Elmo's New Toy Hauler Build
- Thread starter elmo_4_vt
- Start date
elmo_4_vt
Explorer
Hahaha... That one had me laughing out loud, which is great except for my wife probably thinks I'm crazy... I just hope it comes together as well as it looks in my head and I don't make a fool of myself posting all the details (and mistakes) on-line...
On that note, building and installing drawers is a huge pain. Probably took me 2 hours just to install those 2 drawers and get everything perfect. Didn't help that I only left an 1/8" of clearance around the frames, but man it was a pain. Hopefully the 100lb drawer slides won't flex when filled up, not that there will be much weight in there.
Don
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elmo_4_vt
Explorer
What's in a name?
Trying to figure out a name for the trailer as I'm buying some vinyl decals... Does anyone have any suggestions?
My leading name is:
BRONCO TOAD
That's the only somewhat witty name I could come up with. Any other, less corny suggestions? I always like referring to a vehicle by name, and Toad seems as good as any? I could get an artistic friend to draw a frog/toad on off-road wheels? The only other things I could think was about horse trailers since that is what it looks like. Help me out
Don
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Trying to figure out a name for the trailer as I'm buying some vinyl decals... Does anyone have any suggestions?
My leading name is:
BRONCO TOAD
That's the only somewhat witty name I could come up with. Any other, less corny suggestions? I always like referring to a vehicle by name, and Toad seems as good as any? I could get an artistic friend to draw a frog/toad on off-road wheels? The only other things I could think was about horse trailers since that is what it looks like. Help me out
Don
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elmo_4_vt
Explorer
Finally got some time today to finish up the kitchen with the exception of the quick disconnect for the gas and water lines which will hopefully happen next weekend. 4 coats of spar urethane gave the kitchen a pretty thick and smooth finish. I think it will give me some good service life, But I'll still have to keep it mostly out of the rain because of the plywood. The canopy extends completely over the kitchen, but not sure if I'd chance it in the rain. I should have some time tomorrow to put the graphics on (just some color matched vinyl stripes), and start on the rear tire/propane holder. On with the pictures from today:
In the trailer. The latch on the front, bottom will keep it from moving in/out or up/down. There is also a cleat in the back that will keep that end from bouncing.
Pull it out about half way.
Pull out the legs and extend so they are about where they need to be:
Pull out the rest of the way and fine tune the legs if needed. There is a brace wider than the opening that is screwed across the back of the kitchen unit that keeps it from falling out:
Raise the other set of legs: (Sorry for the crappy picture, I think the motion of the dog screwed up the camera)
Unfold, and this is when I'd be hooking up the propane and water connections:
Just a picture with all the doors open, showing the plates, bowls, cups, and cutlery (still need to get some nice knives).
The bottom left drawer fits all of the pots and pans (3 liter and 5 liter pots, 10 and 14" frying pans) plus coffee mugs and extra cups. Not sure what I'll put in the upper compartment. May larger dish washing tubs? The second has spices, foil, saran wrap, zip lock bags, and trash bags.
This shows the kitchen all the way out. You can see why I couldn't make these doors hinge open:
Can't wait to use it in two weeks for the first camping trip of spring. It was so nice today in the Northeast I got my first sunburn on my neck and nose. Weird since it was only 60 deg.
Don
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In the trailer. The latch on the front, bottom will keep it from moving in/out or up/down. There is also a cleat in the back that will keep that end from bouncing.
Pull it out about half way.
Pull out the legs and extend so they are about where they need to be:
Pull out the rest of the way and fine tune the legs if needed. There is a brace wider than the opening that is screwed across the back of the kitchen unit that keeps it from falling out:
Raise the other set of legs: (Sorry for the crappy picture, I think the motion of the dog screwed up the camera)
Unfold, and this is when I'd be hooking up the propane and water connections:
Just a picture with all the doors open, showing the plates, bowls, cups, and cutlery (still need to get some nice knives).
The bottom left drawer fits all of the pots and pans (3 liter and 5 liter pots, 10 and 14" frying pans) plus coffee mugs and extra cups. Not sure what I'll put in the upper compartment. May larger dish washing tubs? The second has spices, foil, saran wrap, zip lock bags, and trash bags.
This shows the kitchen all the way out. You can see why I couldn't make these doors hinge open:
Can't wait to use it in two weeks for the first camping trip of spring. It was so nice today in the Northeast I got my first sunburn on my neck and nose. Weird since it was only 60 deg.
Don
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Last edited:
Explorer0863
Adventurer
Bravo!! That set up is really awesome and functional. :bowdown:
Jeff Wanamog
Off Road Camper Guy
Pretty cool dude! Kudos to you for thinking outside of the box (pun intended)
I bet Moma is very happy to you.
How are you going to stabilize the trailer so that climbing inside won't screw this slide out up?
Jeff
I bet Moma is very happy to you.
How are you going to stabilize the trailer so that climbing inside won't screw this slide out up?
