Horse Trailer to Toy Hauler Conversion

[CDA 455 II]

I started with grinder and a cut off wheel and ended up using a torch to cut the axles from the frame. What a total PITA that was.


Got the front axle in place and measured cross ways and every other way to be sure it was straight and square then tacked it in place. You can see the 5 inch lift here.

Please correct me if I'm wrong;

It appears in that pic the axle might be upside down if it's a torsion suspension.

 

[Dan's EB]

Please correct me if I'm wrong;

It appears in that pic the axle might be upside down if it's a torsion suspension.

This is the same orientation they came out. I had to go look to make sure though. I found this for Rockwell torsion axles. Seems the axle can be ordered with the trailing arm in different positions. Too bad they are not adjustable.

 

[CDA 455 II]

Interesting.


My HMMWV trailer's torsion arms are in the 32* down position when it's empty.

 

[GLTHFJ60]

It looks like the torsion arm hole for the torsion bar changes attitude, and that's about it. Can you buy different torsen arms?

 

[Projectjunkie]

Dang, I was in Tucson yesterday.
Yes that would be great. Might save me from making a new gate. Pics would be great if it's not too much trouble.

I got some pics and measurements off this door, pm me a phone # and I'll get them to you

 

[aczlan]

It looks like the torsion arm hole for the torsion bar changes attitude, and that's about it. Can you buy different torsen arms?

Depends on the brand. Ones like the OP has are welded together before they add in the rubber. Others like Flexiride have a splined shaft on the trailer side and a adjustable arm that the spindle is mounted on.

Aaron Z

 

[AK_F250]

It looks like the torsion arm hole for the torsion bar changes attitude, and that's about it. Can you buy different torsen arms?

If that was the case you'd only get 90 degree adjustments, plus the bar is in the same orientation in all those pics.

 

[Dan's EB]

I cut some 3/16 plate to cap the "lift kit". Will be welding those in place tomorrow.

Hopefully I'll be done with the lift and can move on to finishing the floor. I plan to remove all the boards, sand, paint and reinstall after coating the frame and cross pieces in POR15.

Stay tuned.

 

[rockyota83]

fwiw the horse trailer i worked on a couple weeks ago had axles on it that look identical to yours

 

[Mr Stubs]

I cut some 3/16 plate to cap the "lift kit". Will be welding those in place tomorrow.



Stay tuned.

First thing I thought of when I seen the “lift kit” was great place for hidden storage. Scissor Jack comes to mind.

 

[CDA 455 II]

This is the same orientation they came out. I had to go look to make sure though. I found this for Rockwell torsion axles. Seems the axle can be ordered with the trailing arm in different positions. Too bad they are not adjustable.

My HMMWV trailer's torsion arms are in the 32* down position when it's empty.

Damn; I correct myself.

Just took this pic of said HMMWV trailer torsion arm with a 900lb truck camper on it:

It looks more like a 45* down, rather than the 32* I guessed.

 

[Dan's EB]

I finished removing the boards from the rear and wire wheeled the frame and cross members. The wife painted the boards with kilz then a coat of porch and floor paint to help trap or hide the horse smell. The front of the trailer had indoor outdoor carpet glued the floor, bulkhead and the sleeping area, when I pulled it out it left bits that I had to belt sand and wire wheel to remove.
Since my kids are grown and gone I had to use the neighbor kid for child labor to vacuum up the mess.

 

[Tinstar]

Nice progress!!! I'm jelly of your torsions.

 

[Dan's EB]

Made some progress today. Got 1 inch foam insulation down and some OSB to cover it up front of the trailer.

Then I started replacing the boards in the rear of the trailer. I painted them with Kilz then a coat of deck and patio paint. The below pic is from the rear looking forward.

Another shot from the front looking back. The boards on the left have a few screws holding them down. the ones on the right are in progress.

These 2x8's will get a layer of 3/4" plywood over them.

Progress, slow but sure progress.

 

[Dan's EB]

Made some more progress throwing down plywood. I suck at taking pics, I do a few hours of work until it gets dark then forget to take pics along the way.

I'll try to get some tomorrow.
you can't really see it in the pics above but the frame in the rear and all the cross angle iron has been painted black with POR15. I used nearly a quart on this so far.

