Friend had a good deal

[FuzzyWuzHe]

So with buying the Box trailer, selling the little one (keeping the car carrier) I'll have between $250-$250 in the new Little girl. I may spend a tad more, thinking about getting a 2" coupler for it and a 2" ball for the trike. Doing that, I could pull the little one behind the truck if I wanted too. Not sure I'll do that, but, I'm thinking about it. I mat also recall the gap between the box and the frame, then touch up the frame. Pretty sure I have a gallon of gloss black paint in the garage.

So ... Even if I go nuts, I'll have less than $300 in it ... and of course ... lots of my time ... but ... being retired, I seem to have lots of that ... besides, the more time I spend doing these projects, the less I'll spend on the garage ... LOL. Actually, I think while mom is gone, I'll spend the early hours of the morning out there getting it "organized" ... not sure about clean ... LOL .. but organized and where mom can get her car in the garage.

[bikerbillone]

Alan, you got to be living right.

[Trampas]

I have never run into deals like you, you are living right for sure, sure like the trailer better now, the other one was ok but this one is way better and if you decide to sell down the road, this one will bring more money, not $300 either, I'm talking around $500 or $550 and maybe more, around here I have seen pieces of crap sell for $500 and yours looks way better and I mean way better than the crap here in Iowa from craiglist.

All for now Trampas

P.S. Just a thought, maybe put a rack up front for a cooler when you are traveling to have a cold drink already in cooler, just a thought, one thing you will have to watch for is tongue weight and with a rack maybe a tad to much.

[FuzzyWuzHe]

Alan, you got to be living right.

Clean Living ...

Now back to our regularly scheduled program ... LOL

I have been tearing the area of the garage I knew the scale was in apart. Finally found it ...

This is what I use to get the tongue weight on my trailers (towed behind a bike) at or as close to 17# as possible. I can't remember the rationale for why the AMA recommended 17# tongue weight, but, the number has stayed in my head. I signed up for a "trailering" seminar at a Wing Ding like 20 years ago. I thought they were gonna teach us how to put the wing on a trailer ... nope. But, the seminar was really kewl and put on by a senior instructor of the AMA. Lots of what they taught seemed pretty much common sense, but, then they back it up with why it was included in the seminar. Kind of like why there are warnings not to take lemon scented Joy internally ... seems some folks figured they could make lemon aide from it.

So this is the guy ... I thought it was a Zebco, but, alas it's a Cheap China knock off, but it does the job:

[paws]

Surprised to see how tall the trailer is...it stands as tall as the trike. Would that form a dead space or vacuum between the trike and trailer thereby setting up drag ...or help it?

[FuzzyWuzHe]

Surprised to see how tall the trailer is...it stands as tall as the trike. Would that form a dead space or vacuum between the trike and trailer thereby setting up drag ...or help it?

I have no clue, but, it does pull really well. On the return leg of my ride today there was some wind picking up. Didn't seem to affect it much. I'm guessing the "box" just gets pulled through the void made by the big rear of the trike. But that is just a guess.

[FuzzyWuzHe]

And just maybe, the angle of the front of the box acts as a spoiler of sorts. But again, I know just enough about heat transfer and fluid flow to be dangerous ... LOL.

[FuzzyWuzHe]

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 ... .

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:



Right Rear:



Hornets nests:



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:



The two cans were enough to put on two coats, this is the finished product:



So ... now i need to rewire the entire trailer ... Yippie

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:



Right:



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.

Tomorrow is a wiring party if anyone wants to play ... .. 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 ...

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.

[MDO]

Great job! I'm worn out just reading that.

[FuzzyWuzHe]

Okay ... the party is over.

Harness I made ... sorta ... while waiting for the Sun to come upL



Wired:



Tongue:



Left:



Right:



Back:



Alan is a happy man ... electrical is done ...

[FuzzyWuzHe]

This was in the trailer when I bought it ... way cool. takes three AAA batteries, the center light strip swivels up or down.

Light Off:



Light On:



Really bright and shines enough to light up the whole inside of the trailer.

If you look at the "Off" pic, between the bottom two LED's, you can barely see too little metal dots. All you do to turn it one is to put your finger on both of them. Of course, with my dry skin, I gotta lick my finger first, but, it's pretty cool. If I could find another two, I'd buy then for the tour pak and the trunk.

[jc1300]

This was in the trailer when I bought it ... way cool. takes three AAA batteries, the center light strip swivels up or down.

Light Off:



Light On:



Really bright and shines enough to light up the whole inside of the trailer.

If you look at the "Off" pic, between the bottom two LED's, you can barely see too little metal dots. All you do to turn it one is to put your finger on both of them. Of course, with my dry skin, I gotta lick my finger first, but, it's pretty cool. If I could find another two, I'd buy then for the tour pak and the trunk.

Alan - Amazon has a two pack for under $10. Just search Sylvania Dot it Linear Swivel.....

[FuzzyWuzHe]

Alan - Amazon has a two pack for under $10. Just search Sylvania Dot it Linear Swivel.....

On It ... gotta make a Amazon order today anyway.

Thinking I should replace the pneumatic shocks that hold the door up ... fell on my head when I was playing with the light.

Also gonna order a 2" coupler and 2" ball ... be nice to have everything the same size ... not a lot of dry storage in the truck ...

So I was taking mom to the airport ... major drama ... anyway, on the way out of the airport, there was a city truck with a trailer for lawn mowers and the like in front of me. He drove through a pretty decent sized puddle and water splashed up through the expanded metal floor of the trailer. Got me to thinking about my new wiring job. Even though the connectors I used are filled with dielectric grease, the wheels started turning.

