1988 Packmule expedition conversion

[BoarderMX]

The packmule is already made for offroad by helder mfg out of marysville ca. Not many of these were made and seem to have been hand built according to whatever the buyer wanted. Some had leaf only, some leaf and spring. This one was leaf only but had a shovel, axe and high-lift jack holders on the front which I have yet to see on another one. Going to be a slow moving project as I only have limited time on the weekends to get things done.

Picking it up in gold country from the original owner and hauling it back to the bay area. Very "bouncy" unloaded and I'll need to modify the suspension, also want to lift it and run the same rims and tires as the jeep to only have to carry one spare.


The trailer itself


The suspension


Mocked up the AEV pintler rim with 315/70/17 Duratracs to see how it looks and fits.


Took the lid off, welded up the old holes from the gas cans and scraped and primed the bottom. Cut the old shackles off and I'll be going with the Timbren axle-less suspension, the 2000 lb with 3500 lb hubs giving it a 4" lift and the ability to run 12" wide tires to fit the Duratracs


Teaching myself to weld at the same time so please don't laugh at my sloppy welds, they are getting better. The side plates welded on for the Timbren.

 

[BoarderMX]

Fitting the Timbren and electric brake hubs before drilling and welding it on the trailer.




The nato style cans and frontrunner holders that will replace the rusted ones that came with the trailer


Drilled, bolted and welded


With the rims and tires on it. The cardboard box represents a 20 gallon water tank that I could fit in now that the axle is gone. I realize I'll have to make a skid plate for it, but is it a good idea or do I lose too much ground clearance? The struts in front are for the required harbor freight box to hold the battery etc. to run a pump and Arb fridge. Should I put the water tank inside or get a smaller one?


Here is where it stands now, bottom and front bed lined.


Still need to resolve the bearing cap issue as the one that came with the hubs wont fit with the rims so I'll need to come up with another solution there. Resolve the water tank dilemma, flip it back over and start on the inside, bed line it. I have 48" slides that I'll put on 3" angle iron and weld to the bed so the floor can be slid out to get things when the RTT is in place.

Need to come up with a rack to hold the RTT, some of the great work here on adjustable height now has me rethinking that strategy and what to do with that part. Figure out where to put a propane tank that has external access for stove and hot water shower, etc. etc. etc. seems like this thing will never be completed...

 

[Robert Bills]

Very cool trailer. Your are correct that Packmule trailers are desirable and very hard to find. I had forgotten that they were made in Marysville. Two friends of mine each own one and wouldn't part with them. John, the owner of All Four Wheel Drive in Corona CA (a differential and gear shop) used to own one. The last time I saw it was at the trail head for the Dusy Ershim trail 8 or 9 years ago, but I suspect he still has it.

 

[BoarderMX]

Very cool trailer. Your are correct that Packmule trailers are desirable and very hard to find. I had forgotten that they were made in Marysville. Two friends of mine each own one and wouldn't part with them. John, the owner of All Four Wheel Drive in Corona CA (a differential and gear shop) used to own one. The last time I saw it was at the trail head for the Dusy Ershim trail 8 or 9 years ago, but I suspect he still has it.

Very cool, glad to hear there are still some around and rolling. A guy I've gone wheeling with has one and when I saw the pictures I wanted one, he posted the link to the one I ended up with. I like the military 416's etc. but the packmule is unique.

Whelp, Finally got some parts that fit for once and it is nice to finally feel like I am making some progress.

Re-wired the entire thing and added a connection box. The brackets will hold the stabilzer legs front and back so when the tent is up the thing doesn't tip over.


New LED tail lights and a garage too full of parts waiting to be installed and bikes that need to be rode.


The new wheel spacers and centering rings.


The Tekonsha Prodigy P3 trailer brake controller. Pretty slick little box.


Flipped and hooked and rolling.




The trailer tows great, the Timbren is super quiet and there is no bouncing around, curbs, etc one bounce and it settles right down. What a relief after all these weeks of wondering if this would work. Tons of ground clearance, it will still have more than the Jeep after the water tank is installed. Now onto the rest of the work!

 

[Mark Harley]

Is a coat of matching paint on the list?

