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Step 9Bottom Braces and Wheel Guard
At this point, I thought I was done, but a quick test ride gave me second thoughts. Since I was going to use the trailer in the immediate future (and away from civilization), I didn't want anything to break.
In looking at the trailer, I determined that there were basically two catastrophic points of failure: the pivot point and the fork. If either of these broke, the trailer would be no good.
I didn't think there was anything else that I could do to reduce the stress at the pivot point, so I focused on the fork. With the fork attached to the bottom frame in two places (via either side of the three fork supports), the stress would be transferred to the bottom frame in only two places. With that in mind, I decided to spread the stress around by adding a couple of supports that (almost) run the length of the trailer.
I cut two supports, tapered one end on each of them and brazed the tapered ends to the front support (the one with the flattened ends). Once this was in place, I brazed each point where the supports intersected.
Satisfied that this would do the trick, I then finished the last piece of the trailer: the wheel guard. This would serve to keep whatever was on the trailer from rubbing against the wheel. I bent it into a semi-circle, tapered the ends and brazed it on the rear-most fork support at an angle.
In looking at the trailer, I determined that there were basically two catastrophic points of failure: the pivot point and the fork. If either of these broke, the trailer would be no good.
I didn't think there was anything else that I could do to reduce the stress at the pivot point, so I focused on the fork. With the fork attached to the bottom frame in two places (via either side of the three fork supports), the stress would be transferred to the bottom frame in only two places. With that in mind, I decided to spread the stress around by adding a couple of supports that (almost) run the length of the trailer.
I cut two supports, tapered one end on each of them and brazed the tapered ends to the front support (the one with the flattened ends). Once this was in place, I brazed each point where the supports intersected.
Satisfied that this would do the trick, I then finished the last piece of the trailer: the wheel guard. This would serve to keep whatever was on the trailer from rubbing against the wheel. I bent it into a semi-circle, tapered the ends and brazed it on the rear-most fork support at an angle.
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