A New Trailer for the Ratbag ...

Gidday Folks

This has been an epic in the making!

[EDIT]

For a distillation of the design factors that I eventually came up with for my trailer and tent, see this post and the following post.

The fitting and commissioning of my camper trailer tent is in a separate thread, here.

[end edit]

My 7x4 trailer is just over 30 years old.
The tyres are also 30 y.o. ... 165x13.
The wheels are possibly 20 years older than that; probably Holden rims, I don't know.

About 10~13 years ago, I had the ladder frame replaced with 2x1" structural box. I also had the floor and half way up the sides replaced with 16 gauge galvanised steel.

The front has been converted to a drop front.

The spare wheel holder has mostly rusted through, and needs replacement.

The wheel bearings, axle, hubs and springs are in good serviceable condition.

The trailer tows straight and true at all speeds (up to over 130 km/h).

It really needs 3x new wheels and tyres, and an urgent replacement of the spare wheel holder bar.

After that, it needs some love and affection; some minor repairs that any competent handyman with a welder can do; some elbow grease with a wire brush and sand paper, and a repaint.

Beyond me, and even if it weren't, I cannot fit 16x6.5" Subaru wheels on it without replacing the axle; hubs; mud guards - you get the drift. Cost more for me to have someone else do all this than a new, purpose-built trailer!!

I have found someone this arvo who has helped me source proper hubs to fit my Subie steel wheels. Proper clearance. No extra over 'standard' hubs for the hubs, or the axle. This was a BIG hurdle!!

So. 6x4 box trailer with 18~20" sides, and a locking lid and 16x6.5" Subie wheels.

The company can do the whole job; including water/fuel jerry can holders; tool box; side mount spare wheel; side opening steel lid; gas bottle holder - including locking brackets all over the place.

Judging from the trailers under construction on the floor, they are not into making crap! Their "basic duty" trailer makes most "heavy duty" trailers I have looked at look lightly built ...

Have had a rough guesstimate. Will get a proper quote from them next week.

To be continued - as the story unfolds ...

 

[Ratbag]

OK Folks, some photos of the various modifications and enhancements done recently.

The side braces on the spare wheel post. Jimi gave me a couple of bits of bent 20 x 20 mm that had been chucked in the scrap bin. I cut them to length/angle and welded them in place. cold galv undercoat, then a couple of top coats, and you can no longer see my really crappy welding. Jimi has, and he reckons that it will be far stronger than it needs to be, regardless of my shaky hands ...

Some working drawings on the top of the lid regarding the rearrangement of the underneath framing for the lid, and the new perimeter frame that supports the tent and prevents the gas struts from bending the front and rear lid frames!

The new top frame that supports the base board of the tent.

The front reinforcing plate. With the front strut attached, pulling the front of the lid down causes the side hinge to flex, and it's pretty strongly attached and reinforced ... The new tie-down bar across the front gate can just be seen.

The front without the tool box fitted. That's happening today. The reinforcing bar and front tie-down bar can be seen clearly. Everything had been painted with cold galv at this point. It's now had a top coat.

The 'flaming marathon' continues ... :iconwink:

 

[Ratbag]

Managed to cut the hole in the trailer lid for the under-floor access via the tent hatches without needing hospitalisation. I have one tiny, tiny cut that's bleeding profusely for such a minute thing; but that's pretty good considering that I used Wiss snips to get the desired accuracy. Because of that, the edges look like the business end of a Great White shark ...

I figured that I would make a real mess of it if I used either a jig saw or angle grinder, so took the risk with the snips. A panel beater would be thoroughly ashamed of it ... :lol: :rotfl: ... but I reckon that it is a serviceable job, and because of how I have designed the lid framing struts in relation to the tent base board framing, it should be all but impossible for me to cut myself when using it. The cut edges will be "sandwiched" and very hard to get near them.

I also top coated some more poxy bits ... :iconwink:.

