jesusgatos
Explorer
I'm turning an M103A3 trailer (10ft flatbed military trailer) into an enclosed trailer that I'm planning on towing behind Mah Deuce. Designing the enclosure right now, and I'm wondering how I should go about making the read door. I'm pretty sure I'd like to do a fold-down door that will also function like a ramp (you know, like all the toy-haulers). Seems like something like garage door springs might work well as an assist, and I was thinking about using cables at the that would extend from the top rear corners of the box, and would be connected to the top corners of the door. I'd like to be able to lock the door into a horizontal position, in order to use it as an extension of my trailer when I'm parked. Basically, just a clean, flat area where I can work on stuff, or use as a patio, or whatever...
If any of you have built anything like this, or have any ideas for me, I'd appreciate the input.
EDIT: I'd like to open this up to get more input about the overall design and construction of the enclosure itself. I was planning on building it out of steel tubing, but now I'm having second thoughts. I just don't have much experience working with composites and all that stuff. I started a thread over on pirate4x4 about this project, and someone directed me to another forum all about building custom travel-trailers, and now my head is spinning. Here's what I posted:
I've got a small flatbed trailer that I want to turn into an enclosed trailer. The trailer that I'm working with is called an M103A3 trailer (basically just a 10ft flatbed version of the popular M105 military trailer).
I've never built an enclosed trailer before, and I don't have any idea what type of materials I should be using, but I took some measurements and this is what I've come up with. I'm going to be towing this trailer behind an M109 that I'm converting into a motorhome, and plan to spend a great deal of time off-road. So needs to be able to survive the bumps and scrapes you'd expect to encounter when taking a trailer places it wasn't meant to go.
The plan is to mount the enclosure to the deck using the existing stake pockets, so I can remove the enclosure (using an A-frame hoist on the front of my truck). Then I'll have a flatbed trailer and a shed. This is something that I'll probably only do when I'm setting up camp somewhere for an extended period of time, or when I have a specific need for a flatbed trailer, but I like the idea of having the option.
The red tubing is 2 x 2" x .120-wall.
The yellow tubing is 1 x 2" x .120-wall.
The blue tubing is 1 x 2" x .090-wall.
The pink tubing is 1.25" round x .120-wall (fits into a slot at the front of the trailer deck)
SolidWorks tells me that this combination of tubing should weigh about 623lbs. Plus, it's going to have a small door on the front right side for easy access, as well as a fold-down rear door / ramp.
I haven't decided what type of assist-mechanism I'm going to use on the rear door, but I'm leaning towards something like a torsion-type garage door spring. I do know that I want to be able to lock the door into position when it's horizontal, so I can use it as an extension of the trailer deck.
What do you guys think?
If any of you have built anything like this, or have any ideas for me, I'd appreciate the input.
EDIT: I'd like to open this up to get more input about the overall design and construction of the enclosure itself. I was planning on building it out of steel tubing, but now I'm having second thoughts. I just don't have much experience working with composites and all that stuff. I started a thread over on pirate4x4 about this project, and someone directed me to another forum all about building custom travel-trailers, and now my head is spinning. Here's what I posted:
I've got a small flatbed trailer that I want to turn into an enclosed trailer. The trailer that I'm working with is called an M103A3 trailer (basically just a 10ft flatbed version of the popular M105 military trailer).
I've never built an enclosed trailer before, and I don't have any idea what type of materials I should be using, but I took some measurements and this is what I've come up with. I'm going to be towing this trailer behind an M109 that I'm converting into a motorhome, and plan to spend a great deal of time off-road. So needs to be able to survive the bumps and scrapes you'd expect to encounter when taking a trailer places it wasn't meant to go.
The plan is to mount the enclosure to the deck using the existing stake pockets, so I can remove the enclosure (using an A-frame hoist on the front of my truck). Then I'll have a flatbed trailer and a shed. This is something that I'll probably only do when I'm setting up camp somewhere for an extended period of time, or when I have a specific need for a flatbed trailer, but I like the idea of having the option.
The red tubing is 2 x 2" x .120-wall.
The yellow tubing is 1 x 2" x .120-wall.
The blue tubing is 1 x 2" x .090-wall.
The pink tubing is 1.25" round x .120-wall (fits into a slot at the front of the trailer deck)
SolidWorks tells me that this combination of tubing should weigh about 623lbs. Plus, it's going to have a small door on the front right side for easy access, as well as a fold-down rear door / ramp.
I haven't decided what type of assist-mechanism I'm going to use on the rear door, but I'm leaning towards something like a torsion-type garage door spring. I do know that I want to be able to lock the door into position when it's horizontal, so I can use it as an extension of the trailer deck.
What do you guys think?
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