Utility Trailer Upgrades - Tongue Jack, D-Rings, Wiring Harness, etc
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- Опубліковано 19 жов 2024
- Last week, I found a 2000 U.S. Cargo 5'x8' utility trailer for $400 in amazing condition. No rust, no damage, and the wood sides had been stored in a basement for most of the last 20 years. In my area (New Hampshire), this size trailer in this condition would easily fetch $700-850. I know this because I've been looking for one for a while, now. In this video, I go through some of the upgrades that I made to the trailer.
NOTE: Narrative volume is a little "up and down" in places and the camera cut out during the jack install. Sorry - tech issues!
Introduction - 00:11
Making the Tailgate Brackets - 02:16
Installing the Tailgate Brackets - 09:25
Installing the D-Rings - 10:36
About the Reese Towpower Trailer Jack - 16:51
Installing the Reese Towpower Trailer Jack - 17:38
Replacing the 4-Pin Wiring Connector - 22:51
Music:
"Juntitos" - Andre Jetson freemusicarchi...
I think I would’ve used lock nuts or lock washers on the tie downs to stop the vibration from letting the nuts back off over time.
You can certainly do that with your build if you feel it's necessary. Well-torqued nuts rarely back off or vibrate loose in an application like this. The carriage bolts being mounted through wood means that nearly all of any vibration that might be occurring is being absorbed by the surrounding wood and not being transmitted down to the nuts. At any rate, they've been on for about 17 months now and are still tight as can be.
Nic video, should have also put lock washers on them carriage bolts
Thanks for the tips. God bless.
Thank you. I'm having to do this today, in cold, damp weather on the Cape in MA.
TICONN 150 PCS Solder Seal Wire Connectors, Heat Shrink Butt Connectors, Waterproof and Insulated Electrical Wire Terminals, Butt Splice (150PCS)
Thank you so much, great ideas and tips!!
I applaud you for using heat shrink. But twisted wires is not effective or efficient in anyway. For testing it is just fine to verify function but please go back and solder the joints or use crimp connectors. Heck they even make heat shrink that has solder in it that you can use to solder and shrink all in one step. Twisted connections are just too easy to have fail even with heat shrink on them.
Appreciate the opinion. Video was posted over a year ago and lights are all still functioning perfectly fine. Been twisting wires for over 35 years and, while it's not as neat and tidy as a different kind of splice, it works perfectly fine for an application like this. If you want to see it done differently, check out any of my other videos that show proper electrical work. That just wasn't the purpose of this video. ua-cam.com/video/IrOUBV1rWo4/v-deo.html
The D-rings are only as strong as the deck boards are mounted to the trailer frame. Perhaps you should mount the D-rings through the deck boards to the frame.
Must've been watching with audio off. This is covered in the video @ 16:30.
Tip: The closer the location of the hole you intend to drill to the edge of your bench, the less of your downward drilling pressure will be lost to the deflection of the work piece!
Tip: If you're relying on pressure to drill holes, sharpen your bits. Especially if a couple inches away from the bench has that much of a significant difference for you. A drill bit is very precisely engineered to cut AND draw material. When the tip cuts into the material, the flutes are designed to either draw the material toward the bit or draw the bit toward the material (while simultaneously clearing shavings). A well-sharpened bit of the correct material for the part being drilled will not require much pressure to do its job.
I would recommend solder the wires or crimp but splice then shrink tubbing
You can use a butt splice, a solder splice, a hook splice, a completely new harness...whatever method best suits your application, skill level, and materials available. For this application, the quick and dirty method shown is still working perfect and will continue to last for years to come. The level of "neatness" in your personal application is entirely up to you. ;)
Nice work.. But i would install support wheel on the inner side of the tongue.. More protection and less in the way..
Installation was over a year ago. Jack has never once been in the way of anything in all that time nor needed protection from anything. And mounting to the inside would make the handle VERY awkward to work with when raising and lowering the jack. Thank you, though!
@@603photog i have it mounted on the inside, thats why i suggested it.. it doesent even look strange :)
Jeremy, I know this suggestion is late but I would attach a piece of small cable to those clips. If you don't you may lose them... I did, all the time...
Thanks, Matt. You're so right. In the video, you'll notice a nylon-wrapped steel-core lock cable dangling from the ramp-side clips. After installation, I took those, crimped a ring connector on the end of each one, and ran a keyring through. I then ran the keyring through the mesh of the ramp. Still holding great! I never bothered cabling the bottom clips because I don't think I've actually removed them since this video was made. Not really a need to. Thanks for the suggestion and for watching! Take care!
Nice looking trailer. Have been looking around but most are beat up around here. Marion area.
Should have made flat bar backers instead of fender washers for tie downs. Would be much more secure.
It's a good idea and it's actually what we do for our cleats on our boats. But, given my particular use of the trailer (as stated in the video), this easy solution is more than sufficient and secure. Thanks for watching!
The new Jack looks great, but what was wrong with the original jack?
Hi, William. Two things: 1. The old jack did not have a wheel on it which is important for me to have due to how I move the trailer around in my driveways. And, 2. The new swivel jack is MUCH more user-friendly than the old post jack given that you only have to crank it up a few turns and then just swivel it out of the way. With the old post design, you have to crank it up a lot to get it out of the way and then crank it down a lot to get the jack back up. Swivel jacks are just so much nicer to use.
@@603photog they sell wheels that pop into the bottom of the a-frame jacks, don't need to replace it
@@RandomMaker Yes, but you're still stuck with a jack that you can only raise up just so much. I prefer having nothing suspended from the tongue at all. When you live and work around a lot of rocky terrain, you learn quick why it's nice to have the fold-up jack.
Nice buy on the trailer. This is off subject but I'm wondering, of all things, what watch that is?
Hi! It's a Seiko SSC-305.
Lock washers will help keep them tight