I didn't think

[overlander63]

Originally Posted by CanoeStream

And then it dawned on me -- fill the tires with a vacuum and I should be able to put 200# pressure in them fer shure. Like totally!

Is there antipressure? Like antimatter? You could fill one sside with 65 APSI, the other with 65PSI, and the trailer should level out.

[vswingfield]

Originally Posted by overlander63

Is there antipressure? Like antimatter? You could fill one sside with 65 APSI, the other with 65PSI, and the trailer should level out.

Great idea Terry,

Just don't let them get together!

[wheel interested]

April Fools! another good one!

[Gene]

With all this talk of wheels, tires and axles, unbalanced trailers and such, there has to be a better answer.

I am getting rid of my tires, wheels and axles. They are such a pain, expensive and subject to all sorts of disputes.

I am mounting boiler plate underneath the trailer with a silicone dispenser that will spray silicone through little holes in the plate and the trailer will slide along the highway.

I have some questions:

1. Where shall I install the silicone tank? I think under the bed would be best.

2. The vehicles behind me on the road may object. Is there insurance for these nay sayers?

3. Can I use the silicone on the aluminum?

4. Will I have to use different bars on my Equalizer?

Gene

[DMT]

Originally Posted by CanoeStream

My '06 was built in the unlubed bearing period when Airstream installed higher capacity Dexter axles for a few months. I think my GAWR is about 7200#. Tongue weight doesn't count against that, so I thought I had leeway to break the mold. Am I mistaken?

This picture shows my Safari tilted to the left. Towing is getting to be a real "Hey, watch this!" experience.

I got a great deal on a 1925 wood cookstove. The aluminum color and nickeled steel fittings seemed an Airstream natural, so I thought, "What could go wrong?"

I installed it in place of my roadside couch. It's over the axles so no rear end separation could happen. Wait. This gets good. I've re-routed the flue to the stack in the adjacent Dometic, so I have the first tri-fuel fridge in which wood is used. That's not really working yet but there's a more immediate issue.

Our Safari tilts to the roadside too much. Above 110 pounds pressure the tires look like something from Roger Rabbit. Anybody ever use airbags on just one side? The stove already adds almost 500#, so I'm not wanting to carry all my firewood on the curbside. Here's my best idea and the real question -- on the WD setup, how about 1000# springbars on the left and 500# springbars on the right? Has this been done before?

I won't even start in on what's happening with the outriggers...

That's a great idea! The extra weight is probably causing a drift to the left, so to correct that why not try opening all the curbside windows? The extra drag should create a pull to the right and balance everything out. If you installed automatic openers with a remote the TT could steer the whole rig. Finally the tail could wag the dog!

[Nuvite-F]

Originally Posted by CrawfordGene

With all this talk of wheels, tires and axles, unbalanced trailers and such, there has to be a better answer.

I am getting rid of my tires, wheels and axles. They are such a pain, expensive and subject to all sorts of disputes.

I am mounting boiler plate underneath the trailer with a silicone dispenser that will spray silicone through little holes in the plate and the trailer will slide along the highway.

Sounds like a great idea to me. Eliminates all tire, wheel, and axle problems in one easy modification. Although since the trailer will now have no suspension at all, shock and vibration could be a problem.

I have some questions:

1. Where shall I install the silicone tank? I think under the bed would be best.

You can put it anywhere you want since weight and balance won't be an issue. If putting it under the bed make sure you don't get it mixed up with the KY or Kama Sutra massage oil.

Before undertaking this project you might want to calculate the silicone oil consumption in miles per gallon. With $5 per gallon gas coming up and, say, $50 per gallon for the silicone oil, you'll need good silicone mileage.

2. The vehicles behind me on the road may object. Is there insurance for these nay sayers?

I should plump for a tail gun. I think B-29's had a remote controlled tail gun; maybe you could find one of those at a surplus store.

For a quieter solution, if anyone behind you is blowing their horn or making rude gestures, you could simply arrange to increase the silicone oil dispensing rate going into the next curve.

3. Can I use the silicone on the aluminum?

Shouldn't hurt. Although most of the silicone will be on the boiler plate belly pan, right?

4. Will I have to use different bars on my Equalizer?

Won't need any weight distribution at all. Should make hooking up a breeze!

Happy April 1!
.

[Gene]

Nuvi, thank you for your ideas.

I like the one about the tail gun—there should be a way to have it lock on when the horns go off—sonar will work.

I could put some short coil springs between the belly pan and the boiler plate to smooth out the bumps.

And, instead of separate silicone and KY dispensers, maybe KY would work just as well on the boiler plate and for other uses.

I'm thinking some helium tanks in the trailer will lighten the weight and I'll probably get better KY mileage.

