RoosterBooster Posted January 3, 2016 Report Share Posted January 3, 2016 never liked the mind blowing low quality of RV`s but because i was in a hurry to get on the road i bought one of them @#$% sticks & staples contraptions anyway i got a great deal from a friend (1/2 of NADA price) ... and it is supposed to be one of the "better" Toyhaulers on the market, but after driving 3300 miles from UT to NH that thing is just about done among other things i have several cracks in the stupidly designed 5th wheel neck (i guess the horrible bridges in CT did that to me) so now i fired up my brain cells (and the CAD) to design a trailer that fits my needs, looks good behind my 1952 DiamondT and is up to the abuse of being on the road full time behind a M/HDT "look" wise i have my mind set to build a "retro vintage" trailer largely inspired by this `50 ish Fruehauf "aerovan" commercial moving trailer; absolutely LOVE the large radius aero front with its art-deco roof details i managed to source 36"x 5" radius roof caps in .080 aluminum that would allow me to copy that detail the caps would go well together with this 5" radius .080 aluminum roof side/ gutter extrusion http://www.mirageinc.com/aluminum-extrusion-080-roof-wrap more details in my next post ... i hope you guys already like where this is going (any comments, ideas and suggestions are always appreciated ) " Diamonds R 4 ever " "class of`95" Pete 379 "Toterhome": Cummins N14, Super10, single axle, 278" WB, 162" sleeper ... sold current project; 1952 Diamond T, Cummins 8.3l @ 375hp/ 800ft lbs, single axle, 239" WB, 1954 Spartan 137" air ride sleeper .... full timing in a 39 foot "sticks & staples POS" Toyhauler (planing to build an all aluminum 42-45 foot replacement soon) ... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
greenacres Posted January 4, 2016 Report Share Posted January 4, 2016 When I built mine I used STI air ride suspension system. The smoothest riding trailer I've ever pulled. They aren't cheap but in my opinion it's the best. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GoldRush Posted January 4, 2016 Report Share Posted January 4, 2016 I like your idea! That's what I'd do myself given the time and space to build it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SuiteSuccess Posted January 4, 2016 Report Share Posted January 4, 2016 "Miss Behaving". Looks like trucks have been named for a long time. Maybe we need to start up some nose art like the WW2 bombers. 2006 Volvo 780 "Hoss" Volvo D12, 465hp, 1650 ft/lbs tq., ultrashift Bed Build by "JW Morgan's Custom Welding" 2017 DRV 39DBRS3 2013 Smart Passion Coupe "Itty Bitty" "Don't go around saying the world owes you a living. The world owes you nothing. It was here first!" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RoosterBooster Posted January 4, 2016 Author Report Share Posted January 4, 2016 When I built mine I used STI air ride suspension system. The smoothest riding trailer I've ever pulled. They aren't cheap but in my opinion it's the best. hmmm ... i`m not familiar with STI... need to google them for now i`m fairly set on doing away with just about everything that makes regular RV trailers so "great" (sarcasm ) like the use of dinky 16" tires , axles and suspension... (me fixing loose u-bolts/ funky tire wear problem in a parking lot somewhere in NJ) after first looking into twin axle setups with 17.5 and 19.5 tires i concluded that i really want a single 22.5`er axle. no scrub ... and basic 11R or 295/75 tires that every roadside service truck has in stock. unfortunately my truck has hydraulic disc brakes, so i was glad to see that Dexter actually makes a 15000 lbs electric drum brake axle; http://www.theoempartsstore.com/product.php?productid=20546&cat=900&page=1 standard semi trailer 5" tube, oil bath, massive 12.25 x 5" drums, large hub centric 8 x 275 hubs (same as my truck) ... i absolutely want air suspension, so right now i`m looking into Ridewell`s Monopivot RAR 240 ; this usually 20-25000 lbs capacity semi trailer suspension is available in a "light duty" (lol) 15000 lbs version 24 klbs tire capacity on a 15 klbs axle and suspension plus something like 6-7 klbs pin weight should work well for what i have in mind axle & suspension are a little on the expensive side ... but the advantage of single axle is that i need only 1 set naturally the tall 22.5 er wheel wells present a little bit of an interior design challenge... but i guess nothing that can not be solved " Diamonds R 4 ever " "class of`95" Pete 379 "Toterhome": Cummins N14, Super10, single axle, 278" WB, 162" sleeper ... sold current project; 1952 Diamond T, Cummins 8.3l @ 375hp/ 800ft lbs, single axle, 239" WB, 1954 Spartan 137" air ride sleeper .... full timing in a 39 foot "sticks & staples POS" Toyhauler (planing to build an all aluminum 42-45 foot replacement soon) ... