Trailer mods.

Froll · Post by **Froll** » Sun Apr 21, 2013 2:29 pm

When we were at Port Nolloth over the Easter weekend, I saw that it is a mission using the back of the truck for packing stuff. This makes it necessary to half pack up some things when you want to go somewhere. Luckily we had the kids with us so we used their plat kar to go to town for things we needed. But if my wife and I go alone a plan will have to be made. I was given a trailer a few years ago that had some bad rust in it, but still on the road. I towed it from Natal to home with no problems.( I needed it to bring some of my mothers thing up as she had passed on.)
I repaired the trailer and was going to sell it, but never got to doing that. I decided to convert the trailer to something that we can use when we go camping for longer periods of time. I have removed the axle and purchased a axle that will take 15 inch rims as I have four lying around from my truck. I will get the new axle tomorrow.I will post pics as I go along as I am still not sure of what I want to do all to the trailer. It must just make our life a bit better and be able to be mobile in the truck with min effort.
I am waiting for the papers for the trailer as the old oom that it belonged to passed on last year and the log book is nowhere to be found and the lawyers have had to apply for a copy of the log book, so I am hoping that will be sorted out soon.

Post by **Mud Dog** » Sun Apr 21, 2013 3:16 pm

The bottom (floor) of the trailer looks sturdy enough, the leaf packs might be a bit weak if you're going to load it heavily and the wheel arches might have to be enlarged for the bigger wheels. If you beef up the leaf packs, ask for a higher load rating when you roadworthy it ... might just save you some weigh-bridge fines somewhere in the future.

Thunder02 · Post by **Thunder02** » Sun Apr 21, 2013 6:47 pm

Being planning to upgrade mine,but never seem to have the time($$$$$$)to do it

Will get there one day,for now I'll watch your thread

TOYODA · Post by **TOYODA** » Sun Apr 21, 2013 6:54 pm

I have similar plans for a Venter Super 6 trailer. Will be watcing this thread very closely.

Thabogrobler · Post by **Thabogrobler** » Sun Apr 21, 2013 6:57 pm

Uncle Andy,

Is it a big story to get the higher payload?

I also want to do that as 360kg is almost nothing in my trailer!

Post by **Mud Dog** » Mon Apr 22, 2013 12:03 am

The permissible load is normally determined by the manufacturer, but in the days when you were still able to register a home-built trailer, the testing authority did it. It might be easier in a smaller town than in a big city even though it will still be a DEKRA agent, but with certification from an auto spring works or engineering works, it may be a bit of a challenge but should still be possible.

Danman · Post by **Danman** » Mon Apr 22, 2013 7:28 am

Upgraded my town an country trailer from 4 blade to 8 blade last week(trailertent and 90L fridge bit heavy), the old 4 blade looked like my old sfa front packs(not smiling anymore).
now smiles all the way and finally I can also get rid of the large drop plate cause the trailer is running allot higher now!

Post by **george** » Mon Apr 22, 2013 1:10 pm

Thabogrobler wrote:Uncle Andy,

Is it a big story to get the higher payload?

I also want to do that as 360kg is almost nothing in my trailer!

If you go over 750kg gross weight than you going to have to add run in brakes.To upgrade the paper work is quite a mission if you dont have a connection.

Stef · Post by **Stef** » Mon Apr 22, 2013 3:01 pm

The VIN # contains the GVM rating....might be a mission to upgrade that, maybe you can get away with the axle rating:

technical_makers_plate.pdf: (294.5 KiB) Downloaded 170 times

Froll · Post by **Froll** » Mon Apr 22, 2013 10:31 pm

I received the new axle today. Will fit it the weekend. I am not looking to upgrade the weight the trailer can carry, I will not be towing it over far distances, mainly close to home. What I want is higher ground clearance, I want to change my tow bar as it is too low and I dont want a drop plate. I just hope that they will not be full of it when I take it to the test.

Post by **george** » Tue Apr 23, 2013 9:08 am

Froll wrote:I received the new axle today. Will fit it the weekend. I am not looking to upgrade the weight the trailer can carry, I will not be towing it over far distances, mainly close to home. What I want is higher ground clearance, I want to change my tow bar as it is too low and I dont want a drop plate. I just hope that they will not be full of it when I take it to the test.

As long as you dont want to change the weight it is pretty strait forward.They check your lights and wheel bearings and reflectors and yellow strips.Have a few extra red and white reflectors with you.Then if the want more you can put it on.I am not to sure if they need a chevron plate.on my boat trailer they wanted one.

