The CrowsWing - Offroad Teardrop Trailer
- Thread starter jim65wagon
- Start date
Haggis
Appalachian Ridgerunner
...but they didn't plan on the fact that I have an eidetitic memory. Buwahaha...
Prepare to be amazed by the images Crowswing LTD DOES NOT WANT YOU TO SEE!
:hehe: That was an awesome post! And while you do exhibit epic eidetic memory, your artistic talents leave much to be desired. I think CrowsWing LTD's trade secrets are safe for now. :elkgrin:
jim65wagon
Well-known member
The next step was to work on the hatch. So Beth traced the shape of the hatch curve onto ¾ inch plywood added 1 ½ inch thickness and cut it out with the saber saw . Then we traced out 7 more. And I got the job to rough cut them out.
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Then Beth routed them to match the master spar. I was absent for this part because I had to take my 16 year old son for driving lessons. I think I had the worse of the two jobs, using a tool that can shred the flesh off your bones is far less scary than driving with a teen.
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When I returned we cut the hinge to size. We are using the hinge available from So-cal. It's coolio in the way it is setup and functions, kind of like a hurricane hinge, but new and improved..
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Their directions were very good. We attached the hinge to the trailer side of the galley, so we could fit the cross pieces. Then we assembled the spars to the top and bottom with pocket joints reinforced with triangular blocks.
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Detail of upper side. Showing double thickness of oak to we used to provide adequate strength to attach hinge.
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That was as much as we were able to accomplish that weekend. This weekend we were back on hatch detail. We started by adding cross pieces to strengthen the spars and to provide places to attach edges of the outer skin. At this point we realized we could have just made the hatch 5 foot long and saved ourselves aggravation. Oh well… maybe next build. For now we get to use a full 5 foot sheet...and add a little section to finish the length
The next step was to sand the hatch skeleton smooth. Then we installed the hatch. We decided that we wanted the T-handled latch workings hidden in the hatch. However at 1/½ inches thick there wasn’t enough room to do that easily. So Beth cut apiece of oak to fit between the spars and routed out an area to inset the mechanism. The mechanism was bolted to this on the inside and then the whole thing was attached to the spars.
Inside view of latch panel. The drywall screws will be replaced with more decorative, stainless steel screws.
Then holes were drilled to allow the rods to pass. The rods were attached with cotter pins and then cut to length, flush to the sides when the mechanism was set to open.
After the latch was done, we noted the measurements for the location of the t-handle spindle that will need to be drilled later. Then we applied the first layer of Baltic birch . Applying liquid nails to the spars and then clamping and stapling it down.
Next weekend we will put down the second layer.
.
Then Beth routed them to match the master spar. I was absent for this part because I had to take my 16 year old son for driving lessons. I think I had the worse of the two jobs, using a tool that can shred the flesh off your bones is far less scary than driving with a teen.
.
When I returned we cut the hinge to size. We are using the hinge available from So-cal. It's coolio in the way it is setup and functions, kind of like a hurricane hinge, but new and improved..
.
Their directions were very good. We attached the hinge to the trailer side of the galley, so we could fit the cross pieces. Then we assembled the spars to the top and bottom with pocket joints reinforced with triangular blocks.
.
Detail of upper side. Showing double thickness of oak to we used to provide adequate strength to attach hinge.
.
That was as much as we were able to accomplish that weekend. This weekend we were back on hatch detail. We started by adding cross pieces to strengthen the spars and to provide places to attach edges of the outer skin. At this point we realized we could have just made the hatch 5 foot long and saved ourselves aggravation.
Oh well… maybe next build. For now we get to use a full 5 foot sheet...and add a little section to finish the length
The next step was to sand the hatch skeleton smooth. Then we installed the hatch. We decided that we wanted the T-handled latch workings hidden in the hatch. However at 1/½ inches thick there wasn’t enough room to do that easily. So Beth cut apiece of oak to fit between the spars and routed out an area to inset the mechanism. The mechanism was bolted to this on the inside and then the whole thing was attached to the spars.
