[07lilredwagon]

Originally Posted by m_thompson

Don't forget to weld a serial number on it or you will have problems getting it registered.

good point...NYS has that all figured out...get this: you have to go get the trailer weighed at a weigh station THEN go get it registered and they issue you a VIN and metal tag with the serial and VIN number stamped on it which has to be affixed to the trailer in plain site.

I called DMV and asked "wont that be a problem driving without a plate, VIN, proof of inspection, ect?...the answer was "Not a problem at all...if you get pulled over, tell them you are going to get it weighed"....."Okay" I said!

JP

[07lilredwagon]

Got my top motor brackets built....primed and painted...putting in tonight. I also got the front framework primed, so the front panel can now be put in place....

The holes for the tops hinges have been drilled already, so once I get that front panel glued and riveted in place Ill be many steps closer to seeing if this top will really go up and down with a window motor!.....right now, it goes up and down really fast....Ill be putting a curved ramp of sorts on rails that run the length of the tops frame....This will affect how fast the top goes up and also how high it goes!.....

wish me luck..Ill post pics later...


JP

[07lilredwagon]

Okay...so I got the bracket welded up for the motor and figured out the geometry for the lift arm....(I think!) Right now it will open to almost 80 degrees, which should be fine....


Got the front end all ground down and primed, so now I can finish up the wiring for the motor, button up last minute details and then put the front panel back in place



The next big elephant to tackle was the rear parcel shelf area...and I began tacking together the shelf pieces that took eons to cut and shape...but they are all but finished except for last minute trimming...



You can really see it taking shape here...passenger side....I have begun grinding down some welds to see if I like the curvature, ect....(too late now anyway!) and it looks nice to me....



Painted the motor frame and lift arm.....aligned the arm by shimming the two front bolts by almost 5/8"......



In other big news..I dropped the wheels off to get new tires on two of them, and the best old tire will be used as a spare.....


more later this week!

thanks for looking

JP

[07lilredwagon]

So a whirlwind of activity on the trailer....I had to button things up the best I could as we were scheduled to go on vacation and I needed the trailer to get all our camping gear up to camp....

So, I prioritized....I decided to focus on the rain gutters and keeping the contents of the trailer as dry as possible. (In the end it worked great... the trailer floor was bone dry and it POURED for most of the 5 hour trip)

Ill let the pics do the talking...but here we are ready to leave:



You can see from this rear 3/4 view I was able to get the tail lights in and working, the bumper supports sanded and painted and undercoated so the bumper could go on...finished the rough sanding on the area below the trunk lid, smoothed out the door handle area to an almost finished level and fit the tonneau cover temporarily for the trip. The cover would later take mucho duct taping to hold it from flopping in the breeze and leaking and potentially getting damaged....



The front panel went on well, but needed several rivets to get it to sit snug against the door pillar. I bonded it, bolted through it for hinges on the tonneau, and used some giant rivets along the bottom edges....



The trailer hitch, wiring and plug all took time to finish....not perfect yet, but I like the safety cables as opposed to chains. I also used wiring harness looms to protect the wiring and it also looks nice and tidy.

I wired the top motor to a switch (sunroof motor switch) and installed the battery for both a counter weight for better tongue weight and also so I didnt have to deal with running power off the car.

The tongue weight was about 25lbs when all was said and done...but then I forgot a few things and had to put them up front....adding a few more pounds....though the wagon did not even sag at all when I put the trailer on the hitch!...amazing.

The front corners will have to be done later....finishing up the body work, running a channel for the tonneau top to be lifted by and a few other items are still left to do...but at least it is looking like the vision I had in the beginning...

Thanks to you forum members for encouraging me along the way.....now the final push!

JP

[E902006]

would you have considered a donor e36 cabrio if you had another chance?

[Amini77]

Can't believe its almost done! Final stretch dude.. can't wait to see the finished product

[07lilredwagon]

Originally Posted by E902006

would you have considered a donor e36 cabrio if you had another chance?

yes...I looked and looked always narrowly missing them, usually to the scrap heap...settled on the sedan...though heavier than a coupe or vert, Im glad I have the doors...it allows better access to the interior....

yeah, it added alot of work to the project too....rain gutters, though ended up being a plus.

I can move the trailer around quite easily by hand, so its not too bad....a tongue wheel is next on the hit list..it will keep everything up out of the sand too....

JP

[07lilredwagon]

I will have a few pics to show you guys soon....Ive been making some steady progress on the trailer though life has definitely gotten in the way of any serious progress!

