Bolt-together fiberglass Jeep-tub trailer kit

[jscherb]

That's a huge plus. I'm looking at various trailers, and while I will probably 90% scratch build, it will start out as a purchased trailer with a Manufacturer's Statement of Origin purely for that reason.

Wow, sorry it's a hassle wherever you live, registration of a home-built trailer in NY is really simple. You get the trailer weighed, take your weight slip and your parts receipts to the DMV, fill out a form, pay the fee and you're done. Along the way they ask you what you want the weight rating to be, and they put whatever number you give them on the registration document. They didn't even look at my receipts when I did the yellow trailer. Once that's all done you get it inspected at any inspection station. Inspection has to be done annually, so that's a little more of a pain than some states which don't require trailers to be inspected every year, but the initial registration process is trivial.

 

[jscherb]

As usual, awesome work Jeff!!

Thanks!

 

[jscherb]

I've now got some very preliminary pricing from a fiberglass manufacturer. While there are still things to be figured out and finalized, it looks like it's well within the realm of possiblity that the tub kits could be priced at retail so that you could buy the tub kit, a Harbor Freight trailer frame and a few other necessary bits and pieces and be ready-to-roll with your new DIY-assembled trailer in the neighborhood of $1000 (shipping and any tax not included in that number).

This particular company isn't interested in marketing the kits, they're just interested in the manufacturing end, so a company to market the kits still needs to be signed up.

Anyway, I think the pricing is very encouraging.

 

[zuren]

Wow, sorry it's a hassle wherever you live, registration of a home-built trailer in NY is really simple. You get the trailer weighed, take your weight slip and your parts receipts to the DMV, fill out a form, pay the fee and you're done. Along the way they ask you what you want the weight rating to be, and they put whatever number you give them on the registration document. They didn't even look at my receipts when I did the yellow trailer. Once that's all done you get it inspected at any inspection station. Inspection has to be done annually, so that's a little more of a pain than some states which don't require trailers to be inspected every year, but the initial registration process is trivial.

MA is a pain with most of their laws; it's hard for me to believe that this area was the birthplace of this nation's freedom but that is another tirade for another time.

MA does have a provision for homemade trailers but there are a lot of gaps in how to go about it and have heard different variations of what I'm supposed to do. I find very little official info on the MA RMV website and calling is typically a useless exercise. What I find on the web says that you need proof of insurance and your receipts for materials. You call your insurance company and they set up a policy. Then you take the trailer to the local office with your paperwork, they inspect it, assign a VIN number and you are on your way......supposedly. But I've also read that insurance companies can deny coverage for something homemade. I haven't called mine yet but found a couple comments on snowmobile forums that this was a problem. There is also the small detail of anything on a MA road needs to have insurance and a permanent tag. If it doesn't, it can be impounded on the spot. MA doesn't even recognize temporary tags from other states! I've read that pleading with the cop that you are on your way to the RMV and producing all of the documentation doesn't always work. So I'm not sure how someone gets a homemade trailer to the RMV legally other than loading it onto another trailer.......but if I had a trailer, I wouldn't need to build my own trailer. I suppose I could rent a Uhaul trailer to get it down there but that is more time, expense and hassle. You have even bigger issues if you buy a used trailer that is missing its VIN and statement of origin paperwork.

So I'm mostly on a fact finding mission this winter. I'm not ruling out homemade yet but using a "kit" trailer gets me around most of the large hassles.

 

[wjeeper]

I've now got some very preliminary pricing from a fiberglass manufacturer. While there are still things to be figured out and finalized, it looks like it's well within the realm of possiblity that the tub kits could be priced at retail so that you could buy the tub kit, a Harbor Freight trailer frame and a few other necessary bits and pieces and be ready-to-roll with your new DIY-assembled trailer in the neighborhood of $1000 (shipping and any tax not included in that number).

This particular company isn't interested in marketing the kits, they're just interested in the manufacturing end, so a company to market the kits still needs to be signed up.

Anyway, I think the pricing is very encouraging.

That is good news to hear! At that pricing I would love to snatch one up! (job/ budget permitting) A thousandish for a DIY kit with no super difficult fabrication is a pretty amazing feat.

