Ground up DIY Build by OVX 2012

[Uglyduck]

Rt.66 Shakedown Run

We took it out on a little overnight shakedown trip to a small lake about 30 miles away and made it fun by taking Old Rt.66 as much as possible. We stopped along the way at various little landmarks and the road itself is dirt most of the way. In some locations you can see the 3 different tracks that 66 has had over the years. There's something about reuniting with your county's past thats invigorating. At the lake we enjoyed lounging, fishing, hiking and a little off roading. The trailer made it really convenient for me to take the dogs in the truck and do some exploring without leaving the girls standed. It also allowed us to head into town to a 50's diner for chow and ice cream without having to pack up camp. My favorite part was unpacking when we got home...next to nothing had to come off.

It was a good shakedown trip and here are some things I need to address:
1) getting it level in camp. I used a Wayne's RV stabilizer which is great for limiting movement but does nothing to level the sleeping platform. I'm going to try and level it with the Hi-Lift first then put on stabilizer next time.
2) Organizing gear, food, equipment, etc. I hate digging around for 10 minutes to find something simple.
3) Mount propane and Jerry cans. Having them stored inside means I have to move them around to get to other things. This was already in my plan but I want to get it done sooner now.
4) Leaf springs - there isn't much bow left in them once loaded which is slightly concerning. It didn't bottom out but I may stop by American Spring and get their opinion on it.

I also have an idea to attach the awning to the Rhino Rack cross-members. I don't think I'll have time to make them work before we leave for Zion but we'll see.

 

[Mark Harley]

Very nice and my favorite........RED!

 

[Uglyduck]

I took care of the leaf springs today. Ran them over to American Spring yesterday afternoon to get them re-bowed and add a leaf. They turned out great, brought the height up 2.5 inches and took the squish out of them. The trailer was bouncy before and now it rides as I expected it should. I estimate the trailer to be around 1500lbs unload but still dont really know, I still need to make a trip to the dump...to get it weighed, thanks LPV

I took it to the DMV this afternoon and walked right in, no one was even in the waiting room. That never happens! I thought it was a good sign but no such luck, since the fenders are over 14" off the ground I need to have mud flaps. So, I get to go back in Friday morning after they're installed and wait with 50 other people, of course. I sent a PM to Martyn at AT to ask about their trailers, I noticed in a lot of photos that they don't have mud flaps and they're built 90 miles away.

No word on the awning yet but wednesday is the earliest I'd know anything, guess its coming strait from Ironman's Australia warehouse.

For organization I'm looking at something inexpensive yet effective. i'm not too concerned with dust as the trailer does a pretty good job of keeping it out but I would still like too keep gear protected. I saw a thread on Coleman Stackers, coolers made for backyard party's. They have a pretty square shape, stack (obviously), come in several colors which is nice for organizing, and are air tight. They're around $25-$30 online, I haven't had any luck finding them locally though. Funny thing is, I recall seeing them at Target a year ago and thinking they would work well but blowing it off and forgetting about them only to go back today and wish I'd bought them. Figures. The alternative (prettier option) would be to build some out of wood. I can get exactly what I'm looking for with a little elbow grease.

Stackers thread - http://www.expeditionportal.com/forum/threads/73772-Affordable-Expeditionary-Storage-Stackers-Maxing-Out?highlight=stackers

 

[Mark Harley]

Found some on Amazon with free shipping
ebay at Wayfair "Call them and see if they can do better on the price without buying on ebay."
1-866-513-5799

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Coleman-24-...730?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item19d0d4d9da

 

[Uglyduck]

We've taken this out on a few more small local trips and I added the Ironman awning last week. I attached it to the Rhino Rack bars with some brackets I made, its a pretty simple design. When I get a moment I'll add some close ups of it.

Going down Schnebly Hill Road


Set up in camp


I've thought more about my organization issue and think drawers will be the way to go. If I do them right I'll be able to move them to my truck bed if needed.

 

[Uglyduck]

The Eezi-Awn cover has been slowly dying so I stitched up a new one today. Its the same material and I used the old one as a pattern, it took about 5 hours. Here are some closeups of the Awning mounts attached to the Rhino Rack too.

 

[Mark Harley]

Nice job on the red cover,
If you are ever searching for any tarps or box style covers try mytarps.com
tell them Mark Harley sent you. Search machine cover.

 

[MossLager]

Nicely done!

 

[Uglyduck]

Well, over a year later and here's an update.

1. I lifted the truck 2.5" using an Old Man Emu kit which included badly needed new leaf springs, new shocks, and new front coil overs. After the lift I developed a vibration coming from the transfer case. Turns out its pretty common and comes from the output shaft needle bearing (where the CV axle goes into the housing). I replaced it with an aftermarket bushing and that vibe went away. I also developed a driveline vibration, its quite annoying. Toyota used a 3 piece drive line which must be tuned like a concert piano. I'm still messing with the carrier bearing to find that perfect angle. I may give up and just order a new driveline that mimics the previous gen. tacoma. On the brighter side, it has great clearance (what the truck should've had from the factory IMHO), and with the 235/85/16 tires I didn't lose much if any gas milage.

Truck and trailer after the lift, the trailer rides level now

2. I built and installed a slide out kitchen for the trailer. Its made of 3/4" and 1/2" birch ply and uses 36" 500lb full extension drawer slides that lock in and out. The slides cost more than material, and are a bit overkill, but they were the only ones I could find that long with the locking mechanism. Thanks to woodsman for helping track down the hardware and giving me a few ideas.
I coated the exterior in "Monstaliner" truck bed liner. Its 95' Jeep Spice Brown or as I like to call it, Baby **** Brown. Terrible color but it'll hide dirt. I chose this because it was fairly easy to apply and is crazy durable. The interior will get a few coats of satin poly. The final step in this project is to make the drawer front and the slide out counter top where the plastic bin is in the photos. These will be laminated oak, walnut, and cherry for an offset butcher block look. I may do a compass inlay on the counter top too. Both of these little bits of flare are primarily so I get to practice the techniques.

Kitchen "in"

Kitchen "out". the compartment to the right of the stove has a top that slides into the trailer and is about 16" deep. Plenty of storage for dry goods. The drawer under the stove will house cups, plates, utensils, coffee pot, etc in divided sections.

Future mods:
I plan on installing a flat platform rack over the truck bed shell so I can strap down gear, fuel, etc. Drawers that I can transfer from the trailer to the truck bed will be next and of similar construction as the kitchen. I also want to be able to transfer the awning from the trailer to the truck too. The goal is to be able to set the truck up for extended trips where the trail conditions are more than I want to tackle with a trailer, or when its just me and another person. I've also got an idea to sew up a silicon nylon tent body that covers the bed/shell opening and rolls up into a pouch on the shell rack.

 

[VDBAZFJ]

Wow Mitch! Fantastic work there in that trailer! I love it! The slide out is such a great idea. I just cannot bring myself to cut the side out of my M416.

On a side note...when is the trip to Oak Creek Homestead?

 

[Uglyduck]

I don't blame you on the 416. I had a Bantam for a bit that needed a whole new floor and I couldn't bring myself to chop it out and replace it with anything that didn't resemble the original. Dieselcruiserhead has a 416 trailer thread where he did a really clean slide out kitchen mod, thats actually where I got the idea from.

Nothing on the calendar yet for OC homestead but I pitched it to some of the local folks to see if they're interested in doing a run down there. I'd like to try it with just the truck first before attempting it with the trailer. I'd hate to get the trailer stuck while doing a solo trip with the girls.

 

[loren85022]

Love the kitchen slider.


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