 

[Dan's EB]

It's been a while since I updated this thread.
Since my last post We have been camping in the trailer a few times and my Brother has borrowed it twice to move family members from Texas to Az.
The trailer gets used .
I've finished the floor. 1/2 inch plywood over the 2x8's and even painted it.

My next big task is getting rid of the barn doors on the rear and making a lift gate.
Pics to follow show progress on the trailer floor and a night of camping on the north rim of the Grand Canyon.

 

[Dan's EB]

A few days ago I started the lift gate. I'm considering a few different ways to lift the gate. 1) a cable and spring assembly like on a garage door or 2) springs at the hinge pivot point. I'm leaning toward the springs at the hinge pivot so that I don't have cables in my way.
Here's a few pics of the lift gate I'm building. It's a work in progress.

 

[Java230]

I hate cables on trailer doors. Always in the fucking way.

 

[Dan's EB]

So I have made a bit more progress on the trailer. As I posted I am replacing the barn doors with a lift gate so I can drive my side by side in without having to carry around ramps.
Here is the latest.
I got some DOM tubing and some 3/4 cold roll sold rod to make hinges, and a couple of springs from the local trailer supply place.

 

[Dan's EB]

The tube is 3 inches long x4 sections. The springs are rated at 1000lbs. I wasn't sure what spring rate it would take to keep the door open so I guessed. Turns out it was pretty damn close. With the door open it settles about a foot off the ground. I think when I ad the plywood on the inside and the skin on the outside it should be pretty close to neutral in the down position. If that makes sense.

 

[Dan's EB]

Next step is to skin the outside with something, thinking .050 aluminum, and some 3/4 plywood on he inside. And of course 1" Styrofoam between for insulation.

 

[Dan's EB]

Oh yea, Here's a pic of the door clamped in the hole in the back of the trailer. It kinda fits, might have to do some grinding as the door is not exactly square with the trailer opening. Need to move the trailer to level ground then maybe reinforce the opening to keep it square.

The second pic is the hardware I cut to make the hinges and the supports for the hinges and of course, the springs that hold the whole thing up.

 

[72Pstroke]

What springs did you use? I want to do the same thing to my SXS trailer.

 

[Dan's EB]

I don't know the brand, I got them at the local trailer supply place. They are rated for 1000 pounds each.

 

[Dan's EB]

I repurposed the hinges and latch mechanism from the old doors for the new drop gate. The aluminum hinges were 2 layers sandwiched together and 10 years of dirt between the layers made it difficult to weld. Plus I'm not that good at TIG anyway, but I think it will work.

 

[Dan's EB]

Next was sheet metal for the skin. I had some 22ga sheared and began drilling holes for a bunch of rivets. My brother is an ex aircraft sheet metal jockey and he wanted rivets every 2 inches. I would have been fine with 4 inch spacing.
Once all the holes are drilled we deburred all the holes we put a thin layer of pookey (caulk) down and started shooting rivets.

 

[Dan's EB]

Here's the door back on with the springs in place. It opens and closed pretty easy, I'm a little concerned I may need more spring.

 

[Dan's EB]

Insulation and plywood was the next step.
The door is pretty heavy now, I doubt my wife could close it by herself. The 2 springs are loose in the closed position so I think I will try to add some preload and see if that helps. If not, I guess I'll add another hinge and spring assembly in the center.

 

[350TacoZilla]

Looks like good work man! The only thing from pics I can't tell is this, are the spring "tails" just riding up against your outer sheetmetal or are they actually contacting the main steel structure? If they are against outer sheetmetal you might want to rivet a striker plate of some sort in, I have seen the springs tips wear through on the thinner stuff.

 

[Dan's EB]

It's been a while.
The wife and I have been using the trailer now and then for camping so I haven't made a lot of progress until recently. I was stuck because I really didn't like the layout plan and couldn't come up with a better idea. The slant wall was in the way and I didn't like the layout having to work around it, so I finally made the decision to get rid of the slant wall and have a walk thru bathroom to get to the garage.

So, I removed the slant wall and started building a bathroom. I found a 3x3 shower stall on craigslist and started building around it.