Wednesday, October 26, 2011

The Office


Have I ever shown you my office? At Frank's Trailer Works we use a vintage 1961 Fan as our office.


It has all the basics needed in an office. It has a place to answer the phone and do paper work, a sink, a refrigerator, a stove for cooking a lunch if needed, and even a double bed to sleep on if I pull an all nighter.


I really like her patterned skin. The patina is real nice too.


She also doubles as a fully functional camper. She is camp ready at any moment.



All of these reflections were brought to you by Michele and Larry's freshly polished 1971 Overlander.

Friday, October 14, 2011

I'm Gonna Be a Diamond Someday


The trailer, her owner affectionately calls the Buddha Baby, came into the shop this week to get ready for a little marathon of sorts. Her running shoes have gotten a little worn out and it was time for some new ones.


I often have to wonder how old these tires must be. Since all four are different brands, I am sure they are not original. The split rims are original however.


We jumped right in cutting out all the original running gear and all the mounting hardware.


Old gear out, new gear waiting for installation.


New mounting plate, fabricated by Inland RV, to convert from leaf spring to torsion axles, being welded on by Tom of T&K Welding. Tack weld first, for the placement is VERY critical. Perfect alignment of the axles side to side, from each other, and height from the frame are all crucial to get 100% accurate.


Plates mounted, axles installed, shock mounts welded into place. Usually I would prime and paint all this next, but the Buddha Baby is coming back in a few months to get a complete shell off restoration and every thing will be sand blasted and treated then.


Here she is with her new Yokahoma custom white walls. These show tires were made by Diamond Back and really make the trailer pop. Some may look at these tires as being lip stick on a pig, or fancy new tires on a field find, but if the pig needs new running shoes, why not get a good pair, for she won't be a field find forever.

This project has a theme song to it. Want a a hear it?




I suspect Diamond Back will be seeing a small spike in trailer tire sales in the next few months.