7 Attachment(s)
I just loves me some tricity
Okay, so I put the little trailer up onto two logs to protect the aluminum and more importantly, the license plate light, just to swap out to the larger fenders.
While trying to get to the bolts that hold the fenders on, I realized the insulation on the bottom would have to come out. I removed the 1/8" plywood (I call it drawer bottom .. LOL) I then discovered the styrofoam is placed in there in 1 foot by 40" strips, 4 of them. They were held in with wood screws into another piece of drawer bottom. I removed the screws for the 2 pieces that were blocking the bolts I needed to get to.
When I removed the styrofoam foam, I realized the wood screws had gone right through various wiring under the foam. It was a good idea to protect the wires with the foam, but, not so much drilling wood screws into it ... :AGGHH:.
Since I don't want tp be in Texas (sorry ... couldn't resist) someday and have one of their finest pull me over because lights don't work, I decided to pull all the styrofoam out and "see" where I stood. The best description I can use is "Rats Nest". The guy I bought this from is usually very good, but, in this case, not so much.
Left Rear:
[ATTACH=CONFIG]73809[/ATTACH]
Right Rear:
[ATTACH=CONFIG]73810[/ATTACH]
Hornets nests:
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The front clearance markers were very iffy too. I snipped all the wire harness off leaving just enough wire to show what color goes were. Don't know if you noticed the hornets nests, complete with live ins, so I decided not to put the wood and styrofoam back on. Still needed to protect the other piece of wood. Rooted around in the "Magic Garage" in the paint section, LOL, and found a full can and a partial can of rubberized undercoating. I bought this stuff when I made my work trailer for my pool business two years ago, still sprays ... This will work.
Cleaned it out (Styro Foam, pine needs, bugs, etc) and started protecting it. Then I remembered "Without pics it didn't happen".
So here is kind of a before half and after half:
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The two cans were enough to put on two coats, this is the finished product:
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So ... now i need to rewire the entire trailer ... Yippie :pepper:
But that won't be happening until tomorrow after the undercoating dries well.
But, wait, the whole reason for taking this apart was to swap the fenders. Relatively easy now, take off the little ones, drill 4 new holes, mount the big ones.
Left:
[ATTACH=CONFIG]73814[/ATTACH]
Right:
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Looks much better.
Next was a rooting mission for a wiring harness for a trailer ... nada ... off to Auto Zone to pick one up, another $4.99 to the tally. Can't believe the "Magic Garage" let me down, could have sworn there was one. Did find the box of clips I bought to "hold wires" and another box of connectors that are prelubed with dielectric grease. Again leftovers from the work trailer. So, Since Don is in Minnesota, I'm on my own for the wiring, I can do it, I just really hate it. :D
Tomorrow is a wiring party if anyone wants to play ... :D .. there will be brief pause while I take mom to the air port .. she's going to New York (Long Island actually), then her and family are going to some casino. She calls it a "Hen Party" ... happy for her, and me, I love her very much, but, she's 85 and sometimes a break is just what the doctor ordered ... :D
PS: Maybe I should of just put the box on the "other trailer" ... would of been less work ... maybe. Still haven't figured out what holds it on, looks like bolts under the carpet.
6 Attachment(s)
Pneumatic Shocks, Mounts and 2" conversion
Okay ... so yesterday the Amazon delivery came and all was well.
I installed the pneumatic shocks, since I ordered the exact part that was there (but heavy duty) ... just pop the old off and pop the new on. At first I thought I messed up, but, then I realized that the new ones full expand and the old did not, new ones where almost 1/2" longer ... :D. The really good news ... just one shock holds the lid up well, so I'm fairly certain two will not allow it to smack my head, don't want to put dents in it (the trailer, not my head ... lots of dents there already). :D
Next, since I had the tank and spare in the trailer, I decided to test my theory of just using ratcheting straps to hold them.
That worked fine ... very solid, tank is vertical and the spare is mounted with the valve sticking up so I can test air pressure easily. With the new shocks, I can easily reach the whole inside of the trailer, so, no need to shorten it, or do anything more. I had 3 4-packs of harbor freight 500# ratcheting straps, so I used two new ones and cut them to just the length I needed, knotted the ends and melted them so they won't fray.
Here is an all in one photo that shows the new shocks, and the mounting. I grabbed the spare and I can pick the side of the trailer up by just grabbing the spare ... so I think the straps are plenty safe to mount both ... and if not ... what's the worse that could happen????
Here's an all in one shot:
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All in one didn't show the shocks too well so here they are:
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So, on to the 2" conversion so I can use the little gal with either the truck or the trike ...
I absolutely hated the grey color the 2" coupler came in. So, I took it apart and painted it. I realized I didn't do a before pic, but, I did ... I took a pic of the guts so I didn't need to remember what goes where when I put it back together.
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The grey is okay, but, kind of cheesy. After removing the guts, I scuffed it up with some sand paper to give it a tooth. Then I gave it two coats of gloss black.
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I'm gonna give the coupler until tomorrow to dry before I install it. I will need to take the bar and new 2" ball to my buddies house tomorrow to let him drill a 1" hole in it. The shank on the bar has a 3/4" hole because it's got a 1 7/8" ball. The hard part was finding one that did not raise the height. Didn't want the ball to hit the trunk when I let the door down.
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Notice the bolt where the hitch pin would normally be. Well, as with all motorcycle bars and hitches (at least the ones I've owned), they are pretty loose fit. Originally I thought I'd just let it rattle and be able to remove the bar when I want. It's kind of a pain to get down and do that with my new knees, so, decided to just make it permanent. The trunk door doesn't hit it, so what the hey. The bolt just barely fits into the bar hole and is just as snug in the receiver. Shouldn't be any rattle, especially when I get it torqued down ... :D
PS. I have an old motorcycle (HD) tour pak luggage rack, thinking about mounting it on the trailer so it will look like the trike ... LOL. An idle mind is a terrible thing.