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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.