Last minute trailer project... (1 Viewer)

[Mtbcoach]

Very nice work...I know you have some updates by now!! Post up some pics .

Ok Jon, if you insist.

Got the doors cut and temporarily hung into place to make sure it fits as I had in my mind...

Now, for the part I've been putting off. First, a couple pics of what the wheels look like to start with. Shield your eyes, its not a pretty sight...

Now, let the fun begin. Nothing like having to wear heavy clothing on a nice day like today while blasting away the rust. I went through 3 bags of media, you can see why I put this part of the job off. I wonder why I don't just pay people to do this kind of sh!t work, stupid pride I guess...

Even the dog thinks I'm an idiot...

I finished them up and have the first couple coats of paint on them. I'm going to let them sit overnight and put the final coat on tomorrow. I've got the doors prep'ed for glassing tomorrow. I had to get some floral foam to fill in the gap between the two pieces. I'll post pics of them tomorrow also.

Today was dirty, dusty and grumpy work between sandblasting the wheels and the sanding the doors. But, as we all know, prep work is the key to success...

 

[krzyabncanuck]

Coming along real nice, can not wait to see it in person.

 

[rutbeer]

Too late for this, but I'll add anyway: I use glass bead because it seems to cut fast, it's easily reusable, and it's lung "friendly". I put down a HUGE tarp to collect the majority of the media, and then filter it before putting it back into the bucket. I have used one bucket for about a year now.....
For things I don't feel like blasting, I take to Robbins on 109. They only charged about 300 to do the entire truck on my FJ45 (in out bottom). And they got everything.....like spots even the paint couldn't get back into.

 

[Mtbcoach]

Coming along real nice, can not wait to see it in person.

Thanks, its coming along...

Too late for this, but I'll add anyway: I use glass bead because it seems to cut fast, it's easily reusable, and it's lung "friendly". I put down a HUGE tarp to collect the majority of the media, and then filter it before putting it back into the bucket. I have used one bucket for about a year now.....
For things I don't feel like blasting, I take to Robbins on 109. They only charged about 300 to do the entire truck on my FJ45 (in out bottom). And they got everything.....like spots even the paint couldn't get back into.

I do like using glass bead. When I raced motorcycles, I bead blasted my cylinders for every rebuild (the old two-stroke days). However, maybe I used a different glass bead (actually, the company I worked for) but I didn't find it that abrasive. I'd definitely use glass bead in a cabinet to give a nice finish to parts. Back in my youth, I worked in a shop where I spent half my day with my hands in a sandblast cabinet, one cabinet with glass bead, the other with a more abrasive garnet.

My long term plan is similar to yours in re-capturing the media, sift/filter and re-use. However, for this case and the M416 rust bucket of a trailer, I found a local source of "black beauty" and got 8 bags that I could use to cut through the rust. I found it worked very well, just VERY dirty. I need to get a full jumpsuit for future jobs with this stuff.

What prompted me to invest in the sandblaster was the high cost I was getting quoted to get the trailer blasted. I was getting quotes over $400 without commitments as to when they could get to it. A series of high quotes and bad customer service made me decide to do it myself.

At any rate, I completely agree that glass bead is much more user friendly...

 

[rutbeer]

Wow....sounds like you should bring your stuff out here to Robbins. They never take more than a few days and are quite reasonable. They charged me about $50 to blast all of my steel rims (5) down to bare steel. Beware though, they use high pressure blasting on wheels and you may find pits beyond what you are comfortable driving on.....mine were quite pitted and wouldn't seal against the tire without filler.

 

[Mtbcoach]

Wow....sounds like you should bring your stuff out here to Robbins. They never take more than a few days and are quite reasonable. They charged me about $50 to blast all of my steel rims (5) down to bare steel. Beware though, they use high pressure blasting on wheels and you may find pits beyond what you are comfortable driving on.....mine were quite pitted and wouldn't seal against the tire without filler.

You are right about that. It would be worth it at those prices for sure. I probably spent $30 on media today...

 

[rutbeer]

And at least 20 on power to the compressor. I wrestle that question every day though. Trailer looks great, can't wait to see it in person.

 

[S4Cruiser]

X2 - looks great Jerry. I bet that sand blasting did really suck.

For the rear doors I guess you did not end up grafting a small portion of the tops to the bottoms or is that still the plan?

Good luck getting things finished and if you need a hand let me know.

 

[Mtbcoach]

And at least 20 on power to the compressor. I wrestle that question every day though. Trailer looks great, can't wait to see it in person.

That and wear and tear on the old body...

X2 - looks great Jerry. I bet that sand blasting did really suck.

For the rear doors I guess you did not end up grafting a small portion of the tops to the bottoms or is that still the plan?

Good luck getting things finished and if you need a hand let me know.

Of course, that is what I'm doing today. The ambi doors will go up to the top and I'm hoping to make the hardware engage with the top and frame also...

 

[Mtbcoach]

Quick update. Got the tires mounted to the freshly painted wheels, came out pretty nice for how bad they were to start with...

