Hi all, first post here. I have a 4x7x2 utility trailer with 31” tires that I’ve been pulling behind my Jeep TJ for the past year. It holds all my camping gear and does well on mild and not so mild dirt roads. I don’t know how heavy it is, but when full, my Jeep has trouble with hills – especially if I’ve got the back of the Jeep loaded. While certainly not an expedition trailer, I think it’s got potential to be one.
My goal with it is to reduce weight and side/front profile, reduce packing/unpacking time, reduce camp setup/teardown time, and provide secure, weather proof storage for the gear. It’s needs to support 1-2 people for 5 days and 5 people for 2-3 days.
After reading a couple hundred threads here and elsewhere, I haven’t found anything that meets all of my objectives. (Though I have bored my family to tears with talks of teardrops, ATs, pop-ups and the like, the reality is that none of these fit my needs or budget.) So I’m heading in a different direction than anything I’ve seen and hoped I could get some feedback.
The thought is that by removing the walls of the trailer and mounting storage boxes, ice chests, and a chuck box to the bed, I eliminate much of the setup and tear down time when I pull up to camp.
In the back of the trailer- facing backwards will be the chuck box. This will have a drop down shelf with my stove sliding out. It will be a full 4’ wide, 18” high, and 18” deep”. All utensils, pots, dry goods, and maybe some wine will go here. I plan to mount a 5 or10# bottle of propane somewhere on the trailer and have the hose run into the box so the stove is always ready to go. This box will need to be weather proof, but I’m in southern California, so there’s not that much weather to keep out.
I’ve got 2 70Qt Xtreme coolers than I plan to mount directly in front of the chuck box – each facing outboard. Thinking stainless bar stock in the bottom bolted through the bed. These will be balanced directly over the axles. As they are potentially the heaviest or lightest things onboard, I figure this will be less likely to cause me weight distribution issues.
Between the two coolers will be firewood and water. I typically use 2.5g water jugs from the store. (Keeping water jugs clean is a pain and my hose water tastes gross.) So I prefer to buy these. I estimate I can carry 4 here and still leave room for firewood.
Moving forward, I plan to install 2 very large plastic locking containers, also facing outboard. These will house sleeping bags, tents, duffle bags, and any extra firewood or water or groceries required for a particular trip. They’ll also hold the normal trailer box stuff (wheel chocks, chains, etc).
Forward is the tongue, which will house 2 fuel cans and the propane tank.
I'll post some pics of the trailer before and after the walls came down and a drawing of roughly how I’d like to lay it out.
I look forward to hearing your thoughts.
Thanks,
Brandon
My goal with it is to reduce weight and side/front profile, reduce packing/unpacking time, reduce camp setup/teardown time, and provide secure, weather proof storage for the gear. It’s needs to support 1-2 people for 5 days and 5 people for 2-3 days.
After reading a couple hundred threads here and elsewhere, I haven’t found anything that meets all of my objectives. (Though I have bored my family to tears with talks of teardrops, ATs, pop-ups and the like, the reality is that none of these fit my needs or budget.) So I’m heading in a different direction than anything I’ve seen and hoped I could get some feedback.
The thought is that by removing the walls of the trailer and mounting storage boxes, ice chests, and a chuck box to the bed, I eliminate much of the setup and tear down time when I pull up to camp.
In the back of the trailer- facing backwards will be the chuck box. This will have a drop down shelf with my stove sliding out. It will be a full 4’ wide, 18” high, and 18” deep”. All utensils, pots, dry goods, and maybe some wine will go here. I plan to mount a 5 or10# bottle of propane somewhere on the trailer and have the hose run into the box so the stove is always ready to go. This box will need to be weather proof, but I’m in southern California, so there’s not that much weather to keep out.
I’ve got 2 70Qt Xtreme coolers than I plan to mount directly in front of the chuck box – each facing outboard. Thinking stainless bar stock in the bottom bolted through the bed. These will be balanced directly over the axles. As they are potentially the heaviest or lightest things onboard, I figure this will be less likely to cause me weight distribution issues.
Between the two coolers will be firewood and water. I typically use 2.5g water jugs from the store. (Keeping water jugs clean is a pain and my hose water tastes gross.) So I prefer to buy these. I estimate I can carry 4 here and still leave room for firewood.
Moving forward, I plan to install 2 very large plastic locking containers, also facing outboard. These will house sleeping bags, tents, duffle bags, and any extra firewood or water or groceries required for a particular trip. They’ll also hold the normal trailer box stuff (wheel chocks, chains, etc).
Forward is the tongue, which will house 2 fuel cans and the propane tank.
I'll post some pics of the trailer before and after the walls came down and a drawing of roughly how I’d like to lay it out.
I look forward to hearing your thoughts.
Thanks,
Brandon
