I just finished up a trailer for a very good customer, he pulls it behind his very cool Nissan pick up that matches the trailer very nicely. Trailer is on leafs for simplicity and reliablilty, tube frame, rear tire carrier and reciever for mountain bikes, scepter can holders, propane and battery storage, RTT going on the rack. Trailer is on a 3500 pound axle with 35" Pro Comp MT's and is nice and light when empty.
Aluminum expedition trailer
- Thread starter Jeep
- Start date
Titanpat57
Expedition Leader
You Sir, have madd skilz..
campinglab
Supporting Sponsor, Overland Certified OC0018
the trailer looks awesome 
Can't figure out why you hinged the lid on the front though.
If you're planning on putting RTT on top that set up makes it impossible to open the lid when the tent is deployed. If you set up the lid to open towards the side you can still open it with the tent deployed.
Cheers,
Fernando
Can't figure out why you hinged the lid on the front though.
If you're planning on putting RTT on top that set up makes it impossible to open the lid when the tent is deployed. If you set up the lid to open towards the side you can still open it with the tent deployed.
Cheers,
Fernando
Maryland 110
Adventurer
If I could be so bold to ask...what does something like that cost ?
njjeepthing
Explorer
X2, would like a general idea what cost was on it.:Wow1:
lx450landcruiser
Explorer
the trailer looks awesome
Can't figure out why you hinged the lid on the front though.
If you're planning on putting RTT on top that set up makes it impossible to open the lid when the tent is deployed. If you set up the lid to open towards the side you can still open it with the tent deployed.
Cheers,
Fernando
I have to disagree, I cant understand why trailer manufacturers hinge from the side. if i was to ever build another trailer i would certainly hinge from the front as it gives you twice as much access to the trailer and can still open with then tent open, also allows you to have a open tail gate for easy loading.
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indiedog
Adventurer
That's a great looking trailer. It looks as though you are relying on the alum sheeting only for the support of the roof and RTT? I suppose during transit and on rutted roads the roof will be fully supported on all edges. Do you expect there will be much flex? What thickness of sheeting did you use?
Thanks guys, mostly thanks Don if you read this for the opportunity to build this for you. Here is some of the logic behind the trailer.
The trailer is small but bigger than it looks, you can fit a full sized ATV in it along with a pile of gear (lid would have to be off to fit ATV).
Hinged front because of the strength advantage and the access advantage, think out of the box for a moment when it comes to mounting a RTT and you can still pop the top more than enough to get in. The rack is STRONG and you could easily open a RTT over the hitch and still have full access.
Stress on the aluminum is minimal, the hinge plates on the box are huge and have backing plates, the rack is hinged and the lid attaches to the rack so all the lid has to do is keep dirt out. Aluminum has a low cyclic rate and almost every stressed component is frame mounted, the entire frame is powdercoated to reduce disimiliar metal corrosion. All hinges have polyurethane bushings to reduce vibration which can cause damage.
I cannot take the credit for the tub forming, Ryco Custom Metalworks does all of our forming, I have no room for a brake and shear. Colin did an awesome job as usual building the shell.
All Aluminum is 5052 .125 thick. Frame is a combination of 2x2x.125 and 2.5x2.5x.215 seamless steel tubing.
The entire structure is designed not to flex, the frame is all box tubing and very rigid. A little softer suspension might be down the road but thats if and when it shows the need.
The trailer empty weighs about 600 pounds and tows super easy.
I won't disclose what my customer paid, I gave him a break because he is always a pleasure to deal with and we have done a pile of work for him over the years, and we did it between big jobs. It carries a $10 000 replacement value, and if a guy could build more than one at a time you could probably trim $1500 off of that. A kit form would be the cheapest because any body that does completed detailed builds knows the last 10% costs 90% be that time or money!
Cheers,
Mark.
The trailer is small but bigger than it looks, you can fit a full sized ATV in it along with a pile of gear (lid would have to be off to fit ATV).
Hinged front because of the strength advantage and the access advantage, think out of the box for a moment when it comes to mounting a RTT and you can still pop the top more than enough to get in. The rack is STRONG and you could easily open a RTT over the hitch and still have full access.
Stress on the aluminum is minimal, the hinge plates on the box are huge and have backing plates, the rack is hinged and the lid attaches to the rack so all the lid has to do is keep dirt out. Aluminum has a low cyclic rate and almost every stressed component is frame mounted, the entire frame is powdercoated to reduce disimiliar metal corrosion. All hinges have polyurethane bushings to reduce vibration which can cause damage.
I cannot take the credit for the tub forming, Ryco Custom Metalworks does all of our forming, I have no room for a brake and shear. Colin did an awesome job as usual building the shell.
All Aluminum is 5052 .125 thick. Frame is a combination of 2x2x.125 and 2.5x2.5x.215 seamless steel tubing.
The entire structure is designed not to flex, the frame is all box tubing and very rigid. A little softer suspension might be down the road but thats if and when it shows the need.
The trailer empty weighs about 600 pounds and tows super easy.
I won't disclose what my customer paid, I gave him a break because he is always a pleasure to deal with and we have done a pile of work for him over the years, and we did it between big jobs. It carries a $10 000 replacement value, and if a guy could build more than one at a time you could probably trim $1500 off of that. A kit form would be the cheapest because any body that does completed detailed builds knows the last 10% costs 90% be that time or money!
Cheers,
Mark.
R_Lefebvre
Expedition Leader
Fantastic! :clapsmile:
That looks really great.
Is there any aluminum tubing used in the build at all, or just sheet aluminum?
I don't have too much concern for the aluminum and the weight of the tent, etc. 1/8" is pretty thick, and you did a great job bending in stiffening features.
Did you concider making the frame out of aluminum? I'm planning on making a new utility/light camping trailer later on, and I have thought about aluminum. But I'd be more interested in making it out of all aluminum. If an aluminum frame won't work, then I'd probably just go all-steel. In my mind there's a weight inefficiency when you combine the two materials. Maybe it doesn't exist with the bent-sheetmetal construction method. But I have to build with a tubular subframe and welded in panels. I think having an aluminum subframe sitting on top of a steel frame wouldn't make sense.
Just curious, how much does simple all-steel construction weigh by comparison. I think the Chaser is 800lbs, but what about something like the Box Rocket trailer?
That looks really great.
Is there any aluminum tubing used in the build at all, or just sheet aluminum?
I don't have too much concern for the aluminum and the weight of the tent, etc. 1/8" is pretty thick, and you did a great job bending in stiffening features.
Did you concider making the frame out of aluminum? I'm planning on making a new utility/light camping trailer later on, and I have thought about aluminum. But I'd be more interested in making it out of all aluminum. If an aluminum frame won't work, then I'd probably just go all-steel. In my mind there's a weight inefficiency when you combine the two materials. Maybe it doesn't exist with the bent-sheetmetal construction method. But I have to build with a tubular subframe and welded in panels. I think having an aluminum subframe sitting on top of a steel frame wouldn't make sense.
Just curious, how much does simple all-steel construction weigh by comparison. I think the Chaser is 800lbs, but what about something like the Box Rocket trailer?
Martyn
Supporting Sponsor, Overland Certified OC0018
Rob
The Chaser trailer weighs in at 700 lbs, http://www.adventuretrailers.com/chaser.html
It's problematic making the chassis out of aluminum due to brittle welds and resultant weld failures. There are ways to design around this, but it makes the construction a little more difficult.
This design seems to use the structural benefits of a steel chassis with the weight savings of an aluminum body.
