Howdies!

Luan? Never heard if it. 7/32 inch 4'x8' is 14 bucks from home depot. How does it compare to lexan or coroplast? Also couldn't it be waterproofed just by painting it?

It will be removed when going offroad. However, if it were held to the frame it wouldn't reduce any clearance. But Temps get pretty high when wheeling as well as crap getting slung everywhere. So I'd keep it at home. So if clearance isn't an issue what's better? High as the frame or low as the diff?

No sir I'm not near college station [emoji14] I live in Beaumont usually but am currently staying in Baytown for work.

It sounds a little extreme but I found sheets for like 700 bucks...

 

That isn't cheap, but super lightweight, super strong, can be fastened traditionally, and I imagine is heat resistant enough.

 

Yeah but spending any considerable amount defeats the purpose of saving money. Even if it got me 2 highway mpg that would probably amount to between .5 and 1 mpg per tank

 

Luan is similar to plywood but much lighter and not as strong. You can find luan being used to skin interior doors with. Waterproofing with paint won't keep the layers from delaminating.

Ideally...you would want the belly pan as low as the differential but that won't be practical for your application.

I'm headed into Kemah/El Lago tomorrow for a few hours before heading back. Let me know if you want to meet up.

 

Got the steel flashing installed which should allow better wear on the trailer lid. I also installed some extra supports internally to the lid keep the lid from flexing down from the weight of the rear canopy window.




I ended up taping the outer edges of the flashing down so the air didn't get in there and rip the flashing out.

 

You can see how the rear of the trailer drops when I'm backing up. The rear is about 1" above the ground. The height of the ramp at the rear tire is about 6". You can see how the tail cone got ripped off the rear support when I was backing out of my driveway.

 

That fleeeeeexxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

 

Something's not right...


Upon further investigation and tear down...bent support plate!


Took it to the welder and $68 later...


New and improved!


Proper clearance again!


I'll be zipping out to Gonzales, TX tomorrow afternoon so if you see me, honk 3 times and I promise not to race you.

 

Man you really do wink a lot.

But keep up the cool work, your planet appreciates it.

 

Thanks!

I'm thinking about making the trailer another 2' longer by moving the swivel wheel back another 18" or so and then extending the trailer body out another 2' to the rear. It might help with smoothing out the ride some more.

I'm guessing an extension will have to be added from the current support to the rear of the trailer frame.

 

Sounds like a plan

Just make sure you clean the rust off the best you can and lay down thick new coat of paint

 

Yup! This is when I first got the trailer about 2 years ago. I cleaned the frame up and painted as best as I could with some rattle cans.

 

Modified the AC system by insulating the low pressure line.

New 3/4" soft foam pipe insulation installed...


Some strips of Tyvek tape to hold it together...


...and a covering of 2" wide exhaust wrap.


I didn't wrap the exhaust wrap too tight as I needed the foam to provide as much space insulation as possible. I was hoping the exhaust wrap would provide enough heat rejection to help the foam keep the low pressure hose cooler than if foam was exposed.

Results after a quick run on the road. Vent temps were between 5°F to 10°F cooler than before. Feeling the wrap immediately after getting home, it was rather hot...about 115°F or hotter as I couldn't keep my fingers on it. Since I have some extra wrap leftover, I wrapped the extra bit on the hose just across from the exhaust manifold to reduce the direct radiant heat just a little bit more.

Under hood temps while at highway speeds (65mph) was around 140°F while the ambient air temp was at 92°F. Indicated vent temps were steady at 58°F (it was indicating around 68-70°F before the wrap)...but I'm not too sure about the accuracy of the thermometer that I'm using. I ended up my super accurate cooking digital thermometers to make sure what the actual temps were.

This foam and exhaust wrap is a MUST DO upgrade! I installed an extra heat shield made from aluminum flashing to keep the direct radiant heat off both hoses.

Results from another quick drive. Ambient temp of 102°F, under hood temp of 147°F, vent temp at 56°F with a slight cycling ±0.5°F during a drive of 20 minutes in stop and go city traffic at 40mph. For those who don't want to do the math...it's a 46°F drop below ambient!

 

Installed a misting system and an electric pump to pump water from a cooler and mist it on the condenser. My vent temp is now at 50°F below ambient!

 

Thats cool.... you get it "COOL"

 

Getting ready to put some pants on that nekkid wheel in the back! Here's a quick mock up in cardboard...

 

All dressed up and ready to go for a road trip! Yes, I still have to unbolt the trailer jack and store it.

 

I was spotted this past Sunday!

 

You sure did

Gas $2.09... not too shabby

 

I lost track of this thread. I'm interested in that ac mod. So you just insulated your ac system and it blew colder?? Also, is the mist to mist you or to mist within the vents themselves to cool the air? If so could there be a mold problem?