Box Rocket Homemade trailer build.
- Thread starter Box Rocket
- Start date
Box Rocket
Well-known member
I'm sure they'd have one too. Wasatch Trailers should have one and their about 10 min from my house.
Box Rocket
Well-known member
Looking for a little advice again. I'm hoping to start building my lid soon (finally). I had planned on just building a flat lid with a simple frame out of 1" sq tube and a sheet of 16 ga. But looking at the pic below, I quickly ran out of room packing for the wife and 4 kids and a dog for a two night trip.
So I'm now planning on a raised lid similar in shape to the adventure trailer lids. Still using 1" sq tube for the frame and 16 ga. for the skins. I think about a 6" deep lid would do a lot of good for containing the bit of extra gear.
Here's about what I'm thinking. I can mount my Thule load bars to the lid and hopefully one of these days I'll have a RTT to throw up there.
So my question that I need some voting on is whether to hinge the lid at the front of the trailer or at the side. My thinking has been to hinge at the front. I'm not tall (5'9") and with the height of the trailer, it would be tough for me to stand on one side of the trailer and reach items on the opposite side which is what I'd have to do with the hinge on the side. By hinging it at the front I can stand on either side of the trailer and reach to the center.
So any strong opinions on where to have the lid hinged? Any good reasons NOT to hinge at the front?
So I'm now planning on a raised lid similar in shape to the adventure trailer lids. Still using 1" sq tube for the frame and 16 ga. for the skins. I think about a 6" deep lid would do a lot of good for containing the bit of extra gear.
Here's about what I'm thinking. I can mount my Thule load bars to the lid and hopefully one of these days I'll have a RTT to throw up there.
So my question that I need some voting on is whether to hinge the lid at the front of the trailer or at the side. My thinking has been to hinge at the front. I'm not tall (5'9") and with the height of the trailer, it would be tough for me to stand on one side of the trailer and reach items on the opposite side which is what I'd have to do with the hinge on the side. By hinging it at the front I can stand on either side of the trailer and reach to the center.
So any strong opinions on where to have the lid hinged? Any good reasons NOT to hinge at the front?
lowenbrau
Explorer
I've used the hinge at the front with good success but you should think about what the open RTT is going to do when the lid is lifted. From what I've seen, it seems best when the tent is over the side and the hinge for the lid is on the same side. In my case I was able to just tip the tent over but is was a bit more awkward that way.
Box Rocket
Well-known member
Good point. Not sure how big of an issue this is. Seems like I could still get most things out through the tailgate. But you do make a good point.
R_Lefebvre
Expedition Leader
Wow, so you filled it eh? Did you pack a ground tent? You'll save that space, and some bedding, because you can leave that in the RTT. Keep that in mind. But, I think a lid with some space is probaby worthwhile.
I can't help with the hinging setup, but maybe a setup like a Drifta slide might help get things out of the trailer.
I can't help with the hinging setup, but maybe a setup like a Drifta slide might help get things out of the trailer.
Box Rocket
Well-known member
I'm not terribly worried about getting things out through the tailgate if the lid is closed. Most things will already be unloaded before a RTT was deployed anyway. As much as I want a RTT its probably going to still be a little while. My kids are young enough that my wife prefers to have them in the tent with us so that's why we have a large ground tent. There is an Eezi-Awn that would probably fit all of us but having it mounted on the trailer would leave it hanging about 10" off the front and back when closed. The primary reason for not having the RTT yet is cost. Just haven't saved up enough cash for one and our ground tent works.
I can understand some hassle with wanting to open the trailer lid with the tent deployed, but any other drawback to having the hinge at the front? Seems like it just comes down to preference, unless someone tells me otherwise.
I can understand some hassle with wanting to open the trailer lid with the tent deployed, but any other drawback to having the hinge at the front? Seems like it just comes down to preference, unless someone tells me otherwise.
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Poorboyota26
Adventurer
I'm a fan of the hinge in front idea for the same reasons mentioned. My wife can barely reach to the center of our trailer as it is.
#686 Sahara
New member
So any strong opinions on where to have the lid hinged? Any good reasons NOT to hinge at the front?[/QUOTE]
My buddy built a trailer similar to yours in size with the top hinged in front and he ended up strapping it down for the rest of the trip when he sheared the hinge right off the top. The only thing that we could come up with is the length of the trailer created to much shear with the side to side motion. The next trip he had it welded to the side and no problems. Hope our experience will help you.