The HF trailer is a good foundation in my opinion. Sure a big old beefy frame would be stronger and certainly tougher needed. Just how much weight can one pack into a 4'x5' trailer anyways? Having been here in Utah cleaning up after the recent wind events I have seen a few HF trailers hauling heavier weights than I expected......only casualty so far I have seen is a bent axle.......but a 3' diameter log that was 6'+ long is getting a bit on the heavy side :Wow1:

Zuren- I am really surprised what you have to to through to register a trailer! Here in Utah if you build a trailer and its under 750 pounds empty you can just put it on the road, no registration, no separate insurance policy and no inspection. If its over that weight you just tow it to the DMV, tell them its over 12 years old and non commercial, pay $10, they look at it, stick on a vin and your on the road......of course there is a $10 per year fee to renew, but that's no biggy.

 

[jscherb]

In the finishing/paint process now...

Shot the interior of the panels and the floor with Raptor bedliner, here's a few photos.

And I did the nerf bars in black Hammerite:

For those of you not familiar with it, Hammerite is a finish designed for protecting metal from rust; it can be painted directly on clean metal. It has a textured, mottled finish that looks great on metal parts, holds up very well, and is easy to touch up. It's not available in most retail outlets here in the US, but you can get it online.

Here's more info: http://www.hammerite.co.uk/products/direct_to_rust_metal_paint_hammered_finish.jsp

Hammerite shouldn't be confused with Rust-Oleum "Hammered" paint, it's a totally different formulation. Rust-Oleum's durability doesn't compare to Hammerite's.

 

[jscherb]

One of the other reasons for me building the trailer tub kit is to create an affordable tub that could go along with the Safari Overland Camper top.

Today I was talking to someone interested in the camper top, and he suggested that it might look nice if the front panel was slanted back a little rather than more-or-less vertical as it is now.

I told him I'd already designed the parts for a "fastback" version of the Safari Cab that was meant to be a modern version of the old Jeepster Commando hardtop, and that these parts (which I've designed but haven't built yet), could be used as the front of a "streamlined" version of the Safari Camper top.

So I put the two drawings together to come up with a "streamlined front" camper top. I'm not sure if I like the streamlined version better than the original version, so I'm putting it out there for any comments you might have.

 

[bluejeep]

slanted or square?
Well if you consider aerodynamics, then......oh wait, we're talking about a Jeep here - Never Mind!!

 

[jscherb]

slanted or square?
Well if you consider aerodynamics, then......oh wait, we're talking about a Jeep here - Never Mind!!

I'm not an aerodynamics expert, but I can tell you that on a 250-mile tow of the "square" camper top trailer through the Pennsylvania mountains behind my LJ I got about 1.5 mpg less than I'd ordinarily get when not towing. I attribute that to the fact that the trailer is the identical height and width as the Jeep, so it doesn't add any frontal area to the combination that might increase drag. What the effect of the square front vs. the sloped front would be behind the towing Jeep I have no idea.

I thought a 1.5 mpg penalty for towing a trailer of that size through the mountains was fine.

 

[jscherb]

I've finished the painting/bed lining of the tub parts, so it's final assembly time.

I didn't have much time to work on the trailer today, but I do have a few "in progress" photos from the work I did manage to get done.

The nerf bars installed:

The floor is bolted in place, the cargo tie-down points are installed and the 31" tires are mounted:

I'll finish the assembly tomorrow. Lots of photos tomorrow.

 

[Backroad Explorer]

My Vote !!

:safari-rig:Commando Front :victory:

 

[mhiscox]

I can't add anything useful to the discussion, but I can add my admiration of the depth and breadth of the talent shown and my appreciation for the time taken to document the project and discuss it with us. I've been following the thread with great interest ever since it started and thought maybe I should mark the centennial post with a brief note of thanks.

:bowdown:

 

[jscherb]

I put the finishing touches on the proof-of-concept trailer today. Lots of photos to come.

 

[jscherb]

Without the tonneau:

 

[jscherb]

A few shots of the "SAFARI" tailgate.

Probably the SAFARI logo tailgate won't be part of a production version of the kit, it was just something I had to get out of my system (trying to make a custom logo tailgate ).