Looking for ideas to put my Boler 13 on an oversized frame

[voytek]

Purists turn back now!!! I just bought a badly neglected '73 Boler in need of a total restoration. It has severe sag in the rear section which means that the floor is shot and it also looks like the frame may be a goner so I'm looking at totally gutting and rebuilding from scratch. I'm thinking about putting this egg on a much larger custom-built or re-purposed trailer frame, perhaps from a 6x14 or 6x16 flat utility/landscaping trailer. This would give me at least 2 feet in front and rear of the egg to store all my junk, bicycles, perhaps a dirt bike too. I'd be pulling with a Sienna with class III hitch and tranny cooler so weight should not be a problem. After looking over many of your Boler photos here in the forum I haven't found any builds of that sort as most owners with frame rot seem to go for rebuilding along the original specs. Has anyone seen a Boler (or some other egg) installed on a larger/longer frame and can you provide some tips on what works and what doesn't? Photos would obviously be very helpful.

[Donna D.]

Hi and welcome to FiberglassRV... do you have a first name you'd like to share? I like talking to humans.

I think you're on to something about the larger/longer frame. No one says you have to follow the crowd. Follow your heart! Maybe buying a prebuilt flatbed trailer and mounting the Boler body to the frame would be easier/cheaper than a completely new fabrication? If you're determined to build, just remember the 1/3 to 2/3 rule for the axle so you don't inadvertently introduce a sway problem.

Glad to meet you.... [name]

[Ian G.]

Welcome,
The biggest problem with the Boler frame is the "stepped" construction.
The lower section for the kitchen area which includes the entry door is 6" lower than the dinette section. This usually requires a frame where the main right hand frame rail is cut and braced from the bottom side.

A longer frame would not be a problem, it would just mean extending the frame forwards and back. Keep in mind that a forward extension would increase tongue weight considerably and a loaded rear extension would reduce tongue weight.

There are pictures of several frame designs on the forum, here is the frame I just built for mine:

http://www.fiberglassrv.com/forums/f...tml#post299689

[john warren]

isn;t there a thread about stretching a trailer on here? seems like i saw it not long ago.
but yes you could remount it on another frame. you might have to do some tweeking to the other frame to give it the right shape is all.

[BCDave]

I have actually seen several camper-trailers (only one was F/G - the others were stickies) mounted on flat-bed cargo trailers. Generally its just a case of getting a flat-deck, pull your eggshell off its frame, set it onto the flatdeck, adjust with shims/blocks extra framing as required so that when the flatdeck is level the shell is too.

Now you can build in boxes or making up tie-down points or whatever in front or behind (or both!) of the shell. If you're gonna carry other stuff - I've seen ATVs on such a rig - you may want to figure out a good idea of the weight of the "extra cargo", the weight of your egg (sans its own frame) and work out a rough weight & balance for the overall rig, bearing in mind the capacities, tongue weights etc limits of your tug. That will serve as a guide for WHERE on the expanded frame you mount the eggshell.

[voytek]

Thank you all for comments and encouragement! As Dave noted the idea has been out there for some time and possibly even involved at least one fiberglass shell. Here are some entertaining photos....

[Steve_N_Janna]

Not exactly what you have in mind - but a related concept. Amphibious too!

[Spanke]

Originally Posted by john warren

isn;t there a thread about stretching a trailer on here? seems like i saw it not long ago.
but yes you could remount it on another frame. you might have to do some tweeking to the other frame to give it the right shape is all.

Here's the thread about stretching the trailer: http://www.fiberglassrv.com/forums/f...oot-44623.html

Spanke

[BCDave]

The other thing to remember is that a 16 foot flatdeck isn't actually all THAT big. The actual deck will be more like 12-13 feet The body of a 13 foot boler is about 10 feet long. If you put the body - for example - dead center - you will only have a foot or so of clear space at each end. Moving the coach body forward or back will still only result in a couple of feet of clear space.

Even if you start with a flat deck that has a 16 foot deck, you will still only have a total of 6 feet to play with. Good for a couple of motorcycles, but planing is gonna be key

The bigger the flatdeck you start with the bigger the tug you're gonna need