Wrenbot trailer build

wrenbot

New member
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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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I switched it to Spring Under Axle and liked it much better.
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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.
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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.
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Finished making the internal frame and got three sides all tacked in place.
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I ended up welding in about 20 of these little tie downs inside the tub to help with cargo control.
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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.
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I made some cross bars to mount to the top so it can hold a RTT. Nothing fancy about the bars, just functional.
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I made a little cargo area in front of the box to hold a cooler or whatever my heart desires.
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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.
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andysgreenxj

Observer
Looks to be a great start to a good looking trailer...what are the demensions, if you don't mind my asking?:drool:
 

wrenbot

New member
Looks to be a great start to a good looking trailer...what are the demensions, if you don't mind my asking?:drool:

No problem. Feel free to ask any questions! The frame is 40 inches wide and about 10 feet long. The cargo box is 5 feet long, 2 feet tall, and 4 feet wide at the top. Tires are 315/70/R17s
 

wrenbot

New member
I’m gonna go ahead and assume you are in the fabrication industry?
So clean. Love it.

Thanks! Yep, I actually recently opened an fab shop in Castle Rock, CO. Mostly doing work on Jeeps, Toyotas, and buggies. This is what has been keeping me busy when its slow.
 

bluejeep

just a guy
wow, just wow. What a difference it makes when you have the trifecta of "t's".
Time
Tools
Talent

:clapsmile
 

nastav

Adventurer
Thanks! Yep, I actually recently opened an fab shop in Castle Rock, CO. Mostly doing work on Jeeps, Toyotas, and buggies. This is what has been keeping me busy when its slow.

Sending you an email re: doing some work on my trailer this spring. Lid, tongue extension, etc.
 
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wrenbot

New member
Thanks for all the compliments everyone.

I made some progress the last couple of days on the trailer. I finished the floor of the tub, framing in the back for the door, framing at the top, and finish welded some mounts for stabilizer jacks. I went back and forth on whether or not I wanted to a make a hinged lid for the top. Ultimately, I decided that once there is a RTT on the top, I would most likely not be opening the lid. Plus, I made the opening for the door large enough to fit any thing I would want to put in the trailer. I might also add a small marine style hatch towards the front of the box to make grabbing items that have migrated to the front of the trailer a little easier.

However, I still wanted to make the top removable. I settled on adding a bunch of nutserts in the top of the trailer box so I could bolt down the top and seal it up with some weather seal. You can see all the nutserts in this pic:
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Once all the stainless hardware is in, it looks pretty good.
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Ozarker

Pontoon Admiral
I knew you were a pro when I saw those welds, very well done! Using kayak hatches on the deck is a great idea! Try West Marine or the Woodenboat Forum, that can lead you to some good buys.

Again, well done! :)
 

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