Considering making an expo trailer from a grand cherokee

[carcrafter22]

Hello everyone, this is my first post on expedition portal and I'm new to the whole expedition thing. I have always enjoyed camping and anything outdoors and spend most of my time there but traveling for weeks at a time is something I have never done (except in the military while in Iraq lol).

The family and I have been discussing our big trip and have finally decided to go from our home here in Burleson,Tx to Alaska stopping at a few places along the way.

For the past few months I have been building our camping/ expo rig, its a 2001 jeep grand cherokee. The grand originally started as a 2wd 6 cylinder gas engine with auto trans shortly after buying it we yanked the jeep drivetrain and installed a nissan fd35t diesel engine, after finding it needed a rebuild we just desided to swap in the engine I really wanted anyway.Currently we are almost finished installing the new 3.9L isuzu 4bd1t diesel engine with a GM 4l85e auto trans and b/w 4401 transfer case. The diesel engine is from another project vehicle and has been modded to make well over 300hp (pump turned up capable of over 400hp) so getting around isnt a problem and with the 1 ton drivetrain reliablility should definately be there.

Pics of the jeep with the nissan diesel we installed originally.


Here is the new isuzu going in after making new motor mounts and such.



Here is the jeep, it is pretty basic besides the medium duty series diesel engine and hd trans and transfer case. I instlled some rough country 4" lift springs and shocks along with a clayton long arm kit just in case we go off road.



Sorry for the long intro just wanted to let you know what I'm working with.

I've been reading and reading alot on this forum and cant get enough. I've looked at lots of different trailer designs and ideas, I like the idea of getting a military trailer but at a cost of roughly $500-$700 plus hundreds more in mods I cant see going that route. I considered making a trailer from scratch and its still a close third since I can make it my way, then I came across a thread where an ausi fella cut the back half off of a grand cherokee and turned it into a trailer. I love the idea of making the back half of a grand into a sleeper/trailer, it is certainly different would match my jeep and I can get a complete body with doors and glass for around $350-$500. If you figure the price of the body that is already sealed and complete, add in the cost of some .120 wall 2"X3" steel tube to make the tonge and the price of a sheet of diamond plate to seal in the front section (I'd cut off the body from just in front of the rear doors instead of using the whole body) I can do it for cheaper or at least the same price and have a matching trailer with some style.

Plan would be to remove the front 2 doors then cut the floor and roof about 1ft in front of the rear doors then box it all in and maybe cover the front with diamond plate aluminum of course making it look nice along the way.

I figure it this way
$400 body
$175 in steel and aluminum, I already have steel to make the frame up front, can get the sheet of diamond plate for cheap locally, and have a hitch I can use, 2x3 box steel is cheap as well.
$0 axle and coil spring suspension from my 01 grand will work fine
$150 for a set of factory 16" wheels giving me 2 on the ground and 1 spare
$300 for some used or cheap new 32" tires to match the ones on my jeep now.
Thats $1025 for a very basic trailer that will roll and have tail lights not to mention should be completely sealed from the elements. From there I can add interior lighting, shelves batteries, fuel storage, water storage, etc just like any other trailer.


Does this sound stupid? should I just build a standard ole box type trailer? We would really like some place to just pull over and lay down in, I've even been thinking of installing a small a/c setup for it. We'd be carrying a good bit of stuff so a small trailer isnt going to cut it.

I just wonder if this is a bad idea since I see almost noone do this, most go with the military trailers.

Sorry for the long post and thanks for the help.

Randy

 

[Ted_Z]

That's not a crazy idea at all. Plenty of people have cut wranglers in half to make a trailer, including me. I've seen a couple XJ's turned into trailers but never a WJ. Sounds like a cool project and be sure to post lots of pictures!

 

[wheelin62]

I say go for it! Mine is the back half with the front end welded on. A lot of work, but definitely worth it when people look at it :Wow1:

 

[lostfamilyof6]

Quit talking and start building.:wings: I say go for it. it would match, look awesome give me something to look forward to watching while you build it and give me a place to drool whenever I need to. :drool:
Seriously I am all about the original factor I would love to see something like this built and if donw well would easily rival any military trailer out there.
Me Likey! but of course you"ll have to post pics of the progress. :elkgrin:

 

[carcrafter22]

This is what I was hoping to hear. I plan to start on the trailer shortly after the first of the year when the jeep is done ( I work out of town alot so I only have around 10 days a month at home) in the mean time I am collecting parts like the steel to build the tongue, etc. I also need to finish the jeep, I plan to start everything around the first of january and hope to be done by early march depending on how much I have to work and be gone. I'm pretty good about posting lots of pics so stay tuned I guess.

Can anyone see any downsides to building a trailer like this? Downsides of using the stock D35 axle (after removing the ring gear)?

 

[carcrafter22]

Wheelin, I think I saw your trailer in my searching and I love that thing, its very cool and one of the reasons I decided to make something to match my jeep.

