120 Gallon RF Trailer Build (Painted w/Pics and Pron!)

Cat797 · Posted: Fri May 06 11 9:10 am Post subject:

k.a.m.- Once again, thanks for the coaching session.........I always appreciate your positive advice. Glad I got you off to work with a smile! Cool

Rodneymeatsandsweets - Thank you sir. I've got more where that came from.....BTW, your build is coming along nicely, or should I say builds???? Very Happy

killswitch - Thanks.....

So, I'm finally at a point where I can't lift this thing anymore, so I am going to my buddy's house next weekend so that we can deploy some redneck engineering with a tractor and bucket to get this thing welded together. We'll also be working on bobbing the trailer and getting it mounted. I'm going to be taking it to the sandblaster this weekend to get the inside washed out so I can weld inside without gasing myself out.

More updates coming soon........thanks for looking. Laughing

Ed
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TrailerBuilder · Posted: Fri May 06 11 10:18 am Post subject:

Ed, havent seen the post in a while, man you are coming along nicely! Looks like everything is coming along well. I can completely understand the whole beating the door into submission take. Did some of that myself, but damn it makes you feel good!

Your build is looking great, keep up the nice work!
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Cat797 · Posted: Sun May 15 11 11:31 am Post subject:

Since the weather here sucks (as I'm sure it has been for all you other folks in the central states), I was able to get some work in on the old smoker today. I took the tank and the firebox to a friend of mine who owns a sandblasting/powder coating shop, so got it washed to be able to weld on the inside. When I got it home I got the tank and firebox welded together albeit by some miracle because I had no crane Crying or Very sad

. I just haven't been able to get to my buddy's house with the tractor and bucket loader.

I was able to get the framework put in that the reverse flow plates will set on.....Now I just have to go get some 1/4" plate for that and I should be in business.

And finally, I put in a little work on the strapping on the door to get it to fit better. I think I'm still going to have to use some rope gasket, but will cross that bridge when I get to it.....

Tomorrow I'm going to start butchering my trailer so that I can get it reinforced and change from a wood decked tilt trailer to a steel deck no-tilt.......Hopefully I'll have some more pics to post tomorrow.

Cheers! Cool

Ed
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TrailerBuilder · Posted: Sun May 15 11 9:23 pm Post subject:

Ed, your build is looking good man, you are going to have one damn nice smoker when you get it finished out. Looks like you and your welder have become a team as well, your welds look really good. Nice Job!
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k.a.m. · Posted: Sun May 15 11 9:31 pm Post subject:

Ed, your making some nice progress. Very Happy

Your door looks like it is fitting pretty good in the pics. You may be tight enough for the high temp black RTV instead of the rope gasket. I look forward to seeing some more pics and updates. Very Happy

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Always remember slow and steady wins the race.

Hybrid Cooker

Cat797 · Posted: Mon May 16 11 4:12 am Post subject:

Ok, now for the fun part..........the trailer.

Here are pics of my trailer that has given its life up for this smoker project. I bought this about 5 years ago to haul my lawn mower and golf cart around on. I stripped off the 2x6 planks and here is what is left; a chincy 5x8 tilt-bed trailer made out of 2" x 3/16" angle.

I decided that I need to shorten it up, since the firebox will have to set below the frame in the trailer. Here is an idea of how long it will now be.....When I get some steel this week I will true up the ends and figure out what I'm going to do with the top rail; I'm still up in the air about that.

Before:

After:

Now a question for trailerbuilder Troy or k.a.m.: I want to get rid of the tilt part and make it more rigid.....My plan scrap the pivot point and weld solid in the areas I highlighted below. Is this a good plan, or should I scrap the current tongue all together and make a new one. I think it could probably stand to be a little longer overall, but not a deal killer.........

Also, do these spring hangers look right on the back??? I thought that the shackle should be angled the other way, BWTFDIK?

Anyway, my plan is to reinforce the frame with some tubing and then skin the deck with 1/8" diamond plate. How far should I space the tubing, and any potential pitfalls that I need to avoid? I would like to get it mostly buttoned up this week and then take the trailer to my sandblaster to get ready for paint. After that I will install some new lights and wiring.

Thanks in advance for the advice...... Cool

Ed
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k.a.m. · Posted: Mon May 16 11 9:27 am Post subject:

Ed, welding the trailer up solid at those points will work fine in my opinion. I would add a few more cross members to tie the trailer together better. Your shackle should point backwards I am not sure what you have there. It may be right, Troy may have seen this before I have not.
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Always remember slow and steady wins the race.

Hybrid Cooker

Cat797 · Posted: Mon May 16 11 11:18 am Post subject:

Thanks k.a.m. I've never seen shackles mounted like these either......

Figures, this thing is turning out to be like my house. A simple project turns into a marathon after digging into it!!! Oh well, it should be nice when I'm done.

Thanks,
Ed
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TrailerBuilder · Posted: Mon May 16 11 11:34 am Post subject:

Ed, all is looking really good man. Your moving along at a nice pace.

You should be fine welding the trailer to the tongue and eliminate the tip without any problems. Any place you can get a weld, I would get one, overkill probably, but Id rather be safe than sorry. Going with 1/8" treadplate, I would run my cross members no more than 16" center to center. If your planning on walking on the treadplate any, you might go a bit less, 12" or 14" centers maybe. 1/8" material will bow and get wavy pretty easy, so extra bracing is a good idea, other than that, I think your plan will work out just fine.

