Putnam Hitch

Back in August when I bought my 2006 Dodge 2500 diesel truck, I knew I wanted to install a better trailer hitch.

The stock hitch was not heavy enough ( I didn't want to max it out) for our 32ft travel trailer. After doing some research I decided on this hitch. The Putnam 25211 is rated at 16000 pounds when used with a weight distribution system.













The hitch arrived with part of the nuts, bolts, and washers missing (the box had a hole in it). The first thing was rounding up the missing parts before starting.


























These are the nuts, washers, and bolts needed to install the hitch. Also these pipe bushings were needed. Only 2 bushings are needed for my truck. A Dodge 1500 requires the other two.














This is the hitch and the 2 mounting plates.














The two mounting brackets are installed with 4 bolts per side. Depending on your truck (longbed or short), you use the front or rear holes.

I now turned my attention to my truck .














First I removed the spare tire and unclipped the wiring harness for the lights.













The receiver part of the stock hitch ( also serves as on additional rear frame crossmember so only the receiver part is cut off) has to be removed. This picture also shows the part of the original hitch that the new hitch ties to.














I torched it off and then cleaned it a little after this picture was taken. The rest of the stock hitch is left in place because the new Putnam hitch ties into it.














These 2 bumper bolts (one on each side with the tab attached) need to be removed.














Push the clips that hold down the plastic in the bumper upward and it reveals the holes that will tie the two hitches together. This is the part of the original hitch where a regular trailer ball is attached.















These are the bolts that are used.

I used a floor jack to lift the new hitch in place and then reused the 2 bolts I had removed earlier (pipe spacers were already built in on the 3/4 top truck). One additional bolt per side is added to the provided holes.














The front holes on both the hitch and frame are elongated.














These bolts, washers ( I added and additional washer inside and out to beef it up) and bushing are used. The bushing fit inside the frame to keep it from collapsing.














After every thing was in place I started tightening all the bolts.














Starting with the 2 bolts that tie the two hitches together. After everything is tight, I plastic z-tied the wiring harness snug.














Here you can see both hitches tied together. My R265/17 spare tire fit but not sure if a larger tire would.














The finished product looks great and I now have all the hitch I need. It took about 3 hours but I really took my time and that included rounding up the missing parts. Without a floor jack or a helper, the hitch would be difficult to hold in place to start the bolts. This thing is very heavy.

Deck-day 4

Today I wrapped up the deck by underpinning it.








Sometimes it is the little details that no one notices that make one job look a little nicer that the next one. You really can't see it in the photo but the two panels on the right have the outside boards on the lattice work running toward the center at the top and the two on the left do the same. This centers your vision on the middle of the deck.
















This photo shows the post I added under the deck to match it top post I had added to break the long span.








I wanted to be able to store stuff under the deck. I thought about putting hinges on the panels but I also wanted to remove the panels when I move the deck. Hinges would have to be unscrewed and that leads to sloppy screw holes. Plus 7 sets of hinges would add almost $75 to the project.

If you enlarge this picture you will see the "spikes" I used. They shove in flush but I pulled them out so you could see them. All 7 panels have 4 holes drilled and the spikes inserted. Holes were then drilled in the posts so the spikes can be a "slip" fit.








Remove the 2 top spikes and the panel can be tilted down.












Remove the 2 bottom spikes and the panel can be tilted up.











Remove all 4 spikes and the panel can be removed. At $.08 a spike the 7 panels cost $2.24 for "hinges" the fit my needs.

I am not telling you this is the way to build a deck but just showing you how I built mine.

I spent about 35 hours building the deck. Heck, that means it only cost about $20 an hour to have "all this fun".

Deck-day 3

Day 3 was another shorter day as we had company after I had worked a few hours. After visiting and relaxing, I just was too tired to resume working.

The day started with another trip to Home Depot for more 2x4's and balusters. After day 2 and working out how far apart I wanted the balusters. I knew how many more I needed.

I decided I didn't like the long span across the back and added a post to make it look a little more like the front.

I still had one more piece of 4x4 that I could use for the post from the decking to the hand rail. I could add two 2x4's screwed together for the post that goes from the deck to the ground when I underpin everything.

I cut the 2x4 under the hand rail, cut the post to fit, and screwed it in place. The bottom of the post is attached by screws from under the flooring so it does not look "added on". I added the balusters and that finished the back.

The small section by the front steps was next. It was pretty straight forward.

The balusters for the step hand rails were a different matter. I wanted the top cut at the same angle as the top rail and the bottom would be a compound angle. A 45 degree at the bottom like all the rest but also cut on the bias to match the top rail. Hard to see the compound angle from the picture but it turned out nice.

One more little detail and it would be finished except for the under pinning.

The transition from the top rail to the top rail on the steps needed a little attention. I could have tapered the top rail on the step but I didn't like that idea.












I cut a small wedge and screwed it in place and called the top " FINISHED".

