Hillbilly Trailer

[CJSCustoms]

Been looking through all your trailer builds and I have to say they look great. I know mine is not quite up to par but I'm going to post up anyways and hopefully you guys can point me in the right direction. It all starts with the truck ('86 4Runner), I need to keep the trailer light do to its 4 banger and I want the trailer to hold my half top or full top. The way I see it on the highway I keep the full top on and when we get to our camp spot and want to explore half door and half top go on the 4Runner. I'm open to any suggestions you guy might have.

So this is what I'm starting with. I got this off a friend of a friend. It looks like a Mazda axle so it has the same bolt pattern as the 4Runner.

Found a truck bed on Craigslist of $70.

 

[highlandercj-7]

Wow, cutting the sides down like that made a world of difference. Looks nice.

 

[austintaco]

Yeah, I agree. I have a trailer from a 70's toyota bed and the lower sides are toast. I think I will just cut them out too.

Great idea for using the trailer to hold your top. Me likey.

 

[CJSCustoms]

So here comes the HillBilly part of the build. I had an old bed frame hanging around and took off the legs and got the angle iron. Welded it to the bed to give it a base to hold the top.

And No this is cracked paint not weld.

I also tested out the white I was thinking of using, and I liked it. So I took down one side of the stripping and gave it a coat.

 

[CJSCustoms]

Thanks guys. The next thing on the list is to finish the side tables and weld on the tube around the bottom of the bed. I have already got the side table material. I’m using some old metal cabinet shelves pulled out of the metal dumpster (FREE!!!). The tube will be a dual purpose idea, one to act like rock slides (though it will never see rocks, I hope) and two a mounting spot for the legs on the side tables. I’ll try and get pics up of the tables in the next few days.

 

[ajsmith]

One hillbilly to another, I like it, keep the pics coming

 

[Ray Hyland]

great so far, yes keep the pics coming.

Always great to see a project that doesn't cost a ton of money!

 

[lilgription]

I'm a toyota guy so i love this build. Keep the pics coming

 

[Captain K-man]

I hate the looks of pick-up truck trailers. Your's is the only one that I've seen that looks good & all it took was cutting off the bottom. Your trailer ROCKS!! I can't wait to see the finished product. Keep up the good work....... subscribed.

 

[Xtreme XJ]

DUH !! Why didn't I think of trimming the lower rockers...
That looks cool... I too have a slooow truckbed "Dirtbilly" build I'm working on...

Consider the trimming idea poached ...
Keep the picts. coming...

Curt

 

[CJSCustoms]

great so far, yes keep the pics coming.

Always great to see a project that doesn't cost a ton of money!

Yeah that's the plan Dirt Cheap. So far $200 for the trailer, $70 for the truck bed, tables Free. I also have a tent trailer that is getting on in years that I'm going to take parts from.

I'm hoping to get some more done this weekend and post up the pics.

 

[CJSCustoms]

Well I wasn't able to find any time to work on the trailer this weekend. I did however find some time to test out if I could swap tops by myself. In the past I've had to call my brother to put on and take off the full top. I was able to do it by myself but the rails on the trailer scuffed up the full top a little, so I need to find some way to keep that from happening. Any ideas??

There is just a little overhang:

 

[SWITAWI]

I don't know what you've got laying around for materials, but I'd think building a stand wide enough to drive through would be cool. Nothing fancy, just four upright posts and a square frame on the ground to connect them. Each post would have a horizontal, swiveling leg at the top. Think 'vehicle lift', but with a fixed height just above your bed rails and 'chassis support' legs only long enough to swing around and support the cap close to its four corners. You could literally drive right into it with your trailer already attached, raise one side of your cap at a time onto the supports, and then pull forward and drop one side at a time onto the trailer.


Cobbled together a quick image. I didn't have time to put the horizontal swiveling support legs on top of the posts before work started interfering, but I'll think you'll get the idea...

No need to chop on your top (not that you planned to) if you already plan to close off the front end of the trailer. That opening would make quite a parachute going down the highway, wouldn't it? You could extend the trailer's bed rails a little bit on the front end. That would give you something to build off of for your cap's front panel, and would let you bring the cap forward enought to fix that rear overhang.

 

[CJSCustoms]

That would work when I'm at home. I want to be able to swap tops while on a trip. This way the kids don't get wind blasted on the freeway, and once we get to our destination I can swap tops and go wheeling/exploring.

 

[Flyfishjeep]

Something I used to do with my hard top on my jeep might work, but you would need a tree or over hang that you could use as a pulling point. I used to take off/put on my tops using a pully system and some tie down straps. In the garage, I had eye bolts in the rafters, but you could make a simple connector piece out of a 2 x 4. The strap hooks just slide under the 4 balance points and attach to the main 2 x 4. and then a rope or pulley is attached to the balance point of the 2 x 4 (you would have to play around with it to find that spot). Once it is hooked up and lifted off the vehicle, its just a matter of pulling the trailer under it and setting it back down. Search the web for jeep top removers/hoists and it can give you some ideas. My guess is you can build one that would work in the field for under $30 or less (maybe even free if you have as much stuff lying around your garage from other "projects" like I do).