Almost finished

[Barry Wolk]

Update 3-10-2007 More details.

The Porsche is almost finished. Can't wait to see it.

This is my emergency brake light system. The regular tail lights are powered off of the tow vehicle. This emergency system provides brake lights should the trailer be separated from the tow vehicle. The trailer is equipped with a breakaway switch that activates the trailer brakes, but, no brake lights.

This system takes a separate lead from the battery and passes the current through a Normally Open brake pressure switch. When the hydraulic actuator is activated, both in an an emegency and under normal use, the emergency brake lights are activated.

This is a series of automatic circuit breakers rated at 150A that feed the winch. The wire feeding it is fused at 175A.

The FRP belly pan is finally complete. 240 square feet of Fiberglass Reinforced Panels and 224 linear feet of extruded 1" x 2" aluminum angle and 200 stainless screws and washers.

I installed the system so that a single panel could be removed for service without taking the whole belly pan down.

I raised the suspension off of the ground so that I could measure for wheel skates. I ended up buying heavy duty skates capable of rolling 2,000 lbs each.

Note the nylon axle restraint. These keep the air bags from hyperextending and damaging the flexible stainless steel brake lines.

Business has been slow so I had my crew add an outlet every 10 feet and four new 400-watt metal halide high bay fixtures.

The damaged chair got put back together after polishing the frame.

Each axle has it own ride height valve. That's the black device with the linkage attached to it. That valve get's its instructions from the position of the suspension's swing arm.

This control rod had to pass through the new belly pan. Due to the 6" range of motion the coltrol rod needed to pass through an oblong hole. I had seen oblong grommets in a leather catalog and contacted the Stimson Company and left word with a customer service person. I only needed three of the two-piece grommets so she sent them out as free samples. Thank you Stimson!

Next to the ride height valve is the electric dump valve. Each axle has one. I can selectively dump air to aid the jacks in tilting the trailer for loading and unloading.

Next to the dump valve is a pressure sensor that gives me a readout of air pressure in the main tank and in each set of bags. It has a digital readout and an audible alert in case of pressure failure.

The drain valve for the concealed 5 gallon air tank ended up directly above the rear axle. The first nipple I used was too long and it broke off as soon as I lowered the trailer. That made quite a bit of noise as the tank still had 150 psi in it.

This is the digital readout for the airbags. Next to it is the hydraulic tongue weight scale.

I needed to install mud flaps. I didn't want the typical Yosemite Sam or reclining chrome nude and just plain black didn't do much for me.

I found some floor mats that I thought were perfect. Together they were too wide so I cut them in half and they worked perfectly.

I mocked up a set in pink.

And another set in blue.

I liked the pink much better.

I installed a concealed battery kill switch that cuts power to all the electrical at the rear of the trailer including the lighting, electric ramps, compressor, dump valves and screw jacks mounted at each corner of the trailer. It was that or lock the hatch door to the controls. I feared someone would destroy a lock to see what was inside so the door will be left unlocked but allthe controls inside will be defeated.

The handle of the switch pops out whe power is deactivated.

Side view of the installation

The new lights for the garage are fluorescent and operate on 12 volts. Fluorescent lights only work off of AC current so each fixture has a miniature rectifier to convert 12-volts DC to 12-volts AC.

The lights are semi-recessed. They are about 1" deep above the ceiling and about 3/4" below. Each fixture has 3 15-watt lamps and each fixture has it's own switch to conserve battery power.

All of the electrical is stowed under the front floorboards. the process of charging the batteries and converting 12-volts DC to 120-volts AC generates a fair bit of heat. This is a thermostatically controlled muff fan installed to draw air fom the cool chambers of the trailer and exhausted out of the bottom.

Up until now there has been no fuse protection for the 12-volt wiring. As I hooked up the last fuse the trailer started shaking and the lights flickered madly. I heard the sound of arcing of electricity against metal and quickly ripped the battery cables free of the fuses.

I jumped out of the trailer after I hear the noise persist and saw that the lights in my shop were cycling on and off too. I heard a loud explosion and hit the button for the garage door and saw that the power lines adjacent to my shop had fallen on a neighbor's metal shed and were dancing wildly until another transformer down the line blew and shut everything off.

The front stone guard is almost complete. The rear panel is being made by my fabricator out of polished diamond plate. The emergency tail lights and back-up lights will be mounted in this panel.

[Barry Wolk]

3-25-2007 Update

Tail panel with auxillary brake lights and back-up lights for camera. The round lights are the back-ups.

The lower tail lights will come on as soon as hydraulic pressure builds up in the system. These lights are tied into the on-board battery bank.

On a typical trailer the breakaway switch activates the brakes but no warning is given to the vehicle behind the trailer. Separation from a tow vehicle also means loss of all external lighting.