Ive seen spring hangers like that before on certain brands of trailers, not sure what the deal is with it, but it seems to be fine. On your spring hangers, what is the measurement of the center of each bolt hole, center hole to center hole measurement? 25 3/4"? I think your okay on them with no worries.

Its looking good Ed, keep up the nice work!
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icecoldkicks · Posted: Mon May 16 11 1:29 pm Post subject:

I just finished bending/manipulating my last door on my cooker today and this seemed to work pretty good, its a little work,
but as ive noticed in the past, the doors can be pretty darn tricky part of the project Shocked

!! Also, if u happen to run into this door thing again,
im posting these pics for future refrence since it worked well for me! Surprised

Cat797 the firebox looks great, nice work!

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287Gal RF Project

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Cat797 · Posted: Wed May 18 11 6:17 am Post subject:

Thanks Troy........I'm going to have to check prices on the tread plate and see how bad the difference is. As to the measurement hanger hole to hanger hole, it's about 26 1/2".

Thanks icecoldkicks........

Ed
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mwells · Posted: Wed May 18 11 9:39 pm Post subject:

Very nice build, I think it is coming along great. But I do think you are a little confused about something, maybe welding that galvanized got to your head. But El Paso isn't anywhere near Illinois. I think you took a wrong turn somewhere. Very Happy

Keep it up, we'll see smoke soon.
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rodneymeatsnsweets · Posted: Thu May 19 11 12:21 am Post subject:

Cat797 Your build is looking great. Keep up the good work and I will be watching for updates.
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http://www.thesmokering.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=49641

Cat797 · Posted: Thu May 19 11 9:04 am Post subject:

Thanks mwells...........I get that all the time. Nearest I can figure when I was born I should have been in Texas and that's where my BBQ jones came from. El Paso, IL is smack dab in the middle of Illinois, surrounded by corn.

Thanks rodney. I'm hoping to get some more done this week, but it ain't looking good. My dear wife is suggesting that I need to finish getting our camper opened up and complete the work on our deck I started a month or so ago.

Stay tuned.......... Cool

Ed
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Wanabe · Newbie Joined: 29 May 2011 Posts: 40

Cat797

Being as you are only about 90 miles south of me (Rochelle) I need to take a look at your since I am getting a couple of 120 gal LP tanks to build one for my brother-in-law and one for myself.

Nice work!
Rod

Cat797 · Posted: Fri Jun 03 11 10:37 am Post subject:

Wanabe: - Anytime you are in the neighborhood, give me a shout via PM and you are more than welcome to come take a look........I'm around most all the time.

Now for an update:

Just to prove to you guys that I haven't been working slow on purpose, pics to show the deck I've finished this spring.....This is my camper at a seasonal campground site. I did the front half of the deck last year, and this year I did the ground deck and the back 8' with a roof. I also put up the railing. I did the patio about 2 years ago......Enjoy!!!

Now for an update on the smoker project........I took the trailer over to my sandblaster last week. For the last two nights I have been putting in the tubing for extra support and finishing off the back end:

Now she's ready to be flipped over so I can work on the tongue and do some reinforcement of the underside.........I'll need a couple of buddies to help with this, so hopefully I'll have it done this week.

All the best........ Cool

Ed
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Cat797 · Posted: Fri Jun 03 11 12:08 pm Post subject:

Here's a question for you guys......Here is a pic of my axle set up as it is currently on the trailer:

I still think this is hosed up, so my plan is to cut the back shackle mount loose and move it forward so that hole-to-hole distance is 24 1/2" instead of 26 1/2". Does anyone see a problem with that??? Is my thinking correct? If I look at it the way that it is now, I don't think that there would be any movement (i.e. suspension) without having enough weight to overcome the springs and push the shackle over center. The spring packs are four leafs, so I think that I have a 3,000 or 3,500lb trailer here.

It's hard to read the dimensions, so I'll try to explain:

Top one is 26 1/2" hole to hole
2nd down is 25 1/2" hole to hole (spring length eye to eye)
Shackle is 3 1/4" hole to hole
Axle diameter is 2 1/2"
Bottom text says 5 x 5 hub, 205/75/R14 tires, and springs are 1 3/4" wide

Thanks in advance for the input.

Ed
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TrailerBuilder · Posted: Fri Jun 03 11 8:47 pm Post subject:

Ed, love the deck set up around your camper. That is awesome!! Nice little get away spot for sure!

Trailer turned out good with the blasting and new cross members. Be careful on putting the spring hangers to close. If they are too close, the springs can flatten out with weight and then be useless.

Here is a link to Redneck Trailer Supply, which is what I use when placing my axles. Scroll down on the link to the single axle placement chart. My guess is you have a hanger kit of APS1 or APS3 (3 being my most used) and your springs are probably equal to the PR4B and an axle of 2 3/8". The measurements should be standard for any spring set up, so this brand should work with any other brand, basically an industry standard size, so to speak. So sneak a peak at the link and see if this helps. I'll be happy to help you any way I can.

http://www.redneck-trailer.com/2009/D/D8-D9.pdf
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Cat797 · Posted: Fri Jun 03 11 10:12 pm Post subject:

Thanks Troy........I had a lengthy conversation with Redneck this morning and they assured me that the current design is ok. Very Happy

This is good news, and now I don't have to mess with that, so hopefully I can get the tongue welded up tonight and be ready to mount the cooker soon.

Thanks for your help! Cool

Ed
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Insulated Offset RF:
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