And yet another off road-ish camper build has begun.

KingAirNeal

Adventurer
So, planned for a while, finally got a vehicle worthy of towing it.
Daily driver and mild off roader is our 07 Jeep WK Limited Hemi.

The plans are a 5x8 frame with a 5x9 body on Timbren 2200 pound long arm axle-less suspension riding on Jeep JK wheels and tires, like my Grand Cherokee will be getting soon.

Frame is 2x2x .120, 5' x 8'
Still not exactly sure exactly what the tongue length should be, still have time to fine tune that.
Not sure if brakes are really needed, weight should be all up under 1500 pounds.

Plans are off road about 10-20% of the time, the rest on road going to and from National Parks etc.
What off roading we will be doing will NOT be super hard core stuff, mostly the typical Nevada/Utah/Arizona dirt roads and fire trails etc.

Floor is in sheet metal over frame, 24g, followed by 2x2 wood (1.5") with wiring and foam insulation, with 1/2" baltic birch ply.

Walls, 1/4" baltic birch inside and out, with 1x2, 1x3 and 1x4 frame work as required for load distribution.
Roof will be the same as walls, as will the front and rear.

Diamond plate covering the nose down low

We plan on varnish inside, probably untextured Duraback or equivalent on the outside.

Still trying to figure out the tongue box or equivalent.

Getting doors and stargazer window from teardrop trailer parts guy in Michigan.
Plans are for a basic home made roof rack for canoe or kayaks etc.
Trailer will share same tires as the WK, so the spare will be on the Jeeps roof rack.

Tips or pointers will be appreciated. Built and restored a few airplanes and sailboats, lots of wood working, and worked on tons of heavy equipment, hopefully I wont get too stumped on this one. 😜image.jpg
 

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KingAirNeal

Adventurer
x10... It pays to have good equipment

Just finished welding today for the most part.

Actually, this idiot had to learn how to use the welder properly.
Im mostly a gas torch/stick/tig kinda guy... not used to this house current mig... well, I am now. LOL. Pics to follow...
 

KingAirNeal

Adventurer
Made a small change to the front cross braces. Changed the length and angle. Better matches the future tounge box and my chop saws max angle. LOL

Even with .120 wall tubing, this thing is WAY overbuilt...
 

KingAirNeal

Adventurer
Frame is done, minus the axle mounting tubes. Those will be double wide and welded to the bottom from the middle cross bar to the next one back. Gotta order the Timbren system in order to get the geometry right. Hopefully next week.
 
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KingAirNeal

Adventurer
Frame is upside down, removable front coupler is right-side-up. I just sat the coupler up there for measurements and the photo op.


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KingAirNeal

Adventurer
Hitch box got 4, 1/2 inch holes drilled for rosette welds, one on each side, as well as the entire rear portion got welded.

Trailer2.jpg


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KingAirNeal

Adventurer
So, now that I figured that whole picture mess out...

So, welded up the axle mounts today, ran out of wire, so Thursday when I return from my trip, I will grab another roll of wire and finish that up, run the mounts to the drill press for the Timbren to bolt to, and weld it up to the frame.

Still trying to nail down the stabilization jacks.
Pretty sure I am going to go with the 31" BAL jacks in the rear, mounted on the angle to pick up the next cross member forward, then to the back corners.
Probably going with a single nose jack, still debating using two more BAl 31" jacks up front...
 
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KingAirNeal

Adventurer
Chassis is all done! Back is killing me, but, it was worth it. I estimate it is around 230 pounds as she sits now. Ordering the Timbren axle-less system and hubs tomorrow. Hopefully, in a few weeks she'll be sitting on her tires and tow-able.

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KingAirNeal

Adventurer
Progress

Ordered the Timbren axle-less sytem and hubs friday. Wont be here for a couple weeks.
When installing Jeep JK wheels and tires on a standard hub, I didnt foresee the challenges right away. I found a unique way to solve the problem. A discountinued, but still in stock luckily, Synergy 1.5" wheel spacer/adapter. This one is lug-centric with enough space to allow the trailer hubs to clear the JK alloy wheels. It reduces from a 5 on 5.5" to 5 on 5". Should work good and last long time. As well as giving me the 3" of clearance between the chassis and tire.

Welding is 100% complete, holes drilled for the Timbren mounts, hopefully my measurements are accurate enough. I drilled extra holes to allow me to shift the axle forward or back 4.5" each direction to get it to tow the way I want, then I will install the fenders.

Started cleaning, sanding off mill scale, and shooting a light coat of self-etch primer to protect against rust. Although not a big deal here in the desert, but old northeast habits die hard. There are a few places I would like to have had sandblasted, but meh, it will be fine.

Scuffed and light cross coat of prime on the exposed side of the 24g sheet metal that goes down in the chassis before the 2x2 framework and wiring conduits and plywood deck.

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