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Star Dreamer Posted January 4, 2016 Report Share Posted January 4, 2016 Good concept. I thought about a single axle trailer for a new car hauler with living quarters but I felt the balance would be hard to achieve as we sometimes put no weight in the back, light weight car, or our heavy show vehicle and this would make calculating pin weight ahead of time very difficult. Also was worried that a single axle trailer would be difficult to maneuver like smaller single axle trailers vs. double axle trailers. I think we will try to go with double axles as we currently have over 15k on our axles on our current trailer and I do not see a new trailer getting lighter. We will just use a semi-trailer tire that hopefully will withstand scrubbing and hopefully will be much better than our triple axle with 15" tires! We will enjoy reading about your trailer build. Thanks, Dave 2005 Freightliner Century S/T, Singled, Air ride ET Jr. hitch 2019 46'+ Dune Sport Man Cave custom 5th wheel toy hauler Owner of the 1978 Custom Van "Star Dreamer" which might be seen at a local car show near you! Check out http://www.hhrvresource.com/ for much more info on HDT's. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cactus Posted January 4, 2016 Report Share Posted January 4, 2016 Rooster B Noticed your little man shifting in your signature line. The other day I went to back my golf cart up and reached down for the stick. My wife laughed and asked what I was reaching for. This was coincidentally the 21st anniversity of my retirement from the 'Big Road" Something about old habitsLOL Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OU812 Posted January 4, 2016 Report Share Posted January 4, 2016 Diomand 4 ever Like your puller, very much... Been down this road with trailers, about 10 years ago. Ended up getting a used trailer, 1998, 28 ft. Kentucky, double drop, 22.5 tires ,single axel. Used moving van box two side doors and double rear doors. for 40,000 GVW. Wanting to replace a Wells Cargo 28 ft, tall trailer, plywood and screws. What I over looked , I knew better if I would thought, that fuel mileage would drop.......But 8 MPG to 4 MPG.....No that not going to work. But after I got it home.....it's makes very nice storage. Now in Billings, Mt along I 90, 3/4 mile west of Flying J on the south side. is a trailer very close to what you show in the pictures. I look at it every time I pass it and think .....what it could be. Looks to be 28 to 30 ft trailer. Yes... I had a trailer made,... 2013 Hillsboro all aluminum, 4,000 lb. empty, 21,000 GVW........NO plywood or screws. Dexter has make a "air-flex" air ride, but there is a couple ways to go to get the axel assembly you want to used. Capacity, brakes, suspension and tire size for the weight you want to carry. Keep the Diamond roiling OU812 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OU812 Posted January 4, 2016 Report Share Posted January 4, 2016 Rooster Another way to go......a commercial boat haling trailer. There is bumper pulls and most are 5 wheel. Very low to ground.... have 17--19--22.5 heavy tires. signal wheel on 2 or 3 axel, moat air ride. brakes are some air others hyd.. Nice heavy frame(platform)...Then all need to do is build walls, roof, and doors. Then the lay out can be what you need. There is a few moving vans the same way, single wheels on axels, for more room inside and low to the ground. Something to think about. OU812 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dollytrolley Posted January 4, 2016 Report Share Posted January 4, 2016 Good concept. I thought about a single axle trailer for a new car hauler with living quarters but I felt the balance would be hard to achieve as we sometimes put no weight in the back, light weight car, or our heavy show vehicle and this would make calculating pin weight ahead of time very difficult. Also was worried that a single axle trailer would be difficult to maneuver like smaller single axle trailers vs. double axle trailers. I think we will try to go with double axles as we currently have over 15k on our axles on our current trailer and I do not see a new trailer getting lighter. We will just use a semi-trailer