[jonfromhamilton]

grinding and welding, griding and welding, measure grind weld, blah.
anyway today i welded one of the plates to the axel

I also put the mounting points on the chassis so now it has suspension, woohoo.
you can see in this picture that I still have to put a backing plate on the back of the spindle to stop crap getting in and I'm not sure if I should weld it on or jus tmake up a plate that will bolt on, probably weld because the plate won't be rigid enough with just 4 bolts.

I had the one wheel on and spinning although the bearings were dry I just wanted to fake progress.

Crhs, is that a wattyl product you are speaking about when you say killrust 1 step?

[christover1]

Yes Wattle make it, Bunnings have lots, plus a few other brands.
Though I think I lied about 1 step, it does need a primer.
The Ormonoid bitumen paint is 1 step.

I'm trying a water based bitumen for my camper, healthier for wood, me, and our world.
Will report back on it after trying it.

[christover1]

http://www.wattyl.co.nz/Killrust/Pages/home.aspx

[steve125]

I don't think Bunnings sells Killrust anymore, they must have done a deal with another brand and only sell their version of rust proofing paint. You can get Wattyl Killrust at Supercheap, etc.

[azzas15]

Stratco sell killrust.

I think bunnings sell rust guard now

[christover1]

steve125 wrote:

I don't think Bunnings sells Killrust anymore, they must have done a deal with another brand and only sell their version of rust proofing paint. You can get Wattyl Killrust at Supercheap, etc.

Bugger, didn't even notice it was missing. Kmart used to sell it, too.
http://www.smh.com.au/business/bunnings ... 1cdec.html

[jonfromhamilton]

Ok here is a summation of progress I have made today
wheel bearings greased and instlaled, spindles all assembled and 50mm nuts done up.
still need to do hubs but they can wait.
here is a pic of it in short mode

and another, on the car, quite happy with how flat it sits

and in long mode


now i have to figure out the brakes, this is hwat i am thinking, just trying to work out how to bring the cost of things down as I need to get hoses made up etc.
can anyone tell me of any off the shelf ADR approved brake lines that are about 700mm long and cost less than 40 bucks>>
making them up costs 40 bucks which sux.

[Gwagensteve]

I thought the longest an ADR approved rubber line could be made up was 500mm?

it is possible (although not necessarily legal) to join rubber lines.

I'll give you a call, what I'm thinking as a solution is too hard to explain.

Steve.

[jonfromhamilton]

I found this on ebay which would do the job I need it to do
http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/750mm-Hydrau ... RTM1582271
it is probably not ADR but for the size and weight of my trailer, i don't technically need brakes so perhaps it won't be neccesary to have the lines ADR approved.

alternatively I could get the trailer registered and then put all the brakes on afterwards.

[Gwagensteve]

Yeah, that's far easier to work with the complicated idea I had.

I reckon that's what I'd be using.

Steve.

[jonfromhamilton]

and most liely go get the trailer registered without brakes first off
I had better take some sort of golf glove to shalp the inspe ctor in the facewhen he asks why there are brake discs on the trailer.

[Gwagensteve]

Just take them off.

Steve

[jonfromhamilton]

More measuring grinding and welding today.
Welding on the hinges has pulled the hinge towards the weld which made the holes for the latches move slightly so there was some adjustments which is going to make the final result look a bit ugly.
Need the steel place to open tomorrow so I can buy some more 50x3 flatbar for the sides.
need to also weld tabs all over the floor supports so the floor can be screwwed down from underneath.
then some braces in each corner of the chassis to act as anchor points for some rigging eyes which will bolt through the floor when needed.
getting closer
need to get the lights sorted and all welding done though as pain is booked for this weekend.

[pezz]

looking good!

[jonfromhamilton]

No new pics, lots of little pain staking things going on
I got the aluminium for the sides, it's anodized black checkerplate, got some offcuts.
working on the wheel arches/mud guards at the moment
going to set up the anchor points for the brake lines but not actually put the brakes on until after I register the trailer as legally it doesn;t even need them.

the brake guy came into my work today and I was able to hook him up a good deal on somse stuff so hopefully it comes back in the form of a discount on my brake hoses as thye are looking to cost me a hundred bucks!

estimate that I will finish this in early feb

[christover1]

Race is on, will try to finish mine by then, too.

