gatorgrizz27
Well-known member
Took the trailer on its first camping trip, just 2 nights over on the Suwannee river with our boys. Brought the golf cart along also, which was a good decision as it let me exercise the dog and us run to the lodge/pool/etc. Campground had a large RV park so things were spread out, but we were in tent sites along the river.
I whipped up a quick table with some folding brackets right before we left, it worked really well but I may still build one from stainless as I’d originally planned so it can stay on the trailer all the time. It stores in the front wall which makes it easy to access and out of the way.
The awning deal still needs a little work, I bought the Kelty Waypoint tarp which is designed to mount off a vehicle hatch. I ordered some cheap poles last minute and was able to cobble it together, but they are on the short side and water was pooling in one spot. This is one of the things I hadn’t come up with a good solution for since I started the build. The propane tank is meant to hang off the side also, but it wasn’t secure enough for my liking so I put it in top of the cooler. Will add a lower bracket to hold it steady.
Otherwise, the cooler layout, water jugs, on board battery to charge phones and RC trucks, all worked great. I still really need to get this thing wrapped up which is basically a little bit of welding, spray it with bed liner, and finalize the lighting/wiring.
I also picked up a pair of air shocks as I have overloaded the 2,000 lb suspension a time or two already and it does make for a rough ride. I think those will allow me to keep the soft quiet ride with light loads and still be able to take advantage of the 3500 lb capacity axle. We used the trailer off road at a friend’s hunting ranch to move some ladder stands around and it worked great for that also with the high clearance, soft ride, and front wall design.
I whipped up a quick table with some folding brackets right before we left, it worked really well but I may still build one from stainless as I’d originally planned so it can stay on the trailer all the time. It stores in the front wall which makes it easy to access and out of the way.
The awning deal still needs a little work, I bought the Kelty Waypoint tarp which is designed to mount off a vehicle hatch. I ordered some cheap poles last minute and was able to cobble it together, but they are on the short side and water was pooling in one spot. This is one of the things I hadn’t come up with a good solution for since I started the build. The propane tank is meant to hang off the side also, but it wasn’t secure enough for my liking so I put it in top of the cooler. Will add a lower bracket to hold it steady.
Otherwise, the cooler layout, water jugs, on board battery to charge phones and RC trucks, all worked great. I still really need to get this thing wrapped up which is basically a little bit of welding, spray it with bed liner, and finalize the lighting/wiring.
I also picked up a pair of air shocks as I have overloaded the 2,000 lb suspension a time or two already and it does make for a rough ride. I think those will allow me to keep the soft quiet ride with light loads and still be able to take advantage of the 3500 lb capacity axle. We used the trailer off road at a friend’s hunting ranch to move some ladder stands around and it worked great for that also with the high clearance, soft ride, and front wall design.
