New Thule Trailer (3 Viewers)

[perkj]

@Sir Velo I was initially thinking 2 as well but Amazon had a fantastic deal on 4 of the Atwood "extended" versions (which you'll need) on Amazon Warehouse deals that I couldn't pass up. Having 4 will allow me to level the trailer if I ever opt to go the Roof Top Tent route for it. I suppose it'll also be nice to be able to jack the entire tailer up to do wheel/hub maintenance without have to break out a stand alone jack.

For the time being I'm using an extendable aluminum pole from an old car window squeegee I had lying around for the a make shift canopy stay. Works well but with a 3 YO and 5 YO boys, I'm looking for something a little more permanent that they won't be able to knock over...they've already done it once at home lol

 

[Sir Velo]

@perkj Oh and by the way, I found some water under a tub I had stored inside, I forgot when it rained hard last (2-4 weeks ago?) but I looked to find the origin of the leak and the only spot that looked suspicious was around the lock. I added some thin double stick foam tape around the hole on the exterior plate. I hope that takes care of it, but I suspect that it won't. I'm hoping for rain (for more reasons than this ).

 

[perkj]

@perkj Oh and by the way, I found some water under a tub I had stored inside, I forgot when it rained hard last (2-4 weeks ago?) but I looked to find the origin of the leak and the only spot that looked suspicious was around the lock. I added some thin double stick foam tape around the hole on the exterior plate. I hope that takes care of it, but I suspect that it won't. I'm hoping for rain (for more reasons than this ).

@Sir Velo Thanks for the heads up. I'll check mine tonight and see if there there can be some type of o-ring, gasket or seal that may work. Worst case I'm thinking some clear silicone may be in order.

 

[Sir Velo]

@perkj silicone I think would be best there, I didn't have any that wasn't already a useless solid toothpaste tube shaped motor mount lolol

There isn't much allowance for anything thick when it comes to the nut on the back side of the lock, so using silicone to fill voids and seal the outer perimeter of the lock plate might be a suitable solution.

 

[Sir Velo]

@Sir Velo I was initially thinking 2 as well but Amazon had a fantastic deal on 4 of the Atwood "extended" versions (which you'll need) on Amazon Warehouse deals that I couldn't pass up.

@perkj are you talking about this model:

https://www.amazon.com/Atwood-82301...ncoding=UTF8&refRID=0VPTS8ES7698TR7BQBZC&th=1

 

[perkj]

@Sir Velo the one you linked is the standard version. It just barely worked with the 145/75-13s however once the 175/75-13s were on it wouldn’t reach the ground. You’ll want the “extended” one here: Atwood (82297) Extended Swing-Down Trailer Stabilizer https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00K8D59VE/ref=cm_sw_r_sms_apip_SLczz6UiXWmIa

If you look closely at @theOz’sold pictures in those PDFs I posted, you will see he has the extended as well. I think ebay may have the best price on them unless amazon has some in Warehouse deals.

 

[perkj]

@Sir Velo Amazon's current $37 price looks to be the best price right now. I was lucky with the Warehouse deals and got four of them for $19 each...they looked to be completely unused as well. Just some minor scratched in the paint. You'll also want to get the jack rod for them which allows for precision height adjustment. Best price for that is here: Replacement Handle Rod for Atwood 1,000-lb Stabilizer Jack - 1/2" Diameter Atwood Accessories a. Its just a 1/2" rod so you may be able to find it at HD or Lowes.....I had an order being placed with eTrailer for some other things and just included it in that shipment.

 

[Sir Velo]

@perkj I found that to be the case also. I may watch the prices for a bit since I'm not in a hurry and see if there's any reduction.

 

[perkj]

@Sir Velo here are the new 1x3 10-Series (note not 15 series) crossbars in place of the Thule aeroblade crossbars:

 

[Sir Velo]

@perkj You could probably sell the Thule crossbars to defray much of the cost of the 8020 lol I have some of the plastic strips to cover the open channels if you want any, for some reason I bought more than I'll ever need.

 

[perkj]

@Sir Velo The Thule bars will be going back to REI. Wish I had thought of the 10Series 1x3 when I placed my origional order as I would have saved about $30 dollars in shipping . That said the 10-Series cross bars with shipping were under half the cost of the Thule bars

 

[perkj]

@Sir Velo I'm going to be testing out two 150 lbs LID struts. The 80s you pointed me too work ok, however like you said once any weight beyond a bike is on them, game over. Lift Supports Depot SE230P150 Gas Charged Lift Support

Also, Todd from SpaceTrailer sent out the canopy stay & brackets to me on Friday which should further help with keeping the LID up when weight is added to the rack. I also got a few other parts from him to try fitting to our Thules (tailgate cables & brackets and their two tailgate latch clamps).