Deck-day 2

Day 1 was Sunday of last week, I worked Monday, and day 2 was Tuesday. After Tuesday I have 4 long days in a row at work, so I felt I needed a little shorter day than I had put in on Sunday.


Even thou it looked like I am about finished with the deck, the rest will go slower because every board has to be measured to get a close fit.

I started with the 2x4's that go under the top railings. After all were cut and screwed in place, I added the top railings. At least now we would not fall off of the deck.









Next I cut the balusters boards at a 45 degree angle on bottom and installed them. I decided if I used a piece of 4x4, I would achieve the "right look" for them. Since there would be 9 balusters per section, it was just a matter of centering the first one (using my little centering trick) and using the 4x4 block to space the rest.


















The front 4 sections were all I had time for as I wanted to redo the steps.









This is what they looked like when I just threw them together on Sunday to get us by. I just used 2 sets of step stringers and had the steps overlapping the ends.









I moved the stringers out to the end of the steps and added a middle stringer. Lag screws run thru the stringers into the posts and are hidden under the steps. I installed the 2x4's and top railings. This made for very stable steps (don't you just hate handrails that are flimsy?).


I finished my day by putting the rest of the screws in the flooring. Seems like a lot less work, but it still took longer than I had hoped. Still I was very pleased for the work accomplished in 2 days.

Deck-day 1

I picked up the truck and 16 ft. trailer and headed to Home Depot to buy enough lumber to start on the deck.

Home Depot now sells lumber pressure treated with Thompson's. The lumber is more of a natural color and does not have the "green tint" of the old pressure treated lumber.

I also picked up a new cordless drill as the one I have is old and only has one battery. When I opened the new drill, I received a surprise. It came with two batteries and I hadn't even noticed it when I purchased it.

It was about 10:30 am when I pulled into our driveway. I had been planning the deck for several months and I had a plan as to how it would be built.

Plan the job

Plan the work

Work the plan

Seems simple enough, doesn't it.

Since I only have Sunday and Tuesday off, I knew I would need to complete enough of the deck that we could use it. I hoped to complete the frame work, put up the posts, throw enough decking boards on top to walk (even if they were not nailed down)and I could use my pallets for the steps. A lot for one man to do in a day!

The basic frame work would be built on milk crates (just borrowed some from work as we all know it is illegal to possess them). I stacked them two high and had enough to do the job.

I first cut the 2x8x16 down to 15ft. 6in., this would let the 16ft. decking hang over the ends. The 7 2x8x12 were cut into 14 2x8x6's. By using those as floor joists on the inside of the stringers it would give a with of 6ft. 4in. Add to that the fact the decking would hang over front and back and I could achieve my 16x7 deck.

After the stringers and joists were cut, I clamped the stringers together and laid out for the posts and floor joists. I made a mark for the floor joists and put 2 x's where the posts would go. A joist would go on each end and then one on each side of the 4x4 posts. There would be five posts on the front and five posts on the back. As I only need handrails on three sides, some of the posts would not need to be above the floor.

I put a floor joist at each end, then a 4x4 post, another post would be in the middle, I would then "half" that distance and add another post for each "half". You can't just say they will be 4ft apart because they are not. In between each post and joist would be another joist. The line below shows how it was layed out. The "I" depicts each side of the floor joist and the "XX" depicts the 4x4 posts.

IIXXII II IIXXII II IIXXII II IIXXII II IIXXII

As you can see each 4x4 has a joist on each side to help keep it "plum". I layed out the lines and used a square to mark both tops of the stringers and then laid them flat and used the square to transfer the marks on the inside of each stringer.

Now I want to pass on a little tip I use for finding the center when I need to. Just divide by 2. Sure 58 divided by 2 equals 29, but what if the number is 127 and 11/16, not so easy to do in your head. Just use a number you are comfortable dividing by 2. How about 128. While your tape measure is still down just put a mark at 64 (128 divided by 2), now measure from the other end and put another mark at 64 from that end. The two marks are very close together. Now put a mark in the center of those two. You now have the center of 127 and 11/16. Measure from each end again to the mark you made in the middle of your two 64 marks. Makes no difference if the number you use is longer or shorter. If you use a number longer than the measurement as we just did, then the 64 inch marks will pass the center both ways. If you use a shorter number than the total length, then each mark will be shy of the middle by a little bit but the center of those two marks will still be the dead center. Sounds complicated but it is very simple and you can find the center faster than someone can do the division. I never bother to read the fractions on the first measurement, just round the inches up or down for quick division.

With the stringers and floor joists cut, I nailed the end joists, one joist for each side of the posts, and the joists that were between the posts. Just a simple rectangle with the joists inside. I just put 2 16 penny nails on each end for now. I measured diagonally across the two long sides and adjusted until the measurements were the same and I knew it was then square. Now I nailed two 2x4's diagonally across each end to keep it square. I then put screws in every joint ( I was thru using nails, everything would be screwed together).

