Did I say this trailer was easy ?
No way ! Lot’s of work to do even before the paint goes on. And so I want to flip the trailer but not before I do all the topside prep. There are some rust holes in the fenders. I’m going to add some metal to that problem.
There’s a few places on the fender walls like this. So I’m going to use the old side rails to put a second layer of metal along here.
These should work ! Just cut the angle off. And tack them in place …after cleaning !
I’m trying to not get overly fussy with the trailer. But rust holes look bad.. Just a bit more cleaning rust and sanding things smooth..
Flippin Crazy !
It got a bit scary.. My Son was helping me this morning. I had snatch blocks, chains and straps.. I wish I took some photos ..but the camera was the last thing on my mind. We got one side of the trailer about four feet off the ground.. And that was scary. The gantry could handle the weight and so could the winch.. But pulling from one side looked like the gantry frame was going to bend sideways. Even anchored to my big shelf , which it was pulling away from the wall. We called it a no go ! And put it back down. Back to having on the lift table ..and I will just crawl under to do the work.. Way way safer.
So I took the gantry apart ( it was in the way) and set to work on the wind gate / tailgate. I have it all planed out …so just a mater of putting it together. And hours of cutting and welding later.. even next day. Boom.. got it done.. Now I’m figuring out the hinges.
Darn thing is heavy ! But I want it to hold lots of weight.. And rather than fold flat on the deck , I’m opting for being able to remove it. So I came up with these hinges.
About as heavy duty as I could make them.. Just lift the tailgate up and out. The latch half way up will not allow the gate to bounce out.
Hopefully this works good. I’m putting handles on the gate to help lift it.. Here’s an update video:
The latches for the tailgate arrived today. They are going to work great !
I’m not going to weld them in place …I’m going to drill and tap holes and use bolts. I was just testing the paint … good thing I didn’t go too far down, need to weld a bit of angle here for these latches.
This gives a peek at the future ! Red & Black with a bit of silver is the color scheme. I’ve taken a bit of a break from the trailer for a few weeks to deal with some things… like a new gas fireplace. And Christmas is getting closer too, and all the stuff for that. soon I’ll feel I have the time to get back out to the shop. A bit more welding on the hitch and some more cleaning and it will be paint time.
Feb 2024 :
Well those few weeks turned into a few months. This happens with me in the winter. I just want to do very little and stay in the house. I also needed to finish the fireplace so I would feel free to move on to other things. The trailer was not going anywhere ! just patiently waiting for me. So here I am … all raring to go again. But first the garage needs some cleaning up. now’s also a good time to start a new page as I finish the trailer. New year new page…