Progress report #3 - Misc frame and electrical preparations.

Painting the hardware...

Progress has been slow, but I made some good advances today. The trailer wiring harness had its first test and the plug does work to my F-150 and I know the harness does work. Just need to start getting it permanently hooked into the trailer frame per the plans from RedTrailer. I have the model SJ-8530 and it is a really well-built piece of hardware.

Wiring and the newly painted frame

I did notice that the bolts that hold the springs to the frame have holes in them for cotter pins. Those never made it onto the frame when I built it, so I'll add some. Endless inspection of the frame is paying off as I slowly advance forward. I had pulled off a lot of the hardware that had rusted and also the plastic lighting that had sat outside for awhile. I decided to clean all of  that up and paint it with Rustoleum... The side light plastic fittings and the fittings for the license plate holder and the fender holders are all painted and drying as I write this.

My worry right now is how the electrical grounding works for the trailer. More reading to do. I'm sure I'll find plenty of good articles on how that works for this overall process.

The ball hitch is now installed. Looks great!

I went ahead and added the trailer hitch ball to the bumper. It was an easy task to get out of the way and it looks great on the bumper. I'm going to double check that this is properly secured. Having never done any of this before, I'm not taking any chances that I'm missing some huge detail that could come back to haunt me later.


I've made the decision to fully replace the hubs and keep the old original ones as spares. For the price, it is cheap to go with brand new ones and have some confidence in having had new ones. When I looked over the seal on the rear hub, I didn't like what I saw and considering that I don't know squat about replacing the seals, I'm willing to just get a new setup for this first time out and then fix the old ones without the pressure to get it right the first time... 


The lumber is all ready to go forward for the next step which is to get the floor attached to the bottom frame. I have the Henry's sealer all set to go for sealing the bottom and I bought the insulation for the bottom of the trailer to make things warmer for me. Once I finally have all of this done and attached to the bottom of the trailer, I'll be able to get her down for the safety inspection and licensed. I've also been getting little accessories and items I know will be needed. I now have four trailer jacks and will also be getting some fold down jacks that permanently adhere to the frame... I'll likely have them welded on for me by someone.

That is all for now. More on Saturday when the next progress report will be forthcoming ;>)