
After our normal Wednesday work party, yesterday, Bill and his son
Patrick welded the fasteners for the sides of the trailer over at their
house and Bill hauled it back to my house without all the jury-rigged
rope and bungies around 5:30pm. They welded an angle iron piece on top
and across the front vertical posts and welded a hasp on each end. We
plan to use this bar for a banner and eventually for solar panels. At
the rear, he welded a short angle piece from each post horizontally over
to the rear corner of the sides. We then screwed the other end of the
hasp on the top four corners of the two sides.
To keep the front lift out gate from wiggling he welded a fifth hasp to
the center of the front horizontal bar. We are using bungies on this
hasp to hold the steel curved girder bridge upright during travel.
Lastly he welded two shorter hasps half way up both of the rear posts to
fasten the hinged winged side panels which fill the gap between the
rear gate and the side gates. They also cut off the spare wheel mount
that was on the front of the trailer. At the front of the trailer they
welded on two small hinges which will be the platform for two metal
buildings on the outside of the trailer over the tongue. The platform
will be hinged plywood so that we can lift it out of the way of the
battery box below it.
We discussed the battery box and Bill suggested getting one shaped for
the tongue and large enough to hold the tarp and charger in addition to
the battery(ies). We still need an expert electric person to advise on
the type of battery and other equipment. Bill will weld mounts for the
battery box when we get it. I can't really build the water feature
without the battery in place.
Next Wednesday we will continue building the mountain frame we started
this week. John will show us the plans for a fancy metal suspension
bridge on one of the sides. Terry plans to bring the metal houses he
painted so we can install the plywood foundation over the tongue. We've
decided to get rid of the plastic roadbed above the wheel wells because
it's warping out of control. We'll need to cut some pressure treated
plywood for that. Lots to do -- again.
Thanks everyone!