My Aluma 638 Aluminum Utility Trailer has been a steadfast aid since October of 2016. Her purpose was to carry the Ural Sidecar Rig on camping trips primarily, though she'd end up fulfilling other roles as well over the years.
However, all that subsequent boondocking and dispersed camping caused much wear and tear on the poor trailer. Aluminum just isn't the material to use for trailering heavy motorcycles such as the Ural Patrol over rough terrain. All that bouncing and rough trails took its tool and there's been several patching/reinforcement repairs done.
Here's a listing of all trailer related posts, usually involving repairs: Trailer
This last camping trip, I'd started thinking about replacing it with a steel trailer for future trailering of the Ural Patrol. Nearly lost the wheel fenders a couple of times, and ended up screwing on support brackets/panels when I got home.
So, at the start of this week, I put the trailer up for sale on Facebook Marketplace. A flurry of pings ensued from several people, most of whom expressed interest but then I didn't hear back from.
This morning, as I contemplated taking the trailer back to the storage yard; I got a ping from a buyer. Celestino was very communicative and we met up at a nearby park for him to look at it shortly after he first reached out to me.
After a brief inspection, he and I agreed on a price and the deal was done. I signed away the title to him and he Zell'ed the funds to Martha's account. Easy Peasy.
I hope he gets years of use out of that trailer, he's going to use it to haul stuff for his auto body repair /restoration company.
Amidst rather nice weather, I've been catching up on household chores.
I also realized finally and youtube'd some lessons on the correct way to use butt and crimp connectors for low voltage wires. I'd been doing it with the wrong tools and methodology you see; now I have new wire crimpers which should lead to better repairs in the future.
Changed the oil on both the Onan 4KW generator on the VRRV and also the Predator 2K Generator. I've lost track of the hours on the Predator so I just change its oil when I do the Onan generator, which is at least every 50 hours of operation.
Changed the engine oil and filter on the VRRV, she's now over 119K miles. I bought her with 22,240 miles on the odometer back in 2016. That works out to an average of about 12,095 per year.
Received a replacement for the Chicology Blinds that broke in the VRRV. Gotta like a company that stands behind their product! It's installed and hopefully will last a while.
Paused briefly to shoot a pic of my neighbor's tree as it steadily begins to lose its leaves:
The trees in the neighborhood are also in the final stages of Fall Colors but not finding the motivation to go get those pics. It's not the same with houses in the background.
Fixed the Aluma trailer's wire connection to the VRRV, again. Though I'd done a good enough job last time but a bare wire on the right rear light had grounded and caused lots of current to flow and generated enough heat to burn things up!
Scarlett, my 2014 Ural Patrol Sidecar Rig's front brakes had felt "mushy" when I last rode her. Today I checked the pads (close but still good) and then discovered a failed speed-bleeder valve. The rubber cap had come off a while ago it seems, dirt got into the opening and air got in.
Luckily I had a spare in stock, installed it, bled the brakes and all good now.
Normally, you'd see a small ball bearing sealing
the opening above
I keep rotating through the motorcycles as I run chores and such, no riding for pleasure since I got back from camping. Mostly though, working on regaining trust in Yagi, my recently repaired TW200.
A neighborhood friend, Chip C., who's a pretty good handyman/mechanic has agreed to swap the wiring harness on the stators so that I have a good "spare" for Yagi. My soldering skills remain crappy but I bought a "helping hands" tool based on Chip's suggestion for the next time I try soldering wires:
It's been a series of nice and warm afternoons with cool mornings in the 40s-50s. Snow is rumored for the latter half of this coming week, we shall see.
Lately, self-recovery has become a topic of much interest to me, due mostly to the problems I had with my TW200: Yagi, a couple of weeks ago. LINK.
This morning, I decided to actually try and use the "Come Along Tool" or Cable Winch Puller Tool that I've been carrying in the VRRV for years. Simple tool, lots of finger pinching potential and I'd never used it till today. In fact, had to Youtube the procedure to get it to "lock" and be ready to winch!
It took me some time to figure out how to lay out and adjust the two ratchet straps and one cam buckle strap used in conjunction with the come along tool.
As this was practice (The Ural is working just fine for a change), the straps I used were the ones I normally tie down the rig onto the trailer. I think I need to use heavy duty locking carabiners for safer operations in the future. Open hooks aren't safe if they fail!
As I was by myself, there wasn't someone holding the front tire pointing straight, so the third cam-buckled strap was used. First on the left side of the handle bar to keep the front tire from turning right as it negotiates the ramp hinge; then on the left side of the handle bar to keep it from drifting right. (you'll see in the video)
All in all, the first attempt took a bit of time, the second and third attempts went much faster. Practice makes perfect right?
The come along required little effort to winch the rig along, up the ramp and onto the trailer. Way less effort than using the z-drag system I'd recently bought for use with Yagi, my TW200. (more on this z-drag system in future post).
The z-drag system actually worked to drag the Ural up onto the trailer as well though, just requires more muscle and time.
The video is run at 4x normal speed to hopefully prevent boredom on your part.
