Author Topic: My Trailer Trash Project 2 (Read 17687 times)

PeteSC · « **on:** July 30, 2005, 09:01:20 AM »

I love my little, black, Cargo Pro Vnose trailer, but it was really too small to put two bikes in, without taking one apart!
I've been looking for a larger trailer, to serve as bike storage, and sort of a rolling garage.
With the steel prices going crazy, the same trailer I had spec'd 4-5 years ago while shopping, was about $700 higher.

I've been watching Ebay, and checking a lot of the online trailer places.
I noticed a nice 7x17 vnose trailer for sale on Ebay at a dealer about 70 miles away. I ran down to look at it, and it turned out to be a hair too small for my uses.
I was looking for a trailer that would handle 4 bikes, with some room to spare.
The various manufacturers 'name' the trailers a bit differently.
This was a Pace American Aerosport, and the '17' foot long, yielded about 15 feet something on the centerline of the trailer interior.
I am figuring roughly 7 linear feet of space per bike.
(The bandits are roughly 6'6" long, overall)

The 7x17 wouldn't quite do 4 bikes comfortably....but....next to it sat a comparable 7x19, roughly the same price, since it didn't have a rear ramp door.
Out comes the tape measure.....and we had a winner.
I can live without a rear ramp. They're great when loading/unloading the bikes, but worthless otherwise. Since I tend to camp out of my trailers at the track, or on trips, the ramp doors give me something else to trip over when I've had a couple of drinks.

Anyway, I continued looking at several other trailers in the area, and ended up buying the 7x19 Pace American Aerosport Vnose.

It has tandem axles, 6'6" interior height, RV type side door, flat roof with one vent....and a diamond plate stone guard.
In general, it's a decently built trailer, but not as nice as my smaller, black trailer.....

This is the size I wanted, and a comparable aluminum trailer would have been about twice the $$.

So far, I've painted the interior walls white, and the floor a non-skid dark gray. I've been busy bolting in some shelves, and tie-down stuff.

I've bought e-track stips on Ebay, and they'll be bolted in when they show up.
The solar panel and deep cycle battery from my old trailer will be moved over to the new trailer this week, and I'll put some interior lights and power outlets in.
With the Etrack, I'll be able to put in a temporary 'bunk', that's movable, removable, and repositionable. (Over the bikes when they're loaded, or positioned lower when empty.)
I bought some thin diamond plate sheet stock, and will be testing my skills adding some fancy bits to the exterior.

I'm heading to Home Depot in a bit, to look for some shelf brackets to mount my little air compressor high on a rear wall, out of the way.

Anyway.....here's the link to some pix on my photo blog thing....
http://www.splashblog.com/pcedel/?albumid=3539
I'll update this as I work on it......

As soon as I transfer the hard bits from the black trailer, and the new trailer is ready, I'll post the black trailer for sale on this board.
It's a 2000, all aluminum Cargo Pro, black, Vnose......5x10 1/2 feet, rear ramp door, very light, 890 pounds empty. Decent shape.
Suitable for one bike, of any size.......tows good.
The company changed hands, but the same trailer is still produced in Maine under the THULE name.
Here's the current specs, same as the old trailer. They call it a 5x8, but that's the dimensions of the 'box', the nose section adds 2 and half feet.

Oh yeah, I bought the new trailer at http://www.dorseytrailersales.com
in Brooklet, GA.
They have a decent stock of new trailers, with good prices, and can also order a trailer from the factory for pickup at a goo price, with 5-6 week wait. Well worth checking with, if you're in the southeast.

WEINERDOGBONE · « **Reply #1 on:** July 30, 2005, 11:55:45 AM »

Holy crap Pete. A guy could live in that thing.

PeteSC · « **Reply #2 on:** July 30, 2005, 03:22:15 PM »

I might have to live in it!
Actually.....it will be comfortable to camp in during the long trips I like to take a couple of times a year.....and I should be able to haul a little beer to the next rally....

