Possibly Buying an all Aluminum Service 8' bed to Covert to Camp Trailer this weekend

[anselmgrey]

I am considering purchasing an 8' reading utility bed this weekend to convert to a camping trailer. It is all aluminum and comes with a ladder rack. He is firm on his price of $500. It is in great shape other than needing some minor repair on a few hinges and needing a good pressure washing. It has never been painted- so the aluminum should polish up nicely. I have read that aluminum beds are pretty hard to come by, but I want to make sure that I am not jumping in too quickly. My main concern is if an 8' bed is going to be overkill. Any thoughts to help me from starting down this road and overly regretting it would be much appreciated.

Thanks!
Don

 

[AZ_Ray]

That sounds like a good deal for aluminum.

If it is overkill, is it going to be to big for your tow rig or just for your gear. It's always better have to much room than to much stuff.

Just a FYI it is a long road to go down to build your own trailer, but I feel it is worth it.

 

[anselmgrey]

Why overkill?

That sounds like a good deal for aluminum.

If it is overkill, is it going to be to big for your tow rig or just for your gear. It's always better have to much room than to much stuff.

Just a FYI it is a long road to go down to build your own trailer, but I feel it is worth it.

I am planning on buying a Ford F150, so I don't think towing should be the issue. I am planning on buying a rooftop tent to put on top of the ladder rack. I am just wondering if I ended up towing this thing from Virgina to Montana, if I would quickly be wishing that I had not gone so big. Even Esthetically, I am wondering if the rooftop tent would be dwarfed by the huge bed underneath.

Don

 

[Mark Harley]

Nice find. Aluminum bodies are hard to come by intact.
Looking forward to the build.
Post pictures when you get it home.

 

[millerfish]

IMO... I kinda think the full size 8" bed is too big even for a full size truck. For off road I would not want the trailer any wider than the truck. I have one of the larger RRT on a small mini truck bed trailer and it is plenty big. Guess it all depends on what you need it to do and where you want it to go.

 

[dwh]

For a camping trailer, no it's not too big. For something that you are going to drag along while doing some serious off-roading, maybe too big depending on how tight the trails are and how much room you need to turn around if you can't keep going forward.

For an aluminum utility bed, I'd want to make sure it's stiff enough so it won't flex and get out of square when off-camber.

Sounds like a pretty good deal to me.

 

[mhiscox]

You can get some idea of what things will look like by checking out our (perhaps misguided) effort to build an adventure trailer out of a service body:

http://www.expeditionportal.com/forum/threads/132612

Good luck with your project.

 

[millerfish]

"For an aluminum utility bed, I'd want to make sure it's stiff enough so it won't flex and get out of square when off-camber."


How can it get out of square with only 3 points of suspension?

 

[dwh]

"For an aluminum utility bed, I'd want to make sure it's stiff enough so it won't flex and get out of square when off-camber."


How can it get out of square with only 3 points of suspension?

The OP is talking about bolting stuff - at least a RTT - on top of a ladder rack. That's leverage.

I haven't seen the ladder rack. It might be made of 2x2 aluminum square tube with massive angle braces. Then again, it might be kinda thin and cheesy.

And if it does go cockeyed, it might also bend whatever surface its mounted on.

I'd want to make sure the whole assembly just can't flex.

 

[anselmgrey]

Thanks

Thanks all for the advice. It seems I cant go wrong on the price if this thing is as straight as the pictures make it to be. I am not planning any major off-roading just yet, so width isn't as important to me as it is to others. With that said, I am planning on picking it up this weekend.

Don

 

[rabs]

I used a second hand aluminium trayback off a utility and bolted it to a steel trailer chassis that I welded up, the rooftop tent is the best sleep I ever had

cheers

rabs

 

[anselmgrey]

Thanks Rabs for the good word. I am planning on adding a rooftop tent to the ladder rack. While I have never slept in one, I am sure that they are much more comfortable than sleeping on a pad on the ground.

Best wishes,
Don