 

[wheelin62]

The only real down side to doing a build like this is your not building the trailer around the "gear" you want to carry, instead your building the "how and where" of the gear into the all ready made trailer. If that makes sense. I went for the look of it, then worked out the "functionality" of it along the way.

 

[greentruck]

The downside I see is that the GC doesn't have a very efficient use of space, compared to what a more trailer utilitarian design would have.

But if it holds everything you need, why not?:elkgrin:

 

[carcrafter22]

I was thinking about it and I can put a 15 gal water tank where the fuel tank is now and 2 5gallon fuel cans on the tongue and 1 propane tank. Inside it's pretty roomy with no interior pieces and a small window unit will heat and cool the whole thing even with no insulation. I can built a wooden platform to put a mattress on and below that will be storage bins. I'm thinking of making the entire front section open up like the rear hatch to give me more access.

 

[Raw7s]

subscribed, that's an awesome idea

so I'm having a hard time picturing it, are you chopping the GC at the b-pillar? You've got me dreaming now of what an H3 trailer would look like

 

[carcrafter22]

Kinda hard to picture, I need to make a sketch of what I have planned and post a pic up.

I plan to take a complete grand cherokee body and remove the front doors then cut the roof and floor about 1ft in front of the the rear doors, I will then make an aluminum skinned steel framed cover to fill in the new opening. That will give me a completely sealed cabin to work with. I will leave the stock jeep coil spring suspension in place along with the dana 35 axle for now (plan to install a 3500# electric brake axle later) along with some matching jeep wheels with 32" tires to match. For the frame I will use 2"X3" .120 wall steel tube that will be welded to the bottom of the body along side the unibody frame rails from just in front of the rear axle all the way to the end of the body.I know of a place that will mandrel bend steel tube this size so I will possibly get them to bend the tube up to make it look nice but we'll see about that later on. For a hitch I will probably just use a standard 2" ball hitch for now since I dont plan on any extreme off roading just fire breaks and other places a ball hitch should do fine.

I am seriously considering making the front diamond plate cover be able to open up to where its almost level with the roof of the actual body. I can attach a canvas material to it with a plywood bottom and make it a space to put a small matress in, kinda like how a popup trailer works. The wood floor and aluminum top would just pop out opposite of each other with a thin canvas or mesh material between the two, I would use cables or something to actually support the needed weight so no tension is on the mesh/canvas material.

 

[Mamontof]

I say go for it! Mine is the back half with the front end welded on. A lot of work, but definitely worth it when people look at it :Wow1:

If i see that on trail...i will stop and have a sip some %:wings:

I love some no homebuilding
http://www.bushnest.co.za/Products.htm

But looks ....:Wow1::snorkel:

 

[Trailpsycho]

I think you are missing out on an opportunity with using the entire body. In my opinion, use the entire cab. put a hinge where the windshield is for access to whatever and use the front seating area for storage. The rear area you are talking botu will be barely long enough for you to do any sleeping in...even with the seats flat...assuming you are not removing them. I have never stripped my GC down to see how flat the floor is without any of the interior in it. In my opinion, keeping both doors gives you better access to your gear, locking, sealed doors and ample storage. Put your tongue box where the firewall goes or flatten the firewall. Hinging the windshield area for again storage would keep the body lines better than removing the front doors.

Heck, you could even plumb into the hydraulic lines with a coupler and keep the rear axle an hydraulic brakes if you were clever.

I hope I am not sounding negative on your idea. I do dig it. I just think you could keep more of the body intact to keep the look and the protected space/access to a higher level.

Keep us posted on your build.

I have only one negative thing to say. Please, no diamond plate...please.

 

[carcrafter22]

Trailpsycho, you make a good point. I did alot of searching and reading about this and the few that did it (that I can find anyway) didnt like the idea of using most of the jeep body due to weight distribution, too much tongue weight since the wheels will be so far back due to wheel wells.

I guess I could always get the entire body ready from the firewall rearward then put my frame rails on then take it for a spin down the road. I really need to get a shell and get it weighed to get some actual data on it all then go from there.

I do like the idea of using the whole cabin though, it would give me all the needed storage I could want and be fully inclosed/sealed, look better and require a little less work really. I would just need to cut out most of the firewall and trans tunnel (easy with my plasma cutter) and lay some flat sheet to make it look clean and easier to package items.

So who thinks it woud be a good idea to run the full body firewall back? Will the axle be too far rearward to do this? I know I could just run a shorter tongue but I still worry about trailer sway down the highway at 70-75mph. I'd cut out most of the firewall and floor (trans tunnel) and replace it with flat sheet and possibly swap the windshield to thin lexan since all the glass will be blacked out with limo tint.

 

[SGNellett]

I think the IDEA of using the whole body is cool, it would almost certainly look better that way, but I think you might be right about the logistical issues. Seems like that might be close to your real world towing limit by the time you get it loaded, then trying to go off road, you might find yourself towing a piano. There is a guy out there somewhere who did something similar to this w/ a Subaru wagon, that would give you an idea about how the finished item might look and balance, if you can find it.