My Camping Trailer Project

Cody1771

Explorer
this is probably gonna be one of the better trailer conversions ive seen for a Toy Frame, i think most people just weld a front, and use the stock toy box for a trailer! this should look good when its done! is the plan to just make a utility trailer? or is it gonna be a true camping trailer with RTT and all?
 

jeepdreamer

Expedition Leader
X2 imho

Great work.
But i think that the tongue(the way it is connected to the frame) is weak comparing to the HD frame...Just my 0.2$

You may want to re-think the design of the tongue to reduce stress. I see potential for both vertical, lateral (side to side) and the effects of twist as potential issues. Not trying to step on toes...I dig the build. I would just look a little closer at the front.
 

Dirtco

Adventurer
Very clean looking fab work. Nice shop!

And most of all, very economical and sustainable use of resources!:elkgrin:

this is probably gonna be one of the better trailer conversions ive seen for a Toy Frame, i think most people just weld a front, and use the stock toy box for a trailer! this should look good when its done! is the plan to just make a utility trailer? or is it gonna be a true camping trailer with RTT and all?

Thanks! The plan is to make it a true camping trailer, without spending a bunch of money. When I sold the Chief I bought a double size Tent-Cot, that is going to get modified and mounted on the top like a RTT. If you look at this picture the blue tape will be the supports for the Tent-Cot, the small section at the front /top of the trailer will be a platform to stand on to get into the tent and take off your shoes, etc. There will be a smaller box on the front, so with the tongue the whole front will kind of be a set of stairs up to the tent.

Edit - Forgot the picture

P1030589-1.jpg
 
Last edited:

Dirtco

Adventurer
Great work.
But i think that the tongue(the way it is connected to the frame) is weak comparing to the HD frame...Just my 0.2$

You may want to re-think the design of the tongue to reduce stress. I see potential for both vertical, lateral (side to side) and the effects of twist as potential issues. Not trying to step on toes...I dig the build. I would just look a little closer at the front.

Yep, tounge definant issue.

Thanks for the input, I agree 100%! The tongue is going to get some more bracing, I ran out of steel and I also need to figure out the length of the tongue (I made it a little long figuring that it would need to be trimmed) before I can finalize the bracing. The tongue is going to have a reciever welded to it so I can switch between a standard ball mount and an off-road mount. The bracing/tongue with also have a section of diamond plate for a step to get to the tool box, then to the roof and to the tent.
 

ntsqd

Heretic Car Camper
Best is when the tongue tube(s) are under the rest of the trailer frame. Cross under at the front cross member and then tie into the side rails a ways to the rear of the front cross member. That is rarely done on these light trailers (416's/M101's being the notable exception as they are done this way), but you'll likely notice that it is very rare that this is not done on heavier trailers.

What I would suggest is replace the 'Horseshoe" cross member (you don't need the drive shaft clearance any more anyway) with a straight tube. Cut off the existing tongue and notch the front cross member for the new tongue tube. Bring the new tongue tube from your newly added cross member forwards thru the notched front cross member and cut it at the desired length.

Note that some additional dimension, particularly in the vertical plane, is a good thing. If there is the budget to do so what I'd suggest is to make the new tongue tube from socket receiver tubing. That gets you more dimension in both the horizontal and the vertical planes as well as making it easy to have an extendable tongue, or simply a removable coupler so as to discourage it being 'borrowed.'
 

Dirtco

Adventurer
Thanks for the input. Not to sound rude, but I do have a lot of thought into this and there are certain reasons why I did certain things. There are some limits to using the Toyota frame section, I commented on your suggestions below.

Best is when the tongue tube(s) are under the rest of the trailer frame. Cross under at the front cross member and then tie into the side rails a ways to the rear of the front cross member. That is rarely done on these light trailers (416's/M101's being the notable exception as they are done this way), but you'll likely notice that it is very rare that this is not done on heavier trailers.

