Aussie Custom Built Camping Trailer

[Pete79]

I've been looking around in here for a while now and have borrowed a few good ideas from some of the guys on here.
So I thought it was about time I actually signed up and joined the conversation.

A bit of a quick introduction.
Me, my wife and our 2 young kids all love camping, fishing and exploring off road.
A few years ago we relocated from our rural acreage property for my work and we found ourselves stuck living in a major city with no 4wd and no way of getting out and doing the things we love.
So for the sake of all of our sanity, we picked up a cheap little 4wd and started our new adventures.

Our weapon of choice was a little Suzuki Jimny.
This was perfect for the wife's daily city driving (small and really cheap to run), it was small, but the kids where also small so it worked for us.
With dual live axles and coil suspension it was also very capable off road as well as being very cheap to modify (think a modern version of the Samurai).

This is the little rig on just a couple of the many, many trips we've done.

We would pack our gear like a basic hiking kit to spend a couple of nights under the stars.
We could fit everything we needed and a family of 4 into the car and get away for weekends in the bush, just like this.

But to go for any more then a couple of nights it was really difficult, so the only solution was for me to build a trailer that suited our little rig......

The Jimny only has a 1.3l engine, I had installed reduction gears in the transfer case, but it still didn't like big hills with heavy loads.
So, the most important points for this design was that it had to be as light as possible while being as strong as possible.
I'm pretty happy with the balance I ended up with, it's nice and solid while only weighing 190kg (420lbs) all up.

To start I drew up a set of plans complete with cutting lists for all materials and fold patterns for the side panels.
Next I called in a favour from a customer of ours that makes belt conveyors, because as luck would have it, my side and end panels were exactly the same profile as his conveyor sides and ends

After a few phone calls and checking a few dimensions I ordered a 60" long axle to match the Jimny track width, by using stock Jimny rims and 205 tyres the trailer track width ended up 10mm wider then the Jimny.
I also ordered F100 hubs (to match the Suzuki stud pattern), 2mm thick mud guards and eye to eye springs.

Then it was just a big puzzle to put together.

This is the first weekend:

I notched out the draw bar to make a stronger connection with the main centre brace.

And used gussets to support the front sections.

This is the angle iron and folded plate for the tailgate fitting up to the main side post.

And the whole tailgate.

Tailgate and both main side posts fitted to the main frame.

Clearances.

Fitting the, umm, front tailgate? with one fixed side on.

Sides and base on.

Box done, hinges and latches on.

Pretty happy with the first couple of days work... :beer:

 

[Pete79]

The suspension bits turned up mid week, so the springs and axel went on the night they arrived.

I didn't bother going spring over axle, it made the trailer coupling too high for the hitch position.

The second weekend was the final little bits that always take the most work to get right.


The original plan was to have 10L water cans on each side towards the front, something like this.

But it pushed the guards too far back and I ended up scraping that plan.


I wanted the guards to be removable in case they needed some panel beating in the bush or considering that they're mild steel and all the other sheets are gal I figured they would be the first things needing to be replaced.
These are the guard mounting brackets at the rear, cut down piece of RHS for a bit of extra strength.

Used a bit of 25x3 flat bar to make the tail light mounts and left clear space under the lights to wash out the mud and crap.

Mud guards on and side tie down bars on.

Painted and lights on... Armsup

All the wiring runs through the draw bar and in welded lugs across the back.

The end of another productive weekend.... :beer:

 

[Pete79]

Here's a few picks from the maiden voyage.

I was really happy with how it went.
We did a couple of decent hill climbs and descents and threw in a few wheel deep creek crossings to test it out.
Gotta say, I wasn't disappointed at all, it handled everything really well and the Jimny had no problems dragging it around either.

 

[indiedog]

Awesome work Pete. Nice to see the small trailers on here, and from Oz.

 

[Pete79]

Awesome work Pete. Nice to see the small trailers on here, and from Oz.

Haha. Yes, I see there are a couple of us over here that appreciate the light weight compact trailers.