[Barry Wolk]

3-30-2007

Special thanks to Randy Wilson of M3 Associates.

I went to the web looking for the type of latch and hasp used to secure truck doors. My application was a little different. I wanted to use the mechanism horizontally to secure the trailer ramps to the trailer walls.

I found M3's web site. http://www.m3assoc.com/products.html They had a list of stainless and aluminum closure devices that were suitable but all had three bar supports and I wanted four. I contacted the office and the young lady I spoke to was very nice and very helpful. She asked what the application was and I told her that it was a custom trailer.

She said, "I think Randy would like to talk to you but he'd out doing something involving needles and elbows." I left her this web site's address and I got a call from Randy the next day.

He said he spent 2 hours reading the entire build and told me that he was impressed. He told me that my shop's attention to detail was amazing. When I told him that I had built it myself the line went quiet for a moment. I took that as high praise.

Randy told me that there is nothing new or novel in his industry nor has there been, for a very long time. He found my concept exciting and insane at the same time.

I finally got him to talk about his product and he told me that he had the perfect parts for my application, and he was right.

But first, he had to tell me that my garage door springs were wound too tight. He knew because he was able to calculate, just by looking at the pictures, that one of my worst mistakes could have been avoided by having bigger springs. The largest I thought were available were 160 lb units. It wasn't sufficient to lift the tail gate with the huge spare tire attached. The tire and wheel weigh about 90 lbs.

Randy told me that I needed 205 lb springs to lift the load with the spare attached to the ramp, as I've always envisioned. I was exstatic to think that I could go back to the original design. Randy judged it so closely that he was able to tell me that 7 360° turns would yield the proper amout of force to lift the spare and ramp combined. Thanks again Randy.

He then asked me for my shipping address. I asked if he could take a credit card and he said he would be satisfied if I mentioned his company's name. Done. Two days later I received a new set of springs and the parts I needed to fit my highly specialized need.

The aluminum shaft passes through two carriers allowing it to slide sideways and rotate. The claw is welded to the end of the shaft and rotated to engage the catch by the handle at the other end of the shaft. The shaft will have a spring to automatically retract the claw to clear a cable and the upper door piston.

Problem solved.

[Barry Wolk]

5-12-2007 Cabin is finished!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

My carpenter friend took work in another state. I was left to my own devices. I had completed everything that I was going to do, the rest required his level of craftsmanship, or so I thought.

I took my time, measure twice and cut once. The work is not perfect. I am human.

I started the cabin finish by strengthening the bulkhead wall and building the framework for cabinetry. I ordered a water tank that perfectly fit the area above the rear of the entertainment center. It gravity feeds the faucet at the wet bar sink.

The sink is stainless steel and came from an RV surplus outlet. The faucet is one typically found on drinking fountains. It has a goose neck and a lever handle that detents in the on position for filling containers.

I fabricated some custom hinges that attach the doors both on the backs and sided of the doors

Installed all of the edge trim taking care to have screw holes line up where pieces are close by. The same molding is used on edge on the doors.

Built the doors out of the bamboo flooring. Took advantage of their tongue and groove construction to make all of the pieces interlock with aluminum strips binding them along their edge.

The completed entertainment center.

From the side.

The rest of the cabin.

[West Peterson]

Looks pretty darn sharp to me!

I like the giraffs. You know they have the highest I.Q. in the animal kingdom, don't you? <img src="http://forums.aaca.org/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" /> <img src="http://forums.aaca.org/images/graemlins/cool.gif" alt="" /> <img src="http://forums.aaca.org/images/graemlins/laugh.gif" alt="" /> (Sometimes I just crack myself up.) <img src="http://forums.aaca.org/images/graemlins/blush.gif" alt="" />

[MCHinson]

Barry, looks great....

And, West, Thanks....

My 9 year old and I have been telling jokes to each other tonight and she loved that one!

[mrpushbutton]

fantastic level of workmanship, Barry. If I am reading this correctly did you use Pergo-type flooring for the interior walls? that's a great idea. If you ever come down Farmington road (between 12 & 13 mile) I'll wave HI! You'll see my '63 Chevy II out front and my Packard in the garage.

[Barry Wolk]

My shop is on Beech-Daly just north of Seven Mile in Redford. Why don't you pay me a visit?

The flooring is made of bamboo. I used it on the ceiling because the tongue and groove allowed me to follow the curve of the ceiling without cutting any beveled edges. It's an engineered product made up of slats of bamboo, squared up and glued together. It's a very stable material. It's 5/8" thick and very dense. The wood in the cabin added 850 lbs to the front of the trailer. I needed the extra tongue weight.

[Mark Shaw]

Barry,

Just awesome!

Thanks for posting the long process; I'm glad you got it all fixed and together again.

