Navigator and Wheelman

Getting ready for the journey

YouTubeFollow us on our travel adventures. We try to publish a new story with every full moon and new moon. Why the moon cycle? Well, a week has no meaning for us when we are outdoors. However, the New Moon brings dark skies, the Full Moon reveals amazing sceneries.
 
Our Travel StoriesRead all of our stories on our website. We started back in 2011 with GPS coordinates for Algonquin Park and it grew from there.

The next destination is Tuktoyaktuk in the Northwest Territories, Canada
Model and Prototype Dec 2022: We can not upgrade our Prolite trailer for the rough road, so we need a new one. It is time to built our own trailer.
The two issues with the Prolite trailer are:

  • Tires are too small and are not rated for split gravel. They would explode several times along the Dempster highway.
  • The clearance of the trailer is 5 cm below the springs and maybe 15 cm below the axle.
    The size of the new trailer will be based on a 244 cm length and 122 cm height and width ( = 4 by 8 ply wood panels ). To get the ball rolling without spending much money, we built a model and a wall prototype.

    It's a go
    January: The estimated weight is within the range. The cost is within the budget. The trailer frame will be made to our specs and is now on order. The research starts and that includes to monitor kijiji.ca for tools and parts that we need.

    I bought the 2 by 3 inch lumber for the frame and clamped them to a bundle to dry out. The wood is wet from the transport and the pieces are straight. By the time I'll start to cut them, they will be dry. I was reading about the type of glue for the wood. The waterproof glue needs the wood to be fresh (=wet). It will not bind as well on really dry wood. Hmm, interesting.

    Bosch 4100 Table Saw A table saw. Unexpectetly fast, the Bosch 4100 was listed on the other side of town. 100 km to pick it up for 50% of a new one. After reading up on table saws, this one is the leader in portable saws.
    The saw came with a blade. Cutting the lumber along the grain needs a ripping blade. That's all I knew before the reasearch. Now I know that I need a 24 teeth ripping blade. A 80 teeth crosscut blade came with the saw. I already have a comby blade.
    The gas for the pickup and a new blade plus the purchase price, I'm happy with this deal.

    A few days ago, we found 4 Jeep tires without rims in good condition. My guess is about 10,000 km on them. All four of them for less than the cost of one tire. We already have spare rims, so we are good to go. These will go on the trailer. Jeep and trailer will have the same size rims and tires.

    First published on January 01, 2023 Contact Us  Help