Box Rocket Homemade trailer build.

epiccosmo

Adventurer
OK, I'm a n00b to the whole Expedtion Trailer world so if this is a stupid question my apologies in advance. What do you need a C02 tank for while out camping? Btw, nice build!

CO2 Tank isn't necessarily for the camping as much as it is for going off-road. You use it to air your tires back up when you get to the pavement.
 

Box Rocket

Well-known member
CO2 Tank isn't necessarily for the camping as much as it is for going off-road. You use it to air your tires back up when you get to the pavement.

Yep refilling tires and it's also useful for running air tools. I have two tanks. One on the trailer and another in the truck
 

mizzle415

Observer
No More Lid?

Great job on this trailer. It looks like a pro build.

I have a an old David Bradley that I'm currently modding to fit our needs. I noticed that you had built a lid for the Box Rocket, but now see that you are going with the open bed and adjustable rack. I'm looking to carry a canoe on a rack on top, probs no RTT for a while until the kids are old enough for their own tents.

Could you list some of the pros and cons of the lid vs. open bed/rack in your experience?

Lid Pros:
Sealed from the elements
Contents secured

Lid Cons:
Limits size/shape of contents
Limits access to contents

Again, great job on the trailer. I'd appreciate any wisdom you could share.
 

Box Rocket

Well-known member
I have never had a lid for the trailer. I had planned on building one but it never happened. Personally, I think a good lid with high-quality automotive seals is the way to go to keep things dry and mostly dust free. The limiting factor is what you can fit in the trailer under the lid. Good planning and good packing can solve that.

The downside of what I have with the open bed is keeping stuff out of the elements. I've compensated for the lack of a lid with the use of bins. There are better bins out there like Pelican cases or some others that are more secure and weather proof. But the cheap Walmart bins that I'm using have worked surprisingly well. They "nest" together well so stacking works well and I added a small strip of foam weather stripping under the lids which has helped to keep them mostly weatherproof.

Bottom line is I would use a lid if you can on your trailer. Besides the benefits of protection from weather, there is MUCH better security for your gear under a locked lid than in strapped down bins like I have.
 

Box Rocket

Well-known member
Got a new Tepui Kukenam XL Ruggedized for the trailer today. Got it mounted up for the maiden voyage to Moab in the morning. These Ruggedized tent are the bees knees (that's cool right?). Some really nice improvements.


.

.

.
 

Heifer Boy

Adventurer
Good point. You're absolutely right. If you look back through my build you'll notice the fenders started out white. After the first long high-speed trip the front of the fenders were badly chipped. That's the reason they were resprayed with bedliner. They've been holding up pretty well since then but are still getting a few chips. As for the front of the trailer, I had my two water cans mounted across the front for a long time and they protected the front of the trailer pretty well, but since moving them to the sides, I'm definitely getting more chips on the front of the trailer. I've been looking at different options for a stone deflector. The one I'm considering is a fabric one that attaches with elastic ties to the back of the truck and to the front of the trailer just below the tongue. The elastic ties allow full movement of the trailer and keep all rocks and stones below the tongue. Got the idea from the Aussie built UEV 440.

Take a look at Stone Stomper http://www.stonestomper.com.au/ which is a popular solution in Oz. But they do have there issues depending on were and what conditions you drive in. Good on the open (dirt) road but not so good on technical terrain. I like this type myself http://www.allterraincampertrailers.com.au/images/trailer-options_2_lg.jpg as it doesn't effect articulation in any way but there's lots of options http://www.campertrailers.org/stone_guards.htm. Good to know the bedliner is holding up as I need to do the guards on my Tvan again due to stonechips.

HB
 

Box Rocket

Well-known member
The bike mount was a quick fix for Cruise Moab. Wasn't planning on taking the bike but needed to at the last minute. I'm just using the Thule load bars that I was using for the tent before the tent rack was built. I slid the load bars as far as I could to one side to outboard the bike rack as much as possible to clear the tent. Fortunately it worked out perfectly. :)
 

navy jay

New member
Adam, I'm getting to the point in my build where I'm going to be adding the RTT rack system that you have pioneered. I was wondering if you have noticed any fatigue issues with the pull pins you're using? I saw that there isn't much steel there supporting the frame/tent/bodies once lifted and was wondering what impacts you had noticed. If you had it to do again would you use full pins (ones that went all of the way through the supports) or pull pins again? Thanks for any info.
 

mizzle415

Observer
I have never had a lid for the trailer. I had planned on building one but it never happened. Personally, I think a good lid with high-quality automotive seals is the way to go to keep things dry and mostly dust free. The limiting factor is what you can fit in the trailer under the lid. Good planning and good packing can solve that.

The downside of what I have with the open bed is keeping stuff out of the elements. I've compensated for the lack of a lid with the use of bins. There are better bins out there like Pelican cases or some others that are more secure and weather proof. But the cheap Walmart bins that I'm using have worked surprisingly well. They "nest" together well so stacking works well and I added a small strip of foam weather stripping under the lids which has helped to keep them mostly weatherproof.

Bottom line is I would use a lid if you can on your trailer. Besides the benefits of protection from weather, there is MUCH better security for your gear under a locked lid than in strapped down bins like I have.

Thanks for the reply. I should have looked closer, but thought you had installed a lid at the time you put the RTT on along with your Thule/Yakima rack setup. I love the adjustable rack system you have built. The prefab collapsible racks from Thule for a pickup bed would be pretty convenient, but appreciate the ingenuity of your system. I'm still pretty undecided as to rack/lid combo. It all depends on if I add height to the walls of my tub, which are currently only 12" high. Been thinking of adding 20" or so to them.
 

skersfan

Supporting Sponsor
Nothing quite as fun as seeing something you designed, labored over and finished on the road doing exactly what you wanted it to. It really looks good man. Very efficient comes to mind.
 

Box Rocket

Well-known member
Adam, I'm getting to the point in my build where I'm going to be adding the RTT rack system that you have pioneered. I was wondering if you have noticed any fatigue issues with the pull pins you're using? I saw that there isn't much steel there supporting the frame/tent/bodies once lifted and was wondering what impacts you had noticed. If you had it to do again would you use full pins (ones that went all of the way through the supports) or pull pins again? Thanks for any info.

Haven't noticed any issues with the pins. If it's not clear the pins are not locking in the high position underneath the bottom of the interior tubes. There are holes for the low setting as well as the high setting and the pins pass almost halfway through the tube so I don't foresee any problems with the pins not being able to support it.

Thanks for the reply. I should have looked closer, but thought you had installed a lid at the time you put the RTT on along with your Thule/Yakima rack setup. I love the adjustable rack system you have built. The prefab collapsible racks from Thule for a pickup bed would be pretty convenient, but appreciate the ingenuity of your system. I'm still pretty undecided as to rack/lid combo. It all depends on if I add height to the walls of my tub, which are currently only 12" high. Been thinking of adding 20" or so to them.

The Thule adjustable rack system is nice and would work well for something like this but it is very expensive. That's the only downside to that setup IMO. I deeper box is a good move in most cases. Mine is about 20" deep and I wish it was about 6" deeper. 12" is very shallow and it might be well worth your time to add some height to your tub.

Nothing quite as fun as seeing something you designed, labored over and finished on the road doing exactly what you wanted it to. It really looks good man. Very efficient comes to mind.

Thank you sir. I appreciate the compliment from a skilled builder like yourself
 

Forum statistics

Threads
186,067
Messages
2,881,641
Members
225,825
Latest member
JCCB1998
Top