oilwell1415 563 #1 Posted February 3, 2020 A little over a week ago this little trailer popped up on Facebook Marketplace and after about 5 minutes of debate I decided to pick it up. I figure it will be perfect to haul my 552 around and then pull behind the 552 if I go to a show or something. When I picked it up it had air in the tires and seemed OK. That changed when I got about a mile away from the guy's house and the thing started getting squirrely as the air pressure dropped. I ended up being able to go about 20 mph on flat tires all the way home in 50 mph zones. Fun stuff. At least traffic was light. 8 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
oilwell1415 563 #2 Posted February 3, 2020 I did some research online and found out that it was originally a camping trailer sold as an accessory for Volkswagons. This is a pic of what it originally looked like. The ad said it had high speed tires and a 1-7/8" hitch and was meant for highway use. Maybe in the 50s or 60s when it was built and the speed limit was 55 it was good on the highway, but even with good tires on it I don't think I would want to go down the highway with it. It had 8" wheels on it and I feel like those have to spin way too fast on the highway. 3 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
oilwell1415 563 #3 Posted February 3, 2020 Knowing I wanted to haul my tractor on this I knew it would need an axle upgrade and I knew it was getting 12" wheels and tires. Another factor in upgrading the wheels and tires was that the wheels that came on it are spindle mount and that means flat tires are a pain to deal with. A move to hubs with lugs studs and nuts was in order. I wanted the radius of the tires to measure the same as the radius of the fenders, so the first thing I did was measure it and found that it was nearly identical to a 5.30-12. I ordered the wheels, tires and an axle kit online. My goal today was to get the axle welded up and ready to mount, but that went better than I expected and I ended up getting a lot more done than I planned on. Here it is with the axle, wheels and tires installed. Based on the measurements I had originally taken of the tires that came on it, I was thinking that I may have to mount the axle above the leaf springs instead of below it like the original to keep it from being too tall. I ended up not having to do that. The board holding the tongue up in the pics is pretty close to the height of the hitch on our lowest truck that would ever likely pull this, so you can see in the first post that the trailer really needed to be higher so it would ride level. It's almost perfectly level with the new axle and rolling stock. 4 5 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
SylvanLakeWH 25,490 #4 Posted February 3, 2020 Cool little trailer! Love the fenders! Match the new tires perfectly! Nice job! 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
oilwell1415 563 #5 Posted February 3, 2020 (edited) And I still had some daylight left, so I did the thing that really sold me on this trailer. After I looked at the ad a few times I realized that I could swap the fenders side to side and change their angle a little bit and they would look like airplane wings. Once that thought hit me I knew it was a done deal. I've still got to add some more bracing, but I really like the look. After I bought it I actually found that some were installed like this at the factory. Edited February 3, 2020 by oilwell1415 5 4 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
953 nut 55,065 #6 Posted February 3, 2020 I had a small trailer with 8" tires that hauled garden tractors for a few years with no problem. Chances are the tires on yours were past their expiration date. 5 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
oilwell1415 563 #7 Posted February 3, 2020 I've got lots more work to do on this, but it will be a while before I get around to it. I just wanted to share this while it was fresh in my mind. Future plans include getting the wheels powder coated to match my tractor wheels, lengthening the bed about 6"-8" to better fit the tractor, changing out the tongue for a piece of 2x3 steel (it is a cheapo piece of stamped steel and is a little twisted now), upgrading to a 2" ball, converting to a tilt bed, and adding some lights. I am also considering narrowing it several inches. It is currently 59-3/4" wide at the fenders and I've got 60" between the side of my house and the neighbor's fence. I'd like it to fit between there a little more easily. I need to do some more work on the tractor first and get my tow bar built before I finish this, but now I can at least get it across town at a reasonable speed. 3 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
oilwell1415 563 #8 Posted February 3, 2020 14 minutes ago, 953 nut said: I had a small trailer with 8" tires that hauled garden tractors for a few years with no problem. Chances are the tires on yours were past their expiration date. It would probably have been fine with a tractor, but it may haul heavier things from time to time as well. I wanted to get away from the spindle mount wheels and stamped steel axle anyway, so I was replacing all of that and upgrading didn't cost much more. I put a 2,000 lb axle under it and even though I doubt I will ever haul that much on it, there's no sense not making everything capable of handling that. I really wanted a 1,000 or 1,200 lb axle, but the larger one didn't cost any more. 5 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ebinmaine 67,266 #9 Posted February 3, 2020 Very cool 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