Bantana · « **Reply #3 on:** August 03, 2005, 09:05:10 PM »

More pictures please. Where are you putting the wet bar?
~lloyd

PeteSC · « **Reply #4 on:** August 04, 2005, 02:38:15 AM »

Wet Bar, whatcha want? A paper umbrella dispenser?

I'm stalled a bit, waiting on the e-track strips to show up.

I did mount the air compressor, and a retractable air line, and retractable corded worklight in the rear.
Bolted in a cheap set of cabinets in the nose, and mounted an old car stereo. (no....not an 8 track...)

While I'm waiting for the e-track to show up....I'm finishing up hooking up some lights, mounting the solar panel and stuff........

GaryB12VA · « **Reply #5 on:** August 04, 2005, 10:49:16 AM »

Pete,

I think you should put a hot tub in it for the next BOSS rally

PeteSC · « **Reply #6 on:** August 04, 2005, 03:48:59 PM »

Wouldn't have room for the waterbed, then....Gary.
It would be nice to actually put a couple of bikes in there....

30 ft of Etrack showed up today, so will install it when it cools off a bit.

PeteSC · « **Reply #7 on:** August 06, 2005, 10:25:02 AM »

I've got 32 feet of the etrack installed, with another 30 feet on the way.
Etrack isn't cheap.....I've been buying mine on Ebay.
I think I'm ending up around $12 per 5 foot section.
The various tie downs for the etrack are available on Ebay, also.
For motorcycle uses, probably the clip with a short section of strap, and a large ring, are probably the best type to use.
They also sell the clips with a ring attached....(without the section of strap.)
Here's a picture of two of the attachment devices I'll use.

The clip, with a ring on a short section of strap lets you use your 'normal' motorcycle tied downs on the etrack.
You can get various straps with etrack clips on each end...(ratchet, cam) but they wouldn't really work with bikes.
I'll probably end up buying a couple of cam straps, if I find them at a good price....to strap big stuff against a wall.

The wood sockets will hold a 2x4, and you can use them to build a second 'deck' by putting sheets of plywood on top, or as cargo control bars.
I used to do electronics and specialized hauling for a large moving company. We used OAK 2x4's and could load a car on top of plywood deck built on oak 2x4's, plywood, and wood sockets.
The limit to what you put up there is based on how well you bolted the etrack in, and how many wood cross sections you use.

I'll mostly be using one sheet of plywood, cut to fit the inside width, as a temporary bunk to sleep on when travelling.
It should set up in 5 minutes, and break down to be stored against a wall in a few minutes.

I might end up with a strip of etrack running down the center of the floor of the the trailer. This would mean I wouldn't have to use use any floor mounted tie down rings to secure 4 bikes.

Red01 · « **Reply #8 on:** August 06, 2005, 08:37:34 PM »

Being a trucker, maybe you've heard of ANCRA, a leading manufacturer of cargo products. They make straps and fittings for the OTR industry as well as consumer products like m/c and auto tie downs. They are also a big supplier to commercial aviation. Seats and cargo are held in place on commercial aircraft with ANCRA's stuff. These little jewels are rated for 2000 lbs.

Rather than the button fitting shown with the tie down ring above, they make track, too. I've seen it in the local 4WD shops before, but couldn't find it on-line in the brief search I did, but it's the same stuff we use at work on Boeing jets in the cargo bay to secure cargo and the passenger compartment to secure seats, galleys and lavatories (all of which are rated to withstand a 9G impact). This stuff may work better for floor use as it's easier to clean out.

PeteSC · « **Reply #9 on:** August 07, 2005, 01:17:43 AM »

The ancra stuff is pretty nice, but I bet it's a lot more pricey.
I'm familiar with the etrack stuff, and have used it for at least 15 years....and can find it cheaply on ebay, so I'll stick with it.
As far as cleaning out the floor track.....there shouldn't be any muddy stuff entering the trailer...so I can just use an air hose to blow it out.
I'll only have 15 feet of it on the floor, on the centerline from the rear of the trailer. It doesn't stick up enough to be a nuisance.

If I put a lavatory in....it won't need to be removable....