I was able to get some bedliner on the inner doors and floor boards, run my marker lights permanently, reinforce the tonneau cover frame where it was flexing, got the cover to sit nice and flush with the doors and cut grooves in the door panels for the top latching mechanism to lock in place. (now the top does not want to open up on the highway!)

Today, I went down to my buddies sign shop and fabricated a trailer wiring plug mount under the bumper that ties in with the receiver hitch. I bent one piece of aluminum and made a box for the plug with an arm that attaches to the hitch...once its painted you will barely be able to see it!...It, of course, took way longer than anticipated.

hope all is well!

JP

[07lilredwagon]

So here are those pics I promised you guys....

First one is the reinforcement I added to the tonneau frame: (Ill be adding a liner underneath to clean that area up...)


the next one shows where I needed to notch out the rain gutter a bit so the top would sit nice and flush..I also added grooves in the inner door panel so the top now locks onto the body...this helps on the highway especially when the top wants to lift up!....



Here is the interior light....it pulls out about 6 feet and reels back in...pretty cool!



finally, I built a plug housing for the trailer hook up from aluminum sheeting...now I dont have to route the wiring between the rear hatch door and the bumper which really did a number on the paintwork on the bumper!



thanks for looking!

JP

[07lilredwagon]

Took the trailer up to NH for a little fundraiser. The trailer became part of our display. We host 1 of 26 summer camp cabins that are "re-themed" for "Halloween Town"...Our cabin's theme is Harry Potter and the trailer played the part of 1/2 a car that was magically sticking out of the outside of the cabin....

Unfortunately, I dont have pics of that yet...but here we are getting ready to unload the props, costumes, backdrops, tools, ect.....

that little trailer holds a lot of stuff...if you pack well, that is!

My sister's phone settings did not do it justice, so I had to make a sort of sepia toned image with my preview program....



Im getting ready to re-configure the tonneau top mechanism to a linear actuator which will take up much less room and keep the top secure from wind gusts when the top is open.

Got the foam today for the front corners and will get going on shaping them this weekend...

JP

[NorthernCAE90]

this is super badass!! I love it

[07lilredwagon]

Back on the trailer project as its 60 degrees here in NY!!!...unbelievable. yesterday I was skiing, and today...well...not so much!

I have begun closing in the front corners and decided to finish most of it in metal. Its good practice for me in shaping metal and very rewarding when you get it right!....It does illustrate what you can get away with using very basic tools...and how much I could use a few metal shaping tools to help speed the process and get things better that I every could with my basic approach....(english wheel, shrinking tool, ect....)

anyway...here is the cover for the front of the door...its just screwed in place for now. I carefully shaped it, then welded the pie cuts so the edge of the metal matched the door profile.

its pretty close...and I can grind the metal to shape the rest of it....



Hopefully I can get some more done before the frigid temps return on Tuesday!

let me know what you think!

JP

[07lilredwagon]

tried to get out there last week when there was 24" of snow on the trailer for a picture, but its just been too hectic around here!....

heres one from today after a pretty big thaw...temps in the 50's over the weekend....is Spring coming? ever?



Really wanna get back on the project, but its gonna have to wait til warmer weather prevails....

soon!

JP

[JesseJames]

Now thats a project

[07lilredwagon]

Hey, all

about to get the tarp off the trailer this weekend!...Ive been looking for a receiver hitch insert with a cover to no avail...so I made my own from material we had laying around the sign shop...and a cool digital print...





what do you think?

JP

[NGEE]

Originally Posted by 07lilredwagon

what do you think?
JP

I think you, sir, are a genius!

[TheSt|G]

This is awesome, that receiver hitch is amazing.

[hockeyplayer]

Excellent work, sir! I am enjoying keeping up with your progress on this thread. You should consider making a few of those hitch covers for sale. I'm sure the X5 crowd would love them.

Keep the pics coming.

[07lilredwagon]

thanks, boys!

JP

[07lilredwagon]

Found this picture from right before we came up to NH...all the hatches are open...seems like I brought a few winged passengers on our 6 hour journey who had build a nest inside my new door cover pieces. I found them when I was unpacking and had the doors open....made for a few interesting moments!....



thanks for looking

JP

[07lilredwagon]

Hey, gang...

finally started on the front corners of the trailer. I decided to go with a foam shape and fiberglass outer shell. I used expandable foam from the DIY store, cut out some cardboard panels to retain the gooey stuff while it cures, and taped it all together. One can was enough to do both sides.

Its an experiment all the way, so I invite your suggestions and comments!

here are a few shots.....







Thanks for looking....
JP

[Silver99GSX]

Wow, Awesome project!!!! Can't wait to see it all done up and painted.