Over to Bunnings & SCA tomorrow to get various finishing bits and for sealing tape for both the trailer lid to trailer join and the more permanent seals between the tent base board and the perimeter frame on the trailer lid, with a secondary seal between the tent under-floor hatch frame and the trailer lid hole.

Re-fitted the front toolbox today as well.

Hope to get the tent re-fitted on Monday

Maybe some photos tomorrow. Too knackered tonight ...

 

[stilson]

Mate I see a lot of trailer building but not a lot of camping.

 

[Ratbag]

Only too true, ST ... .

Life is what happens while we are planning other things ... :lol:.

However, I can almost taste the finish of this very long project; first started in early 2012!! It took until the middle of that year, or later, to realise that none of the off-the-rack campers or trailers fitted my needs. Or that they were just too flaming expensive!

Anything made after 1989 has to have a compliance plate, and this can seriously impact on things like changing wheel rim size and type. In fact, nothing currently on the market for less than about $30-40K has the combination of features that the mighty tag-along has ended up with.

Specifically, this translates to wheels and tyres that are interchangeable with those on my car; a trailer tent that I can erect easily by myself; a lid I can open by myself without having to have at least one other person with me! Actually, this last is not quite the case. I can easily open most of the commercial camper lids ... it's closing them that I can't do!

If the weather holds, I will rivet the edges of the hole I have cut in the trailer lid today and drill the three holes through the back to back 20 x 20 mm light box section framing at the front of the tent baseboard. These latter are on top and underneath the trailer lid sheeting and are not currently held together. Bolting through them and the trailer base board will strengthen these enormously, and make that leading edge very rigid. As the gas struts now have around 1,000 Newtons pressure in them, they can bend the lid framing with the tent bolted on! This was the reason for the re-design of the framing of the trailer lid.

I also have to move one of the existing holes more to the side. Drilling these holes should be pretty straightforward without the tent bolted on. The tent base board can then be re-fitted and will be aligned by the existing holes and bolts, then just a matter of erecting the tent and drilling out the new holes through the base board from underneath.

At the current rate of progress, the tent should go back on the trailer sometime tomorrow. If the weather Gods are smiling, the tent can be erected in minutes, the new holes through the base board drilled from underneath, and the extra bolts inserted. Pack the tent away, and the trailer is then ready for some basic partitioning. After this, it will be ready for action ... :biggrin: at long last!!

So I had better go and get on with it ... :iconwink:.

 

[stilson]

Sounds like you're enjoying the build, and that is half the fun!
Having something that ticks all the boxes can make all the difference too, and as you say, they can't always be bought off the shelf. I have projects still in limbo from the 90's, so a two year build isn't really that bad considering.

And if it ever needs another forester to follow...

 

[Ratbag]

^ At long last!

Something that has gone easily, and according to plan!! :ebiggrin: :biggrin: :rotfl:.

Put all the S/S rivets in (about 25-35), and only destroyed one double-ended rivet jobbing bit along the way ... . I always have a spare one of these on hand.

After the horror of drilling and fitting the bolts for the tent originally - it took two of us around 4-5 hours for 7 bolts, and wrecked 5 drill bits of various sizes, both pilot hole bits and one 3/8" bit for the main hole - I wasn't looking forward to drilling the 4 new holes required. All of the original holes had to be marked out on the top of the base board, then drilled from the top by measurement alone (i.e. "blind") through the base board and the 20 x 20 mm light box section frame under the trailer lid. A lot of measuring and re-checking, along with no small modicum of luck, that I hit dead centre 7 out of 7 times ...

Having worked out that the new double 20 x 20 mm box just behind the leading edge of the base board (one on top of the sheeting, one below) were slightly misaligned, I marked it out and prayed that I had enough latitude. I did - phew. Re-drilling one original hole in a different spot so that my box fits with the lid shut wasn't all that hard, but I did have to miss the point where the solid safety strut is located.

It took around 30 seconds each for the pilot holes and, ditto for the enlargement :biggrin:.

