After various design iterations I decided to mount the spare tire on the back of the trailer, similar to a jeep wrangler. Due to the weight of the 33" tire, I decided against a fold-down tailgate since my wife would be unable to close it. The other draw-back to a tailgate would be sacrificing the "tub" concept of the original military trailer which allows the trailer to float when doing deep river crossings. My fabrication skills are not precise enough to make a water tight tailgate. The first step in creating the tire mount was to welt two 1/4" thick sections of steel flat bar together to create an 8" square. I bought bolts to match the thread pattern of the stock trailer wheel studs. (boltdepot.com) I dipped the heads in muratic acid (available at home depot for pool cleaning). This allowed me to drill holes in the plate and then weld the bolt heads in place.
Next I began working on the spare tire mount frame. I decided against welding it directly to the tub since it would make things easier later if it was a bolt-in-place unit. I can change it out if I ever change wheel diameters, tire thicknesses, or have problems with the trailer balance etc..
After the frame was fabricated I bolted it in place with six 3/8" carraige bolts. I made the depth of the frame equal to the depth of the tire with the wheel's backspacing so that the tire rests snuggly against the frame and lip of the tub. Hopefully there will be enough clearance for the tub lid since the tire sticks up higher than the lid.
1 comment:
Wow its really nice design. It seems that you indeed have worked very hard while coming out with such a design. Every time when I visit your blog there is something very Innovative & interesting on your blog.
Tandem Trailers
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