2011 Schutt Industries LTT 1 1/2 Ton Trailer Chassis based Adventure Trailer Build
- Thread starter SamM
- Start date
SamM
Adventurer
The right frame rail is now finished and bolted in. The .5"x4" aluminum frame stiffeners have arrived and been mounted to the frame. I cut the new tubing and the Timbrens are going to be bolted onto the 2"x4" pieces. The frame has very little flex at this point. Once the stiffeners and steel mounts are bolted and glued, they should make the trailer very rigid. I only have one shot at this, so I'm taking my time and working through this. I hope to have a roller next week and get it flipped and out of the garage. The box fabrication will start next.
Here are the latest pics.
SamM
Here are the latest pics.
SamM
SamM
Adventurer
The steel 2"x4" rectangular mounts have been moved forward and will be bolted to the aluminum stiffener mounts. These will be bolted directly to the original frame with 1/4" aluminum angle brackets. The aluminum brackets were ordered today. After looking at the pictures, this makes more sense and should help with frame rigidity. I'll probably do some welding where the new frame rails and stiffeners fit together.
The frame stiffeners need to be notched at the rear to move the Timbrens out just an inch or so. The way it sits, the wheelbase is exactly the same as my Jeep. It will need be just a little wider. Shouldn't be a big deal. The axle for the Timbrens is cut now and installed and the rear receiver hitch has been cut to length. As it sits, the tires just barely rub the bolts for the cross members. Aligning the wheels should fix this but as I said, I will be moving the wheels out more.
EDIT: To show today's progress.
SamM
The frame stiffeners need to be notched at the rear to move the Timbrens out just an inch or so. The way it sits, the wheelbase is exactly the same as my Jeep. It will need be just a little wider. Shouldn't be a big deal. The axle for the Timbrens is cut now and installed and the rear receiver hitch has been cut to length. As it sits, the tires just barely rub the bolts for the cross members. Aligning the wheels should fix this but as I said, I will be moving the wheels out more.
EDIT: To show today's progress.
SamM
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SamM
Adventurer
These huck bolts have become loose on the steel tongue tube. They will be replaced with (5) 5/16" bolts (shown). Ordered the last of the metal I need to finish the frame today. 6" plate steel to reinforce the tongue and rear receiver and 3" steel to make a rear frame cover. The rear aluminum angle was removed from the stock frame. This left a lot of holes where the rear 80" clearance lights were located. I need to cover that area and I no longer needed the rear clearance lights. Just something else to go wrong. A piece of 3 1/2" steel will be use to mount the rear receiver to the aluminum frame at the front and back. I have some 4" angle that will be used for the rear frame jack mounts.
Things are coming together, slow but sure. I want to do this one time. Once the glue is added, there is no going back. I have only one shot.
SamM
Things are coming together, slow but sure. I want to do this one time. Once the glue is added, there is no going back. I have only one shot.
SamM
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SamM
Adventurer
After seeing the problems that Shapeshifter had with his Timbren suspension on his trailer. I have decided to modify the mounts for the Timbrens on my Schutt military trailer. The Timbren design seems well thoughtout. I'll be using the extra 2"x2" axle on my suspension for added strength. Since that will be the case, I'm switching to 4"x4" steel angle instead of the 2"x4" rectangular steel tubing that my design currently has. Getting inside the tubing to mount everything has been difficult to say the least. The 4" angle will give me another 2" of lift. This will also add more time and cost to my build but the results should be worth it. The 4"x4" angle will be bolted to the 4" flat aluminum plate that has been painted black.
SamM
SamM
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SamM
Adventurer
The 4"x4" steel angle finally showed up today. The suspension mount for one side is cut and installed. Should have the frame work finished up this weekend or early next week. Tomorrow the other mount will be cut and everything will get painted. Mounting the Timbrens and flipping the frame over will be next.
I've decided to only glue in the aluminum frame stiffeners to the bottom of the frame. The frame rails might need to be removed to gain access to the inside of the crossmembers, as I built the box and add the floor. The 4"x4" angle is bolted into the aluminum frame at 7 points. This should make the frame very rigid.
SamM
I've decided to only glue in the aluminum frame stiffeners to the bottom of the frame. The frame rails might need to be removed to gain access to the inside of the crossmembers, as I built the box and add the floor. The 4"x4" angle is bolted into the aluminum frame at 7 points. This should make the frame very rigid.
SamM
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SamM
Adventurer
A little more progress today. The receiver is now bolted on along with the new crossmember frame bracket. You may even notice the drops of blood where I cut myself yesterday. Once the receiver brackets are stitch welded and painted the receiver portion of the build will be completed. This has taken more time than I thought because I wanted to keep the inside of the crossmembers vacuumed out. All the bolts have been replaced on the tongue bracket too. My wife helped me replace the huck bolts with the 5/16" Grade 8 bolts today. The final gluing and bolting on the right frame rail should all be finished tomorrow. Only one aluminum bracket needs to be cut to get that side of the trailer done. Then, it's on to the other side.
SamM
SamM
SamM
Adventurer
After going to pick up my brother's broken Buell and fixing it for him, again! I found some time to get back into the garage today. The last frame bracket was finished and I bolted the frame rail back into place. Yesterday, I glued the right aluminum frame stiffener into place. The glue sets up in about 20 minutes, so you need to work fast when working with this stuff. The steel angle was very quickly bolted in before the glue set. With that done the right side of the frame is basically finished after my redesign. It is much stiffer than before. I still need a few bolts and washers to actually finish bolting everything back into place. The frame is about 1/8" from perfectly square. That's as close as I can get it. Both sides of the frame are exactly 94" from the front tie down to the rear tie down.
It's finally coming together and I think I see a dim light at the end of the tunnel. Work on the left side of the frame will start tomorrow after a parts run. I also need to do some practice welds before doing the final welding on the rear receiver hitch.
Here are the latest pictures. I did manage to do a little cleaning in the shop today too. Comments are welcome. Thanks for looking!
SamM
It's finally coming together and I think I see a dim light at the end of the tunnel. Work on the left side of the frame will start tomorrow after a parts run. I also need to do some practice welds before doing the final welding on the rear receiver hitch.
Here are the latest pictures. I did manage to do a little cleaning in the shop today too. Comments are welcome. Thanks for looking!
SamM
SamM
Adventurer
Still waiting on my bolt supplier to get several more washers and bolts that are key to my build, back in stock. Time for a new supplier. Yesterday, I used C-clamps to mount one of the Timbrens and the Rubicon tire. Did preliminary measurements and worked out the best position for the Timbren as I had some extra time. One big advantage to my design it that only new holes need to be drilled to move the axle fore and aft. The weight distribution can easily be optimized once the trailer is completed. Not much will happen this weekend as I have plans and no parts. Thankfully, the track width has worked out to be almost exactly the same as my Jeep.
SamM
SamM