Thread: Offroad Trailer Build

good drills.


yeah you've got some head room on the 750kg springs' And it should be enough to deal with what your after but you wont see the full life of the spring.

just keep an eye on your wheel to guard clearances, you'll know when theyve given up, they'll drop an inch or 2 permanantly. (measure it before you load it, measure it after you load it and keep those numbers for comparisons)

best of luck on the trip

Originally Posted by walker

Mmmmmm. Maybe that was the problem. I only added 15-20% thinners. When I bought the paint the paintshop said I did not need to thin the enamel at all but I am starting to wonder if they knew what they were on about.

I pulled it out into the light today...........it's pretty bad. I think it is the coverage of the metallic metals which makes it so bad, I have not got it even at all which gives it stripes and some parts dont look covered. But it is only a trailer and like you said it will be covered in stuff pretty quickly. I will leave it for a few days then give it a wash down and maybe a polish. It is just annoying to work hard and getting to a point where I am happy then let myself down with the painting.

Adam, spraying Metallic paint is not easy to apply corectly, a TIP, start in a corner and spray diagonally to the opposite corner and repeat for each corner, in other words criss-cross your lines of paint and keep the paint agitated in the spray gun or the metallic bits will sink to the bottom, also add some clear to the final coat and then add a coat or 2 of Clear (by itself) to finish, it looks like you may have had too much air pressure as well, anyway mate Practise makes Perfect, Regards Frank.

Originally Posted by walker

It's finally finished.......................................... .............almost!

Just a couple of things to do, like tidy up dad's workshop, some touchup paint and recheck the water filler pipe which was leaking. I also need to make a stone guard but this will have to wait till after this trip.


Now for the bad news. The idea of this project was to make a lightweight offroad trailer, something which would be about 750kg fully loaded.......the reality............................home builders overengineer!

Took it to the weighbridge today. Fully loaded with 2 jerry's, 60litres of water and everything else except for luggage.........860kg. So fully loaded it will be closer to 1000kg! I knew I should have used aluminium sheet!

So, nothing I can do now, I will just have to replace the springs when I get back with 1000kg jobbies. I am hoping that spring companies build in a bit of a safety margin so my 750kg spring will be of for this trip. .

So now for the pics:







And the kitchen:

That looks superb Adam - well done. Even the paint job looks like it came out OK (or is that good photography! :-)

Nice job Adam. Make sure you get a rear window saver before you go on gravel roads.

Glen.

Adam

My hat is off to you mate. I wouldnt even attempt doing something as complicated as building a trailer. So to do it as well as you have is quite an achievement!

Well done mate!

Angus

Hi Adam,

Happy New Year to you and family!

Great job on the trailer, and who cares about the paint! a few scratches and some dirt and it'll look like its meant to.

On the weight, your springs are rated for 750kg as a pair. That means the actual load on the spring (spung mass). If you weigh your wheels and tyres plus the axle and the springs you will be under the 750kg. Remember its the sprung weight the that springs carry, not the rest!

Mmmmm. Maybe you are right Ian. (what am I saying...you are always right! )

Do you really think the axle, springs and wheels would weigh 250kg?

I will get onto Alko and find out what their axle and springs weigh.

I am still in Brisbane but the trailer really towed well although you can really feel the weight, especially when towing on gas.

I would really love to sell this trailer and start the project again.

I would keep the chassis the same but build the body and kitchen from aluminium tube and sheets. I think this would make all the difference.

But if I did this I think a divorce would be on the cards.....plus I have another Rangie sitting at home waiting to be utenised!

Beauty, I like where you finally put the spare.