Where I had my two X's for the posts, I drilled 5/16" holes for the lag screws I would use for the posts.

I then raised the frame to its final height. As the concrete pad is not level, I knew each post would be a different length. Two of the post that would hold the deck and come up to form the railings would be a little over 6 feet but some of the others would be a little under 6 feet, so I knew I needed to cut the over 6 ft. posts from the 12ft 4x4's and use the shorter than 6ft that was remaining for another post.

The wife helped with a pen and paper. I measured from the ground to the top of the stringer and had her add 39 1/2 inches ( the height of the railing). While she was adding I would grab a 12ft post to cut to the right size. I then put the post beside the floor joist and screwed in the lad screw. I put in the four corner posts first, then the middle posts, and finally the four other posts. I then put in the floor joists on the other side of the posts. I then checked it for "square" again and it was still fine. The frame was now suspended by the posts.

After "plumbing" the posts, screwed thru the stringers and thru the joists on either side of the post. They would now stay plumb.

Next I turned to the "decking". I notched out for the posts for the first board and screwed it in place. Time was running short and I knew I could not screw all the boarded down, but I wanted to "set" the gap on all of them before I quit. I used a 16 penny nail to set the gap between the decking boards. I drove the nail thru a block of scrap wood and placed it between the decking boards. I then placed a board beside the that first one and "set the gap" and put one screw at each floor joist (that would hold it until I had a chance to put in the rest of the screws). I managed to get all the decking down in that fashion.

I then built the steps so we could at least use them. They would be properly built another day.

9:00pm and I called it a day. It looks pretty nice for one days work for one "old" fellow.

Deck - The planning

We knew we wanted to add a deck for our travel trailer, since it is on the front I guess it is really a front porch. Our motorhome had two steps in side when you opened the door and two steps outside. I had placed two plastic pallets in front of the door as the little rv steps are hard to use.

The travel trailer has no steps inside and four steps outside. The first one being very high. I could had built nice wooden steps but the concrete slab we use for our front patio is level with the ground and every time it rains, mud and trash cover the concrete. The lot is sloped to the back and the concrete slab has two cracks across it. The slope means a deck would only only have 3 steps at the front and you can enter the TT from the deck without adding another step.

So a deck was in order. Our awning is 20 feet long and extends out about 8 feet, so a 16x7ft. deck would work fine. The new deck must meet several criteria.

1. It had to be free standing so it could be moved away from the travel trailer to make moving the TT in and out without hitting it easier. The TT sits just off the slab and the slab is 8 feet wide. The deck would set about 4 inches from the TT so the deck could be moved out a foot or so and still be on the slab.

2. The awning must cover the deck when extended.

3. Had to fit on a standard 16 ft. trailer as I plan to sell it in a couple of years when I retire and start traveling full time.

4. Needed to be sturdy, attractive, and built with the least amount of waste when cutting the lumber. Wasted lumber means wasted money.

5. No joints in the decking.

When drawing up the plans it worked out like this.

2 2x8x16 stringers
7 2x8x12 's could be cut to make 2x8x6 floor joists
6 4x4x12 would make all the posts
18 5/4x6x16 radiused decking, top rail, and steps
3 3-step stringers
4 sheets of 4x4 lattice to underpin (and enough for another project I have in mind).

This would make up the basic deck.

Since I had to borrow a pickup and trailer to haul the lumber. I wanted to pick up all the long lumber in one trip. The smaller lengths could be hauled in my s-10 pickup.

Computer Desk

I knew I wanted to custom build a computer desk for our new Cardinal travel trailer but I changed the design several times and this is what I finally built.










This is the picture of the unit that we used to order our trailer. Ours has hardwood flooring in the kitchen and living room but it shows where I wanted the computer desk. The desk would sit in front of the window and the recliner would be our computer chair.













I wanted the desk to match the kitchen cabinets so I ordered doors from the factory. I then changed my design after I realized if I put the printer behind doors and the CPU behind a door on the other side, then it would limit the width where my legs go under the table.












This is the final design I chose to built. I notched the back to clear the window treatment and put a back splash around it.

The desk has the CPU unit, DSL, and surge protector behind the door. The left end of the desk is open to let the CPU unit breath. The scanner printer and monitor on the desk. The keyboard and mouse is on a pull-out tray.

Ready to use, it seems to fit the bill.












The colors blend very well as the desk takes on a lighter or darker shade depending on the light. This shot shows the desk, kitchen cabinets and hardwoods floors.

Add the recliner and I am ready to update my blog and check on all the blogs I visit.


I usually use stain and top it with polyurethane but this time I tried the polyurethane with the stain already mixed in. The problem with it is if you get a run then the stain accumulates at the bottom of the run. On horizontal surfaces it is fine but on vertical panels it tends to run. I feel it is more of a spray application.

All-in-all I am very pleased with the desk and it is built with three-quarter inch oak plywood and one inch oak lumber so it is built to last.