New here, expedition trailer question

[chiplee]

Crappy welds are easy. Good welds not so much. I had a lot of help with my trailer from folks that knew what they were doing. Because of that I was able to some of the easy welding on my trailer. No way I could have done all of the difficult stuff. I was able to work out of a friends shop. Not saying it is impossible in your garage but unless you weld for a living or a serious hobby I think the cost of investing in the proper equipment to build your trailer would not be worth it. Maybe you can find a shop in your area that you can use. I have heard of a place in Phoenix where if you take a class you can then get signed up to use and rent their equipment. It just depends on what you are attempting to build and the level of complexity required. Free advice.... Your mileage may vary..

Great tip, thanks. I think I know several folks who weld. Some who have done some pretty intense fab work. With some of their advice and help I should be able to get good enough to get it done. Heck the Dinoot doesn't even require much welding if you already have a frame to start from. I've always been a bit of a "builder" anyway. Not to mention, we fighter pilots have "super brains", dontchyaknow, lol? http://io9.com/5713581/new-research-shows-fighter-pilots-have-super-brains

Basically yes so starting with a properly built frame, axle, suspension, etc. would go a long way toward solving that problem. I'm not sure what the licencing requirements for home made trailers are in California but that should solve that concern too. The requirements in Ontario are ridiculous. Almost anything is permitted ... which is not good.

They are very relaxed in Kern County at least. Don't even know if they vary by county, but I doubt it. When I registered my old utility trailer I said it was probably a homebuilt because I couldn't find a VIN on it, and they just created a VIN and registered the thing. I've had it for 20 years and it's always tracked nice and straight. Seems like that might be my best bet for conversion and cost savings. Build something that can dual-role as utility and off road.

Well that makes more sense. By the way I forgot to welcome you to the Portal

To give you some cost comparison on trailers do a search for Australian manufacturers, look at their pricing and then compare it to pricing in the USA. They sell more trailers in OZ than in the USA so the demand is high but so is the price. In the US Off-Road trailers are in low demand and there are few suppliers, but in comparison the trailers have a low price.

Be interested to hear from people as to why they think that is.

I've seen quite a few of those and yeah they're crazy expensive. I guess they're great, but everything costs twice as much in Australia. Thanks for the welcome.

 

[Nd4SpdSe]

What if I started with a pro built frame and did the rest? Are you worried it wouldn't be roadworthy if I was learning when I made it?

You know what, that`s exactly how I started. I didn`t want to have a safety hazard on wheels, so got that done by a pro ($1000 later, but he said, being his first, he wouldnt do it less then $1500 the next time), and when on to learn from there. This time last year, I didn`t even have a welder and my trailer was still a running pickup truck. I had never even touched a welder in my life before this project, but its been YEARS that ive wanted to learn how to. I wasn`t shy and posted pics of my work online and had my friends critisize and give me tips on my welding. And the more you do, the more comfortable you get, and you learn better techniques and learn to add more heat for better penitration. It took me a while to not be nervous or affraid of welding. But it was so worth the effort. I was quoted $600-$1000 to move one beam, and add another, to be able to mount the fuel tank, cause the guy that did the frame didn`t so that part like he was suppose to. The final bill from that shop ends up usually on the high-side, if not more, and I didn't want to spend $1000 I didn't have just to mount a fuel tank, so a said "screw it" and jumped in, that it was worth the try. I had played around with it going a few small things and play with some scrap metal to experience welding before starting on that, but that's it. In the end, it cost me $20 in steel and in that single job, the welder paid for itself. And not only that, it's 100% exactly how I want it, cause I know, when I get someone else to do something for me, it's never exactly how I wanted it, and no way did I want to pay $1000 to only have to modify or fix it again anyway.

