Offroad / Camping Trailer Build

[gordinho80]

So as you can see from this pic... I'm going to have plenty of space on the tongue of the trailer. I want to keep some space around the 2" receiver at the top of the A frame. What can I do to the tongue? Any suggestion is welcome!

 

[Ozarker]

Gordin, nice build.... I was thinking of putting plat or expanded steel over my tounge, just more space to work with strapping stuff on on bolting a box to it.

Don't know what is going inside, that back brace looks like you won't be walking inside, but I had a trailer with wood sides and the bolt threads to the inside, I ripped a pair of jeans getting snagged. Same would happen with cords and tarp covering a load. I'd grind them down and spot them and get'em smooth.....yes, you'd have to cut them off to replace the wood. I'm probably jumping the gun going to finishing touches.....

 

[gordinho80]

Thanks. I hadn't really thought about smoothing out the bolts inside. I'm more then likely going to use some of the bolts to mount unistrut or something to the effect along the walls so I have more tie down points... so the bolts won't protrude much more, if at all, then the unistrut. We're not going to be walking inside the trailer, but it will house all our gear, sleeping bags, tents, etc... most of which will be in cases.

Regarding the tongue, expanded steel was an option I was considering as well, would you suggest doing a raised lip around the whole thing or just let it be?

 

[Ozarker]

I wouldn't put a lip on, just leave it flush, as you might put something on that hangs over and it would then be riding on the top of the lip. Expanded steel would need the edges knocked down, there would be another snag! Palte would/could hold water and mud. But a lip would be a good place to scrape your boots!

 

[RLD]

Nice bit of fabrication work there

 

[gordinho80]

Half of our gear for the weekend loaded up... picking up another couple and the rest of the gear...

All loaded and ready for the 275 mile drive to Watkins Glen, NY!

I NEED to get a camp kitchen set up on the side. Something to house stove and all the cooking gear, keep it away from our hang out/eating space, but still readily accessible. I also need to desperately start looking into on board water with water heater. No one was happy washing dishes with small jugs of cold water... lol

Oh, and a top! The neighbor already informed me that he brought home a sheet of 16 gauge....

All in all, though, the trailer was AWESOME! It towed beautifully. Fully loaded, there was no bouncing around and plenty of clearance to the fenders. I'm VERY happy with how it came out for Phase 1... Phase 2 will be some time until that gets started... but in the works!

 

[Mark Harley]

Turned out great!

 

[gordinho80]

I want to start planning the on board water. Our last trip left us washing dishes in tap cold water in 40-50* days. While this was tolerable, it was not ideal. I want to mount a tank either under the trailer (protected by a skid plate) or inside the trailer, toward the front. I'm thinking 20 gallon minimum and I can't imagine needing more then 30 gallons. Most of the places we will be camping in will likely have a water source, and this water will really only be used for cooking/cleaning.

Eccotemp L5 Water heater... http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000TXOJQ4/ref=ox_sc_act_title_1?ie=UTF8&smid=ATVPDKIKX0DER
Flojet 03526 144A water pump... http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B002P33KVQ/ref=ox_sc_act_title_4?ie=UTF8&smid=ANNYFJC2Y5PU4
SureFlo 255-313 strainer... http://www.amazon.com/SHURflo-255-313-Classic-Twist-On-Strainer/dp/B000V2W0GE/ref=pd_bxgy_auto_img_y

Still looking for the best place for a tank.

Thoughts on this setup? Installing all of this will require a battery setup as well, so I'll be looking for a good decent battery as well, which I will mount inside a tongue box, along with switches and fuses for the pump, as well as trailer/tent lights.

 

[gordinho80]

Picked up this gem last night for $50.... This is going to be my kitchen box.

Going to lay it down so that the door opens down and acts as a table. This will hold the stove and give me a prep station (just need to figure out the size and get some cutting board material or stainless steel).
61" wide which will take up entire side of the trailer.
20" high when laid on its back, standing on the fender, it will stick out above the top of the trailer by 4". Which will practically disappear once the top is down, as that will be a couple of inches thick.
18" deep, sticking out past the edge of the fender about 2". This is the biggest drawback, I think, as I really didn't want anything to be wider then the fenders. But at only 2" past, its not that bad.

Trailer is covered right now and will be all winter, more then likely... so no pics of it on. They might have to wait until spring.

 

[gordinho80]

Had a few minutes and decided to shoot some pics...

 

[TheThom]

Nice!

 

[matthewp]

Nice job! I did a sidebox almost identical to your set-up, you'll be very happy. I used sealed wood for the working surface on my door. I found it easy to cut to size and matched the cabinetry inside the box.

 

[gordinho80]

Any pics?

 

[4biker]

that box looks great - and for $50! I may just have to do that on mine as well, since sealing the box from dust will be the hardest part anyway. All the boxes local to me are dirty and rusty at the moment, so I'll keep my eyes out.

 

[gordinho80]

Spring is around the corner. Time to start working on the trailer again.

I'm pretty much decided on making the box pictured above into a combination power/storage box.

I am going to divide the box into 2 sections. 1 side will house the battery and the fuse box, perhaps my power inverter as well. The other side will be used for storage.

I am going to keep the 4 wire harness for now, as I don't have brakes on the trailer. On the truck side, I will be running a 0 AWG wire from my battery (+) to the rear of the truck where I will place a distribution block with an ANL fuse to a 4 AWG wire capped with an anderson plug. I am not running a ground from the battery to the plug, I will instead ground the anderson plug at the rear frame. On the trailer side, I am going to run an anderson plug with 4 AWG to the battery, which will also have a fuse. What is the proper way to ground at that point? Do I run the anderson to the battery? To the frame of the trailer?

I am going to use the rear anderson plug on the truck to power the winch as well, when needed back there.

Any glaring issues with my plan?