Boat tail project based on a single wheel trailer...

[freebeard]

Originally Posted by BicycleBob

So, the back wheels on the car get as much side force on turns as they would with the whole tail cantilevered, but without the weight on them to help with traction. How fast can you say "Oversteer!!"? There's a Goggomobile set up like this in the Microcar museum. It must have been a major hazard, even to VW drivers.

So what do you think about that observation? Weren't you doing do-nuts in the snow once or am I projecting? My impression is most of the bug-squashing has to do with pitching oscillations.

[BamZipPow]

Originally Posted by freebeard

So what do you think about that observation? Weren't you doing do-nuts in the snow once or am I projecting? My impression is most of the bug-squashing has to do with pitching oscillations.

Yes, last year during my Thanksgiving run up to Iowa City, IA...there was significant snow on the ground and I was doing donuts in it.

I didn't notice any significant amount of oversteer when making donuts in the snow. As a matter of fact, I haven't noticed any amount of steering inputs from Dark Aero at all when making turns. With the single castor wheel pivoting in the direction of travel, it really can't make a significant amount of force on the rear or front of the tow vehicle as the wheel is only following the applied force and not influencing that directional force.

Now if the castor wheel was a driving wheel or there was a significant amount of mass in the trailer, I could see how it could possibly influence in some way.

[BamZipPow]

Here's the support structure fer the wheel pant...




The structure is held in place with the axle nuts. I'm thinking about making the skin will be one piece and wrapping from the front to back. To check/inflate the tire will take a process to lift Dark Aero by installing the trailer jack, lift Dark Aero, rotate the tire so the stem is at the 6 o'clock position, open the access flap, measure/inflate tire, close the access flap (taped in place), lower Dark Aero, and remove the jack.

I might still install upper support plates fer the rear section to give the trailing tail some extra support.

The felt strips I installed around the axle will help keep more of the bearing grease in place so I won't have to grease the bearings as much.

[BamZipPow]

A quick wrap around to determine how much more to add to the new panels (about 3" more per side). I've decided to move away from the idea of just a single wrap around panel and stick with a 2 panel setup with a metal reinforcement plate on the nose to protect the Coroplast from debris and rocks. I will probably have 2 strips of wood support fer the nose so the Coroplast will have something to screw into.




Testing metal reinforcement fer the rear...

[BamZipPow]

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

[deejaaa]

that trailer jack is a great idea.

[freebeard]

That came out really well. What was it done in, coroplast? How did you fasten the top and bottom edges?

[BamZipPow]

Originally Posted by freebeard

That came out really well. What was it done in, coroplast? How did you fasten the top and bottom edges?

Yes, the wheel pant was made from my last bit of black Coroplast that I had left over when I rebuilt the main belly pan.

The top is aligned and slipped over the upper pivot bolt. Same goes fer the bottom on the hub axle nut. I have 4 screws per side that hold the Coroplast on to the metal substructure that is held in place by the axle nut. I have a piece of wood along with the metal support bar on the tail that keeps it from coming apart. I used Tyvek tape to keep the top and bottom horizontal pieces in place and painted over it with black paint.

On the front nose, I have 2 screws to keep the Coroplast tucked into place. I just added a piece of scrap aluminum flashing over the seam and secured that with some Tyvek tape.

[BamZipPow]

Originally Posted by deejaaa

that trailer jack is a great idea.

It got a good work out when I was installing the wheel pant on.

As a matter of fact, I got a chance to replace the tire tonight in the dark with a flashlight as my only light source as the tire repair plug I installed on the previous tire didn't hold. It took me about 30 minutes to completely change out the tire with a new one. I spent more time trying to align the axle so I could slip it in between the fork than I wanted to. The wheel pant came off as one piece exactly like I expected it to without any issues. I guess I learned a lot from the previous versions.

I do find it interesting that NONE of the current companies producing a single wheel trailer has an emergency solution to jack up the trailer with it loaded with gear. All the ones I've contacted told me to unload the trailer and then use a jack of my choice to jack the trailer up. Maybe they will implement something like my solution.

[BamZipPow]

Well...Dark Aero almost had to be left behind.

One should always check the torque values on the tire lugs at least twice. One should always check the tire pressures of yer spare tire(s) (even new ones) because when in the heat of the battle, you won't git the time to check and inflate.

The trailer jack was a tremendous help in making things happen. I can't stress this enough if yer looking at doing side of the road repairs on the tire/hub.

At some point of the drive out to Houston, all 4 lug bolts loosened up and fell off along the way. After finishing up with my task in Houston, I headed back only to be met with the familiar clunk clunk of a flat tire. No problems...I have a spare tire! Pulling into an apartment driveway, I inspect the carnage. A completely flat tire and the wheel pant has taken some damage on the bottom side. Nothing too serious...whew. It's at this point I notice the wheel rim is crooked in the fork and wobbles. Rut roh!

I pull back the wheel pant to reveal what the issue is and notice that none of the wheel lug bolts are on the wheel. Since the tire is sandwiched between the tines of the fork, it won't fall off. It was just sort of spinning within the hub. The sidewalls of the tire just got hammered on the forks enough to kill it and then the air finally escaped.

Late evening on a Sunday with no spare lug bolts, I started trying to find who would possibly have lug bolts or something close that would work to git me home. The nearest AutoZone was about 3 miles away so I disconnected Dark Aero, pulled the hub to take with me, and headed out. After about a good hour in the store, I had 4 lug studs that would thread through the hub and 4 acorn nuts that would keep the wheel in place. It wasn't a perfect solution but it would work. I got home with a low tire...but I made it home.

Someone posted my rig in a forum thread! This was before my flat tire incident.
https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/...#post-10701584