use the welded on metal plates located fore and aft of the wheels as cargo locations- jerry can, boat motor, etc

[angib]

I would:
- chop out that original inner A-frame;
- cut the long A-frame off the side rails;
- cut off the ends of the A-frame outside the side rails;
- slide the A-frame back and weld it to the side rails and front cross-member.

Something like this:


(only without all the parallax issues!)

Andrew

[RogHodge]

Okay- looks like some of the pro’s are willing to throw in their 2cents.
I think (at this point) that I will build a 5x10- grumman-esque. the wife has given tentative approval of a $ here and there. I think I’ll NOT weld anything- I don’t do it and I don’t want to pay for it and I’ll use the tongue for a box or bike rack or ???. What I am willing to do is cut the extra away. Besides, longer backs up easier.
I am thinking of adding a 2x?3ish sub floor to bring the bottom of the floor over the angle iron rails. I’ll try to provide some drawings or plans or ? this weekend
A question I have is- will it be okay to have the outside rear corners “float” without support? I will have 2x material all the way to the rear but not full width.
Leaf springs- Yes there are a lot but no real need to eliminate any- right?

[Miriam C.]

Dean I got the wise advise to remove and clean the springs before the wood was on. So much easier. Now if you build heavy you might need some real stocky springs.

Yes you can leave the corners to support themselves. 2x? and 1/2 ply should keep you from falling off. You can add wood to make the frame above the angle. You might even be able to use the existing iron to help that.

It looks a lot bigger than it is so it might be perfect for what you have planned without shortening it. Just remember to get it balanced and you should be good to go.

[RogHodge]

I think I will strip the axle/springs and other miscellaneous parts and put a wire wheel to them before blasting them with paint. and repack bearings.
I think I’ll go a little long in back to help compensate for the extra tongue like? 40/06 or even 45/55?
I think I should weigh this thing to get a better idea about what I’m dealing with- but how? Bathroom scale under each contact point and add them up? That would seem to work.

[RogHodge]

I (with the wife’s gleeful assistance) weighed my trailer as is- around 475lbs
By my estimation that makes it about 200lbs more than the HF bolt together type- but what’s a couple hundred pounds between friends?

Stomper- I think I will build to the outside edges- that will make it 6’ width. Nice even number, and I’m told (thanks Dean) that the greatest regret is lack of width.

I think the design is moving toward… wait for it…Cabin Car. What can I say Rob has inspired me. It will take longer and be more expensive, but it will be what I want and we all know what Doug says

[Dean_A]

Oooh, a Cabin Car! I can't wait to see this one progress! Remember to post lost of pics.

[RogHodge]

The design continues- As you can see I took a little time to think about this- the profile is slightly more “squat” than a real Cabin Car. I wanted a skirt to hide the Ugly frame.
Several design elements need work (windows for example)
BTW- each square = 3” and the red line = 4x10’
I’m somewhat clueless about galley and floor plan details- would love some feedback on all of this.
Not sure about tire clearance? What should I allow for? 6 inch of travel seems like plenty- the trailer only has about 1” tire to frame is that sufficient?
I covet your feedback (the good kind)