Scott B.'s Little Guy Offroad Teardrop Build

Thank you Don - I appreciate the kind words.

I'd guess balancing the trailer - determining where to put the axle - would be the trickiest part. I know Little Guy spent some time with mine, trying to figure it out. Fortunately, with the Dexter torsion axles, mounting them to the frame is easy - and easy to move.

The gravy part - setting up to one's needs/wants - is definitely the fun part. Oh, and the field testing. :p

I have more updates I need to add to this thread - I haven't done much posting lately. Seems most of my working at home time has been working and working on the house.
 
Hey I love your build! I have a silver shadow 5 wide and soon to put on lift blocks and bigger wheels/tyres. I am curious though, I would like to beef up the frame (it's not a rough rider package) and wondering if you had any tips on what extra metal to put on there? Obviously the camper will be staying on the frame for this welding. I was thinking some gussets at all the 90 degree joins and also wondered about some beams running perpendicular to the cross bars...but not sure if necessary. Any thoughts much appreciated!
 
Hey I love your build! I have a silver shadow 5 wide and soon to put on lift blocks and bigger wheels/tyres. I am curious though, I would like to beef up the frame (it's not a rough rider package) and wondering if you had any tips on what extra metal to put on there? Obviously the camper will be staying on the frame for this welding. I was thinking some gussets at all the 90 degree joins and also wondered about some beams running perpendicular to the cross bars...but not sure if necessary. Any thoughts much appreciated!

Thanks! I own this thread some updates.

As to the frame, since I have a Rough Rider, I have a full skid plate under the trailer. I have never actually seen the frame itself. You might want to consider a skid plate.

The skid plate is a sheet of steel, starting where the front of the body sits on the frame. It is angled down, going to just in front of the axle. From the back side of the axle, it continues up to rear, just under the taillights. On the left and right side of the trailer, there are triangular pieces of steel welded between the frame and skid plate. There is an access panel allowing access to the axle.

My frame is strengthened from the welded on, solid skid plate - kind of like a sub-structure (think super structure, but underneath.)

The nice thing about the skid plate is if the trailer hits an obstacle, it will slide up and over it.

Short of that, gussets in the corners would be helpful, as would either perpendicular or diagonal cross braces. Keep the braces light - I believe the frame is only 11 gauge (0.120) or so.

Have you contacted Little Guy? They might have some suggestions, or tell you more details about the skid plate.

Does that answer your question?
 
Hey I love your build! I have a silver shadow 5 wide and soon to put on lift blocks and bigger wheels/tyres. I am curious though, I would like to beef up the frame (it's not a rough rider package) and wondering if you had any tips on what extra metal to put on there? Obviously the camper will be staying on the frame for this welding. I was thinking some gussets at all the 90 degree joins and also wondered about some beams running perpendicular to the cross bars...but not sure if necessary. Any thoughts much appreciated!

Look at the pictures in Post #7 - you can see a good side view of the skid plate.
 
Thanks guys for the quick responses. I like the idea of contacting little guy to get their input. I could see the skid plate adding some good rigidity and protection judging by the pics and how you describe it. I am curious what kind of weight that adds, probably a couple hundred pounds is my guess. I will think about this and use the trailer and see what kind of situations we get into. Can always start with the gussets and cross bracing and add plates if we need it.
 
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