tire that hopefully will withstand scrubbing and hopefully will be much better than our triple axle with 15" tires! We will enjoy reading about your trailer build. Thanks, Dave Dave & Rooster, A simple weight and balance live-data spreadsheet makes truck and trailer balance silly-simple and even fun to play with various configurations. I have blabbed about my past life flying odd things (road graders, cranes, culverts, live-fish, dead-fish, snakes, bees, explosives.....etc.) and we HAD to calculate weight and Balance for every load so if a low-grade-pilot can somehow get by...... it's a piece of cake for a RV'er...... Most folks seem to think that near-center-multi-axle-trailers are somehow superior to single axle trailers but often RV multi-axle components are poorly designed and are prone to less than ideal suspension performance than most single axle trailers. As far as load carrying capability the near-center- multi-axle configuration with the proper suspension design will carry the load-path at the center of the combo-unit and then distribute the load nearly equally to each axle........so in essence the load-path-center is in the same location as a single axle configuration when mass distribution is calculated ..........now in the real world suspension "friction" and alignment considerations often result in less than even loading of the multi-axle combos.......single axle configurations are far less stressed in many ways. Some points to ponder...... Drive on........(How many......axles....) 97 Freightshaker Century Cummins M11-370 / 1350 /10 spd / 3:08 /tandem/ 20ft Garage/ 30 ft Curtis Dune toybox with a removable horse-haul-module to transport Dolly-The-Painthorse to horse camps and trail heads all over the Western U S Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GoldRush Posted January 4, 2016 Report Share Posted January 4, 2016 Single Axle would always be my first choice for the reasons above! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jack Mayer Posted January 4, 2016 Report Share Posted January 4, 2016 If your weight needs allow you really want to try to do a single axle. As Mr. horse guy said (or is that a plane guy?), it is not that hard to calculate, then give yourself some slack by bias to the pin. Assuming the truck can take it.... Jack & Danielle Mayer #60376 Lifetime Member Living on the road since 2000PLEASE no PM's. Email me. jackdanmayer AT gmail 2016 DRV Houston 44' 5er (we still have it) 2022 New Horizons 43' 5er 2016 Itasca 27N 28' motorhome 2019 Volvo 860, D13 455/1850, 236" wb, I-Shift, battery-based APU No truck at the moment - we use one of our demo units 2016 smart Passion, piggyback on the truck -------------------------------------------------------------------------See our website for info on New Horizons 5th wheels, HDTs as tow vehicles, communications on the road, and use of solar powerwww.jackdanmayer.com Principal in RVH Lifestyles. RVH-Lifestyles.com Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rickeieio Posted January 4, 2016 Report Share Posted January 4, 2016 Rooster, I really like the direction you've taken. Whether it's retro or modern, a single axle with good off-the-rack components makes a lot of sense. When you get the bugs worked out, I'll take a 40' with a stacker in the rear. Short on glitz, long on function. KW T-680, POPEMOBILE Newmar X-Aire, VATICAN Lots of old motorcycles, Moto Guzzi Griso and Spyder F3 currently in the front row Young enough to play in the dirt as a retired farmer. contact me at rickeieio1@comcast.net Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yarome Posted January 4, 2016 Report Share Posted January 4, 2016 Single Axle would always be my first choice for the reasons above! X2. LOVE the Fruehauf!! That would make for an extremely wicked rig! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RoosterBooster Posted January 4, 2016 Author Report Share Posted January 4, 2016 thank you all for the ideas and encouragement If your weight needs allow you really want to try to do a single axle. As Mr. horse guy said (or is that a plane guy?), it is not that hard to calculate, then give yourself some slack by bias to the pin. Assuming the truck can take it.... Jack yes, i really dont like how my Toyhauler is trying to peel the tires off the rims everytime i squeeze it into a tight spot ... and flexes the skimpy spring hangers in the process yeah, i`m only a MDT pretending to be a HDT lol ... but the "new to me" engine in my Truck asked for a beefier rear axle (and drive shafts ) so