Forum Discussion

swimmer_spe's avatar
swimmer_spe
Explorer
Aug 14, 2013

Sitting for almost 20 years...

So, I got a 1975 Terry 18' trailer for free. It needs work, and I am pretty handy.

I plan to use it in the middle of nowhere, not at those pretty parks with hookups.

I was surprised to pop the grease caps off and see nice clean good grease. That meant I could drag it back home, 40km away.

All tires were garbage, so, she has new rubber all around.

2 of the 3 vents were broken, so, she got wet inside. Also got wet from a cracked fresh water pipe.
Scrubbed out the trailer really good. Now it can dry out and I can take stock of my major work ahead of me.

I know the floor is soft in spots. The metal underneath has not been breached. My thought (and I know it may sound crazy) is to lay 1/4 sheet of plywood on top, then a nice real oak hardwood floor. (I got the oak boards free) To screw the ply wood down, what length of screws dc I use that will not puncture the metal undercarriage?

How hard is it to remove the toilet? I would simply remove it and then reinstall it once I did the floor.

The brakes... and bearings... I did not use a trailer brake controller. My truck handled it very well, and if I did not actually need it for law, I would not bother with it. However, the law is the law, and I am trying to do things as legal as I can.
I want to take the drums off and repack the bearings and free up the brakes. Before I do this, how do I find out what the bearings and seals are so that I can have all I need before I tear it apart?

The trailer has a roll up awning. I think it has not moved in about 10-20 years. How would I lubricate it while it is rolled up? Best case, it rolls out and rolls in, but if not, how difficult is it to fix those rolls?

I know I have a lot of work ahead of me. I know some of it will have to be done by professionals.

Any help you can give me would be appreciated.

22 Replies

  • They may be extensive water damage to entire trailer. It may need to be gutted.
  • As far as the axles go, if you can get underneath it, look on the rear side of the axle tube near the center, if it is a Dexter axle, the axle number will be stamped in the axles. You may have to have some chalk to rub over the axle to bring the stamping into view. Once you have the axle numbers, go to Dexteraxle.com and find the product info on them. Etrailer.com will then have the bearing sets you will need.