Backroad Explorer
Adventurer
Prevailing Torque Lock Nuts
Bolt-together fiberglass Jeep-tub trailer kit
- Thread starter jscherb
- Start date
jscherb,
Just had to say I have spent the last hour and a half enjoying your super work and great thread on building a really versatile and very affordable trailer.
I am a JEEP lover and see you have the JEEP fever too. Thanks for your kindness in sharing this with so many folks out here.
Glad to be a member here.
Just had to say I have spent the last hour and a half enjoying your super work and great thread on building a really versatile and very affordable trailer.
I am a JEEP lover and see you have the JEEP fever too. Thanks for your kindness in sharing this with so many folks out here.
Glad to be a member here.
Heifer Boy
Adventurer
Do you just do a straight wheel swap for Jeep sized wheels or do you change the hub and axle too? What tyre size are you comfortable going with on an HF trailer?
Cheers,
HB
Cheers,
HB
jscherb
Expedition Leader
The 1720-lb. capacity HF trailer has a 5-on-4.5 bolt pattern, the same as the TJ/YJ, so that's a starting point for bolting on Jeep wheels/tires, but there are several considerations when switching a 5-lug HF trailer to Jeep wheels and tires:
1. The HF axle is too short for wider tires, it's sized for the 12" tires that come with the kit, so if you tried to bolt up Jeep wheels to the trailer they'd rub on the frame. Most Jeep-sized wheels and tire combos wouldn't even bolt up before hitting the frame. You could widen the axle, but I found it easy to narrow the frame - I cut 2" off each end of the frame crossmembers to narrow the frame 4" total.
2. If you want to use Jeep factory alloy wheels, the center hole in those wheels is too small to fit over every trailer hub that I know of, including the HF hubs. The made-in-China HF hubs do have a smaller center dust cap than the typical made-in-USA trailer hubs, so I was able to fit Jeep alloy wheels on the HF hubs with the use of 1 1/4" thick spacers.
The spacers I used are shown in this photo:
And here's how the dust caps just fit into the center holes of the alloys:
Jeep factory steel wheels will fit over most trailer hubs, the center holes are larger. The 4" I narrowed my frame accounts for the 1 1/4" spacers, so if you wanted to run Jeep steel wheels without spacers you'd need to narrow the frame more like 6 1/2" total.
BTW: if you're trying to fit Jeep alloys on a made-in-USA hub, you'll likely need 2" thick spacers as I did on my yellow trailer.
3. The axles in the HF kit are 2000-lb. capacity (1720-lb. trailer capacity plus the weight of the trailer frame). I've got 31" tires on mine and I'm comfortable that the axles are adequate for my intended use of the trailer. Some people have told me that for larger tires, they'd be more comfortable with 3500-lb. axles, so you'd need to decide if for the size tires you'd plan to run and the usage you'd plan to put the trailer to if 2000-lb. axles were adequate.
You can get ready-made 3500-lb. axles with hubs in an appropriate length (no need to narrow the frame), for $112 (http://kmtparts.com/axles-spring-mounted/3500-lbs-axle.html), so for some people this might be a better option than trying to narrow their frame or widen their HF axle. You'd need 2" spacers for new axles.
Heifer Boy
Adventurer
I thought I had read this before so thanks for clearing it up for me. I just re-read you whole thread (again) and spotted where you wrote you had done this.
I'm looking at building a teardrop on an HF frame (Easy Trailer over here in Oz) and the dinky little 12" wheels will just look silly on a 8'x5' teardrop. Basically I'm looking for increased diameter purely for aesthetics. I want it to look 'right'. Offroad capability isn't an issue for this build. Do you think a 14" wheel would fit ok without narrowing the frame? I saw you had a range of different tyre sizes to try out and I'm wondering if any other fitted without making any changes. Matching the tow vehicle isn't an issue either so maybe a 205/70 tyre or something like it.
HB
jscherb
Expedition Leader
When I was planning the trailer frame modifications, I measured 1.25" clearance from the inner sidewall of the 12" HF tire to a bolt head on the side of the frame that's part of the spring mount. (If you've got a different trailer your dimension will probably be different).
The distance from the wheel mounting surface of the 12" HF tire to the inner sidewall is 3".
I've got a pair of 205/75-15 tires on standard 14" trailer wheels here, the WMS-sidewall distance is 4", so if you just bolted those up to the HF axle, you'd end up with 1/4" clearance to the bolt head - not enough. Even if you removed that bolt and welded the part instead, you'd still only have about 5/8" clearance, so still not really enough. You could use wheel spacers to gain the necessary clearance.
