Zero dollar Scamp 13 tongue box

[Ron in BC]

A couple of my recent projects left me with an assortment of aluminum pieces. Since I don't particularly like poly boxes and I wanted a box that was a bit curved to reflect the shape of a Scamp I decided to make my own.

The box ended up being completely "free". I didn't have to buy a single item What a nice change.

The bottom of the tray is 1/8" thick, all else is 16 ga. My wife thought that I was using white coated aluminum. She figured out that wasn't the case when I welded the curved front lip on. I considered spraying it white but for now it's going to be plain aluminum.

I rotated the jack 60 degrees and that let me make the length a little longer.

I'm happy with it. I have room for an extra battery and misc. stuff like chocks etc. and the best part was the zero dollar part.

Ron

[Mike Magee]

Nifty!

[cpaharley2008]

Not sure you have the batteries hooked up properly, you want the negative from battery A to trailer and the positive from Battery B to the trailer. Also you have 2 different types of batteries, the age and type should be identical to get the best benefit.
Other than that, you aluminum skills are crafty.

[Raz]

Very nice work. How did you do the lip on the cover? It looks like one piece. Raz

[idiotsniff]

Looks nice and light, what kinda money do you have invested in aluminum?

[Thomas G.]

I admire your metal working skills.

[Ed Harris]

Originally Posted by cpaharley2008

Not sure you have the batteries hooked up properly, you want the negative from battery A to trailer and the positive from Battery B to the trailer. Also you have 2 different types of batteries, the age and type should be identical to get the best benefit.
Other than that, you aluminum skills are crafty.

The batteries don't appear to be connected at all from the pics I see.

[SilverGhost]

It looks like the batteries are just there for mock up.

My question is why not put the propane tank up front in the curved part of the box. That should leave a trapezoidal (roughly square..ish) shape area behind for the batteries. From the lid design I would guess that would limit access back there, but not too badly.

From when I was actively involved in fabrication - you can do it a couple ways but basically cut a triangle, break the lip on two sides, cut out the round shape (and loose the lip around that arch), cut a flat strip and roll to match the arch, weld in very carefully (so doesn't warp).

How much would that cost if you figured time and materials? There may be a few takers.....

Jason

[Ron in BC]

Jim; as Ed correctly noted, the batteries aren't hooked up at all. They are now and run independenly to a multi-battery battery switch. The guideline for same size, same age, same type battery only applies to batteries in the same bank. Mine are effectively two banks and it is my long standing practice to keep my batteries isolated from each other. (actually the smaller one is the battery from the little car that I built. I figured that since I can't drive that car and use the trailer at the same time I may as well set it up for dual use.)

Raz; Jason was correct about welding in a piece to create the rounded front lip. Here's a photo that shows the piece welded in before I ground it smooth. If my welding was better I would have left the weld showing.

Joel and Jason; I bought 4'x8' and 5'x10' sheets for my car project and my truck box project. Aluminum's not terribly expensive, couple of bucks a square foot and places like Metal Supermarket sell off cuts and will even shear them to size so even if I'd had to buy aluminum the box wouldn't have cost very much. I never consider my time a factor in my project building. If I did I probably wouldn't even start

Now it's time to start installing my electric brakes Hope they go as smoothly as the tongue box did.

Ron

[Lil M.]

Hi Ron,
Very nicely done. I'm wondering if you should have some kind of separation between batteries and propane tank (You know...sparks + gas = BOOM!) and ventilation for batteries and propane tank.

[ruscal]

Nice work Ron. That keeps everything neat and tidy. The car looks like a fun project. Will it be an autocrosser? The bed cover looks clean too.
Russ

[Ron in BC]

Lil; you're right, sparks plus gas isn't good but that also applies to batteries off gassing hydrogen. So I guess the moral is: don't make sparks

The compartment is almost completly open backed and there is an opening in the bottom so in the event there was a propane leak it would dissapate quite easily. So I think I'm OK with this setup.

Russ; I made a roll bar last summer with the intent of auto Xing but havn't managed to get it on a track yet. Even just driving it on the road puts a big smile on my face.

Thanks, the truck box cover did turn out quite nice. For the first time in my life I decided to buy something instead of making it myself. I bought a FlipLok cover and then discovered, with only a few months of Ford Ranger production left they changed the box width and the FlipLok wouldn't fit So I ended up making my own and I'll be glad to be able to cover stuff in the box when we head off with the Scamp.

Ron

[Tim Wood]

Ron, Nice job on everything. How does your truck box lid work, is it hinged in the front ?

[BCDave]

Aha! A Lotus 7 (aka Caterham, aka etc,etc,etc)

Beautiful lil cars - go like snot, handle like a dream and infinitely fun to drive on track days. (and not quite so much fun on these "rare" occasions when it rains here in the lower mainland!)

[ruscal]

Many years ago a friend and I built a Meyers Manx. It had a 1600cc stock motor, was lowered, and had some wide racing rubber installed. We showed up at a local San Deigo Autocross event with it. The car that kept me from being top time of day was a Lotus Super 7 driven by a very talented young lady! She dominated the slalom races for years with that car. I bet you do have fun with yours. Very cool!
Russ