KLT88YJ
Observer
Hey guys, I've been a lint time lurker here on Expo, I've taken some ideas but figured I'd give a shot at contributing! When I built the trailer I wasn't thinking/ expecting to do a build thread... This is my first build thread, so bear with me.
My build was a longtime in the making, I've wanted a camping/expo trailer to free up space within my jeep as my family went from two (wife and I), to three (our son), to four (our daughter) with another (daughter #2) on the way plus our 95 lbs shepherd.
I had looked at numerous trailer manufactures and trailer frames, even thought about getting steel and building my own frame (welder isn't that great and neither are my welding skills lol!). Then I was seriously contemplating buying a 4x8 "HD" Harbor Freight trailer and cutting it down to 4x6 and putting a "Dinoot" M series tub and going that route. Just when I was about to pull the plug and purchase the trailer frame, my father reminded me that he had an old utility trailer frame that I could have! However this trailer had been sitting in his back yard for about 10 years un-used, with all of the wood rotting away. I loaded it up on my flatbed trailer and headed home. I forgot to mention the trailer is an old boat trailer, which was galvanized. So the frame was in great shape!
Once home I finished the demo process on the trailer stripping off all of the old wood down to the metal frame. I then took a wire wheel to the frame and removed the multiple layers of paint that had been on the frame. Once the paint was removed down to bare metal, I cleaned and prepped it for painting (Rustoleum rust encapsulate/ preventer then the finish coat Rustoleum Hammered black!), unfortunately I didn't take any pictures during this process.
So, during this process I decided to build my own, from the box up! I really like the look of the Pikes Peak Trailers, sadly my bank account didn't! I used this picture for the inspiration of my build.
From there I got some measurements together and decided that there box dimensions would be 62 1/2" long (5' 2"), 45 1/2" wide (3' 9") and 20" tall. I ended up using 3/4" plywood for the floor, which I ended up coating it in a rubberized undercarriage spray On the bottom and plasti dip on the top side. From there I began laying out the side supports, which were 2x4's that I stained and put Into stake pockets.
For the side of the trailer I ended up using tongue and groove pine that I stained with Olympic Elite Mountain Cedar deck stain. Side note: all of the exposed wood on the trailer was coated in this stain.
I ended up buying 2"x2" angle cutting it to size and re enforced all of the corners. This also gave a solid point to attach/ mate the wood together.
Since all of my tow rigs are jeeps, I wanted a "Jeep" feel to the back of the trailer. I wanted the tail lights, which of course are a LED jeep style light, to be mounted on the body of the trailer. I also wanted a functioning drop tailgate. This became interesting as I spent roughly two days figuring this out, eventually I decided on getting two pieces of 1/2" aluminum angle to reenforce the edges. I ended up doing the same with the tailgate sides. This created two smooth surfaces, with little to no chance of breaking the wood off or damaging it when getting items in and out of the trailer.
From this point I stopped taking pictures, don't know why but I did. I had to run new wires, mount the tail lights, add some bracing around the top and the most important install my new axle! I ordered a 57" dexter 3500# axle with 5x4.5" bolt pattern. The old axle shared the same bolt pattern, however it was a stamped axle and seemed it best we part ways! For tires I ended up installing a set of left over tires from my Comanche, hey we're the steel jeep wagon wheels. I purchased a set of metal "Jeep" style trailer fenders, painted them in the Hammered black, by now things were starting to take shape.
I thought my progress was going well with just a few minor kinks along the way. I had a quickly approaching deadline in which the trailer would need to be used, we were going as a family to the Mid-Atlantic Overland Festival. So with less than a week left I had to finish the wiring (soldering the connections), make a lid, seal the tub and install the all important bottle opener! Oooh I was also working nights during this time.
With literally a few hours left the trailer was finished and we were packing it for it's inaugural outing!
The trailer packed everything I needed it to fit and then some and towed great behind my jeep.
There are a few things I want to add to it, a small propane tank, a water tank to the underside and struts to keep the lid up! I do need to go back and reenforce the underside of the lid.