 

[Sir Velo]

@perkj - The one issue I had with some other struts I tried was that they ended up not being close or exact to the original dimensions and the lid wouldn't close all the way. Also something to consider is that although the lid will hold up all your stuff when it's strapped to the top, remember that when nothing is up top, that lid will spring up quicker than snot and be very tough to wrangle back down, so much that you almost can't pull it back down without undue effort, this was the other issue I had with some the struts I purchased, they were 110# each. I felt that the 80's were a good compromise in this regard.

 

[perkj]

@Sir Velo The previous owner had the Lift Support Deport had the 60 lbs version of the same strut on the lid ( Lift Supports Depot SE230P60 Gas Charged Lift Support) which are the exact same dimensions of the 150s I have on order, so fitment shouldn't be an issue as there was no issue with the SE230P60s.

I agree with the concern about how quickly the lid will rise with the 150s, however all the components of my rack equate to a little over 39 lbs (per the 80/20 site for the weights they state). Those long tracks alone are 16 lbs for the two of them. The stock lift supports were 45 lbs. The 60s that were on mine would not hold the lid up with just the rack on. The 80s require assistance to get the lid up, however once up the 80s can support it. Doing the rough math the 80s once you subtract out the 39 lbs for the rack, they are only left with 41 lbs for the lid itself plus anything on top of the rack...which isn't much. with the 150's I'll have 111 lbs available for the lid plus whatever is on the rack. Once I have them, I'll create a video of how they perform so you can get a sense of how quickly they pop the lid and how hard it is to close with no weight on the rack.

Lift Support Depot does make a 111 lber which is 23.12" (vs 23") full extension and the compression length is 13.5 (which is less than the 13.65 of the 60s I had on there) so it should no issue fitting: Lift Supports Depot 4758S10 Gas Charged Lift Support

They also make a 100 that will fit, its extension is 22.85 (vs 23): Lift Supports Depot SE225P100E39 Gas Charged Lift Support


Lift support has a great return policy so if the 150s don't work, I'll return and try the 111s next. I went with the 150s given that they were the cheapest at only $14.xx each. I'm also one to lean more towards overkill...go big or go home LOL

 

[perkj]

I just received a response back from Space Trailer as I sent an email to them yesterday regarding the how much force in lbs they spec for each strut lift. Todd's response was that they offer 150, 180 and 200 per strut depending on the load the client will use on top of the lid rack. His advice was start with a minimum of 150.

 

[Sir Velo]

I just received a response back from Space Trailer as I sent an email to them yesterday regarding the how much force in lbs they spec for each strut lift. Todd's response was that they offer 150, 180 and 200 per strut depending on the load the client will use on top of the lid rack. His advice was start with a minimum of 150.

Eek! Doesn't the load force increase due to having two struts though?

Yeah just to reiterate, mine being rated for 88# each is more than enough for the lid unloaded (the originals did not hold it up very well with the rack installed). But, this next trip I am going to make it my mission to have everything inside and ready to go before adding the bikes up top, which will include the front wheels Did I forget to mention that I had a heavy Thule hitch rack lashed up top as well, and without that it wasn't such a struggle I seem to recall and the struts almost held up the bikes.

 

[perkj]

For anyone interested, there is a Thule 1700 trailer on eBay right now that looks to be in excellent condition:
Thule Trailer | eBay

 

[perkj]

Eek! Doesn't the load force increase due to having two struts though?.

Yes. Todd said he uses two 150 struts as a minimum (i.e. 300 total) on all his trailers. There are some pretty impressive pictures on his site where the lid it up supporting a canoe, multiple kayaks, and even a full buck/deer.

I'll shoot a video as soon as I get the 150 lbs stuts on.

 

[perkj]

@Sir Velo the 150s are very nice. Doesn’t take much effort at all to close and open nice also:

 

[Sir Velo]

@perkj weird, that's how easy it is for my current set but I distinctly recall the lift and return being much more eventful with the other ones I had. Could be my mind is going lol

I think I'm going to forgo the jack stands for the time being. If you haven't purchased a handle bar yet, eTrailer has them for $4 and shipping was $6-7, much better than the $12 and $10 shipping that the seller on Amazon is charging for a steel bar!