scratch build Trailer for my diesel Jeep Cj5

[MILLENIUM FALCON]

So....I picked these up today for $25!!! They aren't perfect but they were cheap and straight and came with the keys and a ladder rack. not sure what to do with them yet. They are about 5 inches longer than the trailer. That is the problem. If I let them hang of the back, they interfere with my tailgate pins....if I let them hang of the front the lid on my tongue box wont open.... Hmmmmm Maybe I can cut them down so they will fit. Any ideas?

 

[Mark Harley]

Is there any way to cut them in half so they just fit between your rack towers? They would make a nice kitchen unit.

 

[MILLENIUM FALCON]

I was thinking about cutting them down..... I don't think it would be to difficult and considering how little I paid for them I wouldn't feel to bad about doing it. I would like to keep them full length just to retain the storage space but I think it might look funny and add a lot of weight. They are really heavy.

 

[MILLENIUM FALCON]

Well I have made quite a bit of progress but haven't been in a real posty mood. I did end up cutting down my tool boxes and rearranging my ladder rack to help them fit. I am happy with how they turned out and for $25 I can't complain. I also got my Mt. Hood CVT tent. Today was the first day I got it mounted and deployed. I really like it so far. I am excited to use it. The wife and kids were impressed. My wife was a little leery climbing in. She asked if it was going to fall over or snap together. All in all I'm feeling good about it. I did have a hack of a time installing the Annex. Not sure I did it right. Does anyone know the easy way to do it? Thanks!

 

[hesterj]

Very nice setup! I spent the morning following along on your jeep build. You have a talent for making things come together seamlessly. The diesel looks like it came that way from the factory.

Now I found your trailer build. It already looks at home behind the jeep. Congrats.

 

[Oldmonkeybut]

Good looking build. Glad you are happy with the CVT. The negative comments about their customer service is coming from an overly successful group buy. We picked up our Mt. Shasta at their store and I was blown away at the amount of business they were doing. The bottom of my tent ended up at 68". The Annex room works perfect and I don't have to worry about hitting my head. I am glad that my tailgate folds down to walk on and I put a ladder on the front of the rack. Without those two things packing and unpacking the tent would have been problematic. Your side boxes turned out nice. Now you need to find a third one to mount across the top front of your box butted up to your front uprights. I lamented on building my own box and cover. I ended up getting a smoking deal on a Yota Pick Up box and an aluminum canopy. My cousin solved his trailer cover issue by making a wrecking yard trip and sawing the roof off of a Van. (you can see his project in the "Early Bronco Trailer thread") I put a couple picks of my Jeep and TowYota in the Pic part of this site. Keep up the good work.

 

[MILLENIUM FALCON]

Got my tounge box kitchen laid out. I still have to plum and hook up propane but it's a start!

 

[MILLENIUM FALCON]

I got the gas hooked up and fired up the stove.....this will be a lot nicer than the Pepsi can alcohol stove I usually use when I go camping! I also hooked up the drain for the sink. I used a valve and a bulkhead fitting so I can hook up a short hose to get the gray water away from camp or I can use a bucket. I mounted my flojet pump under the counter top and started hooking it up. I'm really struggling with how to plumb everything. I want to have hot and cold water available at the sink but I also want to be able to use the shower head a few feet away from the trailer to take showers and rinse stuff off. Any ideas? I'm already getting tired of running to Lowes for fittings and stuff. I think the biggest problem I'm having is the L5 heater cant really be permanently mounted. can anyone show me or tell me how they did this or offer any tips. The wife has said she would like a shower and hot valve at the sink so those are the objectives. Thanks!

 

[MILLENIUM FALCON]

Well I found out tonight my hose cant take the heat...... It got a nasty bulge in it, and was about to explode! I will have to stop at the hardware store or Rv shop to see what they have. I should only have to upgrade the "hot" side tubing. Other than that I think I have it figured out. I think I will just make a hook on the outside of the trailer to hang the heater on. I think it gets way to hot to be anywhere near my RTtent. Then I guess the kitchen will be pretty much done. I'm hoping to get it ready enough to go camping this Friday. Its supposed to be SUPER nice and I would love to try this bad boy out.

 

[highlandercj-7]

Nice work man! The boxes look great cut to fit too.

 

[MILLENIUM FALCON]

Thanks CJ! Well, We finally got to try out the trailer! We decided to do a spontaneous overnighter on the 4th of July. We packed up the kids and hit the mountain behind my house. The trailer/tent/kitchen worked great.....the kids on the other hand made things very difficult. haha. It was not very relaxing at all. I'm hoping that in the future they settle down so the wife and I can relax more. But otherwise the trip was a success. Smores and fireworks always helps! The trailer towed well. I had to back down a few rutted up muddy trials and pull it up a steep rocky moss covered bank. I was really thankful for my longer tongue because I had to jackknife to 90 degrees to turn it around. I was impressed with how little it affected my jeeps ability. My kitchen worked well. Hot water and 3 burners....I felt like I was at home! Although we don't have many bears walking past our kitchen at home....haha. I'm glad I didn't get up to pee when he was wandering through our camp site. The only thing I want to do for next time is to make an extension so my faucet puts the water more towards the center of the sink. I also want to make some hooks for hand towels near the sink. I also need some type of matt at the bottom of the ladder. I cant wait to take it on a real trip. Enjoy the photos...thanks for looking. Ill post updates soon, I hope!!!! PS... (we just bought a sweet 4runner for long distance expeditions) Curt Class III hitch gets installed on Thursday, new tires next week!

 

[Mark Harley]

The trailer turned out excellent. Great family memories to come.

 

[SamM]

Awesome pictures! I have similar memories from my childhood. The trailer looks great!

SamM

 

[RKRUGER]

I love the kitchen in the toolbox. Great utilization of old items that probable would have ended up in a landfill.

I hear you on the kids and relaxing... But from the smiles on all the faces... looks like you made some great memories!

Nicely done!

 

[guts]

Looks like you never got an answer on the tongue length for your trailer. Typically you want it to be close to your wheel base so it will follow your line through obstacles and will have a similar break-over angle. Looks like it might still be a little too much but if it isn't a problem for you then i wouldn't mess with it too much.