My Uncles 10 Foot Utility Trailer NEW Progress 12-17-2016

[dogfish7 (R.I.P.)]

I hate when that happens! Hang in there. Everything else is looking awesome!

[Deleted]

Yeah it happens (To all of us! LOL) ANYWAY, the trailer sides are now sitting drying with its second coat of the same gloss black as I used the first time around! SO, I'm almost back to where I was!!!!!

Thanks tho, its been a FUN ONE to say the least! That "Ladder Rack" was a dang fun one to get all square let me tell you.... WOWZER (I think I used 2 milling 90 degree blocks, as well as several milling parallels, and 3 small squares!!!!) LOL -The ladder rack, however is painted flat black, and got a flat clear on it to look like a black coating, that I sprayed on the real one, wasn't undercoating, but some sort of flat black coating my Uncle got for me to spray the real one with..... SO it got semi-similar treatment, only in model form flat black with a slight clear flat coating to look to have a little VERY VERY light texture to it.... As you'll see in my next full-on update!

[Deleted]

So, its been a little while since my last update. I've had an issue with the black paint on the fenders and sides of the trailer, that however is on the rebound! I've stripped the paint in the purple pond, and then got right back to repainting it gloss black just as it was! Its now drying, once again, and waiting to get better pics of that!

So while all that was going on with the fenders & sides, I took and painted the ladder rack... I had taken pics of this but some how they didn't turn out clear enough to keep so I tossed 'em and went on to detailing the ladder rack, as my Uncle had done it, he wanted "tubes" that could have conduit, or drop ceiling T framing in them (to keep them out of wet weather) and so, looking in the garage way back when we happened to find 2 pieces of 6 inch PVC pipe, and a few short sections, and I got to do a little of the assembly work on the real trailer in this aspect. SO, with that, on the model I went about it in much the same way!



In this pic, you can see the ladder rack frame has been painted flat black with a flat clear coat to look similar to the coating my Uncle got for me to spray onto the real one!

Also seen here is the 2 white tubes on one side, one tube is mounted on the outside of the rack, and the other in the inside left-hand corner. He had me mouth them this way on the real trailer incase he needed or wanted to "stand" plywood, particle board, or even sheetrock on its long edge, against the other side!



The "open" ends of the tubes! One tube (the inside one) will remain "closed" the outside one however, will have a "working" cap..... -The "caps" will have a "ring" added and then thread used to represent the steel braided cable we used to allow them to hang when open and not get lost! The "fixed" cap, shows the "ring" in its end cap, and the other end cap will have the exact same thing done to it, with some sort of loops mount in that ladder rack post that the cable will be fastened onto (when I find the correct "looking" thread top make that cable from!)

These tubes were added to the ladder rack in real life, with welded angle iron under each of them, and then had a section of steel rod bend and wrapped tightly around the tubes against the ladder rack posts, as well as the angle iron. I built the model reflecting this! It was FUN getting that rod wrap "tight" as it had to be, on the real thing but to look right, I had to wrap it as tight as I could get it after being pre-bent to shape and then Super Glue'd into place as pressure was applied to the round part to push the wire into the holes drilled to hold them in-place!



The outside tube..... Notice there is a "joint" in the tubing? The real tubes were 8 feet long (longest section) and then had a short sectioned added to give at least 10 feet inside ability.... BOTH tubes were done this way with the joints closest to the "opening" end, so that when thing were slid into the tube, it wouldn't "catch" the lip of the rear tube facing forward! So making the joint close aids in helping that issue not to happen!



Then end cap, "plug" these "fittings" for the tubing I had for the model were made on my Unimat metal lathe, turned to fit the tubing I had in-stock, and as it turns out, this tubing was in my own "scrap plastic pile" so..... I have yet to use up a lot of "new" stock on this build! Most of it came right from my cut-off scraps!



Thew "front" end of the trailer, showing BOTH end caps.... Slightly different, yes, the real ones were too (2 different manufacturers of PVC pipe that my Uncle had on-hand during this build! So I made the model reflect this as well! NOT exactly 100% true to real life, but its close, and close enough for me!