Now I feel more confident in being able to load a non-functioning Ural sidecar rig (estimated weight 800 lbs +) onto a trailer by myself. Sure, a powered winch would make it even easier of course but it's what I have for now.
A manual boat trailer winch would work as well but would have to be anchored permanently, as is a powered winch. The come along tool allows some flexibility in other scenarios. Not to mention, I've been spending too much money lately on stuff.
And, as you probably noted in the video, I need new tires for the sidecar rig!
Sunny but with gusting winds that reinforced the meaning of "Wind Chill Factor".
I finished the last repair for the trailer, which had been found while inserting a support 1"x1" angle iron next to the crossway strut under where most of the Ural Patrol's tug rests while in travel mode.
photo courtesy of Lori Z.
The new support, allows the trailer platform above to not flex as much when the sidecar rig is loaded.
Oh, I also applied small steel patches to four of the trailer ramp's cross members which had cracked apart, allowing some sagging of the ramp.
We'd noticed before the Machida visit that the front half of the mount for the left side wheel's suspension had cracked apart.
Here's a pic from the previous post of me eyeing the failed welding's crack:
photo courtesy of Lori Z.
Though I failed to get pics of the crack before the repair, here's what it looks like now:
Before, there'd been actual separation....
now the two pieces are in contact again
Here's a clearer picture of the suspension/axle assembly's mounting in question. Basically, the years of wear and tear had cracked the aluminum welds, leaving the front half of the T-Channel somewhat "loose".
Now, there's two bolts in place, doing the job of the failed welds.
I then hooked the trailer back onto the URRV and did trial loading/unloading of the sidecar rig while Chris Z. watched. I'm happy to report no flexing seen by Chris and no issues riding the rig onto or off of the trailer.
Soon as I was finished with the work, Lori and Chris generously soldered together the cobbled together breaks in the trailer's tow lighting wiring.
I was exhausted the rest of day, so I rested. Dinner was at the Zs and it was an early night for me!
Monday, January 30
Sunny but windy, again. Leading to us spending a lot of the day indoors out of the wind.
Lori Z. however, found a good time during the windy day, to fly her DJI Mavic 2 drone around the campsite area:
video and drone pics by Lori Z.
Didn't really get much done otherwise. I did do some planning for some additional work on the trailers but no new cracks were found. Just will make things "mo better".
A pretty good day today, it would have been perfect but for the occasional winds which brought about some chilling effects.
I spent part of the morning working some more on reinforcing the trailer, got a 1x1" steel angle iron next to a support cross frame to help support the Ural Patrol, with some help from Lori Z., a big hammer and a rotary cutting tool.
I may end up putting additional plating where you see the
break but the angle iron I installed above should suffice
Then, we discovered the left side support which holds the suspension to the frame had cracked. Not good, but the solution could be quite simple:
The consensus is to install a bolt in the T-Channel
shown above, to secure the suspension mechanism
to the platform where the welds have broken
Around the time we were getting around to installing the bolt to secure the separated section back onto the platform of the trailer, the Machidas showed up and it was time for lunch and some visiting.
After lunch, Chris Z, Bridget and I piled into her Jeep and we drove the five miles to Council Rocks to check things out.
We found the site with no issues and we wandered about, both Bridget and Chris spending some time with the petroglyphs. I didn't take a lot of pics of the petroglyphs as I've been here before: link
Aliens?
Bridget, replicating a pose by her grandmother
when she went camping back in the day
We returned to camp and chatted some more, as the evening approached and things started cooling down; the Machidas left for Benson and we settled in for dinner in the VRRV.
I spent the morning doing some light hiking before getting started on some more reinforcement work for the trailer.
There's a learning curve apparently when it comes to drilling on steel and it took me quite a while and a few drill bits to make just two holes in the angle iron I'd bought beforehand!
In the meantime, the Z's had received all the mail and packages they'd been expecting, earlier than expected! So they drove the same route I did, got some groceries and some supplies for me. They showed up after 2PM and we were all back together again.
One of the things Chris bought for me was a new drill bit as I'd ruined the ones I had. Even with the new bit, it took me a while to figure out you have to go slow and through progressively larger diameter drill bits in order to get the job done!
Dinner was in the URRV, Spam and Fried Rice!
Friday, January 27
A warmer day today, though still windy at times after things warmed up.
I rode Yagi, my TW200, quite bundled up, to nearby Tombstone to see about getting some bolts and nuts at the local hardware store. Damn it was cold with temps in the low to mid 30s! Still, I got to the store with no issues except slightly numb fingertips.
After perusing the meager stockage at this small hardware store, I got myself some 3" long 5/16ths bolts with lock nuts. I also picked up a drill bit set made with Titanium portions. This was to finish the drilling of holes into the angle iron reinforcements for the trailer.
I started working on the trailer soon after my return, while the Z's offered occasional advice and guidance.
Turns out, you can teach an old dog a new trick! Finally, after decades of doing it wrong, I learned how to drill correctly into steel, without ruining the dill bit! Slow is the key, I'd always gone for faster drill speeds and putting heavy pressure on the bit, which is wrong. Also, lubricating the drill bit's tip with oil is key!
