low budget trailer build

[andysgreenxj]

Spent a few hours today cleaning up the wiring for the taillights, did some welding, and threw a couple coats of paint on the trailer...now its starting to look like something other than a rusty mess! Still got a lot to do...tailgate, lid, battery box...an the list goes on...determined to have it ready for spring!

 

[fortel]

As far as the bikes - how many bikes total are you trying to carry?

Couple of thoughts. First, one of the bolt-on fork mounts and a simple rear wheel tray could be made to work on the fender/running board area and wouldn't be much money but you have to consider the width of the handlebars on the bikes. Your handlebar in the pic is further out than the fenders, not really a problem on pavement but could be if you take the trailer down tighter trails. Limbs could really do a number on grips, brake and shifter cables.

Second, I think the most practical way to carry bikes would be to fab up mounts to put a set of crossbars over the cargo area of the trailer and then add the appropriate number of bike mounts to them. The bikes would be better protected from damage and you would still have access to the trailer bed for other cargo.

 

[croix]

Did you end up keeping the leaf springs?

I built my trailer suspension from scratch since my starter didn't really have a suspension and I replaced the whole frame. I used control arms and a track bar from my JK (leftover from lift install) to make a sort of trailing arm suspension but didn't use the springs because I was also concerned that they would be too stiff. I ended up using air bags (not a cheap option), but an air bag or air line failure on my trailer on the trail could be pretty tough to deal with. Since throw-away jeep springs are easy to come by and I would assume sturdier than air bags, I would still like to know if anyone has used coils from a 4x4 rig.

-croix

 

[andysgreenxj]

took the trailer fun a test run...did great, pintle worked great(a lot of banging and clanging...lol), but worked great!
To answer your question, still running the springs that were originally on the trailer...they have loosened up a little, but still want to have a lil fabrication fun, and build a trailing arm set up. As for the bike rack, hadn't thought about low branches...whoops!

 

[andysgreenxj]

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Trailer is getting closer to being done, a side project, building a rack for the Xj, and had a tailgate made up for the trailer...

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