Frederick · Post by **Frederick** » Fri Apr 26, 2013 9:41 am

Is this what you have in mind?
7ft Venter
1.6t axle
1.2t spring blades
Led lights
31x10.5 R15 BFG AT

Post by **pietpetoors** » Fri Apr 26, 2013 10:49 am

Might be a good idea to change them short springs with longer springs while you busy. Longer springs tend to have a softer ride than them short ones.

Don't change too much before taking to road worthy. After road worthy you can go wild.

Post by **george** » Fri Apr 26, 2013 11:06 am

looks very nice

Froll · Post by **Froll** » Fri Apr 26, 2013 4:41 pm

Frederick wrote:Is this what you have in mind?
7ft Venter
1.6t axle
1.2t spring blades
Led lights
31x10.5 R15 BFG AT

Yes Frederick, that looks good. I also thought about the longer springs, but will see first what it tows like and as Pieter says wait until after the test to make more changes.

BenRich · Post by **BenRich** » Fri Apr 26, 2013 4:51 pm

My apologies, might be a slight hijack;

Frederick, that trailer of yours looks great. I have a venter elite 5 and want to do the same. Did you have to re-register as a rebuild with a new roadworthy?

Frederick · Post by **Frederick** » Sat Apr 27, 2013 12:38 am

BenRich wrote:My apologies, might be a slight hijack;

Frederick, that trailer of yours looks great. I have a venter elite 5 and want to do the same. Did you have to re-register as a rebuild with a new roadworthy?

Ek gebruik die oorspronklike papiere

Stef · Post by **Stef** » Sat Apr 27, 2013 6:01 pm

Roger, jy sal OK wees met daai as, die VIN bevat nie die as se rating nie. Die nuwe as se rating sal seker hoër wees as die oue in elk geval so hulle kan nie sê dis onveilig of iets nie, trailer se GVM bly dieselfde.

Froll · Post by **Froll** » Sat Apr 27, 2013 9:12 pm

Thanks Stef, was wanting to fit the axle this weekend but had a small mishap at work yesterday with a piece of steel falling on my foot so am out of action for the moment. Will post some pics as soon as I have fitted the axle.

Stef · Post by **Stef** » Sat Apr 27, 2013 9:28 pm

Froll wrote:Thanks Stef, was wanting to fit the axle this weekend but had a small mishap at work yesterday with a piece of steel falling on my foot so am out of action for the moment. Will post some pics as soon as I have fitted the axle.

Yikes! I take it you did wear safety shoes? Those kind of injuries tend to haunt you later on in winter times.

Froll · Post by **Froll** » Sat Apr 27, 2013 10:04 pm

Stef wrote:
Froll wrote:Thanks Stef, was wanting to fit the axle this weekend but had a small mishap at work yesterday with a piece of steel falling on my foot so am out of action for the moment. Will post some pics as soon as I have fitted the axle.
Yikes! I take it you did wear safety shoes? Those kind of injuries tend to haunt you later on in winter times.

Nope, my boots were at home. Flattened my right hand big toe a bit, not to serious but was a warning and got a big scare. Was very lucky.

Froll · Post by **Froll** » Wed May 01, 2013 5:17 pm

Well I was off work today so I removed the mud guards and fitted the axle and wheels.It looks quite like the trailer is on steroids at the moment. I will make some molds soon and make the new mud guards out of fiber glass. Still need to paint the axle.

Post by **Haboob** » Wed May 01, 2013 7:31 pm

It will do the trailer no harm if you strengthen the axle at a later stage. The axles do bend on bad roads, especially if you catch one of those dips to Epupa Falls to fast, so strengthen before use.

Froll · Post by **Froll** » Wed May 01, 2013 7:42 pm

Haboob wrote:It will do the trailer no harm if you strengthen the axle at a later stage. The axles do bend on bad roads, especially if you catch one of those dips to Epupa Falls to fast, so strengthen before use.

SFA' S dont go too fast.

Stef · Post by **Stef** » Sat May 04, 2013 12:15 am

Ek's half lus en doen dieselfde met my trailertjie; het juis 'n overhaul nodig.
Wonder of mens net ander hubs kan kry vir 5 gat wiele ipv om 'n wyer as in te sit?

Post by **Mud Dog** » Sat May 04, 2013 8:21 am

Anything is possible, Stef. One could source the desired hubs and a length of 60mm steam piping and make up an axle to the desired width without too much hassle ..... it'll be pretty near impossible to bend a steam pipe axle on a small trailer like that. The other thing I would have done is to extend the a-frame on the under carriage to join up with the side rails of the frame just to beef it up a bit (the existing set up looks a little weak for an off-road unit).

