ya ya i know the welds aint to pretty... its alot harder to get a good weld when your cramped under the bed.... i can do much better if welding on the floor or on a bench!
and then im using a old welding mask. i wish i had one of those auto dimming masks! i gotta keep flippen the mark up and down when i stop and start all the time

 

ok well afew days ago i finished up the drop on the trailer. i was sweatin my @ss off doing all the welding in this heat but i got it done!
only thing the trailer needs now is shocks for the drop. tho i dont know if i really NEED shocks since its a trailer BUT it would probably help the load from bouncing so i will be buying shocks for it eventually. which will work out good because when i lowered my truck i bought the shocks to use without the DJM shock extenders but i ended up using the extenders on my truck because i didnt like the angles the shocks where sitting, so they are alittle longer so hopefully when i buy the right size shocks for my trucks rear axle it will help the bounce alittle more, and i will just put my current longer shocks onto the trailer which should be perfect for it! so its all good fix 2 problems with one purchase and recycle old shocks to new trailer

i also bought a good bumper for it, not sure if i said that or not yet already.... tonight im going to put the bumper on the trailer and also the taillights and bed liner back into it so i can use it, not sure if i wanna slap the tono cover back on it yet since id just be pulling it off in about a month for paint so it will match my truck.
i also need to adjust my adjustable trailer hitch or just slap a regular hitch on it, i gotta see what kinds i have out in the shop to use that will go good with it now lowered.... pics show the front of the trailer up about an inch or two, pretty small but i notice it.
ok well as you know i talk to much.... heres the pics
custom notches welded in... and spray painted with bed liner paint.



axle now sitting ontop of the spring.


my own axle saddle and spacer i did. i kept it low profile which probably only giving me like 5- 5.5inch drop instead of 6 but more axle travel so i can haul more weight without bottoming out the axle on the frame rails.... still no bump stops yet, eventually ill slap some on there. im going to cut open the original bump stops and see what they look like on the inside, if there is no internal metal bracing then i will just slap them ontop of the axle and just tack weld them on the axle quickly. but if they have internal metal bracing then ill just have to buy some urethane bump stops and slap on the axle.
heres the saddles and spacer i made.... simple thick round tubing split in half and then slapped in the vise and basically squished them to widen the arch to fit on the axle tube better. then i welded the two together once everything was bolted up tight. i also made the bottom spring plates as well. i was going to put a bend on the bottom plates BUT i bolted it all together and forgot, not needed i dont think since its a trailer so the axle wont have alot of stress trying to twist so should be fine.











i got it all welded together, also welded the U bolts to the axle just so the axle will never rotate so it will keep the front driveshaft pinion and all the internal oil in the right placement







and heres the money shots
my truck with only 20PSI in my rear helper bags, then with 80PSI in the rear in other pictures. when hauling ill have it aired up for the weight just have to do some towing to find the sweet psi range...



with 80PSI





i am eventually going to be getting smaller tires for the front of my truck so i will be using the trailer tires to swap out for smaller tires so i can put my trucks good front tires onto the trailer and get rid of the trailers white walls showing. it will be another solve two problems with one purchase should keep my trucks front tires from rubbing on hard dips, and make the trailer tires match better with better tires as well.







AND JUST FOR KICKS, video kinda sucks on first video, but it shows the axle has plenty of travel still with my brother jumping up and down in the bed. and YES ive thought about lowering the trailer alittle more by just using some drop shackles BUT if i lower it even more that will just make me have to buy helper bags for it to keep it from bottoming out which is another 200bucks id rather not spend for it if i can avoid it so the trailer wont be lowered any more for practical reasons.
click on pictures for videos




HAHAHAHAHAHA i thought this was funny. i got air so ya the shocks SHOULD help prevent getting air which im sure will help keeping what evers loaded into the trailer down when i hit a big bump...



next thing to do is buy a bunch of metal tie down hooks and place them all around inside the truck bed kinda like my truck has but two or three times as many so i have plenty of tie down spots to hook onto. i might have to cut the bed liner some to put a few tie down hooks in better spots. just gotta see first. i might not put those in till im done painting the trailer since ill need to pull out the bed liner for paint to keep overspray off it.

all and all im really happy with it so far!
o ya i also just put on a trailer jack on the front of the trailer so now i can park it level and take it off the truck when loaded down as well. only downfall was when i was welding it onto the trailer i guess i touched the spring loaded pin and it welded the spring and broke it, so the pin doesnt automatically lock the jack up or down. i gotta use a bungie cored to hold the pin locked till i go buy another small spring for it the right size. at least its a cheap and easy fix!

