2012/07/09

Fender - History?

I've never liked these fenders.  Their angular form doesn't relate to the profile at all.  They're relatively cheap, and they're not as wide as the tires  Bottom line:  they don't fit the design, but I had no say in their form as delivered.

Another issue is where to stow the spare tire.  The trailer came with a bracket to store it horizontally on the tongue, but I want to place a tongue box there to contain the batteries.  There is no space to store the spare underneath the trailer, and no space on the tongue, so where does it go?

It may involve a minor re-design. 

The current (stock) fenders present some challenges:

  1. How to adhere the plywood to the side structure behind the fender structure when the exterior plywood is applied
  2. How to adhere the aluminum exterior to the plywood behind the fender strucre, and
  3. How to caulk the area where vertical meets horizontal and the access is limited to 1/4" +/-.
There is no good answer to any of the above points.  And thus was borne the desire to remove the existing fenders and discard them.  But, removing and discarding the existing fenders would require construction of replacements.

"Aha!"  You say.  "An opportunity manufactured."  

Well, yes.  After all:

  1. The existing fenders are not acceptable visually or mechanically
  2. Finding a place to store the spare tire has been an ongoing struggle
  3. We might well create replacement fenders that take the form of cabinets, or storage areas, on the cheeks of the trailer behind the axle wherein a spare could be stored, and that reflect the overall profile of the teardrop.  
"Whoa!" You say.  "Solve a practical and aesthetic problem at the same time?"


Well, Yes.


Stay tuned.

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