Travel & Leisure: Travel Trailer Toy
"If the trailer's a-rockin', don't come a-knockin!"

This wood toy was inspired by the streamlined travel trailers that became popular in the 1930s. The epitome of the gas-guzzling American traveling spirit, it's sure to add a tongue-in-cheek note to the tangle of plastic toys littering your living room floor. Offset wheel axles give the trailer a bobbing motion all too familiar to those who have traveled bumpy roads in a car with bad shocks.

The toy's construction is extremely simple and can be easily completed in a weekend, with only a few minutes per evening required to apply the paint job thereafter. It uses mostly materials that you may already have, and is a good way to use up off cuts of lumber.

Important: This design of this toy has NOT been reviewed for compliance with current child safety regulations. It includes small parts, which can constitute a choking hazard. Use it at your own risk and please employ common sense if you allow a child to play with it.

Supplies:

• Downloadable pattern (The alert reader may notice that this pattern bears a striking resemblance to the trailer in our kitsch kwilt.)
• 10" long section of 2 x 6" wood for trailer body
  • Thinner wood may be used if desired; in a later step we'll tell you how to adjust the length of the axles to match.
• 1/4" dowel
• 4 2" diameter wood toy wheels
  • If toy wheels are not available in your area, you can substitute appropriately-sized cutouts from a hole saw or band saw instead.
• 4 wood beads or other spacers with 1/4" holes.
  • These help widen the track and make the toy less likely to tip over.
• Grey or silver spray paint
  • Please review the paint label to ensure that the paint is nontoxic once dry.
    
• Black and assorted colors of hobby paint
  • Please review the paint labels to ensure that the paints are nontoxic once dry.
• Wire coat hanger or heavy gauge wire for trailer pull
• 1/8" diameter axle peg for chimney (optional)
• Wood glue, epoxy
• Optional parts for making this a pull toy:
  • 20" long shoe lace
  • 1" dowel

Create trailer

• Transfer the trailer pattern to the wood. You can either use carbon paper to do this or temporarily adhere the pattern to the wood and leave it glued on as you saw and drill.
• Mark the trailer outline, the windows, and the centerpoints for the two wheel axles. With a drill press, drill two 5/16" holes for the axles. (Back the wood with scrap when drilling to avoid chip-out.)
• Using a scrollsaw or a bandsaw, saw the trailer to shape. If necessary, use a belt sander to smooth out any irregularities in the curves.
• Optional: If desired, use a scroll saw to cut out the window openings. Otherwise these can be given a decorative finish later.
• If router is available, use a 1/2" round-over bit to round over the outside edges of the trailer. (If using narrower wood stock, reduce the round-over as appropriate.) If a router is not available, dull sharp edges with sandpaper.
• Transfer the trailer hitch pattern to the front of the trailer. Before drilling holes, check the diameter of your wire/coat hanger; we've assumed that it's 1/16". Using the front pattern as a reference, drill two 1/16" angled pilot holes for the trailer hitch.
• Check the diameter of your axle peg/chimney; we've assumed it's 1/8". Drill angled 1/8" pilot hole for chimney.
  
  

Create trailer hitch

• Cut a section of wire coat hanger or heavy gauge wire approximately 6" long.
• With round-nose pliers, bend the hanger in half, forming a curve at the halfway mark.
• With flat-nose pliers, bend the doubled section of hanger slightly, approximately 1" from the curve.

Modify wheels
The trailer shown in our animation had all four wheels modified to use off-axis axles. However, there's no guarantee that doing this will make the trailer bump up and down from front to back. Often the wheels get in synch so the entire trailer goes up and down. Also, when all wheels are off-axis, under certain conditions the trailer can slightly bottom out; while some may find this undesirable, for others it will add to the authenticity of the toy.

If you want to ensure that the front (or back) of the trailer always bobs up and down, modify only two wheels, not four.

For each pair of off-axis wheels:

• Crosscut two 3/4" long lengths of 3/8" dowel. Glue one in the hub of each wheel, aligning the dowels flush with the outside faces of the wheels. Sand the dowels flush on both sides of each wheel.
• Drill new off-center 1/4" axle holes 5/16" deep, centered 5/8" from the wheel's edge.
• Determine length of axle:
  • Insert one end of the 1/4" dowel in one wheel's axle hole.
  • Insert the dowel through the axle hole of the trailer.
  • Thread on two spacer beads.
  • Mark cutting line 3/8" beyond edge of second bead. (3/8" = 5/16" for second wheel plus 1/16" for ease)
• Cut axle dowel to length determined above. Glue a dowel piece in the off-centered axle hole of one the wheels.
• If desired, paint the wheels and dowels black, first masking off 1/4" on the unglued end of each dowel.

For each pair of "regular" wheels:

• Cut axle dowel to length determined above. Glue a dowel piece in the centered axle hole of one the wheels.
• If desired, paint the wheels and dowels black, first masking off 1/4" on the unglued end of each dowel.

Finishing

• Apply sanding sealer to the trailer and finish sand to 400 grit. An extremely smooth finish is essential to achieving a convincing metallic appearance.
• Glue in chimney with epoxy or wood glue.
• Glue in trailer hitch with epoxy.
• Spray with grey/aluminum paint.
  • Choosing a good paint is key. In our field trial we used Rust-Oleum's Silver Metallic Finish. This gave a very convincing silver finish, but also the most miserable painting experience we've ever encountered. Unlike any other spray paint we've ever used, if this product was handled before a full 48 hours of drying time had passed, the finish was badly marred. We had to buff it down with synthetic steel wool and repaint it more than once, and even after a sufficient drying time had passed it was still very susceptible to showing fingerprints.
    
• Transfer the pattern for the door to one side of the trailer. Outline with paint or a permanent pen.
• Transfer the pattern for the windows to both sides of the trailer. Outline with paint or a permanent pen. Paint in decorative details such as curtains and cats. This is your opportunity to get creative! If you don't feel artistic,decoupage on window details such as photos of family members or magazine cutouts.
• Apply protective clear coat
  • Note: some brands of aluminum paint expressly state that they shouldn't be covered with a clear coat. If that is the case with the paint you have used, confine the use of a clear coat to areas with a decorative paint job such as the doors or windows. You can also try a sample of the clear coat on an inconspicuous area of the trailer, such as its bottom, to see if its incompatible with your paint.
• Insert one spacer bead on each axle, beside the wheel. Thread each dowel through an axle hole of the trailer. Insert a spacer bead on each dowel. Glue appropriate wheels on each dowel.

Optional pull toy conversion

• Crosscut a 2 1/4" long piece of 1" diameter dowel for the pull string's knob.
• Sand the sharp edges to round them over.
• Apply a clear finish to the dowel.
• Drill a 1/8" hole crosswise through the center of the dowel for the pull string.
• Insert the pull string through the dowel and through the trailer hitch, knotting at each end.
  

Take it for a test drive!

• Tip: If your toy has trouble getting traction on smooth surfaces, try gluing sections of a wide rubber band around each wheel.