Teardrops n Tiny Travel Trailers

flboy & Grummy, Howdy;

There is an aluminum ID tag on the axels that specify the weight that they are certified for. You
could wiggle your way under to see what is says. Kinda goes along with the hubs and how many
lug bolts are used for the wheel. Just like on the towing vehicle.

hank

flboy wrote:Loaded trailer is 3500 lbs, but only 2990 on the trailer axle and on sticker.. This gives some margin to the trailer axle. I could be wrong?

Ya... I think you could be wrong on that. GVWR would be the total weight of the trailer sitting on a scale NOT connected to the vehicle. So a 2990 tag with a 3500lb axle means no more than 2990lbs. The 3500lb axle gives the manufacturer the headroom necessary to be able to say in a courtroom "we went above and beyond"... "so, not our fault". Please let us know what your Tag says when you get yours.

Hankaye's was a 5000lb w/ Brakes and they still tagged it at 3500! This kind of tells me that even if you bought a 6x12-3500lb axled trailer from the mfg w/brakes, it would still not be tagged at 3500. It's a bit strange, but I can see the mfg's concerns again, especially with aluminum framed rigs that generally do not "bend" as much is they just want to crack and break. I've got an Aluma utility trailer rated at 2200lbs and frankly the way the tongue bounces along with cracks I have had to address already, I'm uncomfortable with anything past 1500. Sure like rolling it around the yard by hand though compared to my steelies.

The best discussions I could find on the web yesterday was personal examples of what people admit to have done. Things like the occasional 10,000 lbs on a trailer with two 3500lb axles. That's a 42% increase. And, at that increase, they indicated plenty of unease and in some cases, visible bending or,... permanent negative camber. Seems no mfg will go near making any statement on either axle safety margins OR any actual "load testing" done on their trailers.

I feel that if I have a 3500lb axle under a trailer, I can load that trailer to 3500lbs without any issues unless I have concerns about the springs they used, the coupler they used or the frame build quality. I do not regret the full gutting of my new trailer because I did get a mental note on how good the welds were. BTW, I could very easily see that there were two different people welding on each side of their frame jig... and it looked like the even less experienced got to weld the box framework. All good welds, but you could tell.

MY converted 6x12 with insulation, upholstered walls, TV, bed, cameras, Cooking, heating, bathroom, Cooler/fridge, awning, blah, blah, blah...personal gear ! etc... runs right around 2800 currently. Drop in one of the SMAX scoots and I'm up to 3125ish, 325lbs over sticker. That is why I added brakes, but they by themselves added 70lbs to the Gross weight !! You just can't be watching the weight concerns enough IMO.

hankaye wrote:flboy & Grummy, Howdy;There is an aluminum ID tag on the axels that specify the weight that they are certified for.

I took a photo of mine while I was there and stored it in my records. Lippert 3500.

We all know how much more fun it is trying to read those tags years from now. I'm going to avoid that whole wiggle under there thing for that reason anyhow

Grummy, Howdy;

Grummy wrote:

flboy wrote:Loaded trailer is 3500 lbs, but only 2990 on the trailer axle and on sticker.. This gives some margin to the trailer axle. I could be wrong?

Ya... I think you could be wrong on that. GVWR would be the total weight of the trailer sitting on a scale NOT connected to the vehicle. So a 2990 tag with a 3500lb axle means no more than 2990lbs. The 3500lb axle gives the manufacturer the headroom necessary to be able to say in a courtroom "we went above and beyond"... "so, not our fault". Please let us know what your Tag says when you get yours.

Hankaye's was a 5000lb w/ Brakes and they still tagged it at 3500! This kind of tells me that even if you bought a 6x12-3500lb axled trailer from the mfg w/brakes, it would still not be tagged at 3500. It's a bit strange, but I can see the mfg's concerns again, especially with aluminum framed rigs that generally do not "bend" as much is they just want to crack and break. I've got an Aluma utility trailer rated at 2200lbs and frankly the way the tongue bounces along with cracks I have had to address already, I'm uncomfortable with anything past 1500. Sure like rolling it around the yard by hand though compared to my steelies.

