Pull Behind Trailer

[JimD]

Is your tongue weight only 24 lbs? If so, that seems a bit low. I use a utility trailer a lot now due to an incomplete move. The tongue weight is very low, probably in the same range. I rattles up and down a lot until I put some weight on it. Part of that is the adjustable mount I'm using, it amplifies things, and part is the fact it isn't tight on the ball. But part of the issue is the really light tongue weight. If there was an easy way and if we keep this trailer later, I would increase the tongue weight - maybe around 50 lbs. If you leave it this low, I would not have an adjustable mount, you apparently don't plan one, and I would be careful with the ball clearance. The rattling is annoying. Maybe on a bike the wind will drown out the noise, however.

[Stytooner]

Pappy, I have a solid stainless steel ball here that has a large 7/8" stud. I think it is 2.25". I have never used it because my bumper had a smaller hole. 3/4" I think.
You are welcome to it if you want to pay shipping. It's a nice looking ball and will not rust.

If you don't want or need it, anyone else can have it too. First come, first served of course. Depending on Don's needs.

[Pappy]

Jim, understand I am pulling this with a 1100 pound vehicle that is relatively light in the front. Also, the tongue weight isn't absolute. There area still angle iron brackets to hold the ramp to be added to the tongue and the chair can be moved forward or back to change the tongue weight. I am shooting for a final weight of 28-30 pounds and then adjust it with the final position of the chair to find the sweet spot in handling.

Lee, thanks for the generous offer but I'll leave it up for grabs by someone that can use it. I'm running a Class I hitch and ball mount that has a 3/4" hole and my coupler uses a 1 7/8" ball. (Maybe a member rehabbing a BIG sailboat....)

[Rslaugh]

.....

Lee, thanks for the generous offer but I'll leave it up for grabs by someone that can use it. I'm running a Class I hitch and ball mount that has a 3/4" hole and my coupler uses a 1 7/8" ball. (Maybe a member rehabbing a BIG sailboat....)

A BIG sailboat is more than a ball hitch can handle - 11000# for my current project. I wish i would have taken some pics of the hydraulic trailer rig the guy had who delivered my boat.

[Pappy]

Made a call today to inquire about putting an ID # on the trailer and found out it has to be issued by Texas DOT within 30 days of the sheriff's inspection/certification that it is not a stolen trailer. That was done on 30 Jan, so I am still good. I'll make a run to Austin either Thu or Fri to get the number issued, then swing by the county tax office get the plate.

Except to add the number to the frame and a little bit of minor tweaking, it's ready to paint.







I want to do a short test run before I strip off the tires and throw the wheels in an electrolysis bath. New tires were ordered today. With the light weight of the trailer, I wanted to soften the ride as much as possible, so I am going with a 12" car radial. (Try finding a 12 " car tire that hasn't been sitting in a warehouse for 2-3 years!)

[JimD]

My first new car was a Ford Festiva. I believe it had 12 inch tires. They wore out pretty fast but they were cheap. I still occasionally see a Festiva on the road but I don't know how readily available their tires are. You might try Tire Rack. They will deliver to your favorite installer.

[Pappy]

My first new car was a Ford Festiva. I believe it had 12 inch tires. They wore out pretty fast but they were cheap. I still occasionally see a Festiva on the road but I don't know how readily available their tires are. You might try Tire Rack. They will deliver to your favorite installer.

I ordered tires from an EBay seller. Only ones I found local were at a Discount Tire and they had a 3610 date code on them. (First 2 digits are the month and the last 2 are the year the tire was made.) 3 1/2 years is a long time for a tire to sit. The rubber 'cures' and gets harder with age regardless of how it is stored.

Queries to most online sellers got answers like "We only sell fresh tires", "All our tires are new and properly warehoused", "All our tires are less than 3 years old" or (my favorite) "These are DOT 2013 tires". A follow up to the last one verified that he was only claiming they were made sometime last year.

Of the 3 retailers that responded with a date code one was a 6 ply light truck tire that would have been as stiff as an ST rated tire. Another had tires branded as "Classic" and I couldn't find any reference to the actual manufacturer or a tire company by that name. His ad was the only place I could even find the brand for sale. These tires were made in the 42nd and 45th weeks of last year, respectively.

What I bought are Patriot 145/70R14 tires dated 2113 (End of June). The decision was partly on the smaller size and a researchable brand. Mostly it was the fact that the sales rep answered my email with a phone # then took the time to go out in the warehouse, pull the tires to check the date, and call me back inside 5 minutes. Customer service goes a long way in my book. The order was placed at 12:28 PM and left the local Fedex office before the end of the day. Barring problems from the attest winter blast, I should have them by Monday.

[Pappy]

Getting a little closer. The pics were done with the phone and the quality is poor, to say it kindly.

I stripped, painted, and pinstriped the wheels to match the trike. Plan to add either a chrome center cap with mag wheel style lugs or a snap on cap that covers the lugs to dress it up a bit.

I couldn't find any trailer fenders I liked, other than plastic, and they wouldn't be strong enough to support the matching Tombstone tail lights so it was out to the shop to build a mold for custom fiberglass fenders. Since the trailer will only be pulled by the trike, I wanted fenders that would be similar in appearance to a Harley front fender. Think I got close.







Still have a lot of hand sanding to get the mold smooth before I can start to lay up the lay up the fiberglass. Once it is ready I will put on several coats of urethane to seal it and apply a liberal coat of paste wax as a release agent. Still haven't figured out the best way to attach them to the trailer.

[BadeMillsap]

Nice work! Making a custom mold was a good idea and looks like you nailed it!

[capncarl]

Did you make a left hand and right hand mold, or is it the same on both sides? I've made an number of fiberglass molds and have always had a lot of trouble making them mirror images. You probably could sell the fiberglass fenders if you offered them on line.

[Pappy]

Did you make a left hand and right hand mold, or is it the same on both sides? I've made an number of fiberglass molds and have always had a lot of trouble making them mirror images. You probably could sell the fiberglass fenders if you offered them on line.

Single mold. There will have to be a left/right insert to create a mounting surface even with the bottom of the trailer frame.

The only practical way o make them for sale would be with a negative mold so the fender could be laid up from the inside with a chop gun. Expensive set up to start. If there is an interest shown, limited production could be accomplished on a positive mold like this with a vacuum bag system.

[capncarl]

I tried the vacuum bag system on some of the boat parts I was making. It turned into a royal mess. It is not too hard to make parts like this in a female mold, just messy, as most all fiberglass work is, but it is not worth the extra work to build the molds. I usually build a small mold like this using a wood frame, cardboard and tape with paper mache body and shrink wrap cover it with poly for a release coat. I see a lot of applications on this site that the guys fret over building that would be a good job for fiberglass. (like blade guards, band saw doors, and equipment covers.)
capncarl

[Rslaugh]

Pappy - very very cool.

I have a bunch of fiberglass work to do on the boat. These are some great videos I found on the subject for others who may be interested:

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC0k...zdqFUk3oTaHBuA