SylvanLakeWH 25,490 #10 Posted February 3, 2020 20 minutes ago, oilwell1415 said: I realized that I could swap the fenders side to side and change their angle a little bit and they would look like airplane wings. I like it!!! Looks much better in my opinion... Very retro... Nice job! 1 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Pullstart 62,783 #11 Posted February 3, 2020 1 hour ago, oilwell1415 said: And I still had some daylight left, so I did the thing that really sold me on this trailer. After I looked at the ad a few times I realized that I could swap the fenders side to side and change their angle a little bit and they would look like airplane wings. Once that thought hit me I knew it was a done deal. I've still got to add some more bracing, but I really like the look. After I bought it I actually found that some were installed like this at the factory. So much better looking! Nice work saving this cool little VW camper thing! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
oilwell1415 563 #12 Posted February 3, 2020 It was actually made and sold by Sears. It was just for use with a VW. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Pullstart 62,783 #13 Posted February 3, 2020 46 minutes ago, oilwell1415 said: It was actually made and sold by Sears. It was just for use with a VW. Gotcha. Sears and Roebuck? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
rjg854 11,349 #14 Posted February 3, 2020 That's a neat little trailer, and you're right, looks better with the fenders turned around. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
oilwell1415 563 #15 Posted February 3, 2020 10 hours ago, pullstart said: Gotcha. Sears and Roebuck? If I remember correctly, the ID tag on it actually says Simpsons-Sears Canada in the fine print in addition to Sears Roebuck. But the big name at the top is just Sears. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
tom2p 2,394 #16 Posted February 4, 2020 neat looking old trailer ! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
wallfish 16,983 #17 Posted February 4, 2020 23 hours ago, oilwell1415 said: It was actually made and sold by Sears. It was just for use with a VW. Those VW collectors can be crazy. Probably not very many of those trailers around. Bet if it was advertised as VW and what your research found it's worth much more to them. Turning those fenders made a big difference for the better IMO. Nice call on that and those fenders are definitely cool. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
oilwell1415 563 #18 Posted February 4, 2020 Ordered the tail lights and steel for their housings today. All should be here this week and hopefully I'll get started on that this weekend. Once that is done this will be road worthy and I'll have to take a break from tractor stuff to get some other projects knocked out. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ebinmaine 67,266 #19 Posted February 4, 2020 7 hours ago, wallfish said: VW collectors can be crazy. Like Wallfish crazy or even "worse"? 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Pullstart 62,783 #20 Posted February 4, 2020 4 hours ago, ebinmaine said: Like Wallfish crazy or even "worse"? @dells68 are VW or Wheel Horse collectors more crazy? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
oilwell1415 563 #21 Posted February 4, 2020 5 minutes ago, pullstart said: @dells68 are VW or Wheel Horse collectors more crazy? Has anyone ever paid $30k for a Wheel Horse that needs $60k in work done on it? 3 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Pullstart 62,783 #22 Posted February 4, 2020 19 minutes ago, oilwell1415 said: Has anyone ever paid $30k for a Wheel Horse that needs $60k in work done on it? Point taken. I’ve been tossing money at this project since I picked it up! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
oilwell1415 563 #23 Posted February 4, 2020 I think we all invest in things that we know are bad investments financially, but they pay off in other ways. I'm going to have around $1000 and who knows how many hours in this trailer before it's usable. But like most of my hobbies, it's expensive but it's cheaper than bail and legal fees. I am 100% convinced that the only reason I haven't committed a heinous crime worthy of news coverage in all 50 states is my hobbies. 1 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
dells68 7,498 #24 Posted February 4, 2020 6 hours ago, pullstart said: @dells68 are VW or Wheel Horse collectors more crazy? 6 of one and a half dozen of the other...we’re all nuts! Both crowds are some of the nicest folks you’ll ever meet - heck, they even accept me! 1 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
dells68 7,498 #25 Posted February 4, 2020 11 hours ago, ebinmaine said: Like Wallfish crazy or even "worse"? What are you boys sayin’ about me? I’m a VW addict and a horse head both! I just keep saying I just ain’t right! 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
