My Baja Trailer build....

[J-man]

well, 2 reasons: 1- I have 4 sheets (free) of marine ply left over from a job i did recently, and 2 - marine ply for this application is more than ill ever need for durablility.
Also, i like the look of diamond plate, so im going to get some super thin diamond plate to skin the outside of the ply, just for the sides, front and back, not the bottom - thru a friend of mine - only $150.00 for what i need.

I just looked at that nidacore stuff you mentioned, seems really cool. If it wasnt for the free materials i have on hand, id definately look at that. Super strong and light as a feather.

so why the metal on the sides and wood on the floor? isnt that kinda bass akwards? dont you want a strong floor for impacts? why dont you use nidacore or fiberglass for the sides, its cheap and easy to fix, plus its super light. AND light goes through it so you can see.

sheet metal is going to cost an arm and a leg. on the other hand i have not looked into nidacore or where to get it or how much it is. so i could be blowing smoke

anyway, just a thought.

 

[J-man]

yeah, liquid nails is crap. I have some sikaflex on hand, but will look at other stuff like you mentioned. thx.

Consider using a construction adhesive to also bond the sides & bottom to the angle steel. I don't mean "Likkid Nales", I mean Miller-Stephenson 907 or something similar. That should also help with the dissimilar metals issue.

 

[toyrunner95]

nidacore is the stuff that the turtle V is made out of. if i ever build a camper it would probably be out of that stuff, but hey free is free, go for it!

 

[system-f]

I am building a similar trailer. You will want those trailer brakes if at all possible. Electric trailer brakes are stupid easy and a failure can be remedied in minutes.

 

[Xtreme XJ]

O.K. so you've got my attention with this Nida-Core stuff.....
Do those in the know feel it could be used as a elevated sleeping platform ? A type of a slide/fold out so to speak.... would support on each corner be sufficient ? Any guesstamate on $$$ (approx.) ?

Just think'n.....

Curt

 

[toyrunner95]

i spy with my little eye... A PROBLEM with your build. sorry to point this out but your spring compression plate wont hold. the ends need to be bent, up or down. the they arent bent then the rigidity of the metal is really low, i used 5/8in plate on my old 4runner and i bent the plate ane pulled a bolt through a hole. it was nasty. if you dont think it will be a problem, thats cool, but i might be down the road.

Curt:
no, i dont think nidacore will support the weight of the tent and the people. once its covered in the fiberglass resin its super stiff. A person can stand on it. but i dont think i can take much more.

google it, its made in canada or europe or some place.

its like plastic sheetrock, and super light. look at the turtle expeditions unlimited. or google "turtle V" and you will see the truck.

it cuts easy to anyshape like wood, but its lots lighter. it works great for siding on campers and whatnot.

 

[ntsqd]

A bonus of bending the ends of the spring plate is that you no longer have a sharp edge across the leave. That sharp edge has acted like a guillotine before.

 

[Xtreme XJ]

Curt:
no, i dont think nidacore will support the weight of the tent and the people. once its covered in the fiberglass resin its super stiff. A person can stand on it. but i dont think i can take much more.

google it, its made in canada or europe or some place.

its like plastic sheetrock, and super light. look at the turtle expeditions unlimited. or google "turtle V" and you will see the truck.

it cuts easy to anyshape like wood, but its lots lighter. it works great for siding on campers and whatnot.

As to the N-C holding the tent I wasn't wanting to put that much weight on it. I guess the best "picture I can paint" is say a 4X8 sheet laying flat with one side completely supported along the 8' side with two "legs" supporting the outter corners. Basicly a flat table/surface. You stated once it's covered with fiberglass resin it gets much more ridgid.... so could it support a body laying on it ?

Any guess on $$$

Thanks for the thoughts and sorry to hijack the thread.....

Curt

 

[SuperCamperos]

Nida Core:

We used 1-1/4" sheet with 18 oz fiberglass each side. You could stand on a 4x8 sheet between two saw horses with only a minimal amount of bending. We have a 6x6 bed supported around the perimeter that two of us can sleep in no problem. If you were to go up to 1-1/2" your strength would go up very quickly (44% more than 1-1/4). You can get even thicker if you want. Its about a pound per sqaure foot and costs about $250 a 4x8 sheet plus shipping from florida.

hope that helps,
ryan

 

[toyrunner95]

yeah super camper definatly knows more about it than i do.

ok we are stopping the hijack right here, if you want to know about nidacore i started a thread, super camper please repost your post there.
http://www.expeditionportal.com/forum/showthread.php?p=117170#post117170

 

[toyrunner95]

anything new on the trailer?

 

[J-man]

unfortunatley sometimes we learn as we build I think ill go for 1/2 steel plate, and weld a brace across the top to act as more support, and grind down the edges to make em smooth. For trailer needs, it wont be seeing the stress like a vehicle axle thats trying to move something forward. Your the second one thats mentioned that so thx for looking out. :Mechanic:

i spy with my little eye... A PROBLEM with your build. sorry to point this out but your spring compression plate wont hold. the ends need to be bent, up or down. the they arent bent then the rigidity of the metal is really low, i used 5/8in plate on my old 4runner and i bent the plate ane pulled a bolt through a hole. it was nasty. if you dont think it will be a problem, thats cool, but i might be down the road.

Curt:
no, i dont think nidacore will support the weight of the tent and the people. once its covered in the fiberglass resin its super stiff. A person can stand on it. but i dont think i can take much more.

google it, its made in canada or europe or some place.

its like plastic sheetrock, and super light. look at the turtle expeditions unlimited. or google "turtle V" and you will see the truck.

it cuts easy to anyshape like wood, but its lots lighter. it works great for siding on campers and whatnot.

 

[ntsqd]

unfortunatley sometimes we learn as we build
snip..........
:Mechanic:

If you look at my fiberglass buggy you can plot my steep learning curve. It's all good, just some of it is better.

 

[SavageSunJeep]

J,
I am just now getting in on this thread and if this has been addressed, please excuse and give post #.

Springs: You are running a 5 leaf and the bottom spring appears to be reverse bent (downward) on the bottom spring. I do not understand this, shed light please.

 

[ntsqd]

I don't know if this is the case, but one reason for such a leaf is to give some over-load capability, yet not cause a sharp increase in spring rate. Results in a more gradual rising rate.

I run the stock yota over-loads upside down under my GM 63's so that they have a nice ramp to lay down onto rather than kinking at the spring perch. Which they clearly were going to do prior to the install of the o/l's.