I bought this unit sight unseen after I had a local Cruiserhead check it out. I won't do that again. After paying too much and dragging it back to Jersey it became apparent that the frame was wasted. I worked with Dave Crum at Crum Custom Welding and he built a new frame out of box steel while I worked on the tub by hand. After 2 days of that nonsense I called up a local sand blast dude and had the tub blasted. In and out in a day.
Dave and I liked the spare tire under the rear of the trailer both for convenience and balance. Hit the tub and frame with 2 coats of Rustolium enamel and reassembled the whole shebang with grade 8 hardware for the tub and 304 SS for the fenders.
During the process I rebuilt the drum brakes, repacked the wheel bearings, cleaned up the springs and shackles, pulled apart the lunette and 3rd leg, lubed the brake cables, and painted everything. Dave made all repairs to the tub which included filling holes and cutting off the lower skirt that overhangs the outer frame rails. He ran bead welds down the long sides and across the rear and added 2 new front tabs. He also added the adjustable chain so the tailgate can be used as a worksurface and as a ramp for loading.
Although this project started out as a cheap trailer for me to haul Swampers around, it started to hemorrhage money pretty quickly. It turned out to be WAY more than intended, but also very useful. It pulls like it’s not there behind my 80, balanced so well that my 11 year old daughter can pick it up and move it, and I think it looks pretty sharp. It won’t win any awards for “mil spec” but it works for me.
Huge thanks to Dave Crum of Crum Custom Welding in Butler, NJ. He allowed me to store the parts in his shop and work on the unit while he did all the hard stuff.
Dave and I liked the spare tire under the rear of the trailer both for convenience and balance. Hit the tub and frame with 2 coats of Rustolium enamel and reassembled the whole shebang with grade 8 hardware for the tub and 304 SS for the fenders.
During the process I rebuilt the drum brakes, repacked the wheel bearings, cleaned up the springs and shackles, pulled apart the lunette and 3rd leg, lubed the brake cables, and painted everything. Dave made all repairs to the tub which included filling holes and cutting off the lower skirt that overhangs the outer frame rails. He ran bead welds down the long sides and across the rear and added 2 new front tabs. He also added the adjustable chain so the tailgate can be used as a worksurface and as a ramp for loading.
Although this project started out as a cheap trailer for me to haul Swampers around, it started to hemorrhage money pretty quickly. It turned out to be WAY more than intended, but also very useful. It pulls like it’s not there behind my 80, balanced so well that my 11 year old daughter can pick it up and move it, and I think it looks pretty sharp. It won’t win any awards for “mil spec” but it works for me.
Huge thanks to Dave Crum of Crum Custom Welding in Butler, NJ. He allowed me to store the parts in his shop and work on the unit while he did all the hard stuff.
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