On the way home I stopped at AutoZone to get 1 more can of rubberized undercoating. Put the trailer back on the logs, sprayed a decent amount of the undercoating all over the wires and connectors .. Overkill??? .. probably ... but like my dear departed pops used to say ... "A pound of prevention is worth a ton of cure". (Dad was famous for "adjusting" sayings a tad)

[FuzzyWuzHe]

Got two of the swivel lights ordered, and, found 2 pneumatic shocks with 25# lift capacity ordered too. Those should keep the lid from smacking my noodle ...

[paws]

Ok..so just looked up these Sylvania linear lights. If you attach them to a surface then how do you change the batteries?... just slide them open? Let us know when you receive them. Thinking they might be a neat light to put inside the G Wing upper trunk lid...heck, maybe even the top of the lower trunk...

[FuzzyWuzHe]

Ok..so just looked up these Sylvania linear lights. If you attach them to a surface then how do you change the batteries?... just slide them open? Let us know when you receive them. Thinking they might be a neat light to put inside the G Wing upper trunk lid...heck, maybe even the top of the lower trunk...

There is a backing plate that has velcro on it (at least on the little trailers) ... you remove the light with the backing plate, slide the plate off and change the batteries.

I'm putting one on the tour pak and one in the trunk.

[FuzzyWuzHe]

Waiting for:

new air shocks

2" coupler

2" ball

So ... I just did a little "piddling" with the Little Girl. Did some touch up of "holidays" in the under coating. Mostly where the under coating "shrunk" or it was in weird angles ... yes .. I'm a bit annal ... LOL ... but I'm fairly certain that all connections are now water and dust tight.









Next I played around with the little swivel light. The velcro on the little trailer was pretty worn. I replaced that with new. I pushed the trailer back into the back of the garage and waited until the garage light went off (thought about shutting the door, but, frankly ... I'm afraid it will get stuck again with me in there).

Anyway, I was curious to see how much light the little LED would put into the trailer. This is a relatively big trailer box (40" x 48" x 24" ... about 26.7 cubic feet) to be behind a bike, not sure I would pull it behind two wheels. I am aware of it's girth and will be very cognizant of the weight I carry. Why do I bring that up, when you open the box in the back of the garage, it's kind of like looking into the great abyss ... I was wondering if maybe I might need two swivel lights ... LOL.

Here is the abyss with the light off:



Here it is with the light on:



Remember, the little light swivels and that beam of light can be adjusted to where you need it. I will never fill this thing .. LOL .. but, if I keep any weight low and spread out, I think the little light will provide ample light to find what I'm looking for, especially if it's organized in bags. I talked a little about that in the breakfast club thread.

So a question for the masses. Do you think I should be concerned about "mounting" the spare and gas tank in the box or will they be okay if I just lay them in the bottom. Can't imagine a lot of moving of the spare. The gas tank might slide some, but, if I put it in the center rear and pack around it, I think it would be fine.

So what say you ... LOL

I haven't played with the logistics yet, but, I'm thinking (dangerous) that the spare will be front and center, next the gas tank middle and center, then a cooler (small cooler, enough for a jug of water, a couple sandwiches and maybe some fruit) back center. The sides will be where bags are put. I can't imagine ever having more that one layer deep in packing with maybe a jacket laying on top of the bags. I also thought of mounting the spare on one side and the fuel tank on the other, over the axle, would make loading easier by keeping the two large loads over the axle. This will be contingent on not interfering with the air shocks.

Based on what I have said, I'm considering having All Metals take about 8" out of the height. If you remember, John's (the guy I bought this from) grand son works there. I think he'd do a good job, he built it. This is in the "do I need to" category. The pros would be that I would not be able to put huge amounts of stuff in it and get to a point of the tail wagging the dog (I know myself, give me 12 cu ft, I'll try to get 14 cu ft in it ... LOL. Next, It would be easier to reach stuff. The cons, spending $$ and there would probably be a line (weld) all around the box. Also, I would lose storage that I could use while not pulling it or when pulling it with the truck ... ... Not to mention, a lot more work for me ... Think I just made my decision ... leave well enough alone.

Thanks for listening to the ramblings of an old ish man ... LOL.

[FuzzyWuzHe]

Okay, so once a thought finds it's way into my head, it just kind of rattles around until I act on it ... it can be painful ...

So the latest billiard ball in there was what to do with the fuel can and spare. The rain clouds ended up being much ado about nothing, the sun came out and it got hot. Not too bad in the shade which means I had about two hours before the sun ruined my work area.

Went out, pulled the trike out, eased the trailer out a bit and put the fuel can and spare in there. I tried both ways and took pics ... thought about starting a poll thread but figured the boss might fire me ... LOL.

Here they are mounted flat looking back to front:



The only advantage I can find to this way is I'm done, no work or expense. The disadvantage is it makes the tongue a tad heavy, but there is nothing else in there. Also, harder to get to them.

Here they are mounted vertical (just leaning against the wall) looking back to front:



The advantages here are that getting to them is a piece of cake. Checking the spare tire pressure if I mount it stem up, is easy. Also, since they are right over the axle, the two heaviest things in the trailer are fairly neutral in respect to the affects on tongue weight. Only disadvantage would be a couple of screws through the wall of the trailer. They would be Stainless and sealed with silicon and a rubber gasket. I think I maybe could get by with a couple ratcheting straps to the tie downs in there, probably too heavy for bungies. Hmmm ... might have to look into that. Oh yea, the shocks don't interfere at all.

So many decisions ... too much time (Oh my Lord, I'm becoming my Father ... guess I could become worse things ... )

[FuzzyWuzHe]

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 ... . 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).

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:



All in one didn't show the shocks too well so here they are:





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.



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.



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.



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 ...

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.

[MDO]

Fuzzy, I think it's better with the gas can up also. it's looking really good.

If you get some concrete vinyl patch & encase those electrical connections, they will really be protected.