Although I haven't touched my welder in months (being away all summer on a course, and after being back for 2 weeks, went off and now on exercise in Portugal), this is some of the later welds I did before I had to put my project on hold since I was away (and JUST had enough time to get the trailer usable for the summer and test it out). Well, the top gusset has my more experienced welds, and the welds on the actual crossbeam, although not that clearly visible in the picture, would be one of the first welds I've ever done. This is only 2 months worth of experience. I'd say have at it my friend, you gotta start somewhere, just make the call on the battles that are worth attempting vs not. I want to get shocks on mine next year, and I'll probably get them done by the shop that did the inboard shock setup on my truck, since they've done it before, and I would have to weld on the axle, and I prefer to not risk messing up my axle....

 

[Salty1]

I faced the same dilemma, just thought the pre-built trailers commanded too much of a premium when one could be found for sale. I decided to find a 1/4 ton military trailer as the base for mine. It took a while, over a year, to find the right trailer that was not what I determined to be a basket case and total rebuild. Ended up with a Bantam T3C. After a complete service on the axle assembly I decided that I would also do all the welding that would be required. There is a community college here that offers welding courses so I figured that would be the way to go. Once I figured out all costs associated and good quality welding equipment I could not justify it. On Monday the trailer is being dropped off at a welding company who is going to weld all the seams, rebuild the tailgate and build me a rack for the rooftop tent. The quote he gave me is between $300 to $400. That is less than the welding course I looked at. I have built the Chuck Box already and have my water system figured out and will build that when the trailer comes back. There are many things one can do to minimize the expenses, welding was not just one of them for me. What is comes down to is what tools do you own and know how to use, how much free time do you have to dedicate to the build and what is your actual requirements and vision to get there. I am really enjoying my build and not forced to hurry to have it completed. The very best information and ideas I have gathered came from this forum and am thankful for all the people who share their knowledge and past mistakes so we can all learn. One piece of advice I can offer is once you set your initial budget add another 50%. When my trailer is finished I will have about $5k into it and many hours of working on and researching various aspects of it...... Good luck and best wishes........

 

[chiplee]

You know what, that`s exactly how I started. I didn`t want to have a safety hazard on wheels, so got that done by a pro ($1000 later, but he said, being his first, he wouldnt do it less then $1500 the next time), and when on to learn from there. This time last year, I didn`t even have a welder and my trailer was still a running pickup truck. I had never even touched a welder in my life before this project, but its been YEARS that ive wanted to learn how to. I wasn`t shy and posted pics of my work online and had my friends critisize and give me tips on my welding. And the more you do, the more comfortable you get, and you learn better techniques and learn to add more heat for better penitration. It took me a while to not be nervous or affraid of welding. But it was so worth the effort. I was quoted $600-$1000 to move one beam, and add another, to be able to mount the fuel tank, cause the guy that did the frame didn`t so that part like he was suppose to. The final bill from that shop ends up usually on the high-side, if not more, and I didn't want to spend $1000 I didn't have just to mount a fuel tank, so a said "screw it" and jumped in, that it was worth the try. I had played around with it going a few small things and play with some scrap metal to experience welding before starting on that, but that's it. In the end, it cost me $20 in steel and in that single job, the welder paid for itself. And not only that, it's 100% exactly how I want it, cause I know, when I get someone else to do something for me, it's never exactly how I wanted it, and no way did I want to pay $1000 to only have to modify or fix it again anyway.



Although I haven't touched my welder in months (being away all summer on a course, and after being back for 2 weeks, went off and now on exercise in Portugal), this is some of the later welds I did before I had to put my project on hold since I was away (and JUST had enough time to get the trailer usable for the summer and test it out). Well, the top gusset has my more experienced welds, and the welds on the actual crossbeam, although not that clearly visible in the picture, would be one of the first welds I've ever done. This is only 2 months worth of experience. I'd say have at it my friend, you gotta start somewhere, just make the call on the battles that are worth attempting vs not. I want to get shocks on mine next year, and I'll probably get them done by the shop that did the inboard shock setup on my truck, since they've done it before, and I would have to weld on the axle, and I prefer to not risk messing up my axle....

