Articles > Adventures
These are stories and thoughts including Do-it-Yourself adventures. Some success stories, some humorous, and some stories of disaster. We learn from them all. If you have a contribution, we’d love to hear it. Enjoy These Adventures! – See all the Mechanic’s Posts here.
Is there an easy way to build an adjustable length trailer tongue? This may seem like an odd question, yet it has come up many times. While the question seems simple and direct, there are actually a lot of pieces to give a good answer. If you are ready, we can dive into a few…
For most people trailer brakes are just part of the trailer – something we hook up and expect to work. That is great most of the time. However, for those who want to dig a little deeper, especially with tandem axle brakes, there is a whole world of things to consider
This topic comes from a custom trailer builder we work with. He asked: “Will you please look at this tiny home trailer video? I have a customer that wants me to build one like this – with insulation cavities and 1/2″ anchor bolts. They want a triple
What is the first thing you think when looking at this image? “Oh My !! That’s Awful.” – was my thought. According to the driver, “thankfully it didn’t happen when I was on the highway ten minutes prior.” This catastrophic tongue break
A good question from some of our customers: “I want to build an offroad trailer, but I can’t to find the right trailer plans. Is it better to buy the 4 x 6.5 – 2500# Off-Road Trailer Plans, then enlarge it, or to buy a utility trailer plan and beef it up?“
If you are looking for something a little different in trailer suspension, one good approach is air. It is a little off the beaten path, but not too far, and there is a lot of support for doing it. For a smooth riding trailer suspension, air can do it, but there are
What happens if you hard mount an axle on your trailer – without a suspension? The question has come up a few times, and it is worth talking about. There are some distinct advantages of eliminating the suspension, but there are also some pitfalls.
I really thought I was done with posts about safety chains. We have several of them on the site, but I found a video that begs for comment. I really like the video and subject matter – from the Compliance Director of the National Association of Trailer Manufacturers
What do you see wrong with the way the safety chains and other trailer safety equipment are set-up in the image? That’s the question we asked in the previous article. The image is a screenshot of a YouTube video by NATM, the National Association of Trailer Manufacturers.
What makes a vehicle slice through the wind easier? How does a trailer fit in the mix? The science is complex, but there are some good concepts of trailer aerodynamics that are important to know. Is there anything I can do to improve my rig?