 

ok another short day of work.... i installed the good bumper i got on the trailer now and i also just did a quick hand rub with some rubbing compound to shine it up and it did nicely! looks way better then the one that came on the bed and its dent free, only has 4 small screw holes on the bottom i just saw probably from a old electric brake plug. no problem since its on the bottom and not visable.






i would have slapped the tailgate back on BUT i forgot i removed all the hardware when i primered the bed, plus its all rusty so i gotta clean them up and paint them as well before i slap them back on! i might even get new hardware for it if they are to rusty. and i also need to primer the tailgate since i forgot to when i primered the bed. ill do that tomorrow hopefully if the weather holds out!

 

little update... i got the tailgate and everything else mounted back on now and fixed front trailer jack.

i also used it for its first load yesterday. 2yards of mulch for brother for the yard, which she held up great. only bottomed out on the frame when i bounced on one side up and down when loaded. but didnt bottom out at all while driving with the load. still needs shocks tho because it did have some side to side swaying when one wheel hit a dip. but still good. pulled great. could have held more weight just fine.
not sure how much 2 yards of mulch weighs since online the weight is estimated between 500-800lbs per yard of mulch depending on moisture. so id asume my trailer had something like 1K-1,600lbs of weight in her. and trailer is ballanced very well! even when loaded i could pick up the front trailer tongue to tilt the trailer back, tho since i lowered the trailer its not enough angle to dump very well.lol i had to use the tractor to pickup the trailer after 1/4 was racked off to pick it up enough to dump easier.


just washed the truck also. she was very dirty!








im also waiting on my tinted taillights and 3rd brake light as well, they are suposedly in the mail USPS. from the looks of the taillights i will be very happy with them just by the pics!



still no primer on the tailgate. to many bugs flying around for that so i just spray painted the tailgate hardware and bolts and bolted it up so i could help brother haul a load of mulch since its WAY CHEAPER in bulk than in bags!!!!

 

i like how your trailer project is coming along. almost done? planning to color match?

 

o ya! color match is a must... just not sure when im going to paint it to match.... i need matching paint already so i can paint my front grill to match finally....
other than that the trailers almost done. i gotta put a bunch of tie down hooks in the bed, and i also want a toolbox up front of the bed sitting on the frame rails on the tongue of the trailer. i just bought a toolbox yesterday BUT its to large and it sits on my trailer jack and also it would limit my turning quite a bit! but i only paid 40bucks for it so im sure i can get my money back outta it even as rusted as it is! i thought it would fit but when it came down to a quick test fit... O NO... way to big! thought about cutting it down to fit better but i think ill just try and sell it and get a smaller typical size toolbox so slap on the trailer.
and i know i could slap the toolbox in the bed BUT that would defeat the purpose and having a long bed trailer wouldnt it.LOL ITS HUGE! wish i measured it before i gave the guy the money and took it home!!!!

 

Mmmm your truck alone is sexy as hell but this trialer is bad *** now that its all coming together

Wish i could have a truck like yours lol nice work good sir keep it up!

 

thanks man. the suspension really sets it off nicely!
im thinking about going lower in the front infact... only thing is im not sure if i should go with bags in the front or just another inch of drop with a 3inch drop spring instead of my 2inch drops now.
the thing is bags would be cooler of course and adjustable but could potentially have more problems on a daily driver...
but then just lowering it another inch has a similar problem since its not adjustable and some curbs and such will tear up my front valance and bottom out the frame easier.lol
either way i have to cut up my front inner fenders and see about lifting the top metal up afew inches at least. because it already rubs my tires on the upper inner fenders. one downfall about a truck over a civic. the civics liner is plastic. i gotta worry about lifting steel and relocating stuff like fuse box and abs system and anything else on the inner fender!
only other downfall about a truck is the MPG as well.LOL typically about 60bucks a week in gas. when the civic was only like 30bucks. so that cuts into my moding funds! after i get the trailer painted then ill be saving up to rebuild my subwoofer setup.
im pretty set on two 15s ported box, and remove rear bench seat completly and slap in a front passenger seat back there near the door. that way i can still seat at least 3 passengers with me!

 

I say leave the suspension height where it currently is...another inch drop would be nice looking but like you stated it'd be a hastle to set everything up just to make it work and why fix something that don't need fix'n? It looks good now so let her be

 

i think the height is fine the way it is. what happened to the cover you swiped at the junk yard? did you get the hooks and clips for it?