I faced the same dilemma, just thought the pre-built trailers commanded too much of a premium when one could be found for sale. I decided to find a 1/4 ton military trailer as the base for mine. It took a while, over a year, to find the right trailer that was not what I determined to be a basket case and total rebuild. Ended up with a Bantam T3C. After a complete service on the axle assembly I decided that I would also do all the welding that would be required. There is a community college here that offers welding courses so I figured that would be the way to go. Once I figured out all costs associated and good quality welding equipment I could not justify it. On Monday the trailer is being dropped off at a welding company who is going to weld all the seams, rebuild the tailgate and build me a rack for the rooftop tent. The quote he gave me is between $300 to $400. That is less than the welding course I looked at. I have built the Chuck Box already and have my water system figured out and will build that when the trailer comes back. There are many things one can do to minimize the expenses, welding was not just one of them for me. What is comes down to is what tools do you own and know how to use, how much free time do you have to dedicate to the build and what is your actual requirements and vision to get there. I am really enjoying my build and not forced to hurry to have it completed. The very best information and ideas I have gathered came from this forum and am thankful for all the people who share their knowledge and past mistakes so we can all learn. One piece of advice I can offer is once you set your initial budget add another 50%. When my trailer is finished I will have about $5k into it and many hours of working on and researching various aspects of it...... Good luck and best wishes........

Thanks for those replies. I'm pretty set on making it a winter project this year. The fact that I own a base trailer and essentially all required tools but the welder makes it worth a shot. I'm about a mile from a community college, too so I'll see if they have a class. Great idea.

 

[RagnarD]

Stuff adds up quick. People that buy complete trailers probably save money over the long run vs trying to do it themselves. A lot of trial and error goes on while building yourself, which costs money. Parts don't fit, stuff breaks, etc. If you have to farm any work out (paint, coatings, etc) then you will really drive cost up. When you build it yourself you get to spread the cost out over several years but also don't get use a fully functional rig right away. I understand, hard to justify spending 10K on a camping trailer but 2K a year over 5 years is a lot easier.

My trailer is pretty basic and I have a lot of plans to keep going with it but at the end of the day (when done, if that point exists) I am sure a turn key 10K trailer would have been more cost and time effective.

If you dont have any metal fab tools or experience, and building a trailer is your main reason for buying them, I would advise against it. Welders, hood/face shield, gloves, jacket, clamps, grinders, saws, drills/bits, plasma or O2/C2H2, etc start to get expensive. Then you have the tools and knowledge to do the electrical, plumbing, gas...

 

[capnjackcanon]

@Chiplee Check your local craigslist for an M416 or M101. You can usually pick these military trailers up for $500-$1000 They can be minimally modified to accommodate whatever RTT you decide to go for. I have put $1,000 in steel alone into my trailer, and the rest has been a month of welding, and drawing, designing etc. I have worked on my trailer full time for the last month, so it really is about the KSA's.

 

[Rutdigger]

Here is my two cents. Most trailers that you see at an RV place generally run around 10-20K for a mid sized trailer with some amenities. Amenities might not be the first thing men think of but for most women they are (so the are needed, if you want to family camp). Then you noticed that most of these trailers are very high in comparison to the off road rigs with small tires that can't really upgraded because the body was built around the tires, and if you do manage to upgrade the wheels (a must for off-roading) then you just increased the height of the trailer even more (bad for off camber situations). So what you are left with is a trailer that looks good, but qualifies for the "mall crawler" award (light gravel road use). Now the trailers that most of us build can go anywhere our rigs want to take them. Some have limits but is usually defined by the two rigs capabilities. So that bottom line is.....if you want a trailer that will follow you to those spots that you see in the post cards, then you need a soundly built "off-road" trailer. And to make that, you need to spend a few bucks to get it. To answer your question, you can build a square box trailer to throw your stuff in and throw an RTT on top and call it good. But I will bet you money that over time you will want to expand into something with more comforts instead of the spartan frame. Thus, more money.