Call me Scotty the Scotsman
Posted: Tue Apr 26, 2022 8:36 am
As most of you may have inferred by now, I am as cheap as chips and squeeze every penny till I get copper poisoning. This instance is no different.
Some background:
In 2014 I bought a Jurgens luggage trailer - the infamous BT547. For those with Agnosia (like most Toyota drivers), the 547 represents the dimensions of the cargo bin of the trailer. Anyway, back then I drove the Jimny and needed the extra space for stuff, wood and beer. I thought about a roofrack, but apart from the instability it caused, a Jimny with stuff on the roof resembled two paraplegic tortoises bumping uglies.
So the trailer it was. And it was such a lekker trailer, some family members borrowed it often. In 2019 my youngest brother borrowed it. And kept it in his yard. Exposed to the elements. And seemingly not washing it despite using it at the coast several times. I eventually got it back this year, a month or so ago to be specific, and it was in quite a state. Effectively, the floor and mudguards were rusted through and I deemed the trailer structurally unsound to use. Bear in mind that this trailer has no chassis and that it uses a torsion spring axle - no leaf springs. Strangely, the nose cone was in good shape.
I fiddled with the notion of scrapping it and buying a new one, but then the inner Scotsman came out - with enough whiskey in me that evening, I contemplated building a new bak. And so I did. Well, sort of - I am in the process of doing it.
The fact that the axle does not mount to a chassis proved to be a real pain in the arse later and I had to resort to cutting out the mounting points of the old trailer - which was also in good nick, and welding it to the frame I built.
For the frame I used 38mm x 38mm x 2 square tubing - heavy, but strong. When it is all said and done, I reckon the new bak will weigh about 50-70kg more than the old one. I plan to fit the axle and A-frame this weekend, change out the wheel bearing and get all the welding done - then paint. As side panels, I am simply going to rivet on 1,5mm alu plate and paint it appliance colour.
Some pics of the progress:
Some background:
In 2014 I bought a Jurgens luggage trailer - the infamous BT547. For those with Agnosia (like most Toyota drivers), the 547 represents the dimensions of the cargo bin of the trailer. Anyway, back then I drove the Jimny and needed the extra space for stuff, wood and beer. I thought about a roofrack, but apart from the instability it caused, a Jimny with stuff on the roof resembled two paraplegic tortoises bumping uglies.
So the trailer it was. And it was such a lekker trailer, some family members borrowed it often. In 2019 my youngest brother borrowed it. And kept it in his yard. Exposed to the elements. And seemingly not washing it despite using it at the coast several times. I eventually got it back this year, a month or so ago to be specific, and it was in quite a state. Effectively, the floor and mudguards were rusted through and I deemed the trailer structurally unsound to use. Bear in mind that this trailer has no chassis and that it uses a torsion spring axle - no leaf springs. Strangely, the nose cone was in good shape.
I fiddled with the notion of scrapping it and buying a new one, but then the inner Scotsman came out - with enough whiskey in me that evening, I contemplated building a new bak. And so I did. Well, sort of - I am in the process of doing it.
The fact that the axle does not mount to a chassis proved to be a real pain in the arse later and I had to resort to cutting out the mounting points of the old trailer - which was also in good nick, and welding it to the frame I built.
For the frame I used 38mm x 38mm x 2 square tubing - heavy, but strong. When it is all said and done, I reckon the new bak will weigh about 50-70kg more than the old one. I plan to fit the axle and A-frame this weekend, change out the wheel bearing and get all the welding done - then paint. As side panels, I am simply going to rivet on 1,5mm alu plate and paint it appliance colour.
Some pics of the progress:
