My Lil Blue Trailer

[Funkicidal]

This little trailer has been in the family for years. My dad bought it in 1985/1986. I got it from him in 2004 at which time I put new lights and tires on it.

When dad had it it went up and down California camping, moving, etc. as well as less glamorous jobs such as dump runs. After I got it I used it for dump runs and moving across the country.

I'd like to bounce some ideas off you guys for making this trailer better for our family's camping trips, while keeping it usable for hauling. There is no room or budget for buying/building a second trailer dedicated to the task so I'm trying to take what I have and work with it, without losing the sentimental value and the "is that a..." comments I get with it.

Here is the obligatory Jeep shot:


And here's a closer view of the trailer. It's the bed from a 1967 Datsun.


A shot looking inside the bed. Ain't it cute?

 

[Funkicidal]

Front basket

The first thing I wanted to do was put my cargo basket up front. I want to keep it removable with the idea that I could pull the trailer to the campsite and then take the basket off the trailer and use it on the back of the truck to haul stuff around while on-site.

The first order of business was getting the spare tire off the front of the trailer. This spare hasn't been off the trailer since it was purchased over 25 years ago, so I was kinda worried about how easy it was going to come off, and how much I was going to break getting it off. But some PB Blaster and elbow grease got it off no problem.



It is hard to see from a picture but the front of the trailer is slightly bowed out from the weight of the tire bouncing around.



Then I stuck the basket on there for a test fit. It looks like it was meant to be there.

 

[Mark Harley]

Looks good to me.
Spring over for a little height.
Sand blast and paint RED to match the jeep?
Roll on bed liner for the inside
Tonno cover for the bed with a removable rack for RTT.

 

[cwadej]

I have basically the same thing. '83 Ford Courier. I'm in the process of making it my expo trailer. 3500lb axle, same tires and wheels as my jeep, water tanks, fuel cell. Eventually it will have a pup up tent very much like the Maggiolina ones. That will be on a frame I'm building. Closed it will look like a hard tonneua cover.

 

[Funkicidal]

Sand blast and paint RED to match the jeep?
Roll on bed liner for the inside
Tonno cover for the bed with a removable rack for RTT.

It definitely needs a paint job. Can't decide if I want to paint it red or keep it blue.

I have basically the same thing. '83 Ford Courier. I'm in the process of making it my expo trailer. 3500lb axle, same tires and wheels as my jeep, water tanks, fuel cell. Eventually it will have a pup up tent very much like the Maggiolina ones. That will be on a frame I'm building. Closed it will look like a hard tonneua cover.

I want a hard cover on it, but most of the cases we take camping are higher than the bed sides, so I will need to build something to raise the sides, then a hard cover on top of that.

A RTT would be cool but I don't think that I am going to get the wife to climb up into it so we'll keep tenting it for now. My current thinking is to get an XJ rack from a local junkyard and mount it to the top of the hard cover. Keeping the trailer usable for hauling/moving means I either need to make the cover removable, or make the cover and sides able to come out as a unit. Whichever I end up doing is going to be wood as that's the only thing I know how to work with

It will never be as sexy as a repurposed military surplus trailer, but it has it's own charm I think.

 

[Mark Harley]

It is a cool trailer, What about a vintage topper for it?