Stef · Post by **Stef** » Sat May 04, 2013 11:33 pm

Was thinking the same thing....probably easier just to get an axle and shorten it, but I wouldn't have any piece of mind

Agree on the A frame, I see most okes these days are welding the a frame to the spring front mount as well.

Danman · Post by **Danman** » Sun May 05, 2013 5:59 pm

Stef, bel roadque in silverton hulle sal jou vinnig help met daai hubs.

Stef · Post by **Stef** » Mon May 06, 2013 4:25 pm

Tx Danie, weet van hulle

Op die stadium is dit 'n projekkie vir later, jeuk eintlik net....

Thabogrobler · Post by **Thabogrobler** » Mon May 06, 2013 7:15 pm

Kyk, daai trailer van Freserik is ordentlik!

Ek oorweeg ook so iets met 'n as met 'n inloop rem, maar die trippie gaan naby die R10k draai as ek my somme reg gemaak het...Dan kan ek mos net sowel een koop wat klaar 1 ton kan laai?

Stef · Post by **Stef** » Tue May 07, 2013 4:04 pm

Thabogrobler wrote:Kyk, daai trailer van Freserik is ordentlik!

Ek oorweeg ook so iets met 'n as met 'n inloop rem, maar die trippie gaan naby die R10k draai as ek my somme reg gemaak het...Dan kan ek mos net sowel een koop wat klaar 1 ton kan laai?

Dan kan jy net sowel 'n Boswa daarvan maak met tent en alles...

Froll · Post by **Froll** » Sat May 11, 2013 4:50 pm

Decided to make the mud guards out of fiber glass, so I started making the molds today. I have again used 3 mm masonite as it gives a nice smooth finish to the part cast in the mold. I used one piece of masonite and cut it about three quarters of the way through where I needed to bend it. Will finish it off in the week and make the second one as well. Still need to cut the sides. Will post more pics when they are finished.
Sorry see the pics are in the wrong order.

Stef · Post by **Stef** » Mon May 13, 2013 10:34 am

lyk goed! Sal dit nie goedkoper wees net om die die plastice enes te gaan koop nie?

Froll · Post by **Froll** » Mon May 13, 2013 10:50 pm

Maybe they will be cheaper but I would have to travel 500 km to the nearest place that they be available to check sizes. besides its lekker to do it yourself and keeps idle minds active.

Stef · Post by **Stef** » Tue May 14, 2013 9:05 am

Froll wrote:besides its lekker to do it yourself and keeps idle minds active.

Amen to that! Sounds like something I would say

Froll · Post by **Froll** » Sat May 18, 2013 5:45 pm

Finished making the two molds today. Still need to fill small gaps and then varnish. Ran out of time as I have to go and braai tonight, not really in the mood but nou ja will have to go to keep SWAMBO smiling.

The Legend · Post by **The Legend** » Sat May 18, 2013 6:59 pm

Lyk baie mooi Roger

Froll · Post by **Froll** » Sat Jun 08, 2013 5:06 pm

Did the varnish about 2 weeks age and wanted to fiber glass last weekend, but it rained all weekend and was too cold. Today was a bit warmer but not hot enough, but I decided to do the fiber glass work. I used some white gel coat so we will see how they come out. Will only remove them some time in the week as they are not properly dry as yet. Will post some more pics then.

Froll · Post by **Froll** » Sat Jun 08, 2013 6:33 pm

My g-t het so bietjie gejuk. Removed the mud guards from the molds. There are a few places that have to be fixed up as the resin did not go into all the corners as it should have. Too cold.

But will repair and then will be good to go.

Thunder02 · Post by **Thunder02** » Sat Jun 08, 2013 7:02 pm

Looking good

Froll · Post by **Froll** » Sun Jun 16, 2013 8:58 pm

Well this weekend I managed to finish the mud guards. I will fit them on Friday as we are working tomorrow and off on Friday. I decided to fit some alu checkered plate on the fronts so stones from the back wheel of the truck dont damage them.

MOFASA · Post by **MOFASA** » Tue Jun 18, 2013 7:49 am

A Very PRO job you have done there.....
The look awsum....

Mars · Post by **Mars** » Thu Jun 20, 2013 1:15 pm

Lyk uitstekend sovêr!

The Legend · Post by **The Legend** » Fri Jun 21, 2013 6:40 am

Baie mooi Rodger!!

Jy is veselglas se baas.

Froll · Post by **Froll** » Sat Jun 29, 2013 8:33 pm

Well today I eventually got chance to fit the mud guards to the trailer. Must still fit the lid again. Got good news from the lawyers in Natal that they have got me a duplicate copy off the trailers papers, so I will be able to take it through the test as soon as I can.

Post by **Mud Dog** » Sun Jun 30, 2013 6:27 am

Looks really good Roger!

