Building the chassis. Bob could have bought a second hand trailer chassis and gone on from there. Instead, he built his own chassis from structural steel and junked auto parts.
He cut and welded two 3 inch channels for bed rails, then set in heavy angle steel crosspieces. For the axle, he scrounged a piece of tubing from an ancient car, cut it to length,
and welded plates and front wheel spindles to the ends. Leaf springs, which hang from shackles welded to the channels, carry the axle. Just for good measure, Bob bolted in a pair
of shocks.
He found that the easiest way to build the body was to weld up the angle-steel framework first. Then he hacksawed it into two parts. This done, he could cut the
plywood panels to fit inside the angles. Before bolting the body together, he cut openings for storage compartment doors.
To throw some weight on the trailer hitch, Bob says, the trailer body should be mounted with its centerline one inch ahead at the axle.
The big top. Sewing together the tent proved the trickiest part of building the trailer. Bob could have used anything from plastic-impregnated fabric to
close-woven nylon poplin. He settled for ordinary cotton duck, the least expensive.
You'11 never know how to sew a tent together until you've done it, Bob maintains. When you measure the trailer, raise the bows and tie them in position. Loop the canvas over them,
pinning it temporarily, and then machine-stitch the seams. Worry about the details as you come to them.
That's about all the advice Bob has to offer anyone who wants to tackle this kind of a camping rig.
"Except," he adds, "a recommendation that you check your home state's licensing requirements before you hit the road. Oh, yes, if you should happen to see another
trailer tent somewhere along the highway - one very much like yours - don't fail to wave 'Hello' to the Moffett family.
