A kit consisting of specially designed brackets into which you insert welded steel tubing or standard 2-in. black iron pipe, was used to build the chassis for the original model. The kit (See Materials List) includes wheels, tires, stub axles complete with rubber torsion springs, coupler, and U-bolts. Or, if you wish, you can adapt the Tent-Trailer bed (Fig. 2) to any available 1/2-ton chassis and axle assembly.

Although standard iron pipe is more than adequate for the purpose, we used welded steel tubing because it weighs only half as much and is easier to cut, drill, and handle. Usually, however, the tubing must be ordered from steel suppliers near large cities and will be somewhat more expensive.

Begin assembly by joining the side frames and the front and rear crossmembers to the corner sockets, temporarily securing the parts with U-bolts (Fig. 4). As a separate assembly, install the stub axles (Fig. 4) in 1-in. pipe and insert the ends of the crossbar in the upper spring arm socket.

Position this crossbar between the side frames so its center is 54 in. from the rear of the chassis. Secure the subassembly with U-bolts, being sure the axle pipe ends fit tightly at the shoulders of the stub axles.

Next center the tongue and tongue socket on the axle crossbar (Fig. 4) and place the crosstie fitting (Fig. 3C) between the tongue and the front crossbar.

Make the radius rods by drilling 3/8-in. holes in the flattened ends of 3/4-in. pipe (Fig. 3). Attach the brackets to the opposite ends and drill the assembly for 3/16-in. stove bolts. Position the radius rod brackets on the side frames (Fig. 3B) and then bolt the flattened ends to the lower spring arm with 3/8-in. machine bolts.

Ready for Welding

After bolting the trailer hitch to the tongue, the trailer chassis is ready to be towed to a shop for welding where the entire chassis can be welded in less than 1 hour. When finished, the U-bolts are no longer needed and should be removed before painting the chassis with a rust-resisting enamel.

Saw four trailer bed stringers (Fig. 2) to length, then lay out and cut outrigger notches (Fig. 5). Note that the outer stringers are the same length as the steel chassis and are ripped to 3 1/4 in. The inner stringers fit between the front and rear crossbars and are slotted 2 5/8-in. deep to clear the axle crossbar (Fig. 3).

The outer stringers are reinforced and support provided for the outriggers by two lengths of steel channel (Figs. 2 and 5). First attach the channel to the underside of the stringers with round head screws, then drill two 17/64-in. holes through the channel and stringers at each outrigger slot as in Fig. 5 for carriage bolts to be installed later.

Next rip the end plates (Fig. 2) and attach them to the chassis by driving one self-tapping screw into a 13/64-in. hole drilled at each corner socket and 1/4 x 4-in. carriage bolts through the front and rear crossbars. The outer stringers can now be fitted between the end plates and are secured with lag screws and washers at each corner.

The V-shaped fore deck support (Fig. 2) is bent from angle iron. Cut off 1 in. of the vertical flange at each end where it meets the notches in the end plate and drill for #12 x 1-in. rh screws. Drill a 5/16-in. hole at the bend and a matching hole through the tongue, then bolt the support to the tongue with 2-in.-long spacers cut from 3/4-in. pipe.

When welding the nut to the pipe, thread the nut on the shaft and put the shaft in the pipe to make sure they are aligned. In use, the pipe end of the jack is screwed hand-tight into the flanges and the threaded rod adjusted to place the pad on the ground. The lower nut is pinned or welded to the threaded rod so you can raise or lower each corner of the tent platform by turning the nut with a wrench.

The food storage and cooking cabinet (Figs. 2 and 6) is erected on the rear deck panel as in Fig 8, using 1/2-in. plywood over framing ripped from soft pine. After cutting each part and checking its fit, assemble the cabinet with glue, 1 1/4-in. finishing nails, and #8 fh screws as indicated.