The roadworthy guys will take one look at it and pass it on appearance alone!

As Pieter mentioned, longer springs give a softer, less bouncy ride. I have a little "homebuilt" trailer that's been standing unused for quite some time and pulled it out, cleaned it up for a recent hunting trip. Found that there was some rust on the chassis and that the rims were also badly rusted. Cut out the chassis rust, welded in new material and replaced the rims / tyres. I couldn't find the same rims and the ones I fitted had a wider offset. This resulted in the tyres touching the mudguards under articulation and I though about this thread of yours. The guards are fibreglass and I considered splitting them to add a 'filler strip', so making them a bit wider, but time was against me. I was about to shorten the axle instead when Tony (Firstgeer) popped past for a visit and suggested just changing it from axle over spring (AOS) to spring over axle (SOA) which would give extra height between the tyre and guard. This was a much easier option and I did it to see how it would work out. Turned out well in that the additional height was enough so that the tyre was well clear of the guard and also just cleared the guard under articulation because of the inward articulation arc. It also helped for the "nose up" stance of the trailer when hitched to the higher 4x4. Sometimes the easiest solution is right in front of our eyes but needs someone else to point it out (thanks Tony).

The Legend · Post by **The Legend** » Sun Jun 30, 2013 7:45 am

Hi Rodger,

Dit lyk baie baie mooi.Net n vragie-hoe bestand is daardie veselglas modderskerms teen klippe.Ek dink nou maar net daaraan want in daardie wereld van julle ry julle mos grotendeels grond pad.

Post by **CasKru** » Sun Jun 30, 2013 8:47 am

Respect. A very neat and well done job

Sent from my couch using a potato

Oetie · Post by **Oetie** » Sun Jun 30, 2013 2:52 pm

Neatly done!! I like it!!

Froll · Post by **Froll** » Sun Jun 30, 2013 3:38 pm

Thanks for all the compliments.
Andy that trailer of yours looks good.

Dawie, stones should not be a big problem. I have got alu plate on the front for stones from the bakkie. They can be easily repaired if their is a problem, but the fiber glass is pretty tough and they are about 4mm thick so we will see.

Mars · Post by **Mars** » Mon Jul 01, 2013 9:15 am

Both trailers look really good. Maybe a coat of stone-chip on the inside of the mudguards will help to protect them even better?

Thunder02 · Post by **Thunder02** » Mon Jul 01, 2013 9:20 am

Looking great

Andy,that trailer looks good,running nice and level

Froll · Post by **Froll** » Sat Jul 06, 2013 2:20 pm

This morning I fitted the lid and a new jockey wheel. Finished painting the stone chip. I recieved the papers from the lawyer on Friday, so now I can take it to the test. Probably only at the end of the month, due to the distance to Springbok.

The Legend · Post by **The Legend** » Sat Jul 06, 2013 5:22 pm

Baie baie netjiese sleepwa Rodger.Jy het n puik stukkie werk gedoen.
Doen jouself n guns en sit twee gas skokbrekers in,dit hou die deksel aan beide kante ewe hoog as dit oop is en werk baie lekker.

Froll · Post by **Froll** » Sat Jul 06, 2013 6:48 pm

Ja Dawie ek is van plan om te kry en in te sit, nog net nie kans gehad nie.

Post by **Mud Dog** » Sat Jul 06, 2013 7:37 pm

Good job, Roger!

b4runner · Post by **b4runner** » Thu Jul 11, 2013 12:41 pm

Very clean trailer build.
Good to hear the lawyers were able to track down the paperwork for you

Masekind · Post by **Masekind** » Thu Jul 11, 2013 2:01 pm

Baie mooi gedoen
Watter badge het jy nou op is mal oor die 1 wat blink

Froll · Post by **Froll** » Mon Jul 29, 2013 8:47 pm

Well, took the trailer to the test today. Had it weighed and the load capacity lifted. The trailer went through the test with no problems. I had to have it data dotted, took it to someone I know who does it but he could not do it today as he did not have all the goodies. He told me to take it to the other person who does it in Springbok and got it done. What worries me is that the second person is R220 cheaper than my friend. Is there no set amount, my stepson did his bakkie in Upington a few months ago at R1000, this is a total ripoff. I think people need to shop around if they need this to be done. Anyway now I can start doing the other mods that I am thinking of doing to make life easier when camping.

Post by **Modder Tekkies** » Mon Jul 29, 2013 9:14 pm

Oom Roger daai trailer lyk nou sommer bakgat.

Ek het 'n venter wat ek wou wegmaak, maar nou het ek nuwe planne vir hom

Sit hoeka nou met te veel 16 duim wielle