There was nearly a year of research put into mine before I started fabricating.
Our family loves remote bush camping, and as you would know there are so many great spots here that either aren't suitable to drag massive trailers into or you have to carry your gear a short distance to get to the actual camping area off the track.

For us it's all about the freedom and being able to tow a small tough trailer on more technical tracks was important, as was being able to visit all of those places that don't allow or cater for 'traditional' camper trailers.

 

[Pete79]

Next up was the 2kg gas bottle mount and jerry can holder on the trailer draw bar.

I couldn't find anywhere that did a 2kg trailer mount so had to fab one from scratch.....

Fits neat between the water and fuel.

 

[Pete79]

Random selection of touring pics.

 

[Pete79]

A friend upgraded their tow vehicle and they decided to upgrade their in-car brake controller as well. They offered their old controller to me and saved me about $300, this helped justify buying the rest of the trailer brakes.
So I ordered a 10" electric brake kit with F100 drums.

While I was waiting for the brake kit to arrive I thought I'd get started on Stage 2; Time for a solid lid.


The tonneau cover I had custom made for the trailer does a fair job of keeping the gear in the trailer dry when it's raining, but it doesn't stop any dust.
I needed a solid lid but I didn't want to just throw a sheet of ply on top. I wanted to make a decent frame that I can fit some racks to and use for our roof basket or strap down other things that don't fit inside the little box.

So I went with some 75x25x2mm RHS and 1.6mm alloy sheet which will weigh ~35kg all up.

I had this crazy idea to make it so it is possible to open the lid from the front or the back, which meant each corner needed to have latches and hinges in one.
After brainstorming most of Saturday morning and 2 failed attempts for mounting brackets, I came up with this.

The grey mounting brackets slip inside the trailer corner posts and are bolted in place. The spring bolts act as a lock and hinge.

I would have preferred to use a thick walled black tube for the mounting brackets, but my local steel guy was closed for the day and Bunnings only had this crappy galv tube that's about curtain rod thickness.
Anyway I managed to weld it with 2.5mm rods on the stick welder and didn't blow it pieces so I'll see how long it lasts, once it stretches or wears out I'll replace it with something more substantial.



The concept for my double opening lid has now been proven in the shed, it just needs some real life testing.

I used this extrusion sikaflexed to the lid to seal it up.

It fills the gap nicely and compresses about 3 or 4mm with the latches closed.
I like the way the edge rolls over the radius on the RHS, hoping this helps it grip a bit better.

 

[Pete79]

Evolution of a Custom Camping Trailer

Everything is coming together now.

And I scored this luggage pod the other day, wasn't really looking for one but the price was too good to let it go. It fits the Turbo Tent and 4 fold up chairs perfectly.

All back together and ready for another camping trip.

And our first trip with the new lid set up.
I soon realized after this trip that I didn't need to have the lid so far open and would set the tarp much lower then it is here on all other trips.

Couldn't resist taking a glamour shot after packing up in the rain.

 

[Oka 374]

Great job, you may want to fit an alloy strip fastened to the lid to cover the seal from mud and stuff flung up onto the front as you drive. We had a cub hardfloor camper for many years which had a very similar setup with an exposed seal and after extended travel on muddy roads the wind and movement forced the dirt and water past the seal and into the trailer. The easy solution was a 50mm aluminium strip pop rivetted to the lid which came down over the seal and stopped the crap actually getting on the seal.
The other mod we did which stopped the dust at the sides and rear was to stick a thin strip of the sticky backed flat rubber about 2 x 20 mm along the body where the seal sits, made the seal rubber to rubber and also stopped the dirt rubbing the paint off. It is easily replaced when damaged and is cheap.

 

[Pete79]

The brakes finally arrived.

Striped down the trailer and got started.

The brakes don't come with any instructions, so I did a bit of reading during the week to see how to set them up. I found this little tip and it worked for me.

Set up one hub with a set of dry bearings (don't pack with grease).
Pop the cover off the backing plate to see the ratchet between the shoes.
Assemble the drum and backing plate, pushing the drum hard against the magnet on the backing plate (I very lightly clamped them to keep the front and back parallel).
Then wind out the ratchet to clamp the shoes hard on the drum.
Because the drum is hard against the magnet you need to use some washers between the backing and mounting plates (after the mounting plates are welded to the axle you remove the washers to pull the backing plate away from the hub).
Bolt the mounting plate to the backing plate, fit this assembly on to axle and tighten locking nut firmly.

