"Toybox" trailer project Warning dial-up users, lots of pictures

[barry2952]

Monster Garage trailer project. Watch this 1951 35-foot aluminum travel trailer be converted into a toybox. There will be 21 feet of garage space in the back and an air conditioned lounge with a bathroom up front.

Lower half of clamshell removed.

Body lifted off of frame

Removal of frame

 

[barry2952]

Body sitting on rolling scaffold. Ready to be polished while new trailer is being fabricated.

This is what it will look like when it is polished

Trailer drawings

Do you like open or closed wheel wells?

 

[barry2952]

TRAILER PROJECT UPDATE

Now that the car show season is over I have started back on the trailer project in earnest.

I've decided to build a new frame that the old flimsy frame will sit on top of. This will allow me to keep the original structure intact. To this end I stripped the old flooring off of the frame and flipped it over and rolled it into the shop.

The original frame has been stripped of all unnecessary metal and has been altered to accept new structural steel 2" x 6" steel tubing sistered to the original 10 gauge "C" channel frame. Additional lateral supports will tie the old frame in with the new.

 

[barry2952]

Frame suspended for sandblasting. While they were at it I had them get rid of the rust on the bucket truck.

2" x 6"x 1/4" wall thickness steel tube cut and welded to 25° to form the new trailer tongue.

 

[codewize]

Where are all the pics

 

[Conti94]

Barry the pics aren't showing up man.

 

[barry2952]

They show up on my computer. I'll ask Joey.

 

[codewize]

Ok. 50% of the time, if I put the photo URL directly into my browser I get a page saying

"We are sorry, your request has caused an error. Please press back on your browser and try again."

???

 

[barry2952]

Serious progress. All the steel is installed and welded. I hired a pro to weld the critical joints on the trailer tongue but I did the rest of it myself.

I hadn't done any serious welding since high school. About 35 years ago. I had forgotten to protect my neck while welding. Got a hell of a sunburn.

Waiting on axles from Dexter. 3 8,000 lb. axles with AirFlex suspension and stainless steel disk brakes. Should arrive mid-January.

The original perimeter angle iron will be cut away to create new wheel wells. This will allow me to expand the wheelbase from 72" to 102", the legal limit.

I've started primeing the structure. I'm painting it with Rust-Oleum industrial enamel and heavy duty primer made for sand-blasted surfaces. The final color coat will be National Blue. Very close to the color of my Mark II.

Test fitting stabalizer system consisting of 4 individually controlled screw jacks. Two to level and lift the front of the trailer and two to keep the rear stabilized during loading and unloading.

In order to maximize the potential of each 8,000 lb axle it was necessary to design and fabricate brackets that would allow the suspension to be placed as wide as possible while fitting a relatively narrow travel trailer frame. This also eliminates the "boxcar" sway effect.

 

[barry2952]

Test fitting the diamond plate aluminum underbelly. I marked the location of the struts on the back side for pilot hole placement.

Test fitting the suspension and lifts.

Alcoa 16" 8-bolt rims and Goodyear RST 12-ply stell belted tires. Tire pressure /heat sensing system to be installed next week.

Dan came by to help me with final axle location measurements. Tacked the axle brackets in place. A pro will do the critical welds.

Installed wheels to align side. Found 1/8" difference in widths. Electric stairs and SmarTire system arrived today.

 

[barry2952]

Installed KwiKee electric steps. Had to build substantial substructure to carry my weight.

Test fit aluminum panels around suspension brackets.

Test fit retracted stairs.

Removed axles and lift system. Will mount aluminum panels to new struts installed on frame. Once aluminum has been fitted and secured the panels will come off once more so that I can prime all the new welding and paint the frame National Blue. The axles and lift system will be painted black. Then I'll be ready to put the tires on and roll it outside for flipping upright again.

This is the latest design for controlling the air suspension.

The compressor produces 150 lbs of pressure. On at 110 and off at 150. The Pressure Reducing Valve limits the air line pressure to 125 lbs.

The air pressure is then fed to the Automatic Ride Height Valve on each axle. This device will allow me to custom balance the load by shifting weight onto any or all of the axles. Think of it as a changeable fulcrum on a teeter totter. A slight difference in pressure will affect the tongue weight. In transit this function will hold the load level at all times.

The air then passes through a Dump Valve that will allow lowering of just that axle. These valves will be used to dump the air out of the two rear axles causing the front end of the trailer to raise up just enough to allow gravity to pull the car out of the trailer controlled by a winch. To aid in this function there are electric screwjack lifts on the front to stabilize the trailer at the proper angle. Identical lifts are installed at the rear to prevent a nose tip- up when the vehicle exits the trailer.

