Maestro trailer project started..

[Lankytim]

Well its almost finished!

I took it home a couple of days ago. It still needs ply lining, a bit of finishing off and painting, I still havent confirmed the colour I want to use although ive found a couple 5l tins of vermillion orange/red in the garage.

 

The fibreglass front end is nicely faired in and looks pretty damn good, although it will probably need a bit more 'glassing and a bit of filler to finish before painting.

 

I can announce that it tows lovely and doesnt feel heavy behind the car at all. Wind resistance becomes a bit of a problem at speeds approacing 60 MPH, just like towing a caravan. I remember when I studied aerospace that to get 2x the speed you need 4x the thrust (I think). Im sure the dynamics of Boeing airliners is directly applicable to the art of maestro van mutilation. Probably.

 

Anyway, PICS...

 

 

 

Im still looking for a good O/S rear door!

 

GR9 4 RABBIT STORAGE SOLUTIONS.

 

 

If doing this project again id probably try to start with a better donor vehicle as the dents, scrapes and rust let it down somewhat. Its still perfectly usable as it is though.

[Tayne]

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[Father Ted]

Superb, though I cant help feeling it needs an old rag stuffed in the filller cap hole....

[RedSparrow]

Nice work!Thats proper recycling that is.

[Mr_Bo11ox]

Thats a bit too stylish, even for me!

[Minimad5]

Great work You should now make one of them spoiler "things" for the Audi(Yanno the ones Wagons have, to make the trailor behind have abit less wind resistance ?)Anyway good work

[pogweasel]

I think with a splash of paint that will look pretty good.Is that a rabbit in the back? Are we done with phones in wheel dishes and shoes in shot??

[Cavcraft]

Proper lol-age at Daisey in that picture Tim, wasn't expecting that Think trailer needs painting chief, vermillion sounds ideal.

[Lankytim]

Are we done with phones in wheel dishes and shoes in shot??

Yes, thats all old hat now. The future is RABBITAGE

[Lankytim]

Ive got a big trip planned next week, up to Elgin in Scotland- 420 miles. Im sure there wont be any problems but Id like to make the trailer a bit less interesting to the rozzers/VOSA. The body has dents and scapes, maybe a quick brush with NATO green paint would suffice? It wouldnt be my ideal finish but atleast it would be all one colour and the crap finish would atleast look intentional!Does anyone know of any nice B&Bs in Elgin?

[Tayne]

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[Conrad D. Conelrad]

That trailer looks damn good!

 

Don't paint it, just buy some stick on letters and write "VOSA trailer confiscation unit" on the side of your tow car.

[M'coli]

Paint it up in grey primer and tow it like that.

[trigger]

I wish I was little bit taller,

I wish I was a baller,

I wish I had a girl who looked good

I would call her

I wish I had a rabbit in the back of a Maestro Trailer

and a 86' Audi

 

 

Sounds like your living the dream.

[Richard]

Does anyone know of any nice B&Bs in Elgin?

This is where I stay when I'm working up there, very popular with contractors. It's a wee bit outside Elgin though.http://www.eastbankhotel.co.uk/

[Lankytim]

We decided on the travel inn in Elgin, as the Eastbank hotel has shared bathrooms and the en-suite rooms are more than the premier travel inn, plus the Eastbank is further away from Elgin. I do hate putting money into the pockets of large chains rather than giving my trade to small businesses but meh!

 

Anyway.... I bought some ply for £20 and PLY LINED THE BASTARD.

 

 

Camera mode FAIL, hence blurryness. Sorry.

 

I used a large piece of cardboard to make a template of the bulkead and wheel arches and used a £9.49 B&Q jigsaw to chop the ply sheets up, the metal guard of which fell off after 5 minutes use. I ended up with a few thin gaps around the bulkhead so to seal it all up I used a tin of expanding builders foam to fill any gaps, the excess will be trimmed away when its fully cured. As the wooden bulkhead is effectively the barrier between the inside and the outside it needs to be pretty air-tight, the fibreglass fairing only being there to aid aerodynamics. I didnt use much foam and had to throw most of the tin away, not before id "fixed" the rust hole in the rear door with it . Its ok though, because the whole doors going to be replaced, honest!

 

I had a bit of ply left over so did a little bit of the sides. The plan is to use approx 5mm thick sheet for the sides rather than the half inch stuff Ive used for the bulkhead and floor but ive yet to get round to doing it properly. To be honest its not a huge priority so will probably not get done at all!

 

The underside still needs a bit of patching to make good. Its a right patchwork quilt! Its also a GR8 hiding place for rabbits.

 

 

Ive got a tin of shite paint and im thinking of just painting the front 8" or so white and leaving the rest as it is, just to tidy it up for the time being.

 

 

Its pretty much ready for its Scotland trip, well as ready as it will ever be.

[Father Ted]

How long is it from the bulkhead to the door? Would it fit a single mattress?

[Lankytim]

I can just about lie down with the doors shut, and im 6ft2 so I guess you could just about get a single matress in, assuming it fitted between the wheel arches.

[Richard]

We decided on the travel inn in Elgin, as the Eastbank hotel has shared bathrooms and the en-suite rooms are more than the premier travel inn, plus the Eastbank is further away from Elgin. I do hate putting money into the pockets of large chains rather than giving my trade to small businesses but meh!

That's fair enough. It's handy for me because it's midway between the two Walkers factories I work in when I'm up there, plus it's not me paying the bill.