For Trailer, will a 1" wooden dowel fit inside 1" (Burley) conduit

[vins0010]

I'm modifying an old Burley trailer for cargo use and, like I've seen some others do, cut it down in size a bit to make it a bit smaller. In the plans I've seen, they reference cutting a piece out of the trailer conduit and putting either a just fitting dowel/bar into the new ends, then reconnecting by using a dowel rod and bolting the whole thing together.

So, I'm inferring that the conduit (like Burley uses) is actually 1" for the interior diameter, not exterior. Can anyone confirm this? Also, has anyone tried doing this themselves...does it work out okay? I'm also a bit worried that this results in a weaker trailer than I'd otherwise have. Any other ideas for attaching the two cut ends?

[ka0use]

wheeee!

for once i actually know the correct answer, and can speak with
authority!

the answer is 'yes', BUT they both have to be precisely 1"- and
it will be a darn tight fit and probably take some pounding. use
care. you can sand some wood off, but remember that what you remove
cannot be put back.

[dayworks]

I would add that you should make sure you're using a hardwood dowel like oak or rock maple.

[vins0010]

For this one, I ended up deciding just to keep it wider. There is a little extra space around the sides of the tote that I mounted to the trailer. I rationalized this laziness by saying I can later make a flatbed accessory that I could also mount (by removing tote) if needed - and for that, I'd want a wider trailer. I was looking at conduit connectors and dowel rods at the hardware store and just decided not bother.