Gene

[Minno]

I might be able to hook you up with a Cruise missile (got connections in the Navy ). Just point that baby backwards from the top of your trailer, and if anyone complains, hit the button! It'd give you an extra boost forward too, might improve the gas mileage.

Kay

[Nuvite-F]

Originally Posted by CrawfordGene

I like the one about the tail gun—there should be a way to have it lock on when the horns go off—sonar will work.

Great idea! And you're right--wouldn't be hard to lock on the sound source!

A long time ago when I was young and impulsive I daydreamed about a trunk-mounted air rifle to eliminate the annoyance of people following with their high beams on. All it would take would be a 4-quadrant photodetector and a simple 2-axis servomechanism to automatically aim the air rifle at the brightest light source in the field of view. (Repeat until there are no more light sources in the field of view.) And no muzzle flash and very little noise from the air rifle to give away the game.

But I never got a round tuit.

I could put some short coil springs between the belly pan and the boiler plate to smooth out the bumps.

The whole thing would begin to resemble those spring shoes they used to sell a long time ago! I have a mental image of this thing skidding and bouncing down the road.

Ya' know. . . people have been using wheels since some caveman invented them thousands of years ago. There just might be a reason. . .

Just a thought--don't want to stifle your creativity.

And, instead of separate silicone and KY dispensers, maybe KY would work just as well on the boiler plate and for other uses.

Actually you could probably use just about anything slippery--might change from time to time as the markets fluctuate. With all the bears out in your neck of the woods you might look into bear grease. You could procure it from the same supplier as the grizzly bear urine.

I'm thinking some helium tanks in the trailer will lighten the weight and I'll probably get better KY mileage.

Or better yet, hydrogen! Hydrogen is a skosh lighter than helium and the other motorists will give you an even wider berth. I can see it now, the 2014 Airstream Hindenburg model.

Cheers,
Nuvi
.

[Gene]

I realize that when the KY or silicone runs out, the contents of the black tank will be slippery too. Can't use bear grease; I'd have to kill the bear and lose my source of bear urine after I trained him to use that little cup and provide product for my Bear Urine Predator Control Juice business.

I think Airstream may be interested in the Hindenburg Edition. A stroke of marketing genius, Nuvi. They are always looking for a link with some cool design company. We can have the unveiling in Lakehurst, NJ. Imagine, light weight, no need for tires, axles and wheels, no one will try to pass you (they might try, but that's all they'll do), black tank self emptying, multiuse KY dispenser, a cruise missile for the more difficult traffic situations, and there's lot you can do with hydrogen—make water for example (easy to fill the fresh water tank)—and provide some pyrotechnics as well as lift. This is a lot better than Swiss Army Knives or Design Within Reach.

Nuvi, maybe you and I should form a partnership. We can hire Mr. Tin Hut as a consultant. Kay will be charge of defensive measures.

Gene

[Sodbust]

At the start of all this I felt we had ourselves a real slow thinking type person here.. We pay 3 fold more for the alum trailer made by Airstream to cut back on weight.. and Here is a dude tossing a 550 lb cast iron cook stove in his trailer.. Trust me,, I have not only known folks like that but have see even dumber stunts pulled off than this and they felt it was just all ok or even cool..

thank goodness its a joke.. Hand me counting backwards from 10 a few times as I was going to do a full body slam reply..

Sodbust

[CanoeStream]

DMT - you remind me of hours we once sat at the gate when the spoilers on just the port wing wouldn't stow correctly. Excellent solution now that I think about it.

Dunna forget to read aero-news.net and their ɐdɹıן ɟooןs ǝpıʇıou˙ Browse around for any April 1 article. Funny stuff.

[Nuvite-F]

Hey, Gene,

It's still April Fool's Day for 20 more minutes here, so I can get in one last post on this thread. . .

Originally Posted by CrawfordGene

I realize that when the KY or silicone runs out, the contents of the black tank will be slippery too. Can't use bear grease; I'd have to kill the bear and lose my source of bear urine after I trained him to use that little cup and provide product for my Bear Urine Predator Control Juice business.

I think the Bear Urine Predator Control Juice business has real potential, and you might be able to develop bear grease as a byproduct. After you have your stable of bears trained to pee in the little cup maybe you can convince them that "thin is in" and sell them on liposuction. (The only problem being that fat bears tend to be a lot more mellow than thin bears--although all that beer they will be drinking may help.)

Nuvi, maybe you and I should form a partnership. We can hire Mr. Tin Hut as a consultant. Kay will be charge of defensive measures.

Partnership! Arrrrrgggghhhhh! No way, Gene! At the very least an LLC, preferably incorporated in Lichtenstein, or someplace like that, so we can avoid the swarm of plaintiff's attorneys when some minor design flaw turns up in our innovative products.

Upon the advice of my attorney I have no further comment at this time.
.

[Gene]

Nuvi, I'll reply in 364 days.

Gene