Bolt-together fiberglass Jeep-tub trailer kit

[jeepdreamer]

I'd say maybe both the plain and the Safari tailgates if thats possible? El Blanco allows us a place to add out own motif (aka stickers! lol) while the Safari one may cater more to folks outfitting it specifically for Expo type use? Not that there really is a huge difference...just a thought.

 

[Espo78]

I don't think I would want a drop down gate if it is made out of fiberglass. Honestly I think the kit should not come with a tailgate at all but if you want to offer your "Safari" gate as an optional add-on it would probably sell well. I would make it swing out instead of drop down. That way like someone above posted you have easier access to the rest of the trailer. Perhaps on your Safari gate you could add an optional fold down table on the inside. It would be fairly simple to do using hinges and some light chain or you could just leave it as is for people to customize the way they want. It depends on how many options you want to provide and how much you want to leave up to the end user to create.

 

[1x1_Speed_Craig]

Jeff - There is no shortness of "awesome" in your projects. Nice work, as usual.

Craig

 

[jscherb]

Thanks for the input on the tailgate question, here's my current thinking about it:

- Perhaps the least expensive entry-level kit wouldn't come with any tailgate, to keep the initial cost down so as many people as possible can afford the kit. My thought is "buy what you can afford, and as budget and time permits, enhance the trailer to your ultimate needs". So if you can't afford a tailgate at first, that's fine, at least you can get started on your trailer.

- If people want a Jeep logo metal tailgate, there are aftermarket sources for new ones (usually $250 or less), and they're often available on the used parts market for a reasonable price (typically $40-$50 in my area), so they could buy the kit without a tailgate and pick up one of these.

- If people want a metal CJ-7 style tailgate and they don't care about the logo, they are available on the market from Omix and often can be found at discounters for less than $200. Perhaps whoever markets the trailer tub kit could arrange with Omix to resell the Omix metal tailgate along with the trailer tub kit.

- Unless the fiberglass CJ-7 style tailgate can be manufactured for significantly less than the Omix metal tailgate, or Omix won't let the metal one be sold with this kit, I don't see a reason to offer a fiberglass one - just go with the metal one. Does anyone prefer a fiberglass tailgate to a a metal one?

If all of that makes sense to people, then the only open question is whether or not to offer a "budget" tailgate, in either metal or fiberglass, depending on which one could be made at least cost. But with used OEM tailgates going for less than $100 and new OMIX metal ones for less than $200, I'm not sure it makes sense do a budget tailgate.

Also, personally I don't care if a SAFARI tailgate is offered to the market, I'm mostly just doing that for the proof-of-concept trailer because I thought it would be fun to do.

Your thoughts on all of the above?


BTW, I'm in the process of molding the SAFARI tailgate; here are a few photos I took while I was buffing the mold to prep it for molding:

And here are the both the inner and outer tailgate skin molds, ready for gelcoat:

 

[jscherb]

Jeff - There is no shortness of "awesome" in your projects. Nice work, as usual.

Craig

Thanks Craig! Nice to hear from you, I hope things are going well for you.
Jeff

 

[jscherb]

I molded the SAFARI tailgate skins yesterday; here they are just out of the mold in rough trim:

Next step is to drill the holes for the factory hardware bolts, bond nut plates in place inside the skins, and bond the two skins together into a complete tailgate.

 

[jscherb]

I finished assembling the tailgate today; here are some photos. It's only rough-trimmed, so if it looks like it doesn't fit quite right, right now it doesn't because I haven't done the final trimming. Once it's trimmed to final factory tailgate dimensions, it will fit perfectly. I've bolted standard CJ tailgate hardware up to it.

 

[bdosborn]

I gotta know, how much are you thinking the kit will cost? I'm pretty sure I have to have one. :wings:

Bruce

 

[jscherb]

I gotta know, how much are you thinking the kit will cost? I'm pretty sure I have to have one. :wings:

Bruce

My goal is to make it very affordable. I know how much the materials that go into it cost (resin, fiberglass, gelcoat) and the materials cost is fairly small, but I don't know what manufacturing labor would be and I don't know what profit margin whatever company markets these will want. We'll have to wait and see if someone picks up the rights to manufacture and market the kit...

How much do you think it should cost?

 

[Black Dog]

I think expo members should get a freebie as a token of your appreciation for our valuable input.

 

[jscherb]

I think expo members should get a freebie as a token of your appreciation for our valuable input.

Maybe we should do a "BYOF&R" party and people can make their own? (Bring your own fiberglass and resin?)

 

[jscherb]

In case anyone's wondering how strong a fiberglass tailgate can be, I tried the 225-pound gorilla test this morning:

I also weighed the fiberglass tailgate vs. a factory CJ tailgate - 11.5 pounds vs. 15.25 pounds, which makes the factory metal gate 25% heavier than the fiberglass version.

 

[jscherb]

I mounted the tailgate to the end panel today and did a little fitting. There's still some final fitting to do, but I'll do that after the tub is assembled and all squared up.

 

[southfarms]

That is really amazing work. I thought that fiberglass molds were only for "big" companies. You are certainly committed to quality work! Do you have a supplier for your design yet?

Thanks for sharing,

Stephen

 

[McZippie]

Very nice! Like your shop too, decked out with hardwood floors.