The Toyota frame tapers down at the front, below the spring mounts. Building the tongue below the frame would mean that I would need a large drop hitch, and it would drag while going over water bars, up large hills, etc. I set the tongue height specifically for my truck and to clear my spare tire carrier.

What I would suggest is replace the 'Horseshoe" cross member (you don't need the drive shaft clearance any more anyway) with a straight tube. Cut off the existing tongue and notch the front cross member for the new tongue tube. Bring the new tongue tube from your newly added cross member forwards thru the notched front cross member and cut it at the desired length.

The "Horseshoe" crossmember is what the gas tank, and gas tank skid plate mount to. The tongue and the crossmember that the tongue is welded to is 3/16", the 3/16" crossmember is reinforced with 1/4" plate. I have no plans to cut apart, with some extra bracing it should be more than strong enough.

Note that some additional dimension, particularly in the vertical plane, is a good thing. If there is the budget to do so what I'd suggest is to make the new tongue tube from socket receiver tubing. That gets you more dimension in both the horizontal and the vertical planes as well as making it easy to have an extendable tongue, or simply a removable coupler so as to discourage it being 'borrowed.'

The tongue is getting a section of receiver tubing at the front of it, for both security and the option of switching couplers to a more off-road friendly version. There's reason I didn't make the whole tongue from it, weight and money.

The bracing should look something like this (not to scale), the receiver tube will end at the bracing (not shown in picture). The red lines are thin wall light tubing (support for the front cargo box) and the purple lines are the outline of where the diamond plate will mount.

tt.jpg
 

Dirtco

Adventurer
I'm sure you have things in mind...
What are the black diagonal lines suppose to be?

additional square tubing to re-inforce the tongue i think

Yes, the black lines will be the additional bracing for the tongue. I made the tongue a little long, knowing that I might need to cut it down. I don't want to brace it until I get the suspension mounted, some tires on it, and the coupler figured out. Then I can brace it.
 

Dirtco

Adventurer
Here's a really basic idea of how I want the trailer to turn out (I made it in paint, so nothing is to scale). I think the fenders will be made out of bent round tubing, the front storage box will be a mix of expanded steel and normal sheet (on the way to the campsite it will be used for firewood, and on the way home for trash). The smaller section at the front of the trailer (driver side) will be a door to the front area of the trailer, the passenger side (in picture) will have a door to a small compartment that will have the fuel filler, and fuel transfer hose. The back tailgate will swing out to the right to remove the gear from inside, and there will also be a long table that fits in the rear 2" reciever.

The last picture is looking from the front of the trailer towards the back. The red lines are the supports for the tent. Imagine this: step stool, tongue, storage box, top of the trailer, and then your in the tent. It should work out to be like a small set of stairs.

trailerpaint-1.jpg


doubletentcot.jpg
 

Dirtco

Adventurer
It's really hard to work on the trailer without being able to roll the thing around, so I decided to get the axle and suspension figured out before I work on anything else.

Several weeks ago I tried to order a complete axle from a shop that builds custom trailer axles and that I've heard good things about. After several calls, over a couple days, I couldn't get a hold of them and I decided to save some money and build my own.

I had a section of 2x2" 1/4" wall square tubing, and wanted to build the axle using it (while the trailer should be pretty light, I would like for the axle to take a rock hit or two without bending). After a LOT of research I found some 1 1/2" square spindles that would fit some 6x5.5 hubs.

P1030595.jpg


P1030599.jpg


P1030596.jpg
 

Dirtco

Adventurer
Together the hubs have a 3500 pound rating, with the heavy wall axle tube the trailer should be able to see some moderate terrain without an issue.

First I chopped the tubing to size

P1030597.jpg


P1030598.jpg


I had to clearance the spindles for the welded seam inside the tubing, then beat the crap out of them on a wood block to get them seated. I left a little room to weld them without getting into the sealing surface and I covered the spindles with aluminum foil to protect the sealing surface.

P1030603.jpg
 

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