Great work!

 

[BoarderMX]

Yeppers, and RTT, slide out floor, ARB fridge and hot water shower.

 

[Mark Harley]

Nice! Can't wait to see the other stuff.

 

[Tucke]

I am really interested in the timbren suspension. Do you still like it? Is it holding up well? Also any updates on the trailer? Nice Job.

 

[Lacy Hershey]

good build. really liking that axle-less suspension.

 

[BoarderMX]

I am really interested in the timbren suspension. Do you still like it? Is it holding up well? Also any updates on the trailer? Nice Job.

So far, so good with the suspension. I've only had it out a couple of more times for test runs and plan on taking it to Hollister SVRA later this month for a true offroad test. Right now, it is upside down again as I got the 16 gallon water tank in and I'm in the process of welding up the brackets and skid plates for that. I also got the angle iron welded in the bed that will hold the drawer slides and bought the huge chunk of 3/4" black starboard that will make up the slide out floor. I also have a piece cut for under the battery box and added additional braces to stiffen the platform as it will hold two optima's. I cut off the old (and kind of neat) receiver and welded in a 6 inch extension to the tongue so the tail gate can open all the way with the battery box in place and have a lock-n-roll hitch system that slides into that.

The Tepui Kukenam Sky tent I bought will be in the second week in September so I'm cramming trying to get everything done around then and have a week long break-in trip planned for the end of September. I'll try to get some more pictures up this weekend.

 

[navigator]

I would expect with the proper skid plate that the water tank wouldn't hinder you. You should be able to pretty much drag that thing over anything the jeep can clear. I think saving the extra space somewhere else would be worth it for the few times it might possibly drag.

 

[stomperxj]

Great looking trailer and fab work BoarderMX. Do you have any close up pics of the Timbren setup. I am really thinking hard about using that exact setup on my next trailer. I just want to see the spindle front and back and how the manufactured the drop into it.

How does it ride so far? Are you going to throw some shocks at it?

Thanks
Jess

*edit* I just hit your smugmug album and saw some better pics of the spindles... thanks!

 

[BoarderMX]

I would expect with the proper skid plate that the water tank wouldn't hinder you. You should be able to pretty much drag that thing over anything the jeep can clear. I think saving the extra space somewhere else would be worth it for the few times it might possibly drag.

Thanks, that is the thought I ended up with and have a 16 gallon tank that fits and I'm skinning it with 3/16" plate which should hold up.

How does it ride so far? Are you going to throw some shocks at it?

Glad you were able to zoom in on the other pics. Let me know if you have any additional questions. It rides really good and I don't think you could add shocks even if you wanted to, you would have to go to a bag and shock cantilever system like on the AT trailers. The Timbren employs a bag like element with a spring inside so it has kind of a shock already. So far I'm liking it a lot, very stable and quiet with none of the bouncing I had with just the leaf springs. I realize it is not as good as the independent arm AT system but should work fine for my use and I gained a place to stuff a 16 gallon water tank in the process and keep that weight down low.

 

[BoarderMX]

Six inch extension on the tongue with receiver to hold the lock n roll hitch system.


Got a motorhome reciever and cut it and the brackets down to fit and welded them in for a rear reciever. Would be great if I could hold my dirt bike but I'll settle for a recovery point and a holder for the mountain bikes.


Drilled and tapped angle iron to hold the four foot drawer slides that allow the floor to slide out, making it easier to get stuff when the tent is deployed.


The 16 gallon tank water tank and the welded brackets to hold it in place. Most of this is repeated in the water tank set-up thread but also wanted to document it here.
Front view


Rear view. The box will hold the pump and strainer and protect it from rocks and gravel kicking up and hopefully keep some of the mud and dirt out.


The pump and strainer. The connections will go on the flat panel of the rear fender in front of where the hoses are coiled.


Skid plate in place and pump box sealed


Back on the tires again and still a good amount of ground clearance.


Will update when I get the fill, vent and output connectors done.

 

[hidefxj]

Damn! Excellent ingenuity! That water tank fab up is awesome! I think I need a watertank now. Where did you get the water pump from?