Offroad pop-up build. Preliminary planning, input needed.

[Brando]

So I'm looking to build an off road pop up. I'll be stripping down and modifying an existing 80's bonair pop-up for my needs. The frame is good, I'll be replacing the axle with something beefier and new wheels with 31" BFG AT's. Now my question is regarding the exterior of the trailer. I will be retaining the original ratchet mechanism for lifting the pop-up roof and will be building the rest of the trailer around that. Now I want to relocate the standard pop up side door to the rear where it will be a "tailgate door" and the sides will have acess hatch doors on one side for trail gear etc. The other side will have a pull out counter top and doors for my kitchen galley.

All this being said I will be building the structure out of square metal tube but I am on the fence on how to skin the roof and sides of the trailer. The pop up is 30 years old and the aluminum over wood siding has produced leaks and the wood is rotting on the roof and corners. This will obviously be completely replaced and changed but I am hesitant to use this method again. I have limited metal working skills, and my wood working skills are above average. I have looked at builds like stomperxj's Sawtooth XL, and this type of construction would be easiest for me to acomplish but I worry about the longevity of it. I would like to keep this trailer for at least 10 years, and living in Quebec, it will be subject to a wide range of weather conditions from -35* celcius winters to +35* heat and high humidity. Given the complexity of my design I think that skinning the trailer with metail might be a little out of my skill set.

What has been your experience with wood sided trailers, and what kind of sealers can I use to accomplish a smooth exterior finish similar to metal. I have even thought of fibreglass over wood and would not be opposed to this idea. I am also worried about the flex an offroad trailer might be subjected to and the stress that will put on wood joints. Any and all input is welcome.


That being said, stay tuned for photos of my starting point and teardown of the old trailer.

 

[bob]

thoughts

Normally older pop ups do not have a very strong frame, a lot of channel, angle and what is called z member.

This is fine for highway, smooth dirt roads, but not designed for seriously going off road.

The upper is normally of low class pine that has dried out beyond its years, as normally these things just set in the sun, very seldom used.

I would look at starting by making the frame strong enough to do what your plans are, if you plan to camp in parks and RV areas, the frame is most likely fine. If you plan to take it off road, through ditches, ravines, over rocks and the like, I think you will need a stronger frame than normally come on popups.

Have fun and keep us in the loop.

 

[HARDTRAILZ]

We turned a pop-up into a trailer to haul atv's and it needed lots of strengthening. Make sure the frame is strong enough to handle the offroad conditions you plan to use it for.

 

[Woods]

If you are not too concerned about looks and given your skill set, I'd recommend glass over thin marine grade ply. It will be difficult to get the glass to "look good", but it's a 30 year old trailer. Glass over ply is strong, fairly easy to work with and waterproof.

 

[Brando]

The frame will be fully strengthened that is definitely in the plans. I'm really only keeping the pop-up for the "pop up" ratchet mechanism. The rest is being junked and rebuilt. Would resin, minus the glass over ply last, or is this a recipe for cracks in my finish.

Thanks

 

[Woods]

The problem will be corners. Unless the flat surfaces of the ply are flexing a lot, the resin over ply should be fine. Make sure you have glass over all joints though. Might want to consider epoxy, instead of resin too. Epoxy is an adhesive, resin is not. Recoating with resin can fail. You can recoat resin with epoxy, but not the other way around. Easier to mix, work with and I prefer it for finishing and sanding. If you're going to gelcoat over resin, you'll have a lot of prep work ahead. On thing I do not know about is how you'll want to final coat over epoxy. I think you can use paint, but you'll want to figure this out before you buy anything. Work with a good shop and they should be able to put a complete lay up schedule together for you.

The frame will be fully strengthened that is definitely in the plans. I'm really only keeping the pop-up for the "pop up" ratchet mechanism. The rest is being junked and rebuilt. Would resin, minus the glass over ply last, or is this a recipe for cracks in my finish.

Thanks