All I need now is the new sealing strip and the tent can go back on the trailer, instead of being on the front porch.

:banana: :banana: .

 

[Ratbag]

G'day again ST

Sounds like you're enjoying the build, and that is half the fun!

Considering that I was planning to be in Brissy around April/May 2012, perhaps I could have done with it being a quarter of the fun ... :rotfl:.

But you're right.

SWMBO's studies and the marathon of the kiln shed build and fit-out did rather slow things down a lot at times ...

Having something that ticks all the boxes can make all the difference too, and as you say, they can't always be bought off the shelf.

Just too true. It only took me around 6-9 months to work that bit out ...
Getting slow in my dotage ...

I have projects still in limbo from the 90's, so a two year build isn't really that bad considering.

I suspect that by the time all of them are done we will be climbing into the box and pulling the lid closed - AND there will still be unfinished projects ... :lol: .

And if it ever needs another forester to follow...

It will be another 2006-2008 model, mate. However, short of accident, I can't see me ever replacing Roo2 ... Just keep fixing it and let my estate dispose of it!
It's got around 12 years/200K Kms left in it, and I don't think I have ...

 

[Ratbag]

^ Ah well now ...

Other than carrying comfortable sleeping and accommodation, the trailer also gets to carry all the other heavy stuff ... . So about 250 Kgs gets shifted out of Roo2 and into the trailer :biggrin:.

The trailer's axle, springs, wheels and bearings are rated to around 1,400 Kgs. The hitch is rated to 2,000 Kgs. The trailer with all the crap in it will never weigh more than around 400-500 Kgs, with a ball weight of about 45-55 Kgs. The car tow bar is rated to over 1,800 Kgs, with a maximum ball weight of 180 Kgs. The latter is more than double what is allowable for the car (75 Kgs)!

I have towed it with a ball weight of 80 Kgs on some fairly nasty dirt tracks with the previous SLS suspension. I suspect that this delivered the final fatal blow to it. No problems though, even with that ball weight.

Now, with the tent permanently attached, I am doing a trial loading of the trailer. ATM, the ball weight is about 45 Kgs. I don't expect it to go much higher than that. Meanwhile, the only heavy stuff in the car is the auxiliary battery behind the P/S front seat, and a 10L rupture-proof Jerry can of petrol behind the D/S - so both in the middle of the car, relatively speaking.

Essentially, the car will be very lightly loaded. It will have me, plus around 100-130 Kgs of luggage in it. About 1,650 Kgs GVM.

Basically, the car's rear suspension will not be stressed at all ... :ebiggrin: .

 

[ateday]

Well thought out.
Certainly going across the Simpson my car would have been well overloaded with extra 40 l fuel plus 30 l water plus fridge plus second battery plus solar panel plus plus plus.
Not surprising cracking is appearing in the rear wheel wells.
Did obtain a rear strut tower brace from Zippo and this will help the loading affects but rear well crack still needs attention.
Under these conditions, Simpson crossing, I would expect even Kings to sag a bit. Surprising even with this load the Pedders sagged but never bottomed, well not noisily anyway.

 

[Ratbag]

^ Yeah; thanks.

I asked someone at Vic Subarus who had just done the Simpson Desert run whether I would make it towing my trailer. He asked what model Forester I had, and a couple of questions about the trailer.

His opinion was that I almost certainly could. Since I would never attempt such a thing by myself, I expect that help would be readily available if things got gnarly ...

I will be carrying 50L of fuel; 20L water - both in steel, not plastic ... Plus plenty of recovery gear, tools etc.

The new springs certainly helped things a lot. My SLS struts were completely rooted.