The best discussions I could find on the web yesterday was personal examples of what people admit to have done. Things like the occasional 10,000 lbs on a trailer with two 3500lb axles. That's a 42% increase. And, at that increase, they indicated plenty of unease and in some cases, visible bending or,... permanent negative camber. Seems no mfg will go near making any statement on either axle safety margins OR any actual "load testing" done on their trailers.

I feel that if I have a 3500lb axle under a trailer, I can load that trailer to 3500lbs without any issues unless I have concerns about the springs they used, the coupler they used or the frame build quality. I do not regret the full gutting of my new trailer because I did get a mental note on how good the welds were. BTW, I could very easily see that there were two different people welding on each side of their frame jig... and it looked like the even less experienced got to weld the box framework. All good welds, but you could tell.

MY converted 6x12 with insulation, upholstered walls, TV, bed, cameras, Cooking, heating, bathroom, Cooler/fridge, awning, blah, blah, blah...personal gear ! etc... runs right around 2800 currently. Drop in one of the SMAX scoots and I'm up to 3125ish, 325lbs over sticker. That is why I added brakes, but they by themselves added 70lbs to the Gross weight !! You just can't be watching the weight concerns enough IMO.

I'm of a mind that tells me that as these folks that make these trailers are in the business of making $$$'s they
won't take the time to print out singular GVWR stickers for each individual trailer. Rather they have them printed
out as a roll of tags and with sequential serial numbers as each hits the sticker station along the assembly line it
is applied. It IS an assembly plant they as car manufacturers can have 'special' components positioned to be installed
at specific stations along the line, doesn't mean they do the same with the sticker. I think that would be the "occam's razor"
that makes sense to me.

hank

PS. Think we should return this thread to flboy. Who I'd like to thank for allowing us to hijack it. chuckle.

A lot of stuff I ordered for the build has started arriving. Just need to get that call that my cargo trailer is ready for pickup and then the fun begins.




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flboy, Howdy;

Don, looks like the the fun part is about to begin.

hank

Hank, Yes sir! Looking forward to the build.

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Every day is like Christmas around here. Received the 2 210W solar panels and the Maxxair fan today. The 210W panels are big! Probably will take all the roof real estate aft of the Maxxair Vent.

The wait to start the build is killing me!



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Can hardly wait to see the fan install..Been thinking about adding one. Along with a few other things, electric brakes being one of them..

Has the wife started getting suspicious lol? I’m still in hiding box mode


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[quote="BigDave_185"]Has the wife started getting suspicious lol? I’m still in hiding box mode

LOL!!!!

Oh yes! But she's on board. Was going to buy a slide in Palomino truck camper when I decided to build the smaller overland CTC. Actually, this is going to cost much less and better equipped and more rugged than the slide in.

Was going to have to pull something with the dirtbike on it anyhow, so this made more sense to me. Will track behind the F250 and I will outfit it with the appropriate offroad tires after I build it out and give it a run ir two in the woods off Jeep trails.

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All that stuff... makes me want to do another one ! Can't wait to see the progress on this. The 6 x 12's are fun to watch. "Anybody" can do one of those monster trailers... plenty of room, few space challenges. Lol... the little ones are the challenging ones.

I'm following this one closely Don. Your third conversion will have a wealth of experience on it, and its down to my size! I've only done my one 6X12, but I've been thinking about a second try. I have a short list of changes and additions I'd make from experience, and watching what you and others have done in the last decade. If you make it to Wyo./Idaho/Montana from mid-June through late July, or in the fall, I'd love to see what you finish on this one in real time. Or come to Flaming Gorge National Recreation Area. There's a 90-mile long lake, wild and scenic river, all surrounded by BLM and Forest land with two tracks and trails than you could ride in a lifetime. From high desert to 10,000 foot mountains.

Are those Hightec panels?
Bruce