DMR's K-5 Gutter Machine Photopage part 3

Here is the new gutter machine trailer shell frame work being built in our work shop with the evening sun shining on it.

This is before the aluminum skin was installed, showing the 2x2, 2x4, 1x6 frame work. It has been made with new and the used boards. I pre-drilled the holes in the wood before screwing it all together to prevent the wood from splitting and cracking apart.

DMR.

Here is the first white pre-painted aluminum skin going on. I was impatient, and did not have all the ribs built yet, but this will help hold the frame steady. You can see there were no ribs past the wheel well. I left the front side open to install the side door in front of the wheel well.

I had to figure out a good sturdy way to build some floor outside of the steel trailer frame out to the outside of the wheel wells, as I was making this upper shell wider than the old trailer. I was glad I did, as it made the interior much more usable in moving around the machine. The other trailer was very cramped.

DMR

This clearly shows the 2x2 ribs, many of which I scabbed off of the old trailer. This is looking from behind with all the ribs now built. I still had some cross braces to install on the last two ribs. I have built the rear door frame. To minimize time off work, I set the dimensions to use the old doors again.

DMR

Here is the next side wall aluminum skin to go on over the ribs and under the fascia board that I planned to mount the gutter onto. I had not yet cut the aluminum sheet metal skin out over the wheels to fit with the wheel well.

DMR

Here is the next side wall aluminum skin on from the inside rear. This shows a cross brace before I cover it with the aluminum sheet metal covers. I still have to enclose the wheel well on the inside of the trailer, or it would make a mess inside the trailer on wet days.

DMR

I assembled this trailer frame with all screws and bolts. Absolutely no nails. This is the fascia board I am installing to mount the gutter sample onto. I would have loved to have more of an eave over hang, but the trailer is already over 6.5 feet wide. Once I have the gutters on, it will be over 7 feet wide. The limit for a vehicle on the roads is 8 feet wide. The work car is only 5.5 feet wide, so I am already sticking out a good foot on each side. The rear visibility is rather compromised as it is, and my turning clearance is an issue. I have to be very careful to give a wide birth, so as not to hit things that my work car was well clear of.

DMR

Here is another picture Tia took from an over head view. This was before I installed the many wood screws with steel and rubber washers in the new white aluminum skin. Again, I needed to pre-drilled the holes for the screws to avoid any splitting or cracking of the 2x2 boards. It was tricky to line up the holes to be drilled to be centered in the board hidden behind the aluminum sheet metal.

DMR

The over head clearance of the garage door frame was very close to the roof of the trailer by not more than an inch with out the roof panels on the trailer shell. I moved it out of the work shop to install the roof panels. It would have been easier to make a simple flat roof, but beside the dramatic look of a small house, I hate the idea of rain water puddleing on the roof panels, and it also makes the removable roof panel much more stable to have the 'A' frame roof. The removable panel is to be able to have a 400lb coil of new sheet metal lowered onto the machine spindle with a fork lift.