loren85022
Explorer
I regained my ExPo/overland itch in 2010. Prior I thought of it all as off-roading and camping. But its all the same to me. I went to school on this forum absorbing everything possible about trailer builds and vans.
And so shame on me for not adding a trailer build when I finally started mine. So herein lies a recap. Let me preface this by saying I’m by no means an expert. Nor do I consider my work to be pro quality. I’m not building for the Rubicon or Dekar. My goal was/is to build a trailer that I (and hopefully my family) enjoy and to have fun designing and building it. It’s built for 2-7 night trips in the southwest. My 4wd van has limits and the trailer is built to get in and out of similar environments. Its always work in progress, but thus far, it’s serving its purpose.
Build or buy? I get asked all the time how much did it cost to build? I probably purposely dont know but its inching towards $10,000. And so I’d say to anyone who doesnt love tinkering and making trips to Home Depot, steel yard, etc, buy one and enjoy. You probably arent saving 75% by building your own as many think. That's just my opinion. Other’s may vary.
Utility Body
I roam the planet in a wheelchair. So I knew I wanted side boxes for maximum equipment access. I drew up my idea in Sketchit and found the side boxes tough to acquire. Prefab boxes didnt fit. Custom boxes were priced too high. My design took a pivot when I realized it looked just like a service or utility bed.
Craigslist was the answer. I knew i wanted it to not be from a fullsize truck and I really liked the looks and reduced weight of fiberglass. In hindsight I was lucky to almost immediately find a 30 yrs old fiberglass body off of a minitruck for sale. It was lag bolted to an old fishing boat trailer and half covered in weeds. The body measures appx 90x60”. We haggled to $400 and I lashed it to a flatbed for the ride home.
Body Mods
It had no real bad repairs needed. But it took weeks to get the body prepped for paint and for the doors to be functional. The biggest modification was in the front compartment. As they sit on a truck, the fuel tank resides behind the cab across the frame. So these beds are built around the tank. This results in the front compartment pass-thru being either non-existent from side to side being less than 50% of what it could be. So we cut out the fiberglass and enlarged the area. Huge difference! This is by far the best place to store valuable equipment.
My modification here could have been better. We bought all the materials to do it with fiberglass mat, but it sat and sat. So I just went with plywood, aluminum joint and corner frame, carpet and caulk. It works but i wish it was cleaner. If you see where the carpet is on the right wall, thats how much we removed and repaired to get maximum space.
I am happy with the auto carpet. Easy to clean and has enough friction things dont slide easy.
I had some credit with an auto paint shop. So I had the frame painted black and the trailer to match the van.
Frame
If you dont weld, having a welder for a friend is essential. We’ve always agreed to a very wholesale rate for all his work. I truly would hate to lose a friend over such a project so I pay even the best of friends to get involved. We mocked up the frame and realized he had a half-built one we could use and save time. Its 2x3” steel. The frame is very basic design.
We did use what I guess I’d call L-bar to create a guard around the body at bottom. I havent needed it yet but it does make the trailer look clean.
You’ll see a subframe was added to increase the support in a few places and a rear bumper with receiver and towing points are added. Up front the frame to uses a removable receiver. I remove when parked to hopefully make it harder to just tow away by zombies.
Once the frame and box were half bolted down we rigged the lights, bolted on an old axle/tire combo and rolled into Az’s DMV for a title. I was really hoping this wouldnt be a hassle. I knew I had it made when I saw the inspectors taking selfies with the van/trailer in background. A lifetime title is $85 in Arizona. Not bad.
Suspension/Brakes
Basic stuff here. I had an opportunity to add swing arms but I wasnt willing to relocate my water tank and for our travels, the leafs are plenty fine. I did break an old 2000lb leaf out in the woods and updated to 3,500lb springs. I added shocks almost immediately after hitting first speed bump.
I do have electric brakes that are great. Beyond them I added spacers to go from 5 lug to 8 lug to match van. I wanted to retain the 5 lug for resale. Interestingly, should I ever need to, I could remove the space and use a 5 lug as a spare.