My buddy built a trailer similar to yours in size with the top hinged in front and he ended up strapping it down for the rest of the trip when he sheared the hinge right off the top. The only thing that we could come up with is the length of the trailer created to much shear with the side to side motion. The next trip he had it welded to the side and no problems. Hope our experience will help you.
Box Rocket
Well-known member
What sheared and where? How was the hinge attached in the first place? Thanks for the comment, those are the things I want to hear so I can make a decision. Any more clarification would be helpful.
#686 Sahara
New member
On the driver side right at the beginning of the piano hinge. His top was all aluminum and had the hinge riveted on both sides. Not sure the name of the latches he had on the rear, but similar to those on some of the Jeep bumpers with tire carriers. That was still not enough to keep the top from sliding sideways
indiedog
Adventurer
Maybe having catches at the front as well so that you aren't relying on the piano hinge to secure the load would solve that prob. No doubt on rough roads the load will bounce and attempt to lift off the top of the trailer body.
Good to hear that information and makes me think about my layout.
Good to hear that information and makes me think about my layout.
Box Rocket
Well-known member
I am leaning toward a weld on hinge rather than a piano hinge. Like this.
Not sure if this type of hinge will make any difference or not. I may not use exactly that hinge as I'm looking at other ones too. I need to be able to remove the lid completely from time to time. One option I'm considering is to have hinges like these welded to a peice of angle that is then bolted to the lid so I can just remove the bolts and pull the lid off when I need to.
Not the best picture but you should be able to get the idea from this. I have a peice of 1x3 steel for the top lip of the tub.
What I think I will do is run a peice of angle the entire width of the front of the tub along that top rail. I think I'll run several bolts through the angle and all the way through the 1x3 to attach the angle and have the hinges welded to that. On the lid, I'll just use short peices of angle (same width as the hinge) that are bolted to the lid frame. Those are the bolts I would remove in order to take the lid off.
Thoughts?........
Not sure if this type of hinge will make any difference or not. I may not use exactly that hinge as I'm looking at other ones too. I need to be able to remove the lid completely from time to time. One option I'm considering is to have hinges like these welded to a peice of angle that is then bolted to the lid so I can just remove the bolts and pull the lid off when I need to.
Not the best picture but you should be able to get the idea from this. I have a peice of 1x3 steel for the top lip of the tub.
What I think I will do is run a peice of angle the entire width of the front of the tub along that top rail. I think I'll run several bolts through the angle and all the way through the 1x3 to attach the angle and have the hinges welded to that. On the lid, I'll just use short peices of angle (same width as the hinge) that are bolted to the lid frame. Those are the bolts I would remove in order to take the lid off.
Thoughts?........
R_Lefebvre
Expedition Leader
<Glancing suspiciously at my own hinge setup>
Hope mine hold, the doors are vertical, lot's of force on them. Maybe I'll need more hinges. The largest doors weigh about... 50lbs? and have 3 hinges. But, they don't have the weight of a RTT on them. They're also pretty stout gate hinges instead of piano hinges.
Hope mine hold, the doors are vertical, lot's of force on them. Maybe I'll need more hinges. The largest doors weigh about... 50lbs? and have 3 hinges. But, they don't have the weight of a RTT on them. They're also pretty stout gate hinges instead of piano hinges.
OlympiaFJ60
Adventurer
Those hinges will work great. I have them for my tailgate door. for the top, I used a slightly different. Like this w/o the holes
.
I got two right handed and one left handed. The left handed is in the middle with the trailer side being the only part bolted on. All the other hinges are welded on. Just remove the one hinge half and the top slides off. It was pretty easy even with my heavy tent/lid. We will see how long they hold up, but since the only have a load while the lid is lifted I think I will be ok.
I got two right handed and one left handed. The left handed is in the middle with the trailer side being the only part bolted on. All the other hinges are welded on. Just remove the one hinge half and the top slides off. It was pretty easy even with my heavy tent/lid. We will see how long they hold up, but since the only have a load while the lid is lifted I think I will be ok.