Jeff
Titanpat57
Expedition Leader
Great job Don...
Off to the paint shop to match the Bronco now?:smiley_drive:
Maybe we can get you north this fall for the Overland Rally in VT.
Off to the paint shop to match the Bronco now?:smiley_drive:
Maybe we can get you north this fall for the Overland Rally in VT.
elmo_4_vt
Explorer
Thanks for the compliments all... I can't wait to use it. Got caught up doing family stuff today, so didn't get the propane hooked up and only got about half way on my tire/propane carrier. Just not enough time. I'll have to focus on that this week, even if it's temporary so we can use it the last weekend in April. I did make an auxiliary table that can fit in the 2" receiver of the trailer or tow vehicle. The thinking was to use it as a work space for a small propane grill for cooking burgers/etc. while camping or just tailgating. Came out pretty good, but nothing worth taking pictures of since I just through it together with spare steel and wood as I was cleaning up the garage.
Jeff, the trailer has three jacks total, two at the back corners are 3500lb rating, the front is 8000lb rating. They can level out the trailer on just about any surface or lift it complete off the ground. So I can use them to stabilize the trailer. It can still sway a bit if you try from the slop in the connections at each jack, but it's nothing that will effect the kitchen at all. Once the kitchen is out on the legs, they are carrying most of the weight anyway, so the trailer could potentially move or tilt a good bit and it really wouldn't bother anything I don't think. The sliding mechanism works well enough that it would probably just pivot and slide as necessary if there was movement relative to the drop-down legs so that they shouldn't ever get that much stress on them. At least I think that is what you were asking.
Paint is too expensive to justify for this project. But I did spend some time on Ebay last week and bought some vinyl "racing stripes" in silver and burgundy. Not sure how hard they are going to be to install around all the trim pieces, but I should be starting to put that on soon, if not next weekend. It won't be perfect, but it should at least show a connection between the two. The silver stripe is the same width as on the Bronco, and the burgundy stripes will go above and below. Some of the trailer will still be white though.
That is actually a very good possibility. We are planning a trip up there, just not sure if we'll do it in the summer and hotel it, or fall and pull the trailer. We have a couple places we want to see up there though. I'll have to look into the dates.
Don
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Jeff, the trailer has three jacks total, two at the back corners are 3500lb rating, the front is 8000lb rating. They can level out the trailer on just about any surface or lift it complete off the ground. So I can use them to stabilize the trailer. It can still sway a bit if you try from the slop in the connections at each jack, but it's nothing that will effect the kitchen at all. Once the kitchen is out on the legs, they are carrying most of the weight anyway, so the trailer could potentially move or tilt a good bit and it really wouldn't bother anything I don't think. The sliding mechanism works well enough that it would probably just pivot and slide as necessary if there was movement relative to the drop-down legs so that they shouldn't ever get that much stress on them. At least I think that is what you were asking.
Paint is too expensive to justify for this project. But I did spend some time on Ebay last week and bought some vinyl "racing stripes" in silver and burgundy. Not sure how hard they are going to be to install around all the trim pieces, but I should be starting to put that on soon, if not next weekend. It won't be perfect, but it should at least show a connection between the two. The silver stripe is the same width as on the Bronco, and the burgundy stripes will go above and below. Some of the trailer will still be white though.
That is actually a very good possibility. We are planning a trip up there, just not sure if we'll do it in the summer and hotel it, or fall and pull the trailer. We have a couple places we want to see up there though. I'll have to look into the dates.
Don
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bonomonster
Adventurer
What an awesome build
elmo_4_vt
Explorer
Waiting for paint to dry on todays project, so I figured I'd upload some pictures.
Yesterday spent a couple hours running around to Lowes and a somewhat local (30 minutes) camping store to get all the different hardware I needed to get the new stove working. What a pain. Some fittings are flare, and some are pipe. Took me two trips to each because I was in a rush and didn't plan everything out before hand. I'm going to have to live with a temporary setup for next weekends camping trip because I wasn't able to run the hard line under the trailer until I know where the water tank and heater are going to end up. Still, it works well, I'll just have to move the propane tank from the back of the trailer to the kitchen area. When I'm done, there will be quick disconnects at the front for the stove and grill. As for the fittings, I use a nice high quality, all brass and stainless type from Amazon. I also have some of the all brass type made for water hose, but didn't want to trust that for propane. These are mush higher quality than the ones that would normally come with a store bought camper for an outdoor grill. I know this since I thought they'd be the same, and bought a stock extension hose to try and save some time. They are not even close in terms of quality. Anyway, on with pictures:
This is the hose that connects the kitchen with the propane tank (or in the hard line under the camper in the future):
Dual regulator and the other side of the quick disconnect:
Connected:
Just showing everything set up, and the new table and portable grill:
Today's project was the tire/propane carrier. I really didn't want to put the propane on the back, but because of the tongue weight being over 600lbs, I needed to redistribute weight a little. I figured the easiest way to do this was to put a spare on the back, and since I was putting the tire back there, I figured it would balance things out to just put the propane back there too. Maybe it will keep people from tailgating me? :ylsmoke: The ramp is rated for 2000lbs, so hopefully it won't have any issues. It's made from 1.5" tube, 3/16" wall thickness, so it's should be plenty beefy to hold these two things. I haven't tried opening or closing the gate yet with extra weight, but it has a torsion spring helper and as it stands now, it only takes a finger to close and you actually have to hold it back so it doesn't slam shut, so this should still be easily manageable. My only real concern are the hinges at the bottom. I'll have to keep an eye on them to make sure the don't deform, and add some additional ones if they start do deform from the weight bouncing.
