Elmo's New Toy Hauler Build

[elmo_4_vt]

Just went back to page 3 to see how the axle was mounted. Is it on stock leaf springs? Shocks for damping? How did you get the lift to mount the 35" tires?

Yes, the axle was mounted spring over on the stock leaf springs. This alone gave enough lift to fit the 35" tires. Stock from the trailer builder, it had a 2" drop axle on it, and was spring under. So the straight axle under the springs netted about a 4" lift. Because the trailer is relatively heavy, the stock springs actually work pretty well. Also, because of their stiffness, they do not require shocks. There is no oscillation of the spring movement even on very rough roads.

Don

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[rideglobally]

read your thread awesome build. i am thinking of doing the same with trailer showroom. mine will be smaller 7'x10', 32" tires, torsion suspendsion, 3000 pound capacity. a toy hauler for a sidecar motorcycle. any other thing you would do differently with showroom trailer? or other tips.

 

[elmo_4_vt]

Thanks... I appreciate the kind words. The only think I can think of is that I wouldn't have gotten the "smooth sides" option, as in no rivets, only glue holding the exterior skin in place. In the end, they screwed that up pretty badly and it took a lot of phone calls and time on my end to fix it, probably about 24 hrs of work removing old glue, putting new on, and building fixtures to keep the skin pushed against the wall studs long and hard enough for it to adhere properly. Rivets wouldn't have made a real difference in the visuals, and I wouldn't have had the issues and extra cost associated with something that didn't work anyway.

Otherwise I'd do most other things again.

Don

Sent from my SM-G900V using Tapatalk

 

[rideglobally]

thanks, the rivets advise is great. i used rivets on my rig so that is great for me.

 

[Crusty]

Not too much progress, but at least enough for a small update...

Got my new 3500lb straight axle with electric brakes, parking brake, and 3" tube. The brakes might be upside down, but I can check that later since their not hooked up yet. Here it is installed. Not sure if I want to try and lower it or not... Not sure if I can really...

Don

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Howdy Don!
Back with more questions as I try and figure out how to proceed... sorry for driving you crazy.

Emailed a bit with the sales folks. They said they could do a straight axle that would add 4" of lift. But she said I still couldn't fit 18" wheels/33" tires. What else did you do to yours to get the wheels/tries to fit? I'm only looking to do 33" wheels. Are they just giving me the easy answer of no because it isn't something they deal with? Would having them do 5.2k axle be overkill to get 6 lugs to match my Chevy? Don't have the capability to di the work myself, so either way I'm gonna pay someone else to do it.

I'm gonna be in OR next month and was hoping to (if I get one) pick it up there, but they don't offer recessed wheels at that facility. My Av is wider than your Jeep, so having a narrowed track isn't as big a deal, but if the wheels were external, then I'll have to deal with getting fenders. I had hoped to just order the wheels and tires I wanted and have them shipped to the factory, but if they're saying they won't fit, then I guess I'd have to deal with it myself. Just didn't want to have to deal with the extra set that'd come on the trailer from the factory. I could drive to GA if I had to, but getting it in OR would be easier.

I really like how you've got your V set-up with the door and wall, which is the main reason I'd order a custom one over just getting the local one that is already lifted and insulated.

Thanks for listening to me ramble! Appreciate your input!

 

[elmo_4_vt]

This one came stock with a 4" drop axle place on top of the leaf springs. The axle I put on it is a straight axle, with a heavy duty tube (just means it's 3" round instead of 2") place under the springs, or "spring over" as it's typically called. Maybe that's the difference? Spring under versus Spring over, or which side you mount the axle on the springs usually gives you a 3-4" lift. If you ask for a spring over axle, it will have the same lift as mine. Not sure if that is what you want or not with the 33" tires. Personally, I think they'd fit with a standard straight axle in the stock configuration, that should be a 4" lift over stock, since they normally come with a 4" drop axle.

This is how they would normally come from the factory:



My axle is/was like this:




Make Sense? Ask away if I missed anything.


Also, I would definitely use the axle that matches you're bolt pattern if it's available. It's heavier yes, but not by much. I really value having the wheels recessed and bolt pattern matching. There are a lot of benefits to that in the field, on or off road.

Don

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[Crusty]

All right, it is done! Just placed an order with them from their OR facility. Added a bunch of options I could have done myself but went ahead and just paid to have them do them so the trailer will be ready to take out when I get it. Ended up going with a 7x12 (with V), as I don't get anywhere too crazy where the extra 1' will be a problem. This allowed me to get the short axle from the OR facility.

Really appreciate all your inputs!

