Rapier 1 ton trailer

[F4B UP]

I recently bought a defender 110 with a view to taking the family camping, overlanding through Europe and further. I have taken some insperation from this forum and from my fellow 110 owner JasonG4110 who has built a rather nice sankey 3/4 tonne trailer from scratch.

I've been searching for either a sankey mk3 wide track or a rapier 1 tonne as both are suitable, have the same track as a 110 and are cheap!

I was offered a rapier a while back but considered it to large, after thinking about what i/we wanted from a trailer i decided to get back in touch. This is what i have (library pics due to flat battery on my BB :costumed-smiley-007 ) They have a HD chassis, 8x4 ft bed, adjustable height suspension, hydraulic brakes and an alloy body. LR fitment hubs.

Think i want a teardrop, base camp style trailer with RTT that we can park up and leave whilst exploring. So collect it next week and get started.

 

[GREENI]

Well I'll be following this build thread :coffeedrink:

 

[Titanpat57]

Looks like a beast, but more room means s few extra ammenities......always a crowd pleaser.

Sounds like it's very well built.....what is the empty weight?

Good luck, Pat

 

[F4B UP]

Hi Pat, not really sure what it weight is. Have been told 320 kgs but will find out.

Greeni. I'm having the sankey aswell, i have another cunning plan for that!

i've read with great interest the trailer builds on here. so parallelagram shape body, rear end kitchen, flat roof for tent to be mounted. No higher than the 110 and no wider. Thinking of using cold room panels for the top and sides? you can get the PIR sheets that are 50mm thick? The manuafcturers are in my nearest large town so i will speak to them. Minimal structiral framing required. Excellent thermal properties and finished panels so n painting etc

 

[DividingCreek]

I'm modifying a sankey for camping right now. Already have a roof top tent mounted and have a second tub that I'm going to make some modifications on with plans to galvanize and then swap over. How wide is the rapier ? I hitch the Sankey behind my 130 and can't see it @ all-not good for backing.....I have an older sankey narrow.

 

[F4B UP]

Ok finally got it home! The beds 8x4 and she's a big one. Already had an LED light kit fitted with the correct relays to run with my standard 110 lights. It sits a bit high, we'll see how she sits loaded but the bonus is you can lower the ride height easily.

So what do i build? i want a 2 berth trailer with underfloor storage, end kitchen and the ability to fix a RTT to accommodate the kids. I've read loads of the builds on here, just need to get the building materials right to start with.

My options are

Steel / ali frame, steel / ali clad

wooden, ply body, clad

Or 50mm fridge panels, used for building cold rooms!?

what would YOU use?

 

[F4B UP]

I'm modifying a sankey for camping right now. Already have a roof top tent mounted and have a second tub that I'm going to make some modifications on with plans to galvanize and then swap over. How wide is the rapier ? I hitch the Sankey behind my 130 and can't see it @ all-not good for backing.....I have an older sankey narrow.

The rapier has the same track as a Defender.

 

[Titanpat57]

I think I would utilize the excessive strength of the frame, and build a rear entry teardrop, the entire width and length of the frame, capable of holding a rooftop tent. Sleeping, storage inside..... pull out, or drop down kitchen on the outside.

I'm unfamiliar with the frame, so I really can't determine exactly how wide it could be....but I would go at least as wide as the Defender.....and I think I would also add some length to the tongue (1' or 2"). Having built an all wood camper, I'm leaning towards lighter materials next time around. Ohh..and a nose box of some sort...:ylsmoke:

 

[F4B UP]

the beds 8x4, the frames that plus a decent tougue to allow the rear door to open and not foul the body work, the defender must be 6ft wide-ish so i'd like to keep it narrower than the defender to allow for good vision.

As for the rear entry i'm not sure a decent weather seal is possible without custom rubbers etc. I'll take a side door x 2 with storage underneath thats accessable from the rear and sides. i'll get some pics of th frame, and may even attempt to remove the ali body to reveal it.

 

[Mark Harley]

A beautiful combination!
Can't wait for the build.
Keep us posted.

 

[F4B UP]

been searching through the builds from inspiration.

i like this one, well laid out, fit my idea of a base camp type 2 sleeper but could have a RTT on for 4

 

[Sirocco]

Tig up be good to see what you come up with. My trailer is coming along nicely, there is a thread on here somewhere that needs reviving.

G

 

[biskit]

been searching through the builds from inspiration.

i like this one, well laid out, fit my idea of a base camp type 2 sleeper but could have a RTT on for 4

A friend of mine (RLD) on this forum has a build in mind like yours, he is in Lancashire UK.Already has a Sankey camper trailer.Keep up the good work.

 

[F4B UP]

Tig up be good to see what you come up with. My trailer is coming along nicely, there is a thread on here somewhere that needs reviving.

G

Hi Gareth :costumed-smiley-007 Yes i've been studying your build, want more of a caravan crawl in type for laning, overnight stops that secure.

A friend of mine (RLD) on this forum has a build in mind like yours, he is in Lancashire UK.Already has a Sankey camper trailer.Keep up the good work.

I've seen RLDs build on D3 :sombrero: A good solid build.

I'm having a bit of storage issue as my workshop and van was vandalised a few weeks ago. So parking the trailer outsides out at the mo. Plus the weather shocking here. I'll strip the body off and finish my cad drawings to get a cost for materials and a predicted weight for the package.

 

[F4B UP]

WIP base camp trailer

ok, been playing on Sketchup...can't upload the file?