[Guest wsfrison]

Barry, I think you should let us know your itinerary for this year, so that we might have a chance to see your beautiful automobiles and trailer.

[Barry Wolk]

The '55 Porsche Continental Cabrio will debut its new paint at the Meadow Brook Concours in August. Then it will be at the Glenmoor Gathering of Significant Automobiles and then the Krasl Art Center Concours in St. Joseph, Mich. The trailer will be at that show, too. We were on our way to that show when we crashed last year.

The Mark II convertible has been invited back to the Ault Park Concours in Cincinnati, home of Hess & Eisenhardt, the company that made it into a convertible. They're doing a special ring called Autorama '56. I'll be next to the GM Futureliner.

Thanks for your interest.

[Barry Wolk]

5-21-2007 Our 35th anniversary spent decorating the trailer with personal items from our past.

The blender was "regifted" to us as a wedding present, long before "regifting" became the norm. The Avacado motor is perfect. The pictures on the wall were taken in 1956. We were 3 and 4.

This is a personal treasure. When my grandfather passed away my cousins looted my grandparent's posessions. The mare and foal was always my favorite piece of theirs. It was about the only thing actually mentioned in his will so they left it for me. It turns out that my parents had given it to my grandparents before I was born.

The mugs were purchased on our honeymoon in England. We gave these to my in-laws when we got home. The never used them so we absconded with them last year. 35 years old and never used.

This is the first, and last, "investment" we made in "limited editions". It's a Norman Rockwell set by Gorham. It's from the "young love" series from 1972. The plates were originally issued in 1949, two years before this trailer was made.

We paid $120 for the set. Now they're worth $140.

My wife collects giraffes. We found this set with the giraffe on one and a gazelle on the other. They just screamed out '50s living room.

A trip to IKEA yielded a colorful small-scale serving set and utensils.

[Tom M]

Barry,

Nice details. Where do you find the time?

[Barry Wolk]

I can always find the time for a project like this.

I used to go home from work at noon. My business pretty much runs itself. Now I stick around and play with my toys. That's how I find the time.

[Barry Wolk]

It's been a while since I've posted on this subject. The crash was almost a year ago. It's all repaired and is 99 44/100% finished.

I've agonized over taking it out. I've lost my nerve. I can't seem to get back on the horse.

I know the trailer is perfectly safe but I can't bring myself to tow it empty, let alone with one of my cars in it. I get the shakes just thinking about it. I'm not alone. I've talked to a bunch of people who have wrecked while towing trailers and my symptoms are quite common.

I've hired a driver to take it on its maiden voyage to the very same show we were on our way to on that fateful day. I committed to bringing it and the Porsche, wrecked at the same time. It has been restored to an amazing level.

I contacted a gentleman who tows Rolls-Royces for a friend. He turned me onto a guy in the Detroit area that tows because he likes to. Not really a job, more like an adventure for him.

I sent him my cardomain.com site and he read two hours worth of posts and met me knowing everything there is to know about the trailer, the accident and the repairs.

He looked it over and said he wanted to give it a try so I set today as the test run. We hitched his Avalanche to the trailer and tested all the lights and the brakes. I cinched up the weight equalizing hitch and headed out to get it weighed.

I rode as passenger in the tow vehicle and had someone follow in my SUV, laden with tools.

The first mile of the trip was horrible. There was no strain on the tow vehicle, it just felt very unstable and minimal steering inputs produced very strange reponses, just like my F-450 behaved. I was sweating bullets. I had him pull over in a parking lot I knew he could turn this beast around in.

I decided to try cinching the hitch one notch higher, transfering more weight to the front wheels of the tow vehicle. That made a noticeable difference in the way the truck felt, even from a passenger's perspective.

We drove it to a public scale and for $8.00 had it weighed. I drove it on the scales and they weighed it a 9,240 lbs. I thought I should weigh it again, detached from the tow vehicle. The weight went up to 10,200 lbs., a true number. My driver couldn't believe that he had pulled a 10,000 lb. empty trailer.

It's a tad heavier than your average toybox but the driver stated that it towed easier than a trailer half its size. He kept repeating, "I'm really impressed". When I reattached the trailer after weighing it I jacked the hitch another notch. This produced ideal driving conditions. There was a noticeable nose-down attitude to the truck, unlike the F-450 I crashed.

On the way back from the scales he took the trailer on the freeway and did 65 mph. It seemed like 200 to me. I was a nervous wreck. He drove it into my shop and couldn't quit gushing at how easy the tow was on his truck.

I explained that the precision package bearing system coupled with 6 tires inflated to 110 lbs or pressure under a very slippery shaped trailer shell. The trailer body is the crosssection of an airplane wing so it slips through the wind. The full belly pan contributes to its silky glide.