Inside view of latch panel. The drywall screws will be replaced with more decorative, stainless steel screws.
Then holes were drilled to allow the rods to pass. The rods were attached with cotter pins and then cut to length, flush to the sides when the mechanism was set to open.
After the latch was done, we noted the measurements for the location of the t-handle spindle that will need to be drilled later. Then we applied the first layer of Baltic birch . Applying liquid nails to the spars and then clamping and stapling it down.
Next weekend we will put down the second layer.
VanIsle_Greg
I think I need a bigger truck!
That hatch looks great. Very nice work indeed.
Every Miles A Memory
Expedition Leader
Love seeing it all come together. I cant remember and I know you already posted it somewhere, but what do you plan to cover or coat the outside with?
Jim, what type of lower frame are you going to use. This thing is coming together quite well. Still beyond impressed. I am hoping I will one day get to see it in person. Right now as close as I get to the east coast is a off road trailer competition in Iowa, if I go. Seriously considering it. Will be in Ouray, Colorado the month of July, at the FJ National Summit. Plus hanging out a couple of weeks for just the beauty of the place. What are your maiden voyage plans and your projected time of finish. I have learned a lot about wood working and wood walled trailers, and I must say I am totally impressed with your trailer and the obvious love affair with this trailer. I still look at it as a work of art, not so much a trailer.
jim65wagon
Well-known member
Every Miles A Memory said:
It will have 2 layers of 1/8" plywood (and a couple of coats of West System epoxy on that) then an exterior skin of aluminum (0.040" black on the sides and mill finished across the roof and hatch) it should look sweet, professional and match the truck pretty well.
skersfan said:
Bob, the lower frame conveniently arrived home today. We had a trailer manufacturer in PA build it (mostly) to our specifications. The company had never dealt with an offroad trailer, nor the MaxCoupler, so there are a few issues we will need to deal with. For now the frame is useable, we just need to tweak a few things. It has a heavy duty, all aluminum frame, with a 3500lb axle (with electric brakes), full floor pan, full running boards, 285/75/16 tires (same as the truck), and the custom tongue box Beth designed on Sketchup. I'm not going to mention much more here, since we just drove 700 miles in 2 days and I'm tired......so lazy man says: "Looky here at these pictures and you should understand"
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Our first view
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The underside,
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on the way home
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It looks wide, but it's really the same width and track as the truck
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Tongue box and the propane locker that Beth built
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Handmade fenders, also aluminum, sturdy enough to stand on
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jim65wagon
Well-known member
Spring under.....they used the short trailer springs that I didn't want, but they're not too stiff so I'll use them for now. Future plans are to get a weight on it and order some longer springs for the actual weight. The springs were a trade-off for the completion date. In reply to your earlier question, we are shooting for completion in mid April. Indiana is the planned maiden voyage, it's all road trip, but we have a family function to attend.
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Oh, yeah, we'll get it out West someday
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Oh, yeah, we'll get it out West someday
It kind of looked like a torsion axle, and that is just way too much axle for our little babies. Sounds good on the trip, always nice to shake it down on the highway, I did that with mine.
We did and obstacle course a couple of weeks ago at the Tierra Del Sol, Pikeman is working on getting them on here for me. Hopefully in the next couple of days or so. I just do not have those talents, and me taking pictures is a joke to say the least.
That trailer frame is more along the line of beauty. Looks to be extremly well built.
We did and obstacle course a couple of weeks ago at the Tierra Del Sol, Pikeman is working on getting them on here for me. Hopefully in the next couple of days or so. I just do not have those talents, and me taking pictures is a joke to say the least.
That trailer frame is more along the line of beauty. Looks to be extremly well built.
Every Miles A Memory
Expedition Leader
WOW!! That frame looks awesome!!
