BMW trailer project

[jpmillermatic]

A while back in the thread (and time) I posted about having been given an old interior hood light from a chevy truck....well I finally got around to building a mount for it and getting it mounted.


It works great...though it is very old school...we all just use our phones now as a flashlight, but what the heck...its a neat retro touch, I think!





Im Planning on getting the lower tonneau cover lift frame mounted on the trailer floor tonight then wiring everything up temporarily to be sure it all works...wish me luck!

JP

 

[jpmillermatic]

progress continues....I was able to assemble the hinge unit this evening and hook up the actuator and remote control, ect...it works great, but there are some bugs to work out. I think I will have to lengthen the arms as the effort seems somewhat greater than anticipated at the length they are now.


here is the assembly just clamped to a piece of angle iron...I welded all the pieces together and it is now one unit and installed on the trailer.



in other news, my buddy gave me an old mountain bike roof rack unit and it fits great. I can now leave the front wheel in place and just clamp and bungee the bike now....



thanks for looking!

JP

 

[jpmillermatic]

Okay, not much of an update picture wise, but I have decided to go back and do the front corners from metal...couple of good things so far....I have gotten better at shaping metal...not much better, but better (LOL)....and the foam that is there is acting as a template to really help shape the metal pieces. (like using a buck)....I am going to use 3-5 pieces per side (like I said, Im not THAT good to do them in one or two pieces) and then stitch them together....so far I have 3 of the 4-5 pieces cut and shaped and in place on the drivers side.....pics soon!

JP

 

[jpmillermatic]

I got some pieces cut and roughly fit in place:



I decided to refine my welding last night on some scrap metal the same thickness as my corner pieces and am very glad I did!.....it took a while to get it to the point where I wasnt blowing through the material, or just plain sloppy!....I am using a flux core wire (ran out of mig gas) and am getting good results and though its not as clean a process as with using solid wire and mig gas, it seems that it can be done.....I have to clean each weld with the wire brush and be sure I have a really good ground. The metal also has to be consistent and clean.



I would like to hear back from any welders out there and see if they have had similar experiences with the flux core wire. (Millermatic, lincoln mig wire..) basically I carefully aim the weld about halfway up the last spot weld and dont really move the torch at all..but so far, as long as I am pointing it the right way, the welds are going together nicely with good penetration and no holes or gaps.

thanks for looking

JP

 

[jpmillermatic]

Happy and Merry Christmas to you all....

I got a bit more done on the trailer this week as I had some time off....Got a new controller from the manufacturer for the linear actuator and decided to take the opportunity while rewiring to tidy up the space and get a coat of paint on the inside front wall. I also began shaping and cutting the carpet too...





The actuator works great again and Im going to finish up the work on the front corners...

thanks for looking!

JP

 

[davenport]

Very cool....

 

[jpmillermatic]

not too much to report, but I had charged the battery and it made a big difference in how much better the actuator motor sounded when going through its travel.....

I still think I need longer lift arms on this thing....but it works really well....the wooden ramps seem to be angled well, ect. now I just gotta get the real runners and ramps built.

question: I would like to post a short video of the top in action...any suggestions?

thanks all

JP

 

[jpmillermatic]

Okay, so there is definitely something wrong here....My trailer shrunk and now I cant fit anything inside it!













yes, I know, it just aint right!....cant help it, I make replica models for a living!

JP

 

[T0rnado69]

a great read of your thread...
great work..

i think i would of tapered the front in a bit instead of having a flat front.
help with wind resistance and gives you more loading space.

 

[Migmac]

Very interesting read, have seen a couple of van back ends converted into trailers. The best one was a Suzuki Vitara, storage was like yours but the top was solid enough to put a tent on.

 

[Woody.v8]

Good work, but stop ******* about with that and get the real,en done

 

[jpmillermatic]

Good work, but stop ******* about with that and get the real,en done

Amen, brother!...had to do some work on the wifes car tonight, so no trailer progress....but the front corners are calling to me....

JP

 

[T0rnado69]

back in my youth i had a mk2 escort van, that was modified... had a 2lte pinto engine dropped in it.
one day going to work it was chucking it down with rain.
i pulled out the end of my road and stopped for the zebra crossing.
went to pull away and the car aquaplaned into the other lane and hit a brand new F reg escort cabriolet.
opppsss

wrote my van off and i cut the front off it and was going to make the back into a trailer.

waiting for my dad to help me bend the thick angle's to make the frame.
as he had one of those paraffin flame guns
i went out and came home later to find the van shell gone

 

[Migmac]

so this is what it is going to look like!







JP

I hope not, it looks very small

 

[jpmillermatic]

back in my youth i had a mk2 escort van, that was modified... had a 2lte pinto engine dropped in it.
one day going to work it was chucking it down with rain.
i pulled out the end of my road and stopped for the zebra crossing.
went to pull away and the car aquaplaned into the other lane and hit a brand new F reg escort cabriolet.
opppsss

wrote my van off and i cut the front off it and was going to make the back into a trailer.

waiting for my dad to help me bend the thick angle's to make the frame.
as he had one of those paraffin flame guns
i went out and came home later to find the van shell gone

oh man!...what a bummer....The sheet metal alone would have been useful!....

JP

 

[jpmillermatic]

Got a bit more done on the front corner....actually, Im almost done with this one!....I wanted to do the top piece from 1 sheet of metal...so I just took my time and massaged it to fit...then pie cut the overlaps.

Outside

Inside

and just sitting in place on the trailer

I should be able to get that welded in this week and then continue to adjust the door gap....its pretty close....

thanks for lookin

JP

 

[jpmillermatic]

Finished the basic shape of the first corner....I have more final shaping to do on it, but its basically there.



I added weld to continue the body line around the corner and I think it came out pretty good





Top corner:


I still need to adjust the door gap as it nudges the metal a bit in a couple of spots as it opens. So Ill finish up the details and its on to the other side. I think I can get this done in one piece with a few pie cuts designed in, or two pieces...

thanks for lookin

JP

 

[jpmillermatic]

All one color...Got the door gap to fit better, bent the flanges over so the piece basically just snaps in place somehow....bonus!




final shaping is next....
This was tricky...the final details will take longer than I thought!

JP

 

[jpmillermatic]

Ive been upgrading from photo**ucket and should have things updated in the next few days...The trailer has been behaving itself quite well. still rides better than the car!


JP

 

[jpmillermatic]

Content updated, but what a pain it was to repost all the pics!....still, dont have to deal with photo bucket again....

JP