[jonfromhamilton]

this shit is getting complicated

thought I had done all the welding until on my way home today I realised I need to weld on some guards for the side position lights and for their wiring underneath the wheel arch.... DAMN IT!
running out of energy.
then going to spend much of tomorrow with a wire brush going over all the welds to get that brown crap off them so it's ready for painting.
need to wipe it all down with some degreaser too.
Will have to get it painted before wednesday thought cuz going on holiday

[jonfromhamilton]

Today was a massive day but work now doesn't look like I'm making big gains but it is just ticking off all the small jobs so today was more about getting the wire brush and finishing off all the welds, putting little guards for the wheel arch lights etc.
Making a ring on the drawbar for the chain to connect to and other junk.


I cut all the aluminium out for the sides but a big downer for me is that welding the side thingies on caused the chassis to warp and now one of the trailer sides doesnt sit square.
I can pull it down and bolt it in place but the aluminium that fills the side doesnt like to bend that way.
Tomorrow is a work day but I can still get the hand drill out and drill lots of holes in it as i can still hear the phone ring while I'm doing that.
so I will drill all the bolt/screw holes tomorrow.
then it gets taken off my hands and painted for me in the afternoon

[christover1]

Getting closer, good work

[jonfromhamilton]

on the frame in tihs picture there is 132 pieces of steel welded together
that doesnt include any of the tray sides or suspension, axles or drawbar

[christover1]

jonfromhamilton wrote:

on the frame in tihs picture there is 132 pieces of steel welded together
that doesnt include any of the tray sides or suspension, axles or drawbar

You gotta expect a bit of warping with that lot.

Jigs or chaining down is only real way to prevent warpings.

[jonfromhamilton]

I need to linish off the pins on the hinges a bit too they are too tight as they are

[christover1]

jonfromhamilton wrote:

I need to linish off the pins on the hinges a bit too they are too tight as they are

Mine were, too, but a few weeks of use they came good. Wd 40 them occassionaly

[Matthew]

Looking good, any idea on how much it weighs?

[jonfromhamilton]

I reckon about 300kg to 350kg as it's just gone past the point where I can't lift the back when it's on the car.
I will have to wait and see though, still got a sheet of plywood to slap down on it and that will add a bit to the weight.
drawbar is the heaviest thing, its gay.



here is a pic of the alunium panel cut to size and bolted in, obvioussly still have to paint up the steel

grinding and welding and drilling all done now, WOOHOOO
hate that shit
its so easy to say "i have to drill the holes today" but 150 holes later and heaps of time measuring, bah!

[jonfromhamilton]

Finally got my trailer back today from the guy who has spent 3 weeks not quite finishing it.
sides are still around at his place for repainting but in the meantime I can concentrate on the wiring.
Very annoyed that there is no really good place to put thelicense plate as I want to be able to totally remove the tailgate and run around like that but I don't want the license plate hanging down where it might get scaped off.
the indicator lights I have also have a little illuminator light for the licens eplate but god knows how you are supposed to mount the licence plate in such a way that it would centre under the indicator light at one side of the trailer.
so, i am going to have to put the licence plate on the tailgate and then figure out some way of being able to hang it off whatever load I am carrying "catamaran"
or somethig...
pics to come once the indicators are in place.

also have to organise a plug for the car too as it has never towed a trailer or anything until today.

[christover1]

Can the lights mount vertically or horizontally, so light ponts sideways?
I have my no plate light to the side of the plate.

[christover1]

Some fit number plates and lights to a separate removable bar, and hang off load when needed.

[jonfromhamilton]

something happened today
water






not 100% finished but had a good test run, towed great.
need to customise some mounts for the boat but otherwise it is all functional.
except the brakes, wait for payday (not that it legally needs them)

[christover1]

Well done. I get the pay day curse, too.