Hey guys. I have been doing some thinking on this subject and for the SMB community, I am leaning towards a design along these lines due to the increased size of the SMB tow vehicle. Also, please see the questions at the bottom of the thread. Most of these changes I can do at no cost since I have material drops from the 3x5 design that come out of 4x8 source materials. In other words, the raw steel costs won't be much, if any, more. Some other items, I need to look into (8 bolt hubs, etc.) to see 1) Where I can find them and 2) if they cost significantly more than my current spec'ed items.
NOTIONAL SMB PIKES PEAK TRAILER SPEC
-4x6' cargo box, 24" tall (48cf). This provides nearly double the cargo space of our standard design (26cf).
-3,500 axle, 48" spring perches, 63" hub faces
-8 bolt Ford rims with AT tires in roughly 33x10.50 size
-Shocks
-Hydraulic assisted lid with Thule/Yakima rack rails
-I am trying to track down Ford 8 bolt hubs now
-All 16g diamond plate deck and sides. Lid is made from 16g sheet steel with 1x1" supports
-All topside metal surfaces are primed with an with an acid etch liner
-All topside metal surfaces are sprayed with a 2k Black Urethane Bedliner (UPOL Raptor).
-The bottom is sprayed with rust inhibitor
-6 interior tie down points
-6 tie down points on the lid
-4 llid lock locations (one on each corner) to place a padlock
-Internal drain valve for washdowns
QUESTIONS / COMMENTS
1) I can build a locking tool storage area on the tongue but it would probably be cheaper for me to build a platform to place a pre-built one on and then the user can use the tool storage container of their choice (e.g. Ammo can, Store bought tool box, etc.). Let me know what you guys think. I can do it but it would add a little bit of fab and material time. Building the tongue mount is free. See pic below.
2) Considering the rear departure angle of the SMBs and the need for a nose-mounted tool area, the only feasible place to locate a spare would be on the rear of the trailer. This is doable, I just need to counterbalance this additional weight by adding a lead ingot to the tongue. Otherwise, without enough weight on the tongue, the trailer will sway and become dangerous to pull. Let me if a spare is needed or if you can use the spare from your SMB (if needed).
3) Do you guys desire a high lift jack mount?
4) Do you guys desire quick-grip mounts for holding tools: shovel, axe, etc?
5) Do SMBs use 8x6.5 or the 8x170 bolt pattern? Or both?
6) I can fab a rear door to allow access when the lid is closed but unless the roof stored items weigh more than, say 50lbs, you will still be able to open the lid (assuming the items can handle being rotated near 90degrees. This said, you may want to access commonly used items while the top lid is locked. Let me think about this more and sketch out some ideas.
7) Is everyone good with BFG ATs as the tire?
That's all for now. Once we get the basic specs worked out, I will build a model in Google Sketchup. In the mean time, let's keep the dialogue going so that the requirements can be fully flushed out.
Linear Mode
