More fine tuning

I have quickly realised that some modifications are required to the camper trailer. This weekend my brother in law, Tony, and I removed the rivetted bracket and R clip holding the spare tyre in place and replaced with 3 bolts along with a 2mm steel plate to strengthen the metal frame. Tony was of the view that the rivets would pop and we would lose the spare tyre as soon as we started driving on corrugated road. The replacement setup appears far more secure so time will only tell!



3 new bolts replaced rivets

With R-clip secured 

 
In addition to making the spare tyre support clip more sturdy, we also added a section of 2mm steel plate to the underneath of the rack on top of the front section of the camper trailer. The rack was secured to the trailer by 4 bolts. Given the weight of the 2 additional spare tyres, Tony believed that the trailer frame needed strengthening and so added the plate on both sides to the underside of the frame. This was a relatively easy procedure and only required the plate to be cut to size, the holes drilled and the bolts refitted. No movement now.

Existing trailer rack

With two additional spare tyres mounted

2mm steel bolted to underside of rack

A couple of further security additions have been to drill out the pin used for the Tregg Hitch so that a lock can be attached to it when the trailer is not attached to the vehicle. Also we have added some chain to the spare tyre on the rear of the trailer and added a lock.

We are well and truly into the final stages of preparation and all that is required is to purchase some supplies and organise the packing. Bring it on!