Currently, even with the fender guards added I stick out a bit. Its a muddy pain in the ******** occasionally.
And so shame on me for not adding a trailer build when I finally started mine. So herein lies a recap. Let me preface this by saying I’m by no means an expert. Nor do I consider my work to be pro quality. I’m not building for the Rubicon or Dekar. My goal was/is to build a trailer that I (and hopefully my family) enjoy and to have fun designing and building it. It’s built for 2-7 night trips in the southwest. My 4wd van has limits and the trailer is built to get in and out of similar environments. Its always work in progress, but thus far, it’s serving its purpose.
Build or buy? I get asked all the time how much did it cost to build? I probably purposely dont know but its inching towards $10,000. And so I’d say to anyone who doesnt love tinkering and making trips to Home Depot, steel yard, etc, buy one and enjoy. You probably arent saving 75% by building your own as many think. That's just my opinion. Other’s may vary.
Utility Body
I roam the planet in a wheelchair. So I knew I wanted side boxes for maximum equipment access. I drew up my idea in Sketchit and found the side boxes tough to acquire. Prefab boxes didnt fit. Custom boxes were priced too high. My design took a pivot when I realized it looked just like a service or utility bed.
Craigslist was the answer. I knew i wanted it to not be from a fullsize truck and I really liked the looks and reduced weight of fiberglass. In hindsight I was lucky to almost immediately find a 30 yrs old fiberglass body off of a minitruck for sale. It was lag bolted to an old fishing boat trailer and half covered in weeds. The body measures appx 90x60”. We haggled to $400 and I lashed it to a flatbed for the ride home.
Body Mods
It had no real bad repairs needed. But it took weeks to get the body prepped for paint and for the doors to be functional. The biggest modification was in the front compartment. As they sit on a truck, the fuel tank resides behind the cab across the frame. So these beds are built around the tank. This results in the front compartment pass-thru being either non-existent from side to side being less than 50% of what it could be. So we cut out the fiberglass and enlarged the area. Huge difference! This is by far the best place to store valuable equipment.
My modification here could have been better. We bought all the materials to do it with fiberglass mat, but it sat and sat. So I just went with plywood, aluminum joint and corner frame, carpet and caulk. It works but i wish it was cleaner. If you see where the carpet is on the right wall, thats how much we removed and repaired to get maximum space.
I am happy with the auto carpet. Easy to clean and has enough friction things dont slide easy.
I had some credit with an auto paint shop. So I had the frame painted black and the trailer to match the van.
Frame
If you dont weld, having a welder for a friend is essential. We’ve always agreed to a very wholesale rate for all his work. I truly would hate to lose a friend over such a project so I pay even the best of friends to get involved. We mocked up the frame and realized he had a half-built one we could use and save time. Its 2x3” steel. The frame is very basic design.
We did use what I guess I’d call L-bar to create a guard around the body at bottom. I havent needed it yet but it does make the trailer look clean.
You’ll see a subframe was added to increase the support in a few places and a rear bumper with receiver and towing points are added. Up front the frame to uses a removable receiver. I remove when parked to hopefully make it harder to just tow away by zombies.
Once the frame and box were half bolted down we rigged the lights, bolted on an old axle/tire combo and rolled into Az’s DMV for a title. I was really hoping this wouldnt be a hassle. I knew I had it made when I saw the inspectors taking selfies with the van/trailer in background. A lifetime title is $85 in Arizona. Not bad.
Suspension/Brakes
Basic stuff here. I had an opportunity to add swing arms but I wasnt willing to relocate my water tank and for our travels, the leafs are plenty fine. I did break an old 2000lb leaf out in the woods and updated to 3,500lb springs. I added shocks almost immediately after hitting first speed bump.
I do have electric brakes that are great. Beyond them I added spacers to go from 5 lug to 8 lug to match van. I wanted to retain the 5 lug for resale. Interestingly, should I ever need to, I could remove the space and use a 5 lug as a spare.
Currently, even with the fender guards added I stick out a bit. Its a muddy pain in the ******** occasionally.