 

[uscg2008]

Start a build thread so fellow cargo guys can follow

 

[Crusty]

Start a build thread so fellow cargo guys can follow

My needs are pretty minimal, as are my building skills, so it won't be anything too exciting. lol
Will definitely be researching build threads and trying to set it up with cool stuff I wouldn't have thought of myself.

 

[uscg2008]

Mine is pretty basic as it spends most of the time hauling all my decoys

 

[Crusty]

Thanks for the inspiration! Mine won't be nearly as nice as yours, but I'll give it a go

 

[rebar]

Neat build thread. I used to own a lifted featherlite 24' x 8.5' surv toyhauler, but it was to big and long to get it up the road away from all the people in Colorado..

Do you guys ever regret using a 7' wide trailer?

I have been searching for the elusive featherlite 4926 16' x 8.5' to build my outback toyhauler for over a year now, and wonder if I should give up and settle on any ole 16'-18' x 7' trailer.. All the used featherlite 4926's Iv found are 20' and longer..

Any thoughts about the 1.5' width difference? For me, it more of the length issue and getting a long trailer turned around or hairpin turns etc..

I planned on having a custom made tent made which attaches to the trailer made for sleeping in, and the kitchen and bath in the trailer.

 

[elmo_4_vt]

My trailer was a 6' wide, but I still never regretted it. It does make sleeping width wise an issue, but we knew that going in. My trailer was sold to someone in Colorado, and the 6' width was a big selling point because it's not any wider than the tow vehicle. 7' would be wider than most tow vehicles, and the tires would not follow the same track.

Don

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[ITTOG]

So I'm back after a 1800mile round trip to Southern Georgia and back to Delaware. About 30 hours of driving in 3 days, but it was actually kind of fun since my wife and I went without the kid. It was a nice break and we hadn't had a road trip since before we were married.

I was supposed to pick up the trailer at the beginning of the year, but due to some "misunderstandings" about the axle placement, it got pushed back until this past weekend. Never got the axle placement where it was agreed to and where I wanted it, and that part didn't make me very happy. The good news is that almost everything else about the experience went very smoothly. All the other options went in like I ordered it, and the factory in GA was very responsive. Overall, I am very happy with Trailershowroom.com, but there are some things that are lost with not dealing in person. In my case, it was because there was a disconnect between the sales staff and the manufacturer's willingness to do certain custom touches, like a non-standard axle placement. This could probably happen with a normal in person dealer too though, so I don't see that as being too much of a detriment. I should have just verified everything with the factory before I put money down to make sure the salesman knew what they were talking about.

Like I said, everything else went pretty well. The trailer seems to be made well, and I'll confirm this as I start taking things apart to make my modifications. The axle placement wasn't a deal breaker, and I'll work around it by changing where I put some of the equipment. I was thinking about putting a spare tire on the back bumper, and now I think I will for rear weight as much as functionality. I also had them move the "kitchen" are back about 1' towards the axle to help some too. The empty trailer has about 180lbs of tongue weight as it stands now. A little heavy already, but I don't know how much it weighs. I'll do that this week when I get it tagged and registered. On the plus side, it towed very well all 900 miles through some REALLY high winds and tracked very well.

Anyway, here are the pictures. The only "quality" issue that I'm not happy about, is that they used different style of lights on the rear between the back-up lights and the stop/turn lights. Still trying to think about what I can do to fix that part.

Here it is at night in the storage yard with 100 other trailers when we first got into town after 13 hours of driving:

And the next morning after picking it up. Took my Dad's truck because it gets much better gas milage:

This coming weekend I'll be able to start taking things apart and check out the little details. I'm going to flip the 4" drop axle to see how it will look with the future suspension.

Let me know what you think. Looks a little plain now, but I think it will really start looking nice with the new wheels/tire and when we put some color vinyl graphics on towards the end.

Don

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Nice build and lots of possibilities for my trailer, which I bought from trailershowroom.com as well. I had a lot of customization work on mine as well. Mostly with the frame. I had everything changed to tubed metal and on 16" centers. I ran into problems with mine though. The first time it rained I had leaks along the walls and the window. They tried to repair it but still had problems. They were good about wanting to ensure I was a happy customer and even came to my house to do repairs. Finally I decided I was going to do the repair myself underneath the aluminum angle on the roof. I couldn't believe what I saw under it and I can't believe they don't roll the metal on the roof over the edges. This would guarantee it would never leak. Anyway I added my seal, geocel 2300 I think, underneath the aluminum and did a water test and there were no more leaks. I then had them come out and put the sealant they use on the top. Hopefully this will eliminate any future issues.

 

[rebar]

Pretty sad that this is what you get for your money these days..