After much trial, tribulation, and telephoning, I found that a friend's dad will paint the trailer frame at a price that fits the project budget. This means I need to brighten up the frame prior to painting. Since the season is rapidly coming to a close, I had to get the garage to a state that I could get the frame in and still have room to work. There is still some cleaning and organizing to take place but with the storm clouds on the horizon, I think I made a respectable dent in the other side of the garage. So the Sprint is in winter storage at my local Harley-Davidson shop, I rearranged my storage bay to more efficiently store the items there and have moved other things from the garage out there, and I filled both the trash can and the recycle can at least twice over. Meanwhile, this was the view from the garage door...
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| I love fall......but fear what is brewing over to the northwest! |
The grinding of the top and side surfaces of the frame went pretty quickly, especially as I had cleaned the frame at the beginning of the summer. The underside was a bit more challenging. Without sawhorses that could bear the weight of the frame, I opted for a more exciting method. Fortunately, it didn't take long nor was a great deal of muscle involved to get the lower surfaces ready for paint.
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| No, I am not crazy. Those blue tiedowns are there for a reason! |
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| A little safety can go a long ways. I do want to see this project all the way through! |
I picked up my new tongue jack last week and figured this was the last opportunity to get it right. After much measuring, thinking and more measuring it became clear: the existing gusset in the frame would have to go. It didn't appear to be original and though securely welded, the opening was not round and I just didn't feel good about it. So out came the cutting wheel.....
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| Before....and I don't like the look of that hole |
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| Kind of rusty under here....and I still don't like the look of that hole |
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| In a word: Unacceptable! |
I then proceeded to fit up the new jack. This required cutting back the center frame tube as the jackscrew casing is 2" O.D. and the existing opening in the 1-7/8" frame tube will only clear a 1-1/2" jack. It became obvious rather quickly that a new gusset would need to be fabricated to support the jack and tie all the steel together integrally. More measuring followed.
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| This'll look nice once the new gusset is in place.... | |
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| ....and the castor makes maneuvering a breeze! |
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| Laser-cut parts will make short work of this! |
I suppose all this will result in two certainties: A better trailer in the end but first,
MORE WELDING!! At least the welding should be straightforward. I just wish I knew how so I won't have to beg another favor - Mitch is in Hawaii and won't be back for another week. In the meantime, this is what was happening outside:
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| It has since melted but I think there may be more to come....! |
A new distraction.....for only $20! It was only missing a knob and needed a good cleaning. Now I can heat the garage AND cook dinner, all at the same time! I'm ready for summer again already!
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| Older vintage single burner and two-bay grill Camp Chef Sport Grill |
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