12sdrag · « **Reply #10 on:** August 08, 2005, 11:14:37 PM »

hey pete, Do you think the vee nose makes a big difference in gas mileage? I towed my 6x10 flat front to FL. for bike week the gas mileage was not good. The big dodge only got about 10 to 12 mpg. I could actually see the of the front of the trailer bending in. I`ve been thinking of buying a toy hauler? I think I need to get another diesel first. Don`t like the gas powered dodge.

PeteSC · « **Reply #11 on:** August 09, 2005, 08:53:00 AM »

It's supposed to make a difference, JR.
(Long story coming...

)

I hauled the little black trailer with my 6 cylinder Ranger on a couple of long trips, at 'normal' highway speeds, and only got around 12 mpg, with two bikes. I got about the same with the 8 cyl GMC, and 4 bikes....and a slightly larger Vnose trailer that Larry has.

I think the biggest improvement in fuel economy will come from dropping from an average 75mph on the interstate, to 65-67 mph.
With the gas prices still going crazy, I'll have to do this with the bigger trailer.
I'm hoping to get no worse than 10 mpg with the new trailer, fully loaded, sticking to the speed limit.
The little rounded things you can mount on the front of a flat nosed trailer are supposed to help, also.
It's hard to keep your foot out of the gas when you're on a trip, pulling a trailer....trying to get somewhere.
With the bigger trailer, I'm gonna have to try!

Has anybody else noticed that a majority of motorhomes are hauling arse, now? Used to be, they'd all be doing 55-60, just plugging away......
Now they're more prone to be on your butt, keeping up with, or passing traffic.
Don't know if it's because a lot of the new motorhomes have bigger, more powerful and efficient diesel engines, or they just don't give a dang about fuel prices.

I keep thinking about a diesel pickup, but figure they'd net me about 2 mpg more for the trailers I haul. Not sure the purchase premium would be made up in fuel savings, unless I kept the pickup for 6 years or more.
Heck, diesel seems to be higher than gas now, anyway.

Most of the 'big trucks' have incorporated some aerodynamics in the design, and a lot of the side body cladding you see is OEM, but optional.
(Smooth panels over the fuel tanks, etc.)
They help with MPG.......a real fractional percent, but it adds up when you're doing 120,000 miles a year.

(he's rambling again......)

Anyway...once i get the trailer 'finished', I'll check the mPG at various speeds, and come up with a game plan.

So far, I've only hauled the thing back empty from the dealer, about 75 miles....and think I was getting 12 mpg or so.

Red01 · « **Reply #12 on:** August 09, 2005, 09:32:22 PM »

Quote from: "PeteSC"

Has anybody else noticed that a majority of motorhomes are hauling arse, now? Used to be, they'd all be doing 55-60, just plugging away......
Now they're more prone to be on your butt, keeping up with, or passing traffic.
Don't know if it's because a lot of the new motorhomes have bigger, more powerful and efficient diesel engines, or they just don't give a dang about fuel prices.

I rarely hold anyone up with my 1990 motorhome, and it's a gas burner (460 EFI). Pulls my Jeep on a car trailer (~5000 lbs?) over WA's Snoqualmie Pass at 55 (truck's speed limit). If I'm not going up a pass, I'm moving along with the cars just fine.

12sdrag · « **Reply #13 on:** August 09, 2005, 10:50:33 PM »

ya know pete I`ve noticed that too. In some cases (not pertaining to you Paul) some owners of these vehicles may not know that they should not be driving so fast, But with twin rail injectors and variable geometry turbo one can`t help driving fast. Now you can push a button and extra 150 foot lbs. The dodge will be traded in for another DuraMax. I miss my chevy. Good luck with the new trailer.

PeteSC · « **Reply #14 on:** August 09, 2005, 11:15:10 PM »

They were supposed to come out with a smaller powerstroke for the F150, and Expedition. Sure wish they'd come out with a decently powered, mid sized diesel truck.
Heck....I'd almost consider the diesel Liberty, or a Sprinter van, either will tow 5000 pounds....ALMOST enough.