Notice the "white" area on the cross-member? YES, theres something thats to be mounted there, and thats coming along too........ Will be in my NEXT update as to whats all going to happen there!

Thats it for now! Stay tuned MORE will come, (possibly later today/tonight)... Thanks for looking Comments always welcome and enjoyed! ~ENJOY

[dogfish7 (R.I.P.)]

Excellent work on the rack and Tube carriers. I've fabricated these before also for my Utility Rack. They are a great way to protect and carry different types of conduit, copper pipes and such. Very nice work!

[Deleted]

Thanks Bruce! I know a LOT of people in the Carpentry business thats been using/making those tube carriers for years! These on this trailer that my Uncle had were added back in the mid to late 1990's (I'm actually unsure of the exact year) but I know it was after '95 and before 2000, so....

-And as weird as this may sound, I had fun back then working on the real trailer almost as much as I'm having now, working on the model of it......... Strange feeling in that sense I guess, but all for good reason and that could be why the feelings weird.... I lost this Uncle earlier this year! So, its almost like turning back the clock a little.... -Was really close with this Uncle actually, the trouble he & I could have gotten in, and the trouble he at times kept me out of, is insane to think about if thats even possible to understand! -I was one Nephew that enjoyed dangerous things, and having fun.. his son (my cousin) was to young, and the other Nephews which were a buncha "chickens" so.... AND I was a lot like my Dad. And the 2 of them got along GREAT..... So... take that for what it is!

[Deleted]

So as I said a few posts ago, to stay tuned some INTERESTING detail was about to be revealed!!!! So here it is!

Heres those 10 foot storage tube end caps..... NICELY detailed! The ring is hand made, as well as the braided cables and the crimp tubes for the braided cables! (First time, I have EVER used necklace "crimp tubes" for what they're meant for, on a model!) -Just for security, the crimp tubes once the braided cable was looped, I CA glued the back side of the cable! Those darn things were NOT easy to make. Took darn near 4 hours to get them done! My fingers are not what they used to be (prior to my accident!)

Bright shot! Remember that outside tube "cap" is in fact REMOVABLE! -BUT, this shot shows the braided cables nicely as well as the crimp tubes on them!

SEE? Outside tube has a removable cap..... I WILL be finding some "detail" to put inside this tube too! -We'll see, I'm not sure what that might become!
So there ya go on the tubes! Those are now complete, for the most part, I just have to think what I want to put inside the opening one got "looks".... The detail on this trailer are just beginning..... (A Close friend of mine calls it CDO, LOL backwards of "OCD" with my "detailing habits".... He's funny) LOL Thats OK I enjoy it.... I like to see just "How Far" I can go. to find a limitation of my own..... Having said that, I can tell you a lim,itation of my own right now........ NOT DETAILING!!!!!
Thats it for now, more to come... Stay tuned right after these short messages! Comments always welcome ~Enjoy!

[Deleted]

So those following along, will get to see some that I've posted on different things this next detail being one of such things! When I mentioned that there was a "bald" spot on one of the cross members for an up coming detail, WELL, heres that detail!