we went from a 4.11 ratio/14.5 klbs axle to a 3.54/17.5 klbs axle (air sus has already been 17.5 klbs rated) last time i scaled my truck it was just a tad over 12klbs ... to be on the save side i assume that the bigger engine/shafts/axle may added an extra 1000lbs so this should leave me with well over 7klbs of pin weight capacity to "soften" my drive over to NH i was only running single rears (2x 295/75 R22.5 = ~12klbs capacity) as it turned out it didnt help to safe the trailer frame from flexing/cracking ... i`m definitely going back to dual tires .... so tire capacity (even with reduced air pressure) should be ~20klbs i`m flirting with one of Henry`s junior ET air hitches .... btw i do not have air brakes, but the 8.3 is out of an air brake truck (twin cylinder pump) so i have plenty of air available to feed any extra demand " Diamonds R 4 ever " "class of`95" Pete 379 "Toterhome": Cummins N14, Super10, single axle, 278" WB, 162" sleeper ... sold current project; 1952 Diamond T, Cummins 8.3l @ 375hp/ 800ft lbs, single axle, 239" WB, 1954 Spartan 137" air ride sleeper .... full timing in a 39 foot "sticks & staples POS" Toyhauler (planing to build an all aluminum 42-45 foot replacement soon) ... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rickeieio Posted January 4, 2016 Report Share Posted January 4, 2016 i`m flirting with one of Henry`s junior ET air hitches .... The ET series is the best, no doubt. But any air hitch would be a big improvement. It's so much how much "stroke" it adds, but the initial cushion of those sharp hits. KW T-680, POPEMOBILE Newmar X-Aire, VATICAN Lots of old motorcycles, Moto Guzzi Griso and Spyder F3 currently in the front row Young enough to play in the dirt as a retired farmer. contact me at rickeieio1@comcast.net Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RoosterBooster Posted January 4, 2016 Author Report Share Posted January 4, 2016 i`m flirting with one of Henry`s junior ET air hitches .... The ET series is the best, no doubt. But any air hitch would be a big improvement. It's so much how much "stroke" it adds, but the initial cushion of those sharp hits. Rick yes, i agree its the same thing i like to say about the sleeper/cab air ride; its not really the travel that matters, its the isolation of shock forces that makes the big difference btw my air ride sleeper/cab made me float over the already mentioned horrible CT bridges... but watching in the rearview mirror how the trailer bucked like a wild bronco was painful " Diamonds R 4 ever " "class of`95" Pete 379 "Toterhome": Cummins N14, Super10, single axle, 278" WB, 162" sleeper ... sold current project; 1952 Diamond T, Cummins 8.3l @ 375hp/ 800ft lbs, single axle, 239" WB, 1954 Spartan 137" air ride sleeper .... full timing in a 39 foot "sticks & staples POS" Toyhauler (planing to build an all aluminum 42-45 foot replacement soon) ... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RoosterBooster Posted January 4, 2016 Author Report Share Posted January 4, 2016 "Miss Behaving". Looks like trucks have been named for a long time. Maybe we need to start up some nose art like the WW2 bombers. yes, i love vintage planes & nose art ... the "Miss Behavin" is another reason why i like that picture so much i may even like it so much that i`m going to borrow that name/ word play was looking for something other then "the T" or "old girl" ... or maybe "Diamond Lil" ?!? ... " Diamonds R 4 ever " "class of`95" Pete 379 "Toterhome": Cummins N14, Super10, single axle, 278" WB, 162" sleeper ... sold current project; 1952 Diamond T, Cummins 8.3l @ 375hp/ 800ft lbs, single axle, 239" WB, 1954 Spartan 137" air ride sleeper .... full timing in a 39 foot "sticks & staples POS" Toyhauler (planing to build an all aluminum 42-45 foot replacement soon) ... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
beyerjf Posted January 4, 2016 Report Share Posted January 4, 2016 The basic RV construction is lousy and cheap like mentioned. The manufacturers assume it is going to sit for 48 weeks out of the year, and rot the rest. Star Dreamer and I are the only guys here that have flavors of a race car trailer, which is a cargo trailer with minimum living space, but at least built a little stronger than the toyhauler that happens to have a garage in the back. But the Vintage that he has and the Work and Play that I have do endure certain drawbacks and minimum design parameters. I just delivered a brand new Kentucky I picked up at the plant in Louisville and delivered to their division in Walled