Trailer is oh so close now

As noted in the previous post, I took Wednesday afternoon off, and did some more work on the trailer.  It is very close to completion.  The main project was the decking.  This is almost complete.  It is all laid down, but the small piece at the end isn't screwed in because my drill didn't have enough juice, and I am thinking I might want a better tie to the frame.  I don't really think it would lift, but some of the boards have warped enough that there are gaps at the ends.  Perhaps I will just bookend the boards, and just screw through the existing holes on the frame.  I was mostly just trying to avoid putting several dozen holes in the frame to screw down the boards.


From underneath it actually looks pretty good, the underside was very clearly painted more recently than the top part I have been refurbishing.  There are only a couple of spots where rust is starting to show.  I might put off the prime and paint on the underside for another year or two, and do it when I replace the hubs and bearings perhaps.  You can also see how I attached the decking here.  I put 2x4 crossways to tie all the boards together.  There are no screws from the top of the decking, just unmarred boards.


I had to rip the last board.  Ripping a 10 foot 2x6 is a nuisance; the board is 3/4 the length of the shed, and I have no roller stands, so I had to stabilize the board, keep it flush against the fence, keep the board from bouncing or kicking.  You would think that requires 3 hands (it really does), but I still managed to get it through.  I really need to clean out the shed now though, there is sawdust everywhere.  I think I had already proved this, but it is nice that the fence guide on the saw is dead perfect accurate.


I somehow miscalculated the number of boards I needed since I have a full spare 10' 2x6 to go along with the 2x4(ish) leftover from ripping the last board.  I might use the 2x4ish as noted above to bookend the boards and tie it down to the frame at the ends.  I will find a use for the 2x6 eventually.

I also fixed the latching mechanism.  I tried to keep everything in order as I removed the old one.


I put the new one on with the springs and plates in the same order.


I have never replaced one of these before, so I am not 100% sure I did it right, but everything appears correct from a mechanical perspective.

I also got part of my latest Amazon order in.  The order was delayed until 5/14 according to Amazon, but the first box came in yesterday, and the other one is scheduled for tomorrow according to UPS, so there is at least hope I will have the power monitor and will be able to do solar testing this weekend.  It is supposed to be really nice this weekend for it.

The first part of the order contained a silicone pan though, so I tried another batch of cheese crisps.  I put too much cheese in the cups (shocker, I know), but they made very good cheese tater tots, crispy on the outside, soft on the inside.  Overall a success.  The leftmost four are American Cheese, the others are mozzarella.


On the tractor front, being from NH I forgot that KY has sales tax (NH doesn't), which eats a lot into the savings the RK tractor provides ($10,500 becomes $11,130), so I am leaning towards the Kubota.  It only takes two warranty repairs over 8 the year warranty for the RK to eat into the savings (1800 miles round trip, two round trips per repair, plus $150 for trailer rentals, totals roughly $675 assuming 15mpg which is high while towing).  So I am looking at two different Kubota dealers.