Jonnyo ALL ALUMINUM extra large tiny trailer!!!!

[jonnyo]

I have love traveling with our little trailer over the past 3 years. And as i got married, we decided to have a dog that as now grow to 70lbs and we have a baby arriving any day now...... seems like my small 5X8 teardrop trailer doesn't cut it anymore.

So, this project
6.5X13 all aluminum trailer
As to be light...shooting for 1000lbs
will be a almost standy 5.5 feet inside height
no water tank, no electricity system, we kept it simple, normal rechargeable pucklight battery
no AC...i live in canada!!!
Winter proof...well insulated, we do lots of winter camping (we connect to 110v when in cold weather so ceramic heater it is!)
queen size bed for parents, Bunk bed for 2 kids
Enough place for doggy to sleep on his own little bed on the floor
some storage...lots of it!
Kitchen galley at the back....because cook happen OUTSIDE!!! even in winter
need to be pulled behind normal 4 cylinder 150-170hp vehicle...

i found a awesome place to buy all my aluminum, they have everything, i just have to walk in there warehouse, pick peices..cut them if needed and they sell so cheap.

Time to learn new skills.... i want to weld aluminum
Eastwood 180 mig welder 539$
argon 60cf tank 100$
and lots of extra tips and a brass bruss



it was time to lay down the chassis with peice that i cut using a mitre saw



doggie is ready for a trip.....she is right were the bunk bed will be!!!



my tongue design....should be more than enough...even a overkill for a 1000lbs trailer....even if i go above the goal....the middle member is 3x3 x 3/16 and that should be enough for 2000lbs trailer.... so with 2 cross member...i went beyhond what is needed. I copied the design of a few utility trailer all aluminum rated for 2999 lbs...



and the welding start.... well, i done 1 week of practice on so many little scrap piece....and realise quickly that it will take awhile to learn to weld aluminum properly. i had a professional that helped me with some of the important structural weld and guided me with feeding and power setting. it s not always pretty but it s been a lot of fun....




started building the front dinnet/queen bed....direct into the frame. as i went relatively light with tubing, i want to make sure everything is connected and strong.







lets weld!!!







after week 2..... thats where i m at... both side of the dinnet is done...now it will be time to build the frame on top of the trailer. Axle or Axles..... will come later in the game...i need to make my mind of a single or tiny tandem axle design...most likely torsion

my questions now....

Tandem torsion axle...would it be as simple as welding 2 torsion axle mount to the side members or does special strening of the frame is needed for tandem???
Should i do my own door?? that s something that ''scare me'' i have no clue how?
how to bend aluminum tubing at home when you dont have any special tools? can i just make a wood shape and bend the aluminum tube against it? i need to make the front shape of the trailer and would prefer to avoid doing squared/welded shape with simply bending 1x1 tubing....
how to make the floor? plywood? simple aluminum sheet? how thick would i need???

[SLUG36]

If you want to "bend" a shape into the aluminum tubing, I would suggest heating the tubing to anneal it. but, it might get tricky and collapse the walls. I used a miter saw and cut slots into angle iron to form the curves on my build. first I drew the curvature on a piece of scrap ply wood. clamped one end down, marked where it needed to bend, cut, clamped back down, bent, clamped, marked, cut, clamp, bend, mark. and so forth till I had my bend done. then I used the first piece with the cuts to duplicate the cuts. clamped back to the plywood, tack welded it, removed clamps closest to one weld, welded, and worked my way down. it's a lot of work. but, it keeps from deforming during bending.

are you using a stainless steel wire wheel to clean your joints before welding? if you use a regular carbon steel wire wheel, you will get flash rust from the carbon steel being deposited onto the aluminum.

oh, by the way. looking good. I am also working on a 6'4"x13' er

[jonnyo]

thanks Slug!

i have check and i m using a simple stainless steel wire bursh with a wood handle. Is this what your refering too? i dont use a wheel? not sure what that is?

i will attempt to bend aluminum this weekend with a wood jig...if this dosnt work, i might try your method of doing it. the tubing is relatively thin at 1x1x 0.9 so we will see.

thanks!

