Offroad / Camping Trailer Build

[gordinho80]

I intend on making the box detachable. The floor will be plywood that is sealed with deck restore, it's like rhino liner for decks. The corners of the box will be 2" angle that will bolt to the frame.

 

[Mark Harley]

Don't forget a 2' reciever on the rear. They come in handy for bike racks and mounts for toys.

 

[gordinho80]

Yep... Going to run a 10' 2.5" tube from front to back.... Extending tongue in process.

 

[Mark Harley]

Nice! It looks good!

 

[gordinho80]

Found this axle locally.... going to go look at it today or tomorrow...

Its old... at least 25 years old... but 6x5.5 lug pattern. The width is perfect. I'd have to move the springs in 3.5" per side, but it will give the H3 wheels lots more clearance. I just hope the lug nuts come off easily and that the bearings are in decent shape.

Seller claims the trailer has not moved in 25 years, it acted as a tool shanty.

 

[wyojoe]

Seller claims the trailer has not moved in 25 years <snip>

Not hard to imagine, considering they cut the axle off of it (LOL)!!!

 

[gordinho80]

Axle acquired!

Hubs look to be in really good shape for being 25-30 years old. The dust caps are screw on. The lugs are a little short, but they nuts thread fully with the H3 wheels mounted. They came off rather easily with the impact gun. 3 of the 4 U bolts came off easily, 1 had to be cut off. I plan on replacing them and the spring hangers as well. All in all... WELL worth $40!

 

[jeepmedic46]

Looks good, a very good deal

 

[gordinho80]

Axle and springs are all cleaned up and primed. Will be painting this week. Hanger kit and replacement U bolts should be here tomorrow. I should have ordered replacement center pin bolts and rebound clips at the same time. But I still need to go to Autozone/Pep Boys to get lugs, so I'm hoping they have the pins and clips as well. Hopefully mounting the axle this weekend.

 

[Mark Harley]

Nice score and with the correct lug pattern.

 

[gordinho80]

Neighbor came through yet again with more steel! This time, 3" angle that he had 1 side cut down to 2.75" to fit inside the side rails of the frame! This is done to reinforce the sides where the springs mount. Got the angle cut down and tacked in place yesterday. Got the springs mounted today! My 1/2" drill bit took a **** on me, so I couldn't drill the axle enough to get the center pins inside the axle rod. So the axle is not 100% in place. Still need the wheel studs/nuts, but picking up some used 285/75-16 tires tomorrow to put on for the rest of this year. It should be rolling soon! Then I can build the box and extend the tongue.

 

[hesterj]

Way to go on the trailer. Building the whole project from the ground up is the most challenging and rewarding in my book. Subscribed.

 

[gordinho80]

Decided I'm going to use these hubs and studs as spares. The only wheels studs I've found that fit these hubs are a little on the short side. I only get 12mm of thread engagement on an 11.1mm stud. Longer studs are way long, 2" longer then these, and the cost gets me up in the cost of replacement hubs w/studs already. I got some temporary tires mounted on the H3 wheels. They are mounted to the hubs right now so that I can roll the trailer around while working on it. I'm eventually going to take the hubs off, bring them to my local trailer shop, and have them get me 2 new hubs with longer studs. Decided to take some pics of the progress... also decided to incorporate the newly acquired VW into things... Look how tiny it is!!!

I most definitely need to take at least 2 leafs off... maybe even 3!

 

[Mark Harley]

I like it! Keep the leafs until you are finished and have a load in it to see the height and
how it handles the load.

 

[gordinho80]

That's the plan. I'm hoping to weld the 2.5" tube up this week/weekend. Hopefully I have time.