Island Girl got to take her first trip on her new axle and wheels. It was done pretty slowly since her shell is only held up by some strips of plywood and a few C clamps. Looks to me like she sits 3 or 4 inches higher than before and there's about a foot of clearance below the tanks (which all hang down 4" below the frame) and the spare tire.

Hopefully you can see in the pics that we've added quite a bit of structure to the frame. There's a piece of 2x4 tube forward with the spare tire mount, another between the two fresh water tanks, one more right by the shock mounts as part of the gray tank mount, and a final one replacing the rear crossmember which had significant rust problems. Also added a steel plate which will be riveted to the rear shell, like the existing one in front. Spare tire mount adds some structure too. Tire goes into the mount either with a floor jack or a small block and tackle setup.

Tanks are just loosely fastened in here for the pictures. Fresh tanks have baffles inside and the strap mounts hold them across the baffle area. They are 24 gallon tanks. Gray is 33 gallons and held both by the straps and the top flange. Most of the plumbing fittings will be on the tank tops with the exception of the shower drain which will follow those existing holes in the frame and enter either on the side or back of the tank. At least that's the plan now.

Shock mounts are pretty tight on clearance, but I think they'll be OK. Actually had to countersink the bolts on the lower mounts to make them fit.

I'll be wire brushing and prepping for POR 15 over the next few days. I know you guys in the hot country wouldn't think much of our current 85 to 90 degrees but for us in the Pacific Northwet, it's pretty darned hot. Might be taking it pretty slowly for the next few days.

Island Girl's Excellent Adventure at the Welder

I don't have a TV yet and my buddy that does was leaving, so the trailer had to go to the welder before he was actually ready to start on it. I've been having bunches of fun doing Hehr standard windows (9 of them on a Caravanner) while I've been waiting. They kill time really well as they take 5 or 6 hours each. I'm nearly done.

Bill, the welder, got started on Thursday. I'd had the axle shipped to him from Axis. It's a 5000 pound axle, derated to 4200 pounds, with 12 inch brakes, the zerk fitting for the bearings, and their high profile mount. Fit was just perfect with the only hitch being some concern about clearance for the shocks and we'll probably look at that tomorrow. Otherwise, everything is good: she sits up a little higher but I still have about a foot of clearance under the tanks hanging below the frame and I think the wheels I got from Marc look pretty cool.

The spare tire is going inside the A frame which means one more crossmember has to move a little bit. We're still kicking ideas around about the mount. Thinking about using a pulley system with some mechanical advantage to lift the tire up and then held up by studs and lug bolts. Ideas appreciated here. I've searched all the threads I can think of and can't really find anyone doing it quite this way, but we're thinking it's pretty simple and strong and out of the way better than most other ways.

Inside, my frame is in remarkably good condition. The aft crossmember is rusted out and gets cut out and replaced this afternoon. My trailer has the steel plate riveted in up front, but not in the rear, so we're adding one there as well. There's rust and damage on the step and it's forward outrigger that will need some work too.

We've added two pieces of 2"x 4" steel tube as crossmembers as part of the mounts for the gray and fresh tanks and have reinforced the existing crossmembers that will also be part of the tank mounts. The gray is held by angle on its flange and by straps. The two fresh tanks are secured by straps. All will be easy to drop from below should the need arise.

It is so much fun actually putting things into the trailer instead of ripping it apart. It's a really good time.