Trailer project

[SGNellett]

So I want to mount a truck bed to a trailer rather than trying to find a decent truck to cut in half. Anyone have a suggestion for a brand/manufacturer to start with as a base?

I'm not a welder or a fabricator so I cant just fab something up in my driveway.

I actually have 2 potential projects, one is a Dakota bed and cap for my son to tow behind his Durango as a small off ground sleeping platform. So that would need to be about a 5 foot track width and between 6-8 feet in length. An 8 footer would allow adding a tool box for a battery and its associated hardware.

The second is possibly mounting a truck service body to a trailer to be used by our boy scout troop as a mobile kitchen.

 

[high-and-dry]

Where are you located?

For the "kitchen" you could probably just use a standard carry on trailer with the boxes sitting on the side wall rails.

 

[SGNellett]

Where are you located?

For the "kitchen" you could probably just use a standard carry on trailer with the boxes sitting on the side wall rails.

I had thought of that, and if I stumbled onto a deal on something, I probably would go that route, but the service body might allow me to mount our deep fryer on a slide out, that would be super convenient because that thing is a pain in the ass to transport!

 

[SGNellett]

Where are you located?

Sorry, missed this. I am in northern Ohio, right on Lake Erie.

 

[high-and-dry]

mount our deep fryer on a slide out, that would be super convenient because that thing is a pain in the ass to transport!

Plus I can see having to let it cool and drain the oil to be able to transport it with out making a mess.

 

[old_CWO]

You will probably find that a standard utility trailer's axle placement doesn't match up to the truck bed fender location. Generic trailers are usually at the 60/40 mark and trucks are typically 50/50 or close to it. Also, the pickup chassis is really narrow compared to most trailers so there might be some fitment problems underneath.

I would look for a factory made trailer that would work or can be readily adapted to your needs in this scenario. The truck box is going to be more trouble than it's worth if you can't fab a custom chassis for it.

 

[SGNellett]

Plus I can see having to let it cool and drain the oil to be able to transport it with out making a mess.

As it is now, we have to drain it sitting on the ground and transfer the oil back to the original jugs for transport home, but we found that if get the fryer up just a few inches off the ground, the original jugs fit under the spout, eliminating a very messy step!

 

[SGNellett]

You will probably find that a standard utility trailer's axle placement doesn't match up to the truck bed fender location. Generic trailers are usually at the 60/40 mark and trucks are typically 50/50 or close to it. Also, the pickup chassis is really narrow compared to most trailers so there might be some fitment problems underneath.

I would look for a factory made trailer that would work or can be readily adapted to your needs in this scenario. The truck box is going to be more trouble than it's worth if you can't fab a custom chassis for it.

I had noticed the width issue too. I am hoping to get a few measurements soon, but wondering if perhaps a small boat trailer might be a better fit? Being here on Lake Erie, you can hardly swing a dead cat without hitting an abandoned boat trailer, LOL!

 

[old_CWO]

I had noticed the width issue too. I am hoping to get a few measurements soon, but wondering if perhaps a small boat trailer might be a better fit? Being here on Lake Erie, you can hardly swing a dead cat without hitting an abandoned boat trailer, LOL!

What about a cheap used Harbor Freight trailer? You can narrow it if necessary by simply cutting the cross rails to whatever you want. Since the spring hanger channels bolt on, you can easily move them to align the axle location with the truck bed fender wells. I think the barrier would be axle width; they are only like 57" WMS to WMS. Trailer axles are cheap enough I would just have one built to fit and upsize to 3.5K in the process.

Normally people don't like the bolt together trailers for heavy duty use but if it was properly fastened to a utility bed I think it would end up acting a bit like a torsion box and be fine.

HF trailers are also common as dirt and there is some aftermarket beef up support stuff for them from Compact Camping in OR.

Something else to consider.

 

[SGNellett]

What about a cheap used Harbor Freight trailer? You can narrow it if necessary by simply cutting the cross rails to whatever you want. Since the spring hanger channels bolt on, you can easily move them to align the axle location with the truck bed fender wells. I think the barrier would be axle width; they are only like 57" WMS to WMS. Trailer axles are cheap enough I would just have one built to fit and upsize to 3.5K in the process.

Normally people don't like the bolt together trailers for heavy duty use but if it was properly fastened to a utility bed I think it would end up acting a bit like a torsion box and be fine.

HF trailers are also common as dirt and there is some aftermarket beef up support stuff for them from Compact Camping in OR.

Something else to consider.

I had thought of this as well, I haven't seen many close by that are any cheaper than new.