Nashville TJ's Build - Continued
- Thread starter NashvilleTJ
- Start date
I got a call from Kaufman on Wednesday telling me the trailer I ordered was complete. Right on schedule - a little less than 4 weeks. So, on Thursday evening I loaded up and drove 500 miles to Lexington, NC to pick it up.
It was a nasty, rainy drive. But, for anyone who wonders why they are called the Smoky Mountains - this is why:
And here it is:
Look familiar? It's basically a clone of my current trailer, but instead of a 10K rating this thing is 15K. Kaufman makes good stuff, and this thing is built very well.
15,000 pound rating. No dove tail. Drive-over fenders. 7k axles and 8 lug wheels. 4 brakes. 2 Spares. G-Rated tires. Westlakes. Not great - kind of a middle of the road tire. Given that blowing tires was the entire reason for the new trailer, I may swap them to something likes Carlisles (Now Carlstar?)
So I pulled out the old trailer, and spent the day transferring the ramps and the tool box.
I wasn't kidding when I said they were clones...
It was a nasty, rainy drive. But, for anyone who wonders why they are called the Smoky Mountains - this is why:
And here it is:
Look familiar? It's basically a clone of my current trailer, but instead of a 10K rating this thing is 15K. Kaufman makes good stuff, and this thing is built very well.
15,000 pound rating. No dove tail. Drive-over fenders. 7k axles and 8 lug wheels. 4 brakes. 2 Spares. G-Rated tires. Westlakes. Not great - kind of a middle of the road tire. Given that blowing tires was the entire reason for the new trailer, I may swap them to something likes Carlisles (Now Carlstar?)
So I pulled out the old trailer, and spent the day transferring the ramps and the tool box.
I wasn't kidding when I said they were clones...
You know you can get better tires than Carlisle/Carlstar. I would check out Hercules or General.
Sold a lot of them before I left my job.
Carlisle are what U-haul use because they are cheap. Just sayin.
Thanks for that, John. I ran the Carlisle because at the time they were the only 12 plys I could find, and had a good reputation from my research.
ST 235 / 80R16
One thing I definitely wanted to swap over was the ramps. I ordered the same configuration on the back end so I was fairly confident that I could do so.
The ramps which came with the original trailer, and those which came with this one as well, are made for heavy equipment. Here is the ramp which came with the new trailer (already swapped over to the old trailer here):
For my use, there are two major things wrong with this design. First, the lower brace / foot, designed to take the weight while loading heavy equipment, is a problem on anything but flat ground. Off road, or in uneven gravel parking lots where I spend a lot of time, that foot strikes the ground and can make it impossible to deploy / retract. Second, I use the trailer often to transport motorcycles, and it is very difficult / dangerous to try and run a big bike up those big treads.
On my previous trailer I modified the ramps to remove the foot (not needed at all for the Jeep), and rebuilt the surface to be flat using expanded metal. It was actually a crazy amount of work which I had no desire to do again. Here is the modified ramp:
And man, these new ramps were heavy! Clearly designed to support a 10 or 12,000 pound piece of equipment, these things must have weighed 250 or 300 pounds. I had to resort to the engine hoist to do it by myself, but it worked well.
...and, the final result:
The ramps which came with the original trailer, and those which came with this one as well, are made for heavy equipment. Here is the ramp which came with the new trailer (already swapped over to the old trailer here):
For my use, there are two major things wrong with this design. First, the lower brace / foot, designed to take the weight while loading heavy equipment, is a problem on anything but flat ground. Off road, or in uneven gravel parking lots where I spend a lot of time, that foot strikes the ground and can make it impossible to deploy / retract. Second, I use the trailer often to transport motorcycles, and it is very difficult / dangerous to try and run a big bike up those big treads.
On my previous trailer I modified the ramps to remove the foot (not needed at all for the Jeep), and rebuilt the surface to be flat using expanded metal. It was actually a crazy amount of work which I had no desire to do again. Here is the modified ramp:
And man, these new ramps were heavy! Clearly designed to support a 10 or 12,000 pound piece of equipment, these things must have weighed 250 or 300 pounds. I had to resort to the engine hoist to do it by myself, but it worked well.
