More work today.
I did some fine-tuning of the stub axle fitment. The alignment wasn't all that great and they were a bit loose. So I added more metal welding around the holes, then filed to fit. Things are a lot better now but I can't take out the cone and race looseness as the axle stub is not threaded to set the tension. That is a bad thing. I suppose I could easily swap out the axle for a conventional axle. However, at that point I'd rather build up a new wheel set. So I'll run these as-is and see what happens.
I also flattened out the front X brace frame. It was at 2.25" of twist (the end of the non-hitch side was 2.25" higher than the hitch side). I took 1" out by cutting some X members in a couple places. Then I welded the cut X members back together. Of course, when welding things move. So I ended up with closer to 1.75" of twist instead of 1.25". It is better than it was, though.
To test the flex of the twist I sat on one of the tubs and bounced a bit. I'm about 150 lbs so that was a good amount of weight to test with. I definitely had too much twist to start with.
Once I got things dialed in I added more ratchet straps for the time being. I have 3x straps wrapped 3 times around the frame as the supports for the tubs. The front X frame is held in with 2 straps with 3 wraps around the frames and 1 loop between side rails. That isn't how I want to keep it, but we'll see how it works for the time being.
I am going to do a short weekend trip this weekend so we'll see how things work out.
For weight I used a 6gal water jug, 2 tool boxes, and my tower climbing gear duffel. Load was close to 200lbs I estimate, plus maybe 40lbs for the trailer.
The 2 comments I have on how the trailer handled are:
1. The tongue weight on the left side of the bike feels really weird
2. The trailer load definitely pushes the bike around.
When I did my long tours last Fall I had all the gear on my bike in panniers and stuff lashed to the top of the rear rack and off the sides next to the panniers. When balanced well the bike rode fairly well given what all I was hauling, however with the gear not balanced well it rode horribly. Given that experience, I am hoping a similar load on a trailer is able to be dialed in. What I am not sure about is lightening up the tongue weight with the same trailer weight. I feel that more percentage of weight on the trailer axle will shove the bike around even more.
I did not sense any weakness in the hitch bar. That I am very thankful for. I figured I would notice some. However, the spring pivot point appears to be a bit weak. With the tongue weight the spring was stretched down. I am thinking a rigid hitch would be a better idea in the long run. My custom trailer idea would utilize a heim joint most likely.
All in all - things are a success. Nothing has broken, nothing needs to be re-worked (after the adjustment on the front X frame). We'll see how it holds up on my trip this weekend.