 

[ateday]

Unless you have plenty of grunt don`t tow a trailer.
When I went last in 2012 one of the cars was a new all singing all dancing auto V8 diesel Land cruiser (nicknamed "The Mobile Lounge Room") towing an all singing, all dancing bells and whistles camper van. He made it ok using sheer grunt to power up and over the dunes.
You have about 1200 sand dunes to cross, not go around.
For a normal Subaru ground clearance is the killer. A lot of the tracks are deeply wheel rutted. You can climb the dunes with low tyre pressures but if you bottom and dig in there you stay until you reverse back enough times to finally get over.
I wouldn`t try towing a trailer unless you could somehow make the whole outfit 6WD using the trailer wheels but not practical I think.
Having said all that while it is nice to have a fridge you can live without one so there goes the second battery and, in my case, the solar panel too. However no way can you avoid 40 litre spare fuel and drinking water.

 

[Ratbag]

^ Mate, I'm never, NEVER going to do anything like the Simpson Desert. Not even the easier routes.

At my age, it would be plain stupid; and we all know what Mother Nature does with people who do things that are plain stupid ...

My question to him was to establish a benchmark of what the 2006 N/A 5MT/DR could possibly do when towing a 500-750 Kg trailer.
Rally has done some pretty amazing stuff with his series I SG towing a similar trailer to mine.

 

[Ratbag]

OK. This is a duplicate of a post I made in Stilson's trailer build thread. I think it needs to be repeated here, as very appropriate in both places.

When I initially registered my trailer with VicRoads, I wrote 250 Kgs on the rego form. That did not include the weight of the lid (moderately heavy, probably currently 50-60 Kgs), or the new McHitch coupling (pretty big and heavy by comparison with a standard 50 mm ball hitch). I weighed it "by eye" - IOW, an outrageous guess at what it might weigh ... :lol: :rotfl:.

After most of the mods had been completed, I had it weighed. This is the weighbridge certificate:

Weight = 140 Kgs.

Considering the perfectly reasonable queries raised here regarding the weight of my trailer (thanks, everyone ... ), and my own suspicions, I pulled everything out of or off the trailer that may or may not be included when touring, and dragged it to the same local weighbridge (Commonwealth Gov't certified ... ). This left the spare, 200 mm jockey wheel, safety struts for the lid, the CT tent, poles, pegs, ladder and all the security cables and locks. No Jerry cans, roof rack, storage box, annex (but still including the annex poles, pegs and ropes).

At the weighbridge, I completely disconnected the trailer from the car, including the safety chains. It was sitting on its wheels and the jockey wheel.

Apart from having the CT tent fitted, and about 15-30 Kgs of extra steel etc to reinforce the lid, it is pretty similar to when it was weighed last year. The weight of the CT tent is 100 Kgs according to the manufacturer of record. This includes the tent, travelling cover, mattress, all poles and pegs and the base board. This weight does not include the sun room wall panels (3x), the sun room floor, or the sun room infill panel for the rear of the trailer, or the carry case for these items. These latter items weigh 13 Kgs in aggregate.

Here is this morning's weighbridge certificate:

Take the current certified weight, 460 Kgs, deduct the weight of the CT tent (100 Kgs) and the modifications done since the last weigh in (say 40 Kgs), and there is still a slight discrepancy between today's weigh in and last year's... Like around a mere 180 Kgs ...

I would like to thank ST and everyone else who made my slight suspicion grow into a huge suspicion very, very much :biggrin:.

This will make my fully loaded trailer somewhere between 560 and 650 Kgs.

Having towed it fully loaded over some pretty nasty 'roads' (but without the extra weight of the CT tent), I know that Roo2 will handle this with ease.

It's still a very good thing to know the truth about this.
Thanks again, everyone .

 

[Ratbag]

OK.

The horrid truth.

I have spent the morning weighing everything that's going to travel in the trailer, item by item. Put them into a Word document, then copied them over to an Excel spreadsheet for the answer.

I couldn't use our 'proper' bathroom scales, as the display is all but impossible to read in full daylight, and they keep turning themselves off all the time. So I have calibrated the $3 Op Shop mechanical scales against the digital torsion bar scales at 10 Kgs. I just know that SWMBO would not like me using her highly accurate digital pottery scales for this! They will weigh up to 4.5 Kgs with an accuracy of ±0.1 gram ...