...and, the final result:
Next was the tool box. First - empty the thing:
Man, I carry a lot of crap...
With all the junk out of the way, it was a simple matter to unbolt the box from the old trailer, bolt it up to the new, and squeeze all the crap back in:
...and once again, damn this thing looks familiar..
Man, I carry a lot of crap...
With all the junk out of the way, it was a simple matter to unbolt the box from the old trailer, bolt it up to the new, and squeeze all the crap back in:
...and once again, damn this thing looks familiar..
After doing all this work today, I thought it might be a good idea to see if the Jeep actually fits on the new trailer....
So, loaded her up:
Siting at about 1300 pounds on the tongue, that's right about where the old trailer settled in.
Next is to get some actual tie-down rings installed (even that fat-ass rig will not stay there without straps...
). I also have to install the second spare tire carrier opposite the current one, but that will require me to make a few changes to the jack mechanism on that side. I've got a plan though.
And the last thing to do is a little modification to my tongue lock to work with the new coupler. I actually could have swapped over my old coupler and it would have not required any modification, but, I like the design of the new coupler which came with the trailer. I'll certainly post up that when I get around to it. Should be a fun, quick fab project.
Overall, I'm very happy with this thing, and glad I pulled the trigger. Now let's hope that I've solved my blowout problem. We'll see how the 1700-mile one-way trip to Sand Hollow in May works out.
So, loaded her up:
Siting at about 1300 pounds on the tongue, that's right about where the old trailer settled in.
Next is to get some actual tie-down rings installed (even that fat-ass rig will not stay there without straps...
). I also have to install the second spare tire carrier opposite the current one, but that will require me to make a few changes to the jack mechanism on that side. I've got a plan though.And the last thing to do is a little modification to my tongue lock to work with the new coupler. I actually could have swapped over my old coupler and it would have not required any modification, but, I like the design of the new coupler which came with the trailer. I'll certainly post up that when I get around to it. Should be a fun, quick fab project.
Overall, I'm very happy with this thing, and glad I pulled the trigger. Now let's hope that I've solved my blowout problem. We'll see how the 1700-mile one-way trip to Sand Hollow in May works out.
Got me thinking so I went out and checked. Definitely 82" between the fenders.
Now you've got me wondering about mine...
New trailer looks great!!
Are you able to load the Jeep without driving over the fenders? Not tracking your current width.
Doesn't look like it from that loaded pic but asking because I'm curious if you'd need a winch if the Jeep had to 'limp' onto the trailer at any future point - would be tough if you had to overcome the fenders. Maybe needing a loading winch...
Are you able to load the Jeep without driving over the fenders? Not tracking your current width.
Doesn't look like it from that loaded pic but asking because I'm curious if you'd need a winch if the Jeep had to 'limp' onto the trailer at any future point - would be tough if you had to overcome the fenders. Maybe needing a loading winch...
When aired down, it will squeeze through. At street pressure, one side has to climb up and over.
I've thought about adding a loading winch, but not for my rig. As long as I have juice, the rig's winch would pull it on fine. For a rig without a winch, the loading winch would be a help.
Years ago when I bough my current Warn Zeon, I sold the Warn it replaced. I've always wished I'd just kept it to use on the trailer. But, as I said, no real need.
Foolish me - I hadn't thought to use your rig winch to load. I guess that's an artifact of not having one to consider that idea.
So then the obvious next question - do you have a good winching spot you'd attach to on the trailer?
Which Warn Zeon are you running? I have a winch on my short list and I want to go Warn. I've been eyeing the more classic M-series but mostly because of familiarity from what I wanted years back and wanting to avoid the Warn VR made in China.... But I only want to buy ones and buy quality....
Foolish me - I hadn't thought to use your rig winch to load. I guess that's an artifact of not having one to consider that idea.
So then the obvious next question - do you have a good winching spot you'd attach to on the trailer?
Yes. Either of the front tie down rings would work fine. If for some reason the rig would not steer and cause difficulty keeping it straight down the middle, a quick strap bridal between the two rings would center the winch connection.
I'm running the Zeon 10-S. Very happy with it.
If you need to you can bring your old trailer down to Coopers Garage.
I heard they will store it for free
I heard they will store it for free
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