Small Off-Road Build

[b63215b]

Subscribed, great so far and exactly what I am thinking of doing. Can I ask you why you decided not to make a wood frame? I am more familiar with welding and I think it will be lighter with steel anyways? What are you going to side it with, will you insulate? Sorry for all the questions just sold my first build and I am in planning phase of my new build.

 

[rodrage]

I really like the wood units (actually more than steel). I'm not real good with wood either. I needed a trailer that I could carry lots of heavy gear in, and go out with short notice without loading anything in the truck or Jeep. I have a cabin in the mountains and carry cargo up and a heavy (load) trailer would benefit us when we make a trip up there and camp with the trailer too.. My opinion is that it's way too big, and the design is very overkill, but that's what I feel was needed for our needs. If you can't tell from the drawing (not a great rendition), it's a roof top tent model with a pull out kitchen, water tanks, hot water shower, fridge, solar, awning, and LOTS of cargo room. Not insulated (not sleeping inside), but my plan is to wrap it with 1/4" sealed birch laminated with 26 ga epoxy coated roofing metal. Thanks for the interest.

 

[rodrage]

Made some measurements last night.... I was about 1/8" out on one side when I started to stitch weld the heavy post in the cage. When I got done for the day, I am now about 1/8" out on the other side. I guess in the big picture- it should work itself out. Once the cage gets a little further along, I can bolt it down to the frame and start to tweak the square if I need to. Sure miss my steel fab table. Whenever possible, jig and clamp anything that you weld on the flattest plane you can use.

 

[East Coast Overland]

Awesome!! Looking forward to the completion of this.

 

[rodrage]

I picked up a rear tire carrier from a friend who decided to add a bumper carrier to his Jeep and didn't need the bolt on. It's a Rugged Ridge piece. I figure for what I paid for it, I could not have bought the 1/4" steel and taken the time to fab it. Comes with hardware (including 3 studs and 3 lugs) is texture powder-coated, and is a nice piece for being so cheap. It will carry upto a 35" tire, but I've seen a few guys get a 37 on it somehow. I had looked at it before, as I really need a bolt on piece for my project and they are always selling thought their parts vendors for half of what they retail. I think that I found them all the time for $50 including shipping. Would have bought it earlier, even for that price- if I knew how nice it was.

Once I opened the box on the carrier, I wanted to make sure all of the measurements I was keeping in my head were close. I found a few old sticks of 1 1/4" tube and cut them for the door frame for the rear door. I'm using stock 07-up Jeep rear hinges that I paid nothing for and they're pretty stout. I even talked him out of the factory plastic covers for a finished look. They are rated for almost 50% more weight than everything I will add to them, and, If they fail after I put them on, there are plenty of heavy aftermarket hinges on the market that I can just "bolt-on". Problem is that the hinge mount is 1/4" lower (recessed) than the hinge arm. Therefore making a 1" door frame would leave me 1/4" shallow. Because I had the steel in the garage, (and I'm out of 1"), I thought it was a good solution. I miter cut the tube and shimmed them with some 1/4" flat stock for a consistent reveal. I cut the top piece an 1/8" long and it was too late to cut it again, so I'll finish another day. I will be adding the center pieces later and matching the carrier and hinge points to try a balance a clean sweep for the door.

 

[Essayons]

rodrage,
I like your design/layout. Did you make your side doors or are they prefabbed?

 

[rodrage]

The doors are mostly RV style (fiberglass veneer) prefab RV units. I actually had plans to build the trailer for a couple of years and always kept my eye out for doors (usually pairs) that may or may not fit. You can find them in almost any size. Several wholesalers, and RV surplus dealers buy big quantities of doors and components from previous year models. Some have factory new take-off parts that are just pulled for customer's choices in options or colors. I've bought more than I needed and have given away or sold the ones that I didn't need for the build, once I got the plans refined. They're probably not my first choice in a dream build, but they are nice and clean/new, easy to work with, as secure as I care about right now, and they REALLY helped with the budget. I don't think I paid more than $35 for any one of them. Another benefit is they are extremely light. The top bay door (65") is the only heavy door, but it is steel with a matte black powder-coated finish. It probably weighs 6-7 lbs. I will use this door's compartment to store higher priced camping equipment, and keep it away from undesirables from easily getting to it while on a hike or just away from camp.
My plan is to color coat the outside of the doors/hatches in body color (charcoal gray) with matt-black edges. I'm leaving everything inside the box white (including the doors), and add light gray marine carpet on each compartment floor. The light color will help with lighting the small compartments, and the carpet will reduce noise and interior equipment friction.

 

[rodrage]

Didn't get much done over the weekend- life gets in the way. Still trying to make sure everything lines up. It needs a lot more steel ribs still, but because I keep moving the cage with weld heat, I need to clamp it to the frame before I finish the structural pieces. This will keep it from moving. The wheel adapters will be here late next week and I'll assemble the cage to the chassis before the rest gets welded. The rear door is almost ready to hinge, but I want to get it smooth to the cage before I cut the hinge holes. I added the tire carrier to get the balance and set the height of the center point. The latch idea is still up in the air and until I hinge the door and I bolt up the spare. I want the door latch to be completely accessible without having to reach around the spare to unlock or turn the handle.

 

[rodrage]

Got around to the hinges for the rear door today. Added the holes and once I find some countersunk machine bolts, I'll tie it down and release the door frame form the clamps. Then disassemble, fit pantry, and clean up for powder coat. Thought I'd get something done before we head to the mountains next week so posts will be slow.

 

[2k64runnin]

Looks great. Can't wait to see the finish trailer. By no means hurry. By the way, where did you get those doors that you are using for your trailer? Are they weather sealed?

 

[rodrage]

I'm just using new old stock RV doors. 7 of them. I also have one steel RV door. I think it was a door made for recovery equipment, chain or valuable equipment storage.

 

[rodrage]

Picked up some scrap steel today that was already bent into channel, and a drum ring. Going to build out the spare tire mounted, camp fire grill when I get back from the mountains....

 

[hsestes]

Nice build... Looking forward to seeing your progress!

 

[rodrage]

Got another project moved out of the garage, so I moved the trailer build to the middle bay to get some indoor room to work. Although I'm waiting for the other Timbren parts, I got the frame on jack stands so I could start the hard fitting of the cage and keep it in specs. The frame balances perfectly on the front interior cross-member. Because of the hard mounted parts, this is a good thing. I think it should have a good dry weight centered to the axle point.

 

[rodrage]

Once the frame was level, I added the cage to the frame, shimming it with 1/4" flatbar to mimic the lower skin. Also, added the temporary spare hinges. Unfortunately I failed to realize that the newer jeep tailgates only open @95 degrees, so grinding brand new hinges will be on the to-do list. Clamped down the cage to keep it true while welding. That's about as far as I could get before I wanted a shower. Luckily, the new Timbren parts arrived this afternoon.