This makes sure the mounting plates are welded on to the axle so everything is lined up properly and the shoes have the best contact with the drum, this helps you get even pad wear.


Backing plate with washers.

Complete assembly with mounting plate tack welded to axle and packing washers still in place (with nuts loosened off to see the washers).

With everything tacked up, I took out the washers, reassembled the hub and gave it a spin to make sure everything moved freely and the magnet was clear of the inside of the hub.
Everything spins freely, so stuck on the mounting plates with some low hydrogen electrodes (E7016).

With the hubs back together it was time to tackle the wiring.
When I did the original wiring on the trailer I didn't think I would need (or want) electric brakes, so only ran 5 core wire.
Rewiring with new 7 core isn't a big deal, I got to fix up some average crimped connections and do them all with solder and heat shrink this time.

All set up.

I tacked on some washers to run the new wires for the brakes and made the junction slip just inside the main drawer bar.

At this point in time I didn't have a full understanding on electric brake power requirements and that 7 core wire I used was rubbish. It caused me a lot of problems. But more on that later....

 

[Pete79]

Great job, you may want to fit an alloy strip fastened to the lid to cover the seal from mud and stuff flung up onto the front as you drive. We had a cub hardfloor camper for many years which had a very similar setup with an exposed seal and after extended travel on muddy roads the wind and movement forced the dirt and water past the seal and into the trailer. The easy solution was a 50mm aluminium strip pop rivetted to the lid which came down over the seal and stopped the crap actually getting on the seal.
The other mod we did which stopped the dust at the sides and rear was to stick a thin strip of the sticky backed flat rubber about 2 x 20 mm along the body where the seal sits, made the seal rubber to rubber and also stopped the dirt rubbing the paint off. It is easily replaced when damaged and is cheap.

Thanks mate. I like the little rubber strip idea, that will come in handy for the next mods I'm about to start working on.
Yet another great reason to sign up on here...

And I get what you're saying about the extra cover hanging down, I haven't really had any issues with egress while driving so far. But I did have to fit a drip guard to the front edge of the lid, it just extends the front lip, not really hanging down passed the rubber seal.
The issue was the water running off when I opened the lid and it would drip down inside the front edge of the box.

 

[Pete79]

With the brakes on I wanted to carry more fuel and water, so had to move the gas bottle out of the jerry can tray and onto the drawbar.

Used a bit of timber to cover the slots I cut in the frame for getting the nuts on the U-bolts.

I think it all looks pretty well balanced now and the proportions are about right.

 

[Pete79]

Up until now the inside of the trailer was just an open box.

We would pack 2 plastic tubs (a box with dry foods and a box with cooking gear) and we ran an esky for the cold stuff.
The esky we use is huge, it's 110l twin (2 x 47l tubs). But we can easy live out of this esky for 10 days without needing to stock up on anything (including ice).
We run the twin tubs as a fridge and a freezer with all food portioned in cryovac bags and frozen before we pack it for a trip.

The timber board with the notches stored on the front of the trailer was our first kitchen bench, it locked into the tiedown bars over the mud guard.
Something like this (the photo was taken before I made the solid lid).

 

[Pete79]

Then the wife bought me a nice shiny Christmas present.

Now I can finally build the storage system in the trailer that I've been hanging out for.
My first concept was to use this alloy tubing, heaps of guys over here use it for drawers in their vehicles. You can pick it up from normal hardware stores, the tube is pretty cheap, but the connections can get a bit expensive.
This was the first rough in of the alloy tube frame and fridge space.

I knew I wanted 3 equal sized compartments in the front half with individual lids on each section, the table and bench seats go on top of that area.
Then there's the cooking corner beside the fridge that will have drawers for utensils and camp oven/fry pans, with the gas cooker strapped on top.

Anyway you'll get the idea.

I made a solid timber drawer for all the plates/cutlery/utensils.