Gone Kayaking
1K Post Member
long live the Vintage Shasta Trailer Forum....we're gone but you are not forgotten!
Posts: 1,600 
|
Post by Gone Kayaking on Mar 18, 2011 14:51:37 GMT -5
So I made a lot of progress with framing yesterday using the nifty kreg jig. Wow, the side framing is now super solid....it aint' goin anywhere. But here's my question. Is it possible that the guys with staple guns at shasta er I mean hard working craftsman were on to something in terms of buidling in flexibility and shock absorption into their design? Just wondering what all of you doing rebuilds think about this....and if anyone has had occasion to unskin a trailer that was rebuilt with pocket screws to see how it held up.  |
|
|
|
Post by dawgpound on Mar 18, 2011 16:43:48 GMT -5
In my opinion, tighter is always better. If the body/framing has too much movement driving down the road, it is bound to start coming apart. When I rebuild or build from scratch, I make all joints as tight as I can.
The main thing to remember about this little gems from the past, no matter who the manufacture was....they were built fast and cheap. In fact, they weren't even expected to survive more then 10 to 15 years. Go figure!
Ross
|
|
|
|
Post by Bow_Tied on Mar 19, 2011 10:35:30 GMT -5
There are times flexible is important to a design, like airplane wings. If one was to have a flexible design in a trailer, there would be joining components that flexed by design - staples are not the way to do this reliably.
I suspect that the frame work is more of a skeleton than anything and the sheet aluminum is what provides a lot of the rigidity up top with the floor being a big part of it. These trailers seem flimsy compared to cars and houses we are used - but the trailer is not designed to transport people or protect them from accidents or severe weather. Designed only to bounce down the road in once piece really. Stiffening up the structure has to be a good idea from a longevity and travel worthiness point of view IMO.
|
|
Gone Kayaking
1K Post Member
long live the Vintage Shasta Trailer Forum....we're gone but you are not forgotten!
Posts: 1,600
|
Post by Gone Kayaking on Mar 19, 2011 11:36:53 GMT -5
Okay I'm convinced. It just passed my mind as I was working and when I realized what a difference it was making that they either they really weren't giving any consideration to quality when they built these or that maybe just maybe there was some elegant engineering reason. Can' t believe so many have made it for so long, but then I guess most of them didn't survive.
|
|