After the dump valve is a Pressure Switch that would close a set of contacts that would illuminate a warning light in the cab of the tow vehicle should there be a failure.

I flipped the frame in the parking lot. The bucket truck couldn't lift the frame so I had to bring out the fork lift to complete the task. I was going to flip it once more but I've decided to assemble it upright.

All the welding and priming is done. Finish paint starts tomorrow.

National Blue

 

[barry2952]

It's alive! I jacked it up so I could finish painting underneath it.

Now I can see what I missed.

Kwikee steps move quickly. I predict some bruised shins.

Finally, it can roll around on its own. It has a pretty neutral weight distribution. I can sit my 275 lbs. on the rear and raise up the front.

Next is permanent wiring , air and brake lines.

 

[MrWilson]

dang, thats like putting my garage on wheels...progress is looking good. keep up the work!

 

[barry2952]

Thanks for the compliment.

This is the ride height valve. This device controls the air pressure in the rubber air bags. The final position of the bar attached to the valve determines the ride height. The linkage is attached directly to the swing arm of the suspension. The arms are pointing down now but should be level when the weight of the body is reinstalled on the chassis.

By lengthening the linkage the bags will inflate to a higher pressure raising the chassis above the axles. Each axle is adjustable to allow for fine tuning weight distribution.

The Airflex suspension has a slight deficiency that allows the axles to drop to a point that the air bags pull out of their seats. I used 24" 3,000 lb lifting straps secured to the chassis to restrain the axles from overtravel.

Piping and wiring next.

 

[gadget73]

That thing is awesome. I want one

I think that might be the same or a similar air suspension setup to the one on our hydraulic boat trailer at work. Ours has covered chains that paralell the airbags to keep them from over-inflating and popping out of thier sockets.

 

[barry2952]

I had considered chains. These straps will only come into play when the trailer is lifted off the ground.

I stole a great idea today. Not only will I be able to take my Mark II to car shows I'll also be able to take my 18' Chris Craft Continental to boat shows and launch it from the trailer. I'm still working on some of the details.

 

[mespock]

Hey Uncle Barry!!!

Don't forget me in your will!!!

I was your favorite Nephew!!!!

Looks great Barry!! Have fun!! :Beer

 

[pepperman]

It's looking good, Barry.

 

[barry2952]

Update 3-1-2005


I finished the piping for the axle controls and applied 80 lbs of pressure to the first set of axles. The front end rose off the ground with ease. Inflating the rear set and deflating the front dropped the tongue softly to the ground. The leveling system works. Yahoo!

Installed the bottom diamond plate skins and started installing the wiring.

The piping for the ride height valves. Adjusting these rods will let me dial in the ideal tongue weight.

 

[barry2952]

Update 3-9-2005

That's a whole lot of stopping power when driven by a 1600 psi hydraulic brake actuator.

Both sets of Kwikee steps installed and operational. Note the location of the switch that controls the electric step. That location will minimize shin damage.

The object on the right is a Viair 450C 12-volt air compressor. It feeds the 5 gallon tank. The pressure sensor located at the tank inlet turns the compressor on at 110 pounds of pressure and off at 150. One of the taps on the tank feeds a pressure regulator that maintains about 75 lbs of pressure in the air bag system. The regulator in turn feeds the ride height valve mounted to the frame rail by each wheel. The ride height valve controls the amount of pressure in the bags, adding or deleting air as needed.

The valve mounted to the suport is the electric dump valve that allows me to dump air from the back two axles for loading and all three axles for parking. The dump valves are controlled from the control center near the rear door.

The four black handled switches are the momentary contact switches for the four 6,000 lifts mounted for and aft. The top center switch controls power to the compressor relay. The three bottom switches are for the axle dump valves.

There will also be a regulator knob for adjusting the air bag pressure system for loaded and unloaded conditions. There will be a socket for the winch remote control and an air chuck capable of providing 150 lbs of air pressure. The tires on this trailer need to be maintained at 110 lbs.

This Dayton product is actually an S5000 Superwinch with 10,000 lbs of pull.

 

[barry2952]

Update 3-12-2005

Completed the rough wiring for tail lights and running lights. Included Cat 5 cable for rear facing B/W camera and back-up lighting circuit tapped into the tow vehicle wiring.

Nothing will stop you faster than red brake calipers.