Northern Tool 5X8 trailer question

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Northern Tool 5X8 trailer question

Postby CamperDave » Mon Mar 27, 2017 8:36 am

I have a quick question for those who have the NT 5X8 1750 lb trailer...

How much room is there between the frame and the tire?

I'm still in my mental design phase but to give you an idea why I'm asking this question, I'm thinking of attaching the sidewalls of my build outside the frame. I'm thinking of using a sandwich of 1/4" plywood, 1/2 or 1" foam and luan to build the exterior.

Thanks for any replies.
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Re: Northern Tool 5X8 trailer question

Postby Bamaeagle » Mon Mar 27, 2017 7:03 pm

I have the NT 5x8 Aluminum Trailer and I am planing on doing the same to cover the frame. The space between my frame and the tire is 2". With the fender and bracket there is no space as the bracket is bolted to the frame. I do not like the looks of the fenders and will be installing new ones directly to the side of the tear drop.....or make a new bracket. Or I could get creative and cut in the sides at the bracket. Not sure which way I will go as of yet. It is a build in progress...lol. :D
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Re: Northern Tool 5X8 trailer question

Postby CamperDave » Tue Mar 28, 2017 5:28 am

Well, you are 1 step ahead of me. You have a trailer, I'm still at the wake up in the middle of the night with a new idea phase :NC
Thanks for the info.
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Re: Northern Tool 5X8 trailer question

Postby Woodbutcher » Tue Mar 28, 2017 7:12 am

I am on my second build with a NT trailer. The first one was a no floor with the angle iron frame. I also built to cover the frame. The 12" tires were to small for me, so I upgraded to 15" wheels. This made it necessary to add wheel spacers of I think 1". The spacer depends on the back spacing of the wheel you are using. Try for zero offset if possible. That keeps the spacer as thin as possible which is easier on the bearings.
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Re: Northern Tool 5X8 trailer question

Postby working on it » Tue Mar 28, 2017 8:50 am

CamperDave wrote:Well, you are 1 step ahead of me. You have a trailer, I'm still at the wake up in the middle of the night with a new idea phase :NC
Thanks for the info.
I don't think that's uncommon to builders, whether on this forum or others. I completed my trailer (initially) in late June of '13, and still dream of changes all the time, but limited by tooling or projected expense, they never come to fruition. Funny, but I still do the same thing, concerning my Chevelle drag car, which I parked in '08, after abruptly ceasing to race. Old habits die hard, constantly thinking about building trailers or cars; that's why my user name on many automotive & trailer/camping forums is "working on it" (or some variation of it).
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Re: Northern Tool 5X8 trailer question

Postby QueticoBill » Tue Mar 28, 2017 10:17 am

OK - I have my recently purchased Ironton 5 X 8 in my shop/garage. I just spent some time with the pieces, putting one of the stock wheels - rim and tire - onto the axel - and measuring. Luckily the overlap with previous measurements I used for a cad model are pretty close.

I hope these are plus or minus 1/32" but could be off 1/16". The spring centers are 58 3/8" so 13/16" from side of frame - which seems to be dead on 60". I use the spring centers because of the locating hole on the axel which aligns with the spring center. A straight edge across the tire shows it is about 2 5/32" beyond spring center. So that up (58 3/8" + 2 X 2 5/32" and it leaves pretty close to 1 5/16" between tires and frame. Allow for 1/32" or 1/16" in the spring hanger - the loop or eye is a tiny less wide than the hanger - and I would hate to depend on having more than 1 1/4" clear. Feels like minimum to me - maybe you can afford a 1/4" - but has me considering not letting 1/4" outer skin overlap frame as I was originally thinking, and sitting on top.

If that isn't clear, I will get this in cad this weekend. (That's AutoCAD - 2d - all views.)
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Re: Northern Tool 5X8 trailer question

Postby QueticoBill » Tue Mar 28, 2017 10:36 am

Woodbutcher wrote:I am on my second build with a NT trailer. The first one was a no floor with the angle iron frame. I also built to cover the frame. The 12" tires were to small for me, so I upgraded to 15" wheels. This made it necessary to add wheel spacers of I think 1". The spacer depends on the back spacing of the wheel you are using. Try for zero offset if possible. That keeps the spacer as thin as possible which is easier on the bearings.


Do you feel there is a difference in the stress on the bearing between say a wheel with 1" of negative offset versus one with 0" offset and 1" spacers? I work with stage machinery daily with all kinds of bearings and shafting, and assume that levers of the same length apply the same force on the bearings. It just seems like it's the center of wheel to bearing distance that is relevant and however the same lever arm is reached by combination of offset and spacers - its the same stress on the bearing.
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Re: Northern Tool 5X8 trailer question

Postby Woodbutcher » Tue Mar 28, 2017 6:35 pm

QueticoBill wrote:
Woodbutcher wrote:I am on my second build with a NT trailer. The first one was a no floor with the angle iron frame. I also built to cover the frame. The 12" tires were to small for me, so I upgraded to 15" wheels. This made it necessary to add wheel spacers of I think 1". The spacer depends on the back spacing of the wheel you are using. Try for zero offset if possible. That keeps the spacer as thin as possible which is easier on the bearings.


Do you feel there is a difference in the stress on the bearing between say a wheel with 1" of negative offset versus one with 0" offset and 1" spacers? I work with stage machinery daily with all kinds of bearings and shafting, and assume that levers of the same length apply the same force on the bearings. It just seems like it's the center of wheel to bearing distance that is relevant and however the same lever arm is reached by combination of offset and spacers - its the same stress on the bearing.



I have about 20 thousand miles on my trailer with no issues. I think do to the fact that these trailers don't weigh much, the stress is not a problem
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