Below three photos courtesy of Lori Z:
Using the correct speed, oil lubrication, and stepping up the drill bit size to largen the hole soon had all the required holes drilled and ready for bolts and lock nuts.
They're grade 5 bolts so Chris Z. commented that the 1/8" thick steel angle iron would bend before the bolts would break! The angle iron, visible above, is on both sides of the trailer. They're to help support that last third of the trailer platform which has to support the heaviest part of the Ural Patrol sidecar rig.
The angle iron span where cracks had been created near the rear edge of the fenders where they meet the platform's edge wall. Not good, I am now pretty confident that further damage won't be an issue.
I also mounted a wheel chock generously given to me by the Z's, onto a couple of 2x6" boards. The boards will take the place of thinner fence boarding which I'd been using to "spread the load" of the Ural motorcycle tug.
Finally, done for the day, it was time to rest. There's a bit more reinforcement work to do but that's for another day.
Lori Z. in her natural habitat...enjoying the sun
and doing some crochet work.
After a short nap in the sun, I got out the binoculars to see if I could spot some climbers on the nearby rocky peaks. I did see a couple of people on top of the rock called Sheeps Head but didn't get the Nikon Coolpix 9900S camera with it's 30X zoom fast enough.
Lori and I use the trailer's ramp to steady our
respective binoculars
More scanning of the nearby rocky peaks, I thought I'd spotted another person standing on a rock, silhouetted against the sky. I hurriedly got the Nikon 9900S and tried to capture an image using digital zoom on top of the 30X optical zoom.
Of course, doing it without a tripod, it was quite blurry and fuzzy. Below photo revealed the object I'd seen with the binoculars as a very large bird! Yep, 1.4 miles away and 1700 feet higher in altitude, yet clearly a bird. (according the the Peak Finder App)
Below photo of the zoomed in photo was post-processed to sharpen it and add contrast.
Then, I went to get the tripod to try to get a sharper picture. During the interval I was setting things up, the bird flew away. Further proof it was a bird. Here's the peak's top, followed by a closeup using digital zoom and post-processing to show the now empty perch branch.
Can you see the perch?
A more overall view of the peak for perspective
As the sun set, we all retired to our respective RVs for dinner and get out of the growing cold conditions.
Quite tired from the trailer work. It's supposed to be in the low 60s tomorrow!
Here's a YouTube video I found later which shows the proper way to drill metal. It's what I learned from Chris Z. today:
Windy and cold conditions kept us in our respective RVs to stay warm.
In the afternoon, it was still chilly but the sun was out so I wandered over to a nearby rocky hill:
A view of our campsite from the top of the closest hill
Rock formations I found while wandering...
Sadly, someone decided their half-assed effort of remembering someone dear to them (apparently), was to spray graffiti over one of the large boulders:
Saturday, January 21
Sunny and warmer due to lack of windy conditions. It barely reached 50 degrees Fahrenheit at its warmest but the sun and clear skies had all three of us lazily basking in the sun's warmth.
I did take a short walk up to the nearby rocks and tried to find some interesting rocks but none really turned out. I did manage to find a somewhat OK angle to do a selfie:
Not much else to report besides the absorption of the sun's welcome warmth. Chris Z. went for a short ride on his T-Dub and I think Lori did some Yoga while I was wandering about the hilltop rocks.
In the late afternoon, Chris and I discussed further reinforcement work for the trailer. I need to procure some angle iron first, along with appropriate fasteners to hopefully strengthen the rear third of the trailer's platform.
We had us a pretty good sunrise, a bit cold but bearable as I waited for the sun to appear:
I spent the morning working to re-attach the loading ramp back onto the trailer bed.
The aluminum channels through which the ramp's hinge pins had mounted and rotated had give way sometime early in the drive yesterday. I'd been dragging the ramp, unknowingly as the rear view camera sucks in low light conditions, for a bit until a truck's good Samaritan saw it as I went past him and he flagged me down.
Left side hinge, showing the pin I mentioned.
Right side hinge area, completely worn down
due to being dragged on the roadway!
I'd procured hinges and hardware at the Tractor Supply in Hatcher, AZ and used it to remount the ramp.
The above seems secure enough and I was able to unload Scarlett, my 2014 Ural Patrol. I then spent the remainder of the time cutting off excess bolt length as required, cutting off aluminum remnants of previous mounting points.
I also found three cracked cross bars on the ramp and will be adding reinforcing steel plates before trying to load Scarlett back onto the trailer. I'll probably replace all the existing nuts with Nyloc nuts to further secure them. I also have to buy some more long bolts as I underestimated the need for longer versions of the 5/16" bolts.
A snack and some rest, the I joined Lori Z. who had come by as I was putting tools away. She'd gone ahead towards the nearby rock pile to see what she could see.
A view of the rigs, now that the previous camper had
vacated the site in the early morning
Lori Z. at her meditation spot
I would end up at the point between the two rocks.