[SLUG36]

the stainless hand brush will work. I was referring to a wire wheel that mounts to a hand geld grinder. and by the way, your welds look great. keep up the good work

[jonnyo]

long weekend in canada...time to stick more peice together until it start looking like something real!!!!

the front dinnet/queen bed


this will also hopefully help strenght the frame.... feel solid so far



and the front shape of the trailer...more welding, more cutting fitting etc...







and one of the worst possible thing happen, i only have 10 feet of aluminum tubing left..... one more day of tomorrow and no more material to work with.....and of course, the aluminum shop is closed and only open on weekdays. What a poor planning on my end of things! but, as i m on week 3 of the build, i m happy where i m at. it s moving well and should be able to close it just before the snow arrive and the crazy cold temperature start. then, working inside the trailer with a heater is more managable!

[tony.latham]

I really like those pictures. The aluminum welds look impeccable. My only negative reaction to your post's narrative was the double torsion axle thought. Why a double on that short of a trailer that you are watching the weight on? I'm no trailer expert so keep that in mind.

I used a 2,000 lb Dexter torflex on my 5x10 (14 total), It weighs in at 1380 pounds. I've got 15" light truck radials on it and it rides like a dream.

Throw two torsion axles under that nice light weight frame and it may weigh as much as a single axle trailer welded from steel. Just guessing!

I can't answer you're metal bending challenge. I'd guess to get two equal pieces you might have to run em through a roller? You could just cut the sides out of plywood...

But looking good.

Tony

[jonnyo]

thanks for the feedback tony

yes, the double axle would be a penalty of about 70lbs for the torsion axle plus 2X 40lbs for wheels....so 150lbs.

The reason i was thinking of it is many people have said that you should not go more than 12 feet long with single axle on a utility trailer. It as to do with aluminum and how flexbile the material is. the Frame alone... it s suprising to see how bendy it is when you pick it up from one end to the other. But i will wait and kept doing research on all this.

For now, i will try to finish all the structural frame and chassis and after that, i will check. I would much prefer to use a single axle... cheaper fenders, only 2 wheels and 1 axle to purchase. placement is easier also as with a double axle...finding room to place a door become challenging!!!!

[jonnyo]

Remembrance day in canada.... it s a day off! so a little bit of progress. It s been so much fun, really fun to slowly learn the skill of working with metal.



some weld no so pretty....might have to grind and redo a few so it all look good!



and i officially ran out of material...i only have little peice left so time to do a trip to the aluminum supply. time to finalize door shape and size, windows location, and size.....







the structure is still flimsy but very light so far...i will had a fair amount of material and also need to figure out what material i will use for the floor. Plywood would be easy but i would like to stay away from it as it will come in contact with water on the underside. Perhaps aluminum sheet or tongues and groove?



time for dinner.....

[Kullas]

That is a good looking rig ya got there. If you are just learning to work with metal you are off to a great start.

[mezmo]

'Love the juxtaposition of 'higher tech' - welded aluminum tube structure -
resting on a "lower tech' base - log sections !

[jonnyo]

nothing like a new born 5 days ago to slow down a build !!!!!

today was just cutting peices and using duct tape to kept them in place !!!!






i will have a total of 5 windows...starting to think that a roof vent isnt so important with that much ventillation....all windows have screens

[Junkboy999]

Coming along great. You can bend the tube by hand as long as it is thin wall stuff and not really thick.

Check out the Aluminum Airstream build for a motorcycle. He bent his aluminum by hand
Stainless Steel Micro-Airstream behind motorcycle
viewtopic.php?f=50&t=54344

And the Northern Lite Traveler Builds. He bent his aluminum by hand and use just sheet aluminum for his floor, 2 inch foam and then a floating engineered floating floor. you will need something thicker where you plan to stand and walk.
viewtopic.php?f=27&t=51991


Oh Congrats on the new every two hour awake at night alarm clock

[PKCSPT]

Congratulations on the new alarm clock, sound and smell machine. How big, weight, boy/girl. Sorry if I missed those details somewhere.

[jonnyo]

a girl!!!! 8lbs 13 onces! a big one!!!!

that is the reason of the new trailer.... i need something that will accommodate the family and our big dog also!!! And i need to hurry up as we usually do a few winter camping trip in the mountain each year....!!!!

[PKCSPT]

Mine were all in the 8lb range also, 8lb 12 was my largest baby.
Nothing like a new baby in the house.