At very light weights (2-3 Kgs), the mechanical scales are reading between 0.25 to 0.5 Kgs over weight, but it doesn't hurt to slightly overestimate these things.

The Excel spreadsheet informs me that the trailer GVM fully loaded will be around 700-710 Kgs.

Nearly 170 Kgs (out of about 250 Kgs) of the carry on baggage is trailer partitioning (23 Kgs), tools (15-16 Kgs), recovery gear (winch is 27.5 Kgs), fuel (40 Kgs) and water (24 Kgs). Some of this stuff serves a dual purpose - e.g. chassis stands double as back legs for the trailer when camped.

Fortunately Roo2 doesn't struggle with a trailer of this weight. My Impreza did a bit - lots of rowing it along with the gear lever to keep the revs in its rather high, short 'sweet spot' rev range between 3,800 and 6,000 rpm.

Roo2 also 'lugs' wonderfully well at far lower revs than this! In fact, with the fully loaded trailer on behind, Roo2 has a bit less power/torque to weight ratio than my 1.8L Impreza had with just me as the driver! Roo2 also has far better gearing, even disregarding LR completely. Needless to say, I would only use LR when crawling around on dirt roads/tracks when towing the trailer.

Doing some more comparisons, Roo2 plus fully loaded current trailer has a bit better power/torque to weight ratio than my Impreza did towing my pre-rebuild trailer empty! I can live with this ... :ebiggrin: .

 

[crazydave]

Ratbag,

That is interesting. I don't know how you tow that comfortably I have to row through the gears towing 500kg in a 90km/h twisty sections to fast for 4th too slow for 5 and the fuel economy dies.

Also you are now very close to the 750kg and requiring brakes hmm. Don't put too much more in the trailer. I have been wondering for awhile how you were getting all this stuff onto the trailer and not needing brakes- the answer is its closer that previously estimated because of the dodgy weighbridge. Knowing what you know now would you have put brakes on the trailer during the rebuild?

I have looked at camper trailers and most don't come with brakes and I have been concerned that once you load them you can easily be over the 750kg required to have brakes.

It is as a result of the camper trailer that I say chase weight out of the trailer because you very quickly end up with a rig that is not suitable for a Subaru. Yes it is a compromise and you will need to watch the maintenance but at least you don't need to buy a bigger car to tow the thing.

 

[Ratbag]

Gidday CD

Ratbag,

That is interesting.

Yes. It is. Add a 60 - 80 L water tank, and one would be cactus!

I don't know how you tow that comfortably I have to row through the gears towing 500kg in a 90km/h twisty sections to fast for 4th too slow for 5 and the fuel economy dies.

I guess I've done a lot of towing in my time. I could even punt the Colt (1400 cc ... ) along at a fair clip towing this trailer packed to the gunwales when it was new. Have to add back about 20 Kgs for the rust it had shed over the years ... :rotfl:.

Also you are now very close to the 750kg and requiring brakes hmm. Don't put too much more in the trailer. I have been wondering for awhile how you were getting all this stuff onto the trailer and not needing brakes- the answer is its closer that previously estimated because of the dodgy weighbridge.

That dodgy weight had lulled me into a false sense of security about the GVM, I must admit.

I also took your post here very much to heart! You made a valuable and valid point there. If I had two bob for every overloaded trailer being towed by an inappropriate vehicle (read: "extremely dangerous situation" ... ), I would have accumulated a small super fund from it.

Knowing what you know now would you have put brakes on the trailer during the rebuild?

Almost certainly not. It is very interesting that the Chinese imports with brakes are 200 KGS heavier than those without brakes! Damned if I know how that happens, or maybe the un-braked ones are seriously under-engineered, perhaps?

I have looked at camper trailers and most don't come with brakes and I have been concerned that once you load them you can easily be over the 750kg required to have brakes.

Too right. Again your point in Stilson's thread.