Where it will go on the trailer, just through bolted to the inside with 6, 3/8" grade 8 Bolts. There is 14 guage alum, 1.5"x3/16" Steel tube, then 3/4" Plywood:
And the holder. Can't see much detail because of the shadows, but it's just 2"x1/4" angle top and bottom, 1.25"x3/16" tube verticals, and 2"x1/4" tube for the tire holder. The propane mount is for a forklift and fits a 20lb tank very well. The angle on the bottom just helps support the weight of the tank, and will have two notches cut in to accept the bottom ring of the tank.
That's all for today. I was going to apply some graphics, but after reading the directions (gasp), it says you have to let them lay flat for 24 hrs. They been rolled up in the garage for a couple weeks. Hopefully I'll have time to put them on this week, but it's not looking good. Either way we're ready for camping next weekend. Can't wait. Have over a cord of dried pine from a neighbors tree that we're going to tow up behind my friends truck. Hopefully it will burn well enough, and I won't have to waste any of my good fire wood.
Don
-
Yesterday spent a couple hours running around to Lowes and a somewhat local (30 minutes) camping store to get all the different hardware I needed to get the new stove working. What a pain. Some fittings are flare, and some are pipe. Took me two trips to each because I was in a rush and didn't plan everything out before hand. I'm going to have to live with a temporary setup for next weekends camping trip because I wasn't able to run the hard line under the trailer until I know where the water tank and heater are going to end up. Still, it works well, I'll just have to move the propane tank from the back of the trailer to the kitchen area. When I'm done, there will be quick disconnects at the front for the stove and grill. As for the fittings, I use a nice high quality, all brass and stainless type from Amazon. I also have some of the all brass type made for water hose, but didn't want to trust that for propane. These are mush higher quality than the ones that would normally come with a store bought camper for an outdoor grill. I know this since I thought they'd be the same, and bought a stock extension hose to try and save some time. They are not even close in terms of quality. Anyway, on with pictures:
This is the hose that connects the kitchen with the propane tank (or in the hard line under the camper in the future):
Dual regulator and the other side of the quick disconnect:
Connected:
Just showing everything set up, and the new table and portable grill:
Today's project was the tire/propane carrier. I really didn't want to put the propane on the back, but because of the tongue weight being over 600lbs, I needed to redistribute weight a little. I figured the easiest way to do this was to put a spare on the back, and since I was putting the tire back there, I figured it would balance things out to just put the propane back there too. Maybe it will keep people from tailgating me? :ylsmoke: The ramp is rated for 2000lbs, so hopefully it won't have any issues. It's made from 1.5" tube, 3/16" wall thickness, so it's should be plenty beefy to hold these two things. I haven't tried opening or closing the gate yet with extra weight, but it has a torsion spring helper and as it stands now, it only takes a finger to close and you actually have to hold it back so it doesn't slam shut, so this should still be easily manageable. My only real concern are the hinges at the bottom. I'll have to keep an eye on them to make sure the don't deform, and add some additional ones if they start do deform from the weight bouncing.
Where it will go on the trailer, just through bolted to the inside with 6, 3/8" grade 8 Bolts. There is 14 guage alum, 1.5"x3/16" Steel tube, then 3/4" Plywood:
And the holder. Can't see much detail because of the shadows, but it's just 2"x1/4" angle top and bottom, 1.25"x3/16" tube verticals, and 2"x1/4" tube for the tire holder. The propane mount is for a forklift and fits a 20lb tank very well. The angle on the bottom just helps support the weight of the tank, and will have two notches cut in to accept the bottom ring of the tank.
That's all for today. I was going to apply some graphics, but after reading the directions (gasp), it says you have to let them lay flat for 24 hrs. They been rolled up in the garage for a couple weeks. Hopefully I'll have time to put them on this week, but it's not looking good. Either way we're ready for camping next weekend. Can't wait. Have over a cord of dried pine from a neighbors tree that we're going to tow up behind my friends truck. Hopefully it will burn well enough, and I won't have to waste any of my good fire wood.
Don
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Last edited:
Mark Harley
Expedition Leader
Awesome work.
I like the spare / tank hanger.
I like the spare / tank hanger.