A (I THINK) 200 foot extension cord reel...... I remember this detail specifically on the trailer, as there was a lot of trouble with the thing! First thing, in real life my Uncle had I THINK 5 of them in the garage, and one was just laying around, NOT knowing it then, we too kit and mounted it up on the trailer just as you see here come to find the damned thing didn't work! LOL WELL that got me an extra job as I had to remove the "reel" part only hoping not to un-pressurize the spring tension for the retractable part, nicely designed equipment allows those to "work" on it when it needs it.... This just so happens to be one of those such pieces of equipment, I got it apart, to add a new "cord" to it, and not mess with the retractable mechanism, (they suck, REALLY SUCK to work on!) So with that, we got the old cord out off the reel, I THINK it was 200 feet, as it was some freakin' long cord that we took and tossed the junk onto the scrap pile was cut, burned you name it in SEVERAL locations all the way through one or the other of the 3 conductors (altho, if it were just the "Ground" it really not have mattered! So. BUT that just wasn't the case!
So ole John, got to replace and rewind a whole spool of new stuff on it that was black! the original colored wire was Orange..... But thats OK I think the original extension cord was 14 gauge wire..... The replacement we had to have any sort of "length" too was 12 gauge. So, a little heavier wire!
SO, the model detail reflects a lot of this, specially the color! The wire is black thread, that I gloss coated on the reel! The orange reel is machined on my Unimat to size.... The holder that it hangs from is made from multiple scraps I had, as well as this who works "swivels on that black mount on the ladder rack frame work. If you look, I have the reel "plumbed" to a gray electrical box just like the real one with a "Wet location" electrical box that was waterproof in real life and then plumbed through the steel frame work and bent to fit a lot of locations, where it enters the downward support of the ladder rack that was a slot cut into the steel tubing in real life, and then the conduit used was bent to go all the way down through the ladder rack frame, into the stack pockets of the trailer and plumbed out the boot on the stake pocket, as you'll see in updates to come.

Up-side-down, you can see the conduit I made with other types of wire that was galvanized type stuff, for industrial use from a garage/shop my Uncle did the "Mill Wrighting" too and got some leftover stuff from the job... This is why he kept/held onto all that leftover stuff, very little to buy when he had projects of his own to do!

As you see, I got the Extension cord end, depicted, I have yet to add a "plug" to the end of it, BUT I have to figure out HOW I am going to hang that from the ladder rack edge, and be semi-removable, "looking"........ IF NOT removable! -We'll see..... BUT, I don't want to make all that and have the end, to deal with if I need to put the "cord" through a slightly smaller hole then the plug is!
Thats it for now! Stay tuned, MORE as I am able...... As always, comments welcome, & enjoyed -Thanks of following along!

[dogfish7 (R.I.P.)]

I have a stalled project, exactly for the reason of making tubes, but you have pulled it off as well as making the come along wench. Awesome work John!

[Deleted]

Dec 17, 2016 16:43:36 GMT -6 dogfish7 (R.I.P.) said:

I have a stalled project, exactly for the reason of making tubes, but you have pulled it off as well as making the come along wench. Awesome work John!

Bruce, so your using my build for your inspiration, I'm GLAD to hear it!!!!! The tubes your stalled on, whats the diameter of tubing your trying to replicate? I used 1/4 inch tubing from Evergreen (or the like), as it was actually "scraps" I had from something, I know I did NOT buy that stuff "new" it came from somewhere else! BUT, 1/4 inch equals 1/25th scale "6 inch" diameter!



Then I have a question, where that Utility bed come from? I'm looking for a 10 footer like that, to make into a Railroad "Hy-Rail" truck.................. ?



ALSO...........what you use for the "Expanded Steel" bulkhead on the rack?

[dogfish7 (R.I.P.)]

I started the build over 4 years ago. It's a Rat version of the truck I drove. The elongated rack is to haul 20' sections of pipe, wood, etc. The Utility bed resin was off of the internet, but I think there may be a few still out there.

[Deleted]

I tell ya that rack looks GREAT!!!! But that Utility Bed is what got my attention! I'd LOVE to find that size bed for a build I'm only in the planning stages of!!!! PERFECT size and "layout" for what I have planned!

[dogfish7 (R.I.P.)]

If you can't find one, you could scratch one.
www.fireengines.net/articles/truckbody_backboard/utility_body.pdf

[Deleted]

-Thats what I was thinkin' originally, to scratch one (I know I can "do it" BUT I was trying to see if I could save myself a little time and effort if that makes any sense with my building ways....

[dogfish7 (R.I.P.)]

I hear ya. I'd much rather buy one myself, but Modelhaus is no longer in business and there are less and less trustworthy Casters out there.

[JCON]

Glad this one survived to this point... great technique and workmanship...

[JED]

Wow that was a long and very interesting catch up, great build and information