power trailer dolly

[LadyWindrider]

No need to hard wire the battery in the box, if you have a battery on your trailer. You should have 12 volts available coming from the trailer battery at the 7 pin plug. Connect that wire to the brake controller, along with ground and brake wires, and then you should have brakes when you plug the trailer in to the spare receptacle. Keep it simple. No extra wires to connect.

[Jas]

pictures. Remember it isn't pretty but that wasn't the point.

[IMG]file:///C:/Users/me/Desktop/DSC00716.JPG[/IMG][IMG]file:///C:/Users/me/Desktop/DSC00717.JPG[/IMG]

[Herk7769]

it ain't stupid.

Old Army/Air Force/Navy/Marine/Coast Guard saying.
(did I miss anyone?)

[Jas]

you forgot the national guard & boy scouts


3 things left,
a) kill switch;
b) handle;
c) shifter with some kind of neutral dead man default

[Jas]

update: It has ben 100 degrees F with obscene humidity and heat indexes over 100 for a few days now so progress has been slow.

I managed to cobble together a shifter linage and kill switch. I plan to use a handle like on a floor jack hooked to the shifter. When you push on the handle the cart & trailer go away from you and come towards you when you pull on the lever. I will set up hard stops to prevent over travel and breaking of the tranny. I'm thinking of keeping the 2 wheels only design to make the turning easier with a kick stand or skid setup to hold it off the ground when not in use.

[Jas]

update: weekend testing.

I did a test run on the boat as promised. This little critter has way too much power! Having hte weight over the axel is definatly the ticket. I backed up with little effort and could turn on a dime. I have to work on the ball spacer as there was still too much play. Going backwards was no problem what so ever but when I tried to pull the trailer the dolly kicked out and nearly knocked me stupid. Luckily I had wired the kill switch as a deadman like on push lawn mowers so it killed the engine as soon as I let go.
The dual idler wheels need to go as they were just a nuisance and made turning while moving into position a hassel. I will be switching to a single wheel on a caster instead. I will also rework the trailer attachment point to get rid of the excess play.

[Jas]

update: test run with actual camper results:

Well, it has plenty of power but wants to spin the tires when hooked to the camper. I think its the difference between the single axle and tandem setup. I can give it a nudge in either direction on flat, hard ground and it acts like a power assist. I need to get more weight on the drive wheels as 700-900 lbs isn't quite enough to keep traction. At least it acts like a power assist so a small victory there.

Time for Rev A. I'll start with wheel weights and see where that gets me. I may end up rebuilding it into a short wheel base tractor again with the seat above the rear axle and trailer tongue for that extra 200 lbs.

[Jas]

IT'S ALIVE!

200 lbs was the trick! I can now maneuver the trailer to it's designated parking spot. A few more tweaks for safety & stability and I will be set!

[aintgotnun]

Sounds great! Love to see some pics in action.

[2Susan]

Originally Posted by bobsquarepants

wow you have one of those also??? the peach of a neighbour that I have has huge trees just inside of his fence that over hang into my yard where my pad is. The branches are doing a nice job of scuffing the side of my new 5th... When I asked him if it was possible to trim a couple of branches he basically had a meltdown on me... saying there isnt many trees in the neighbourhood and thats the reason we have so much wind etc etc etc, and why am i parking my RV so close to the fence etc etc etc. Since he loves trees, I plan on planting the dirtiest trees that I can find so that I can return the favour of piles of leaves that end up in his new pool little does he know that his trees are shrinking late at night ...

I was under the impression that what hangs over your property IS your property. Is there a local code? Can you call the code folks and ask what the local rule might be? Honestly if the trees interfere with my enjoyment of my own property I'd trim them as I saw fit (straight up from the fence line). If in your area that is indeed the rule / code, I'd offer to let him do the trimming (seeing as he's so particular) and if he didn't want to then I'd do it myself. He's expecting you to let him have use of your property (for the growth of his trees) without compensation. Seems unfair to me.

Hello it's your property you should be able to park your RV where you see fit so long as you don't violate local codes. If he doesn't like looking at it let him plant some sort of lovely vine to shield his view.