What's costing me a LOT of weight is my insistence on having plenty of extra fuel (50L) and water (20+L). 20L of drinking water can last me a long time. Longer than it takes for the authorities to answer my SPOT emergency beacon if I am in real trouble. I will also carry another 5L of water in the car, and this will be replenished at every available opportunity. i.e. It is unlikely that I will ever use the water in the 20L Jerry can. It is there as insurance for emergencies.

Jimi told me a story about a person who bought a dual cab and fitted it with a slide on camper. As soon as she got into the cab, it was over the GVM. He was busy making the slide on camper into a tow along camper ...

It is as a result of the camper trailer that I say chase weight out of the trailer because you very quickly end up with a rig that is not suitable for a Subaru. Yes it is a compromise and you will need to watch the maintenance but at least you don't need to buy a bigger car to tow the thing.

I certainly don't disagree. The tow bar on Roo2 has a well painted compliance plate (i.e. I didn't even notice it for 2 years!). It is rated for 1,800 Kgs with a ball weight of 180 Kgs, IIRC. WAY above the maximum towing weight and ball weight for my vehicle, even with a braked trailer.

The power to weight ratio of Roo2 is fine for my general purposes. More than fast enough. More than quick enough for acceleration. Add the 700+ Kgs of trailer behind it, and it does slow it down a bit. Not really by very much, IME.

Knocks the stuffing out of the fuel economy on short trips around town, even with nothing in the tub. On the open road, it should be mostly in the slipstream of the car, so shouldn't be all that bad. Time will tell.

Towing this trailer (before rebuild) packed full and open with a high load probably cost me around 3-4 L/100 kms with the Impreza.

One reason for choosing to make it into a CT rather than buy a pop-top or other kind of van is that it is narrower than the car, and lower than it. Vans of any kind tend to be both wider and higher. Can't see around them or over them, and they add a huge amount of drag.

What I have ended up with is a very strong and robust trailer. It will carry much more weight than is legally allowed to without any problem. It should not have any difficulties off-road because of the little bit of over-engineering that I have done when rebuilding it. 50% of the weight is in the trailer (without tent), and 50% in the load. Seems to be a good rule of thumb distribution to me.

If I need to fit braked hubs (and I will avoid this like the plague), it isn't all that hard to fit hydraulic over-ride brakes later.

As you have said, it's easier to put the load on a diet, if needs be.
Given my cautious nature, I could probably shed all the recovery gear. However, I also think that this would be foolhardy!

The GVM as it now stands does raise some interesting questions about weight though, and the balance between strength and load capacity.
That 750 Kg limit is very easy to reach, or exceed ...

 

[crazydave]

We are in surprisingly similar positions regarding trailers - when I had to redo the lining of mine because the old wood had rotted (yes wood) I discovered all sorts of issues as the sections are all imperial. I welded 0.9mm steel sheet on it it replace the wood about 10 years ago and it is fine - granted it doesn't rain in Perth these days.

I have had the trailer since 1987 and unfortunately it fell out of rego when I put it over the pits to re-rego it - I get the old - but the rules have changed you can only register it with out brakes for a gross weight of 750kg rather then the 999 that it was previously registered for and and regularly loaded to. This may be why the panels are not structural the frame is so strong because of the weight rating and the original wood panels and floor.

I will be interested to see how you economy goes. With my 400kg trailer and camping gear I get 10.5l/100km as regular a clock work its freeky- when I tow the 16ft hobie cat about 550kg and wider than the car i get 13.5-14l/100km - some will be attributable to the width.

if I was a gambling bloke I would wager with appox 700kg you will be running about 12-12.5l/100km = that is about 460km per tank with a small safety if travelling north in WA that would mean carrying fuel even if you stayed on the highway. I suppose the upside is it makes you stop for 15 minutes very 4 hours or so.

I am glad you have got to the bottom of the weight I would have hated to hear there was a problem and have insurance issue because it was too heavy and no brakes. Especially after the vast quantities of quality advice you have given re - don't do stuff that voids your insurance its just not worth it.