Lake, MI that modifies them for all sorts of uses, enclosed car haulers, Nascar hospitality trailers, portable workshops, etc. There is nothing like starting with something that is designed for the purpose. If you poke around I am sure you can find a 35-40' bedbug trailer that would be suitable for conversion. You may want to quiz them, they build just about anything, and because all of it is the same basic construction, not that expensive. And take it from there. Jeff Beyer temporarily retired from Trailer Transit 2000 Freightliner Argosy Cabover 2008 Work and Play 34FK Homebase NW Indiana, no longer full time Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hdonlybob Posted January 4, 2016 Report Share Posted January 4, 2016 Rooster, Compared to that awesome Diamond T of yours, anything it pulled would be a piece of crap !!! Anxious to see what you come up with for finished project Cheers, Bob 1989 Safari Serengeti 34'Towing a 1952 M38A1 Military Willys Past HDT owner Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rickeieio Posted January 4, 2016 Report Share Posted January 4, 2016 The basic RV construction is lousy and cheap like mentioned. The manufacturers assume it is going to sit for 48 weeks out of the year, and rot the rest. Star Dreamer and I are the only guys here that have flavors of a race car trailer, which is a cargo trailer with minimum living space, but at least built a little stronger than the toyhauler that happens to have a garage in the back. Well, we had one too, until a couple of months ago when we traded. We had a Cargo Express, 40' w/ 15' garage. The living quarters were a bit "spartan", but the frame was really stout, all box tube. We traded for a Newmar X-Aire. It and the Carriage C-Force are the only two mass produced toyhaulers I considered. Both are out of production and hard to find. KW T-680, POPEMOBILE Newmar X-Aire, VATICAN Lots of old motorcycles, Moto Guzzi Griso and Spyder F3 currently in the front row Young enough to play in the dirt as a retired farmer. contact me at rickeieio1@comcast.net Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rdickinson Posted January 5, 2016 Report Share Posted January 5, 2016 yes, i love vintage planes & nose art ... the "Miss Behavin" is another reason why i like that picture so much http://kuronekokukan.com/Pictures/Comedy/Vehicles/a26-moon.jpg Here's some nose art. Remember this from yrs ago and looked it up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Star Dreamer Posted January 5, 2016 Report Share Posted January 5, 2016 Roger, I think it would be bad to fly with a big crack like that in the front window! At least it is not the windshield and hopefully is not the pilot. 2005 Freightliner Century S/T, Singled, Air ride ET Jr. hitch 2019 46'+ Dune Sport Man Cave custom 5th wheel toy hauler Owner of the 1978 Custom Van "Star Dreamer" which might be seen at a local car show near you! Check out http://www.hhrvresource.com/ for much more info on HDT's. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RoosterBooster Posted January 5, 2016 Author Report Share Posted January 5, 2016 http://kuronekokukan.com/Pictures/Comedy/Vehicles/a26-moon.jpg Here's some nose art. Remember this from yrs ago and looked it up. Roger, I think it would be bad to fly with a big crack like that in the front window! At least it is not the windshield and hopefully is not the pilot. ..... almost showered my laptop with (adult beverage) squirting out of my nose that takes warbird nose art to a new dimension " Diamonds R 4 ever " "class of`95" Pete 379 "Toterhome": Cummins N14, Super10, single axle, 278" WB, 162" sleeper ... sold current project; 1952 Diamond T, Cummins 8.3l @ 375hp/ 800ft lbs, single axle, 239" WB, 1954 Spartan 137" air ride sleeper .... full timing in a 39 foot "sticks & staples POS" Toyhauler (planing to build an all aluminum 42-45 foot replacement soon) ... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rdickinson Posted January 5, 2016 Report Share Posted January 5, 2016 ..... almost showered my laptop with (adult beverage) squirting out of my nose that takes warbird nose art to a new dimension To be clear, that wasn't me. I will however save my 500$ for a 15 minute flt in one at the Abbotsford Airshow next year. Gotta love "30 seconds over Tokyo" when they were hedgehopping uuup and dooowwwn, watching the shadow of the plane on the ground. I'm torn between round engines and turbines. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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