The CrowsWing - Offroad Teardrop Trailer

jim65wagon

Well-known member
See how this works? I post a few things, peeps reply, and then I wait a loooong time before I post again. Since the Indiana trip we've been whittling away at issues we've found or just completing things we've left unfinished. Pictures will come along eventually, but you'll probably have to wait until after our trip to the Little Juniata this weekend.

I'll give you a rundown, though:
New hatch struts 150lbs each, longer than the old ones and angled better. Kitchen hatch opens and stays that way!
Reinstalled fridge door, it nearly fell off out to Indiana, but some Loctite and lock washers should fix that (we'll see!)
Locking catches on the kitchen drawers, they won't open on the road now!
Weatherstripped the tongue box
Installed nicer LED clearance lights
Fixed the fender clearance light that got a wire ripped out during the shakedown.
Installed the water tank, and plumbed/wired the water pump and the SprayAway water system.
Rerewired clearance lights....I thought my original wiring was the issue with some lights not working.....it wasn't.

For further clarification: When we picked up the trailer it had backup lights, they worked fine plugged in to the truck. For the Indiana trip (after I tied into the trailer harness for the clearance lights and the license plate lights), the reverse lights blew a fuse in the truck. My short term fix was simply to detach the backup wiring at the truck. With this I had all the original trailer lights (minus reverse lights), the license plate lights, and one clearance light!

Today I spent a lot of time trying to figure out where I went wrong. I tested leads which seemed to point to a faulty ground, (getting 7 volts to the clearance lights). I disconnected and reconnected all the associated wires and grounds. Still 7 volts? ******? and now I was getting backup lights with the clearance lights! Arrgh!

I decided the backup lights wiring was involved in the issue, so I figured out how to pull out the recessed lights (easy, once you know how! It's the learning without destruction that's hard). The reverse lights ground to the frame. OK that's fine. But guess what? The trailer company was using the white wire on the four flat harness to power the reverse lights. It was my understanding, that the white was the ground, and that's what I had all my grounds tied into.

Disconnecting my grounds and placing them on the frame......voila! Everything works! Reattached the reverse wire on the truck, and the backups work on the trailer, the clearance lights are nice and bright! No fuses blow out! Sweet! That only took all day, but it's done now and I can rest happy.

See what I mean by whittling away? It's time consuming little details that need done and eat the day away.......

someday, you'll get detail pictures......not today:sombrero:
 

Glenn

New member
All those pics of your wife working away....would have been great to see your facial expressions dealing with that wiring! Pain in the *** I'll bet, but glad you got it worked out.
 

elmo_4_vt

Explorer
Can you show what you used for the locking drawer catches you used for the kitchen? I'm in need of the same thing and haven't come up with a good solution yet. Thanks!

Looks great by the way

Don

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jim65wagon

Well-known member
would have been great to see your facial expressions dealing with that wiring! Pain in the *** I'll bet, but glad you got it worked out.

picture me lying on a garage creeper, underneath the trailer, rain pouring down and a river of water trying to wash my tools, connectors and tape down the driveway! At least I was mostly dry that way......
 

jim65wagon

Well-known member
Can you show what you used for the locking drawer catches you used for the kitchen? I'm in need of the same thing and haven't come up with a good solution yet. Thanks!

Looks great by the way

Don

-

Its a simple latch with a spring loaded keeper on it. Not what we were originally looking for, but it should do the job nicely....
 

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jim65wagon

Well-known member
We managed to put another 500 miles on the trailer going to the ARSES Little J float in PA this weekend. Great trip and the trailer towed and worked so well! Well, with the minor issue of the regulator on the Camp Chef stove/oven sticking closed and not letting us fix coffee Saturday morning. A couple of adjustable wrenches fixed that! The coffee Sunday morning was delicious! So was the Apple Pie Beth baked in the oven Friday night! Rough life!

Trailer shots:
the WalMart trailer


Night shot, the porch light is tilted down to not blind the neighbors




 

nwoods

Expedition Leader
Still love those awnings. Ever thought about shooting a short movie clip of your set up and take down routine?
 

Papa

Observer
Busy people get things done but as busy as you two are who would have thought you would have the time and interest to entertain us all throughout the winter. Absolutely my favorite thread on the Portal! Thanks.
 

stankfoot

Adventurer
having finally seen the CrowsWing in person all i can say is where do i place my order! it is incredible what you and beth have done. you have set the bar very high.
 

GreenTaco4x4

Observer
Skimmed your thread but couldn't find anything on your awnings. Did you make them or buy them? Anymore info on them?
 
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frankinjeep

New member
Having seen the trailer in person, I have to say the pictures do not do it justice. Your work is absolutely awesome. Keep up the good work. :drool:
 

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