Hey guys! I have been a loooong time lurker of expedition portal and finally decided to contribute because I have a new project that is relevant! I have been eyeing offroad trailers for a while now and slowly collecting parts. I finally got around to building this thing in my down time. Most of my ideas are nothing new and have definitely been done before. However, it might give some people some ideas in the future when they start building their own trailer. Enough talk...onto the pictures!
I started making the trailer frame out of a combination of 2x3x.188, 2x3x.120, and 2x4x.188. I built this sucker on the welding table so it came out nice a straight.
For the tongue, I frenched in a pre-made hitch receiver. This will allow me to slide in a standard coupler, a pintle style coupler, or a lock-n-roll style coupler.
For the axle, I ending up buying a dexter 3500 lb axle with electric brakes. Most of you might know this already, but the center of trailer axles are too large to fit through the center bore of most wheels. Rather than mill out the center of an aluminum wheel, I opted for wheel spacers. This would allow me to easily swap a spare from a vehicle onto the trailer in a pinch.
For suspension, I opted for some rear leaf springs from a jeep YJ and some beefy spring hangers, spring perches, u-bolt plates, and shackles. I will also add some shocks from a M416 style trailer.
I originally had the trailer set up as Spring Over Axle, but after welding on the attachment for the front jack, I realized the jack was going to be too short and the frame of the trailer was sky high off the ground.
I switched it to Spring Under Axle and liked it much better.
Onto the box of the trailer. I wanted the box to be a separate piece that could be removed from the trailer frame. This would allow me to paint it a little easier and do repairs in the future if I have to. I made a frame for the bottom and some matching tabs that would be the attachment points for the holding the box to the frame.
I mocked up one of the sides of the trailer and it started to look like something! I bought some pre-made fenders that I will have to lengthen so the tires fit.
Finished making the internal frame and got three sides all tacked in place.
I ended up welding in about 20 of these little tie downs inside the tub to help with cargo control.
I spent a lot of time welding the sheet metals part together. I took my time and made a lot of small welds since sheet metal can be a warping PITA when you go too crazy with the heat.
I made some cross bars to mount to the top so it can hold a RTT. Nothing fancy about the bars, just functional.
I made a little cargo area in front of the box to hold a cooler or whatever my heart desires.
Here is how it sits today! I still have to install a water system, some propane, eletrical, make a rear door, finish the floor of the tub, paint, and million other little things. Overall, I am pretty happy with how it is turning out.
I started making the trailer frame out of a combination of 2x3x.188, 2x3x.120, and 2x4x.188. I built this sucker on the welding table so it came out nice a straight.
For the tongue, I frenched in a pre-made hitch receiver. This will allow me to slide in a standard coupler, a pintle style coupler, or a lock-n-roll style coupler.
For the axle, I ending up buying a dexter 3500 lb axle with electric brakes. Most of you might know this already, but the center of trailer axles are too large to fit through the center bore of most wheels. Rather than mill out the center of an aluminum wheel, I opted for wheel spacers. This would allow me to easily swap a spare from a vehicle onto the trailer in a pinch.
For suspension, I opted for some rear leaf springs from a jeep YJ and some beefy spring hangers, spring perches, u-bolt plates, and shackles. I will also add some shocks from a M416 style trailer.
I originally had the trailer set up as Spring Over Axle, but after welding on the attachment for the front jack, I realized the jack was going to be too short and the frame of the trailer was sky high off the ground.
I switched it to Spring Under Axle and liked it much better.
Onto the box of the trailer. I wanted the box to be a separate piece that could be removed from the trailer frame. This would allow me to paint it a little easier and do repairs in the future if I have to. I made a frame for the bottom and some matching tabs that would be the attachment points for the holding the box to the frame.
I mocked up one of the sides of the trailer and it started to look like something! I bought some pre-made fenders that I will have to lengthen so the tires fit.
Finished making the internal frame and got three sides all tacked in place.
I ended up welding in about 20 of these little tie downs inside the tub to help with cargo control.
I spent a lot of time welding the sheet metals part together. I took my time and made a lot of small welds since sheet metal can be a warping PITA when you go too crazy with the heat.
I made some cross bars to mount to the top so it can hold a RTT. Nothing fancy about the bars, just functional.
I made a little cargo area in front of the box to hold a cooler or whatever my heart desires.
Here is how it sits today! I still have to install a water system, some propane, eletrical, make a rear door, finish the floor of the tub, paint, and million other little things. Overall, I am pretty happy with how it is turning out.
