[tentnomore]

@abrightwell – Well here’s how I figured out how to flip the axle with the 12″ tires and have the fenders work without all the previously mentioned interferences. I was actually searching the web for different fenders that might solve the problem when I stumbled across an ‘Offset Fender Bracket’ on Amazon. It didn’t have any real dimensional specs with it so I couldn’t tell if it would work on the teardrop but it gave me the idea to make my own. I went to Home Depot and found a flat bar of aluminum – 2″ x 1/8″ x 36″ for ~ $10. And then bent it by hand in my bench vise with some wood and dowels for bending forms into the shape in the photo (and I made a pair of them – each required a bit more than one linear foot of material.)

 

The long part is bolted to the trailer frame. The outward bend spaces the fender away from the side of the teardrop. The shorter arm bolts to the underside of the fender.

The next photo shows the bracket mounted on the trailer. It also shows two of the plastic mounting discs (that are supposed to go under the trailer) mounted as 3/4″ spacers for ‘pinching’ the edges of the fenders. You could use anything for these spacers. I used hockey pucks under the teardrop so I had these on hand and they are good and weather proof. The Trailex provided T-Bolts are only 3/4″ long and are not long enough to go through a 3/4″ spacer. I searched and couldn’t find where to buy longer T-Bolts like this, so again I improvised. I bought 2″ x 3/8″ Stainless Steel carriage bolts. I then filed down their rounded heads a bit so that they would slide into the Trailex track. The square part of the bolts just under the rounded head fits nicely into the slot in the track and keeps the bolt from turning when the nut is eventually tightened down.

 

The final pic shows the fender mounted. It has ~3″ of tire clearance and I tweaked the bracket so that the fender is just flush to the side of the teardrop. I positioned the little rubber edge strips on the fender to be at the point of contact between the fender and the teardrop so there is no scratching. And you can pick however much tire clearance you want since you are making the bracket!

While my offset bracket is not as rigid as the Trailex supplied bracket, it is plenty stiff with the combination of the bracket and the ‘pinch’ clamping at each end of the fender. If desired, you could make it as rigid as you want if you have access to thicker metal bars and a way to bend them.

[tentnomore]

I also just flipped the axle on a Trailer trailer with the 12″ wheels to the ‘over-spring’ position for our teardrop and now have two concerns on the fenders.

1) The L-bracket for the fender has to be in the highest position for the fender to now clear the tire. Even in this position there is only about 1.5 inches between the underside of the fender and the top surface of the tire (and this is with no teardrop on the trailer.) Is this enough clearance as the springs flex on a bumpy road?

2) With the fenders mounted in this ‘high’ position, they will interfere with the sides of the teardrop. I considered shimming them out a bit, but that requires longer T-Bolts, the ends of which will then come perilously close to interfering with the side of the tire. Another approach would be to cut an arc off the inside edge of the fender so that it clears the teardrop.

For any of you that have flipped the axle on a Trailer trailer with 12″ wheels, how did you handle the issue with the fenders?

Thanks!!

[tentnomore]

Thanks for providing this forum. We are starting with the storage box because we can get a small room warm enough to do epoxy. As soon as it warms up here in western NY, we’ll move to the garage and start the camper! Can hardly wait!

[Author]

Posts