Overall I'm very happy with how it turned out, since I'm no wood worker and this was a first time undertaking for me!
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
My build was a longtime in the making, I've wanted a camping/expo trailer to free up space within my jeep as my family went from two (wife and I), to three (our son), to four (our daughter) with another (daughter #2) on the way plus our 95 lbs shepherd.
I had looked at numerous trailer manufactures and trailer frames, even thought about getting steel and building my own frame (welder isn't that great and neither are my welding skills lol!). Then I was seriously contemplating buying a 4x8 "HD" Harbor Freight trailer and cutting it down to 4x6 and putting a "Dinoot" M series tub and going that route. Just when I was about to pull the plug and purchase the trailer frame, my father reminded me that he had an old utility trailer frame that I could have! However this trailer had been sitting in his back yard for about 10 years un-used, with all of the wood rotting away. I loaded it up on my flatbed trailer and headed home. I forgot to mention the trailer is an old boat trailer, which was galvanized. So the frame was in great shape!
Once home I finished the demo process on the trailer stripping off all of the old wood down to the metal frame. I then took a wire wheel to the frame and removed the multiple layers of paint that had been on the frame. Once the paint was removed down to bare metal, I cleaned and prepped it for painting (Rustoleum rust encapsulate/ preventer then the finish coat Rustoleum Hammered black!), unfortunately I didn't take any pictures during this process.
So, during this process I decided to build my own, from the box up! I really like the look of the Pikes Peak Trailers, sadly my bank account didn't! I used this picture for the inspiration of my build.
From there I got some measurements together and decided that there box dimensions would be 62 1/2" long (5' 2"), 45 1/2" wide (3' 9") and 20" tall. I ended up using 3/4" plywood for the floor, which I ended up coating it in a rubberized undercarriage spray On the bottom and plasti dip on the top side. From there I began laying out the side supports, which were 2x4's that I stained and put Into stake pockets.
For the side of the trailer I ended up using tongue and groove pine that I stained with Olympic Elite Mountain Cedar deck stain. Side note: all of the exposed wood on the trailer was coated in this stain.
I ended up buying 2"x2" angle cutting it to size and re enforced all of the corners. This also gave a solid point to attach/ mate the wood together.
Since all of my tow rigs are jeeps, I wanted a "Jeep" feel to the back of the trailer. I wanted the tail lights, which of course are a LED jeep style light, to be mounted on the body of the trailer. I also wanted a functioning drop tailgate. This became interesting as I spent roughly two days figuring this out, eventually I decided on getting two pieces of 1/2" aluminum angle to reenforce the edges. I ended up doing the same with the tailgate sides. This created two smooth surfaces, with little to no chance of breaking the wood off or damaging it when getting items in and out of the trailer.
From this point I stopped taking pictures, don't know why but I did. I had to run new wires, mount the tail lights, add some bracing around the top and the most important install my new axle! I ordered a 57" dexter 3500# axle with 5x4.5" bolt pattern. The old axle shared the same bolt pattern, however it was a stamped axle and seemed it best we part ways! For tires I ended up installing a set of left over tires from my Comanche, hey we're the steel jeep wagon wheels. I purchased a set of metal "Jeep" style trailer fenders, painted them in the Hammered black, by now things were starting to take shape.
I thought my progress was going well with just a few minor kinks along the way. I had a quickly approaching deadline in which the trailer would need to be used, we were going as a family to the Mid-Atlantic Overland Festival. So with less than a week left I had to finish the wiring (soldering the connections), make a lid, seal the tub and install the all important bottle opener! Oooh I was also working nights during this time.
With literally a few hours left the trailer was finished and we were packing it for it's inaugural outing!
The trailer packed everything I needed it to fit and then some and towed great behind my jeep.
There are a few things I want to add to it, a small propane tank, a water tank to the underside and struts to keep the lid up! I do need to go back and reenforce the underside of the lid.
Overall I'm very happy with how it turned out, since I'm no wood worker and this was a first time undertaking for me!
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