Since it is now a "rolling chassis", I had to roll it out of the garage and put it behind the mother ship...

These were taken before I got the rear door hinge mounts completed. That took some time to make sure they were equal, level, all those details stuff. Next is the tube fenders, battery box and lid hinge w/gas shock assists, ordering the material to skin it tomorrow also...

 

[little_joe]

Good golly Jerry, that is supremely cool! You're doing amazing work!

And behind your FJC, the trailer is not nearly as tall as I thought it would be.

Very well done, and I can't wait to see it!

 

[Mtbcoach]

Good golly Jerry, that is supremely cool! You're doing amazing work!

And behind your FJC, the trailer is not nearly as tall as I thought it would be.

Very well done, and I can't wait to see it!

Thanks Joe. I do surprise myself once in a while. The rear doors are done with a primer coat and attached to the trailer now. I pretty much burned today watching tennis (very good match, too bad for Andy though) and driving to Burlington to pick up a sprayer for the bed liner I'm using. Unfortunately, all the Northern Tools here were out of stock and I wanted to get a relatively cheap HVLP sprayer for primers/bed liners. The one they had on sale was $40 so it was worth the drive.

I'm using the "Raptor" system that comes in black and "tintable". I had a paint store mix me up some tint so I can do the tubing black and the sheet metal a different color...

 

[southerncruiser62]

I think you should go white wheels on the FJC now, great job Jerry

 

[Mtbcoach]

I think you should go white wheels on the FJC now, great job Jerry

It is tempting seeing the trailer with the FJC...

 

[S4Cruiser]

It's really turning out like you had envisioned!! I love the way the white cap matches the roof of the FJC. I also like the white wheels and noticed that you went with the BFG ATs. You planning on keeping that setup or just using them for the first trip?

I bet that thing is going to be the cat's meow at the Summit.

If you did it over, would you change the rear door setup or stay the same?? Just curious and thinking ahead .

I don't start work until Tuesday so give me a ring if you need an extra hand tomorrow...I promise I'll actually work this time .

 

[Mtbcoach]

It's really turning out like you had envisioned!! I love the way the white cap matches the roof of the FJC. I also like the white wheels and noticed that you went with the BFG ATs. You planning on keeping that setup or just using them for the first trip?

I bet that thing is going to be the cat's meow at the Summit.

If you did it over, would you change the rear door setup or stay the same?? Just curious and thinking ahead .

I don't start work until Tuesday so give me a ring if you need an extra hand tomorrow...I promise I'll actually work this time .

Thanks Jon, yes, the vision is falling into place.

At this point, I'll probably keep the tire/wheel combo as is. I cleaned up enough to carry a spare so it can be towed with most anything.

The doors, yes, the doors. It would have been much easier to just make a simple tailgate. These doors too more time since I had to cut/trim/add material to get them to fit. If I made the tub 2" shorter, it would have just been a cut/finish for paint, nothing more. I like the idea that I don't have to reach over a tailgate but also don't have a place to sit on. I think some time in the field will tell all but for now, happy with the doors instead of tailgate.

Thanks for the offer of help, if thats how you want to spend your last day before returning to work, in a hot, dirty garage then we can talk...

 

[rutbeer]

you want to spend your last day before returning to work, in a hot, dirty garage then we can talk...

Jerry, Jerry, Jerry.....you have much to learn grasshoppa. There is just no reason to work in a hot garage. Imagine how much more killer your work will be if you were doing all this comfortably! I put a small $100 window unit in my garage for a/c. Works SWEET! Small units can actually be lifted in or out of the window pretty quickly if your neighborhood covenants won't let you do that on a permanent basis.
I also have a plethura of fans. Fans are great at keeping the skeeters off your back if you're outside, cool you down, blow the grinder dust away from you, etc.
My favorite fan for outside work is an old belt drive air conditioning blower that I salvaged out of my house when I replaced it. It's amazing strong and will actually create a duststorm off your driveway when you fire it up.

 

[Mtbcoach]

Jerry, Jerry, Jerry.....you have much to learn grasshoppa. There is just no reason to work in a hot garage. Imagine how much more killer your work will be if you were doing all this comfortably! I put a small $100 window unit in my garage for a/c. Works SWEET! Small units can actually be lifted in or out of the window pretty quickly if your neighborhood covenants won't let you do that on a permanent basis.
I also have a plethura of fans. Fans are great at keeping the skeeters off your back if you're outside, cool you down, blow the grinder dust away from you, etc.
My favorite fan for outside work is an old belt drive air conditioning blower that I salvaged out of my house when I replaced it. It's amazing strong and will actually create a duststorm off your driveway when you fire it up.

I was looking at some massive fans today at Northern Tool. Never thought of the window unit though, now "that's thinking with your dipstick....Jimmy"...

 

[charlestonfj60]

That trailer is going to look SICK! Great Job!!!!!!!

 

[Mtbcoach]

That trailer is going to look SICK! Great Job!!!!!!!

Thanks, should be able to another progress report tomorrow...