My scratch built expedition style trailer build up thread (7 Viewers)

[calsum2]

Drew,

Let's not go and make this a four coure meal...we need to see some real progress....keep it simple put a can of chef boyarde near your welds and eat as you go.....oh buy the way don't use a plastic spoon.

No excuses just pics...

 

[REZARF]

Drew,

Let's not go and make this a four coure meal...we need to see some real progress....keep it simple put a can of chef boyarde near your welds and eat as you go.....oh buy the way don't use a plastic spoon.

No excuses just pics...

LOL! That was funny.

 

[REZARF]

Fun day in the garage today. I feel like a got a lot done so that was nice.

So, it is time to start fitting up the sheet metal which was lots of fun actually. I realized Henry was right when he suggested using a product to seal up the seams/edges down the line, so that is what I have decided to do... welding it is!

So first I had to clean up the edges to be welded then I wanted to avoid what I did on the floors and have nice looking evenly spaced welds. When all was said and done I had 1" stitch welds that were 4" apart. They look mucho more nice than the first round of welds on the floor. I used a piece of 1" strap as a template to mark out the weld locations so I could fly through all the edges, it worked great and saved more than a few minutes.

I was stoked to see that the steel fit up to my tube frame really square(my tube was questionable). Then I used a bag of tube sand to create even pressure and lined it all up and put in a row of tack welds. In the last shot you can see the marks used to place the welds. I started by tacking at the end of each weld guide line, then let it cool. Then I would stitch weld every other marking and flip it over and do the other side, then flip it back over and hit the rest with the MIG, all that work= no warpage! YIPPIE!

 

[REZARF]

Here is a shot of the spot welds I made along the edge of the steel. Then I burned them in in the order mentioned above, but I thought the HAF looked cool on the outside, I think it penetrated well.

One last shot of the inside of the little "coffin."

 

[REZARF]

Next up... riveting the side panels in place.

First off I fit up the panel and made sure all my rivets were going to all line up... they didn't. After a quick clean up on a few holes they all dropped in. Then I used a bead of Sikaflex and spread it around the face of the tubing with a disposable puddy knife.

There are no pics of the process because once the adhesive goes down I had to be in full speed mode. I was surprised at how nice it came out. I cleaned up any squeeze out with a little acetone and it came together really strong and nice. Very happy

 

[REZARF]

And here is a teaser of what is going down next...

 

[SWCruiser]

wow

that looks incredible.. The only thing i hate about these threads is that i have no patience and they make me realize I need to develop some fab skills can't wait to see the final product.

 

[Gregny]

SWEEEEEET looks awesome What are you going to Finish with (paint ,Line-X, powdercoat) ? What is the front box for?

 

[cruzzer]

Looking good,, still one more day of the weekend! I got my trailer box stripped off the frame but then we got 10" of snow and ice. So its back to watching yours only! More pics! But it is looking great.
Get back to work!
Steve

 

[spressomon]

Looks great Drew! I'll bet you're starting to get real excited now that you're getting it skinned and you can maybe see the 'finish' line up ahead!

What a great thread. I know it takes quite a bit of extra effort and time to document with write up and photos: So special thanks for that!!!

 

[REZARF]

that looks incredible.. The only thing i hate about these threads is that i have no patience and they make me realize I need to develop some fab skills can't wait to see the final product.

Thanks, remember, I didn't know how to weld as of August last summer... you can do it! (said in my best Water Boy imitation voice)

SWEEEEEET looks awesome What are you going to Finish with (paint ,Line-X, powdercoat) ? What is the front box for?

Automotive paint, smurf blue in fact with white lids. The front box is for storage like the back box, but it will house the batteries, electrical stuff, water pump things like that.

Looking good,, still one more day of the weekend! I got my trailer box stripped off the frame but then we got 10" of snow and ice. So its back to watching yours only! More pics! But it is looking great.
Get back to work!
Steve

Yeah, yeah, I am going to get several hours today on it too. Unfortunatley the large side pieces were not cut right so I have to have them redone. Bummer... but I still have a lot to work on.

Looks great Drew! I'll bet you're starting to get real excited now that you're getting it skinned and you can maybe see the 'finish' line up ahead!

What a great thread. I know it takes quite a bit of extra effort and time to document with write up and photos: So special thanks for that!!!

This is getting fun now that it is coming together a bit. Thanks it is fun to share and bounce ideas off you guys, thanks for all the help and heckling!

 

[REZARF]

Today I started to make the lid and rack for the front box. I welded up another stick of my 1x1" 16ga square tubing, but I used the sheet metal as a template. Today was fun because I realized I am thinking steps way down the road, and I am saving myself lots of time!

After about 30 minutes, I had a rectangle... measured, cut, cleaned, prepared, tacked, squared, welded, ground smooth!

Then it was a matter of tacking the sheet metal into place. I used my measuring stick above and I flew through the welding. In fact, I was nervous I was going to start warping the metal as I was really able to move along quickly.

These shots show how this lid will lift from the front. Otherwise the rack would hit if lifted towards the rear.. that will make sense in a few more posts.

 

[REZARF]

One more of the lid...

 

[REZARF]

Next up, the rack for the front box.

I started by cleaning the surfaces with the cleaning wheel- Rapid Strip!

Then, to save time, I cleaned the tubing I was going to use .75" 16ga square tubing all at once, before cutting it so I didn't have to clean that later. That one little step must have saved me about 20 minutes of tedious work!

The last shot is of a very simple jig. If you have a need for lots of pieces to all be the exact same, here is a great little trick. It is a simple "stop." The idea is you clamp a stop (in this pic it is a piece of .25" plate) in the exact spot you want to cut the tubing at. Then you simply drop the saw down, move the piece, slide the tubing until it hits the stop and repeat... in my case 12 times! Simple, but it makes for fast work of lots of little pieces.

 

[REZARF]

Then after filing all the little burrs off the steel ends, I measured about 100 times and got, what I feel, is the correct spacing and tacked them each in place. The time it took to get the little tubes in place, square in all directions and tacked took quite a while, but the end result looks really great!

I am still deciding how to attach the rack. My options are:

1. Weld them to the sheet (warping might be an issue though, that close to the edge). Paint could get tricky as well, as the lid and rack will be different colors.

2. Create a "bottom" by welding some 1" strap to the bases of the little rack spacer thingy (technical term ) and bolting them through the lid.

3. Weld little "L"s onto the inside of several legs and bolt it down that way.

Whatta' ya thinks?

Rezarf <><

 

[REZARF]

Final shot for a while... as she sits tonight in the garage. I have a week of travel so no mo' shots till I get back.

 

[GzrGlide]

Wonderful work!
Just curious, but what do you think the trailer will weigh empty.

Again. Very nice work. How do youlike the Lincoln welder? 110 or 220V?

 

[REZARF]

Wonderful work!
Just curious, but what do you think the trailer will weigh empty.

Again. Very nice work. How do youlike the Lincoln welder? 110 or 220V?

I think it will weigh about a bazillion pounds when it is done. Seriously, it will be heavy but not killer.

I am using a 220v Lincoln MIG, SP-175T

Thanks!

 

[photogod]

What made you decide to put the sheet on the inside of the square tube? Just curious.

 

[sseaman]

IMPRESSIVE, looking good