He had a little trouble getting used to the electrically-activated hydraulic disc brakes but loved them very quickly because they come on gradually, unlike the electromagnetic brakes he's used too. The brakes offer 24,000 lbs. of stopping capacity with a 15,000 lb. loaded weight. Plenty to spare.

The driver brought a pal of his from their car club. The guy's a retired engineer. He asked a lot of great questions and marveled at the exercise. He drove the chase car with all the tools in it. He detected a bit of movement in the clam-shell doors, but everything stay closed. He said it was highly visable from the rear. He said the auxillary brake lights down low were delayed slightly but that's because they're tied into the hydraulics, not the tow vehicle.

We arrived safely back at the shop and we were all kinda grinning from ear to ear.

It was a banner day for me.

[Friartuck]

Barry,

This is truely <span style="font-weight: bold">Great</span> news, but you do know that you're going to have to get in the saddle yourself and ride this horse at some point. The points you made about advancing the weight bars are priceless! I guess my quick reaction is how do you know if you go too far in the adjustment? We should all take your tips as a lesson learned.

Congrats!!

[Barry Wolk]

When the back wheels of the tow vehicle come off the ground, you've gone too far.

Years ago there was a demonstration of the advantages of a weight equalizing hitch. They hooked up an Airstream to a front-wheel drive Toronado. They cinched the hitch up nice and tight and removed the rear tires and wheels of the Toronado and both vehicles rode level.

[mrpushbutton]

Ford trucks get funny when there is a lot of tounge weight on the back of them--the front goes up, and the twin I-beam does it's thing and the camber changes. equalizing bars are GOOD!

[novaman]

Also, you go go too far it is noticeable in the tow vehicle. When I get my hitch too tight on my open trailer and '95 Dodge dually, the ride is hard (little hard to explain but through the seat it feels like the trailer is jerking the back end of the truck around when the trailer hits a bump, due to the lack of weight on the rear wheels) and the braking charatertics change.

One chain link differnace will change my ride from like a Cadillac to a pile of poop.

[West Peterson]

Knowing that a pile of poop is probably pretty soft, does that mean that your experiences with Cadillacs have not been good??

Barry

I'm glad you're back on the road. I can't wait to see it.

[Barry Wolk]

Coming up for Meadow Brook. Gi's Porsche is in the show.

[novaman]

I was just trying to keep it clean on here, although I'm not sure how clean we can make manure.

[Barry Wolk]

It's done!

I had the recycled rubber floor installed. I painted the floor tracks matt black and reinstalled them on top of the 1/8" rubber. I have black caps for the stainless screws and bolts but I may leave the heads exposed.

The cabinetry at the front of the bay is finished. The devices near the ceiling are the water tank fill port and sight glass. Each side cabinet is about 24" wide, 20" deep and 30" tall. Each cabinet has a shelf.

It's going on Maiden Voyage 2 tomorrow. Same show, same route, same car in the back. The only difference is, I'm not driving. I'll be about a 1/2 hour behind him.

[Shop Rat]

Barry, only you would have thought to put the traffic lanes on the floor of your trailer. Cute touch.

[Barry Wolk]

Thanks Susan. It's all in the details.

MISSION ACCOMPLISHED.

I hired the man that took it to the scale for the trip to the Krasl Concours, in St. Joseph, MI. I thought he told me that his Avalanche was a 3/4-ton. While we hooked it up I asked again he told me it was a half-ton. That made me very nervous. Anxious, in fact.

However, he was confident that the drive across the state of Michigan would be a breeze since it's virtually flat. In fact, he said it was a breeze. He said his gas engined truck never even breathed hard towing a 12,000 lb. load.

He had never towed with a weight-equalizing hitch before. He was amazed at the stability and the noticible feeling of weight transfer to the front wheels. The attitude of the truck changes noticible.

I learned a great lesson about weight equalizing hitches. Too little torsion will allow the porpoising that I experienced just before I crashed. It allowed the trailer to get to an angle where the friction left as the equalizing arm unloaded and it fell out of it's socket. That, coupled with the fact that I loaded the Porsche (rear engined) too close to the rear created a cascade failure that was impossible to overcome.

The conclusion, after it's first long run, is that the aerodynamic shape, coupled with a full belly pan and rock-hard tires (offset by air ride) on precision packaged bearing hubs makes this trailer much easier to tow than the norm. He also loved the brakes. He felt that the trailer's brakes were doing all the work.

I'm relieved that there's nothing wrong with the design of the trailer and I can now go on to the next 2 projects.

[West Peterson]

Barry,

Next time you're in Ann Arbor with it, you should pull into this restaurant.

[Barry Wolk]

I love the exhaust hood. How creative. That's a Spartanette Tandem. It's 24 feet long. My trailer is a 35-footer.