For a 245/75-16 tire on a Jeep factory Moab rim like I've got on my black trailer, the WMS-sidewall distance is 5.75".
Heifer Boy
Adventurer
Thanks for the details and measurements Jeff. It gives me something to think about and work with.
jscherb
Expedition Leader
Earlier in the thread I posted some concept drawings showing how a Jeep pickup could be made with this trailer tub kit. This morning I found this CJ-10a pickup conversion on ebay and thought it might be worth showing here. The bed is just about the same size as the trailer tub Kit, so it shows what a pickup made with the kit could look like.
Here's the listing: http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/1985...ilitary-amc-4x4-/280927134262?forcev4exp=true
Here's the listing: http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/1985...ilitary-amc-4x4-/280927134262?forcev4exp=true
jscherb
Expedition Leader
Scott been working on getting the smooth tailgate option ready, he recently posted these photos of the smooth tailgate option on his Facebook page. It's derived from the master I made and molded for my tailgate, so as you probably know it can be installed either as a drop-down or a side-swing gate using CJ-style tailgate hinges (or some equivalent) in either configuration. Scott's got the one in the photos configured as a drop-down; I configured the one on my black trailer as a side-swing to prove the side-swing concept and also so I could use the StoreGate storage compartment on the inside.
Drop-down:
Side-swing (with the StoreGate):
Drop-down:
Side-swing (with the StoreGate):
jscherb
Expedition Leader
I got the following PM today, I'll reply to it here since I get this question pretty regularly:
The StoreGate is a prototype for a potential product that I designed a few months ago. It's designed to work with either the fiberglass trailer tailgate or with TJ and YJ tailgates. I had a test run of about a half-dozen shells made, and I finished two into complete units - one with a diamond plate door that I installed on my trailer tailgate, and the other I built up one with a cargo net instead of a door (shown in a workbench photo below), I haven't installed that one on a tailgate yet.
I don't market any of my designs myself, that would turn this into a job and that wouldn't be fun for me
. I design stuff like this as a hobby, but if a company is interested in bringing the StoreGate to market, I'd be happy to work with them to do so. I've got the plastics manufacturer all lined up so it would be fairly simple to get to market.
I do have maybe 4 more prototype shells left, so if after a while nobody turns out to be interested in marketing the StoreGate, I may finish up the remainder and offer them for sale.
The StoreGate is a prototype for a potential product that I designed a few months ago. It's designed to work with either the fiberglass trailer tailgate or with TJ and YJ tailgates. I had a test run of about a half-dozen shells made, and I finished two into complete units - one with a diamond plate door that I installed on my trailer tailgate, and the other I built up one with a cargo net instead of a door (shown in a workbench photo below), I haven't installed that one on a tailgate yet.
I don't market any of my designs myself, that would turn this into a job and that wouldn't be fun for me
. I design stuff like this as a hobby, but if a company is interested in bringing the StoreGate to market, I'd be happy to work with them to do so. I've got the plastics manufacturer all lined up so it would be fairly simple to get to market.
I do have maybe 4 more prototype shells left, so if after a while nobody turns out to be interested in marketing the StoreGate, I may finish up the remainder and offer them for sale.
jscherb
Expedition Leader
No, I haven't done anything proactive to try to find a company that wants to market it - I'd rather spend my time designing and prototyping new stuff than going out to try and sell what I've already done. I guess that may sound a bit dumb, but the fun for me is coming up with a new creative idea, designing a product around that idea, and building the first one. After I've built, tested and proved the prototype, I almost don't care what happens next with it, I'd rather focus on my next idea. I post most of what I design in many of the different forums, and if someone is interested in turning anything I've done into a product, I'd be happy to talk to them about it.
So far that's resulted in a maybe a half dozen of my designs getting to market (or about to), so maybe some company will contact me about the StoreGate, or some of my other designs that are still up for grabs, like the Soft Barn Door (think "soft upper" for the tailgate) which makes accessing the rear cargo area much easier than having to unzip the cranky and often dirty factory soft top rear window. Or the Excursion Rack/Trail Table, which quickly and easily attaches to the spare tire to provide carrying capacity and a trail table. Or my CJ Grille Conversion Kit for the TJ. Or...
Jeff, I am amazed at how professional your prototypes are, and how well thought out they are. I memtioned your ideas in the 4x4Him Forum. I think that the more the word gets out, the more the demand will increase, maybe more marketers will come knocking on your door. I for one hope so, because I like all of your ideas.