The run to Gonzales, Texas went pretty smooth. With the speed set to 65mph, indicated was 25.3mpg going out and 24.3mpg coming back. Had to take a different route coming back as east bound I-10 was backed up. Ended up stopping a couple of times fer shopping and food so I'm surprised the mileage was as good as it was.
Revamping how the trailer access doors are kept locked in place. The cover I initially built back in November has become a hassle to install and remove as there are too many steps just to git access into the back of the truck with trailer hooked up. With the new simple setup, I can open either door and drop the tail gate without opening the other door. I can even drop the tailgate without opening any of the access doors. I've retained the locking clips setup to secure the doors with since I have so many all over the truck.
Finally cut the ~2" off the bottom of the front leg supports so I can retract the supports higher. This will minimize the possibility of dragging the support wheels on the ground when encountering an extreme driveway...like my driveway. I removed the top bolt on the stem so I could use that hole to secure the support. No extra drilling required. The upper part of the supports do stick up past where the original front cover was.
Gonna paint over the white "skunk" stripe so the entire trailer will be black. At least it was fun!
Had a one incident where a SUV passed me on the left and then they slowed down to about 40mph in a 75mph zone in the left lane just to see the truck/trailer. Surprised they didn't git rear ended...idiots!
Started brainstorming ideas fer a belly pan fer the trailer. Thinking about a sliding one that attaches to the extended rear diffuser on the truck. It would be able to slide back and forth as the trailer pitched up and down to the road. I know I have to account fer space when the wheel pivots back around when backing up.
I've fabbed up a mock shock out of PVC pipe so I can git an idea of how much extension I'll need fer the shock as well as clearance for the tail gate in the down position. I figure I can vertically bolt in a 2x4 stud into the front of the trailer and support it in the back (although it will cut a little bit into workable storage space in the trailer) so it can handle the energy being transmitted by the shock. Shock tabs will be bolted into the 2x4 and on the trailer hitch.
I'm almost ready to start taking the trailer body apart and rebuilding it with the knowledge I've learned over the past 11 months. I know that the front side can be a little bit lower to match the diffuser without contacting the ground. The rear won't be as low as the current sides are but more close to the frame of the trailer. I know I want to radius the edges as much as possible. I might even build an enclosure fer the wheel, too!