 

[Ratbag]

^ yeah, interesting about that limit of 750 Kgs for un-braked trailers introduced in 1988.
I reckon that it was possibly arrived at by a formula something like this: (75% x minimum weight of a vehicle that's likely to be towing a trailer), i.e. 0.75 x 1,000 Kgs = 750 Kgs.

Mine has 610 kg springs x2 (12 cwt per side), and everything else was built around the "normal" spring capacity of the time for a 7x4 - 916 Kgs x2 (18 cwt per spring). This gives mine a softer ride, but a lower GVM - 1,220 Kgs. I have had at least a ton of wet sand in it for a very short distance back in the 1980s. Certainly flattened the springs out!!

Thanks for your observations about your fuel consumption. On the trial run, fully loaded, but before the recent mods and fitting the tent, I got about 10.5L/100 kms, with two adults on board. Since this included suburbs, freeway, hills and a fair bit of relatively low speed dirt road stuff (LR), I would expect to get somewhere around this figure on the open road. Time will tell .

 

[Ratbag]

I am glad you have got to the bottom of the weight I would have hated to hear there was a problem and have insurance issue because it was too heavy and no brakes. Especially after the vast quantities of quality advice you have given re - don't do stuff that voids your insurance its just not worth it.

Thanks for that, Dave. Always helps to know that at least someone is reading and taking some notice of all the drivel I write! :rotfl:

And yes, it would have been hubris writ large had I fallen victim to ignoring my own advice!

I am busy re-weighing some of the intermediate type items. Specially the ones between 2-12 kgs that I have not previously weighed on the digital scales. Interesting the ±0.6 kgs weight differences that are showing up.

It all counts, and matters, as you said in ST's thread! Your example of your FIL being 400 Kgs over the limit with his van, must surely strike a chord with many others, not just with me ...

Also pruning some items.
Do I really need three sleeping bags? I think not. They just happened to get thrown in there at some stage ... Proper bedding for the CT tent mattress (2000 x 1500 x 100 or 150) will make up that weight.
e.g. My Sidchrome tool box that weighs 9 Kgs has every socket, ring and open end spanner from about 5.5 mm to 25 mm for most sizes, along with general purpose tools. I suspect that I can happily leave at least half of them at home ...
I'm pretty certain that I won't need the 38 mm socket with the 1/2" to 3/4" drive adapter! It weighs 485.9 grams all by itself! Just used SWMBO's accurate scales to weigh it ... :iconwink: :lol:. Who would have thought that it weighs nearly 0.5 Kgs! One socket ... .

Things like my pillows and the sleeping bag will almost certainly end up in the car anyway. I prefer heavy items that are not held down at floor level to be in the trailer, not in the car with me!

 

[crazydave]

Ratbag,

Trimming tool kits is always a problem for me - I HATE splitting up good sets of tools invariably you end up with two half kits and never in the right place at the right time.

Having said that I think I worked out when I did the gearbox/clutch all you needed on a Subaru was 10,12 and 14mm and if you wanted to play with suspension brakes 17mm if it is not one of those sizes you can't fix it at the side of the road anyway.

So what I did was go to the local pawn broker and grab the best quality spanners and sockets of those sizes and bought a super cheep, ratchet and breakerbar with lifetime warranty.

so my mechanical tool hit is now

10,12,13,14, 17mm combination spanners and 3/8 sockets with a 3/8 ratchet a 300mm breaker bar, and a couple of 150mm extensions. (13mm is actualy a 1/2 inch and that is because of a couple of nuts on the trailer it works on 13mm)

A Stanley screwdriver set.
A good set of vice grips,
250mm shifter (big enough to go on the tow ball just)
Pliers,
Hammer
There are a couple of other things can't think of them all now - 2nd cut file/ one of those handles for holding a hacksaw blade and blades

All in s a soft bag and tool rolls so it can be shoved in a corner - trimmed the tools from full kits and about 20kg to about 7kg and 1/4 the space.