Burley_Industries prototype expedition trailer

[Tumbleweed]

I built that coupler but sold it with one of my old trailers. Made one change to it on a sleeve-wanted it larger. JScherb sounds familiar for the original. After building the coupler, decided that I really didn't need it. Did a little clearance modding on a regular trailer coupler and got it to do 95% of the movement I wanted.
We don't have a TSC nearby; by the time I chased down some of the parts at a tractor dealer, and spent a lot of time making the hitch; I am not real sure it was worth it. A locnroll or maxi hitch store bought would not really be that much more savings.

 

[bfr]

Thanks for the feed back. I'd love to get together sometime and kick some tires!
I had the same thought with the rear of the fender, but like you said it's a compromise either way. I'm keeping an open mind about it, I may still change it.
I just ordered two 250 lbs gas struts for the lid. I'm hoping that is sufficient.
Here is what I have planned for the coupler:



It's not may idea, but I can't remember who to give the credit to.

That is Jeff Scherb's (his name is in the lower left corner of the illustration you reposted). He is a member here.

 

[Burley]

Thanks for the info. It's an awesome solution he came up with.

 

[jscherb]

Thanks for the info. It's an awesome solution he came up with.

Thank you. For anyone interested in building their own, a step-by-step construction thread for the coupler can be found here: http://tventuring.com/trailerforum/thread-65.html

 

[CUoffroad]

Wow, you seem to copy the Max Coupler step for step. How original of you. Gather all of the parts yourself and build one, $$ and time. Then your labor. Then it is still inferior in quality and is not street legal! So then you spend more of your time swapping out for a ball coupler, which has its own issues, even on the road. Wow, just wow.

 

[XJSuperman]

I was looking at strength (looks weaker), but I don't know very much about offroad hitches yet. My trailer will have an original ball type. Interesting to see though, it just has a lot of parts/pieces.

 

[jscherb]

I was looking at strength (looks weaker), but I don't know very much about offroad hitches yet. My trailer will have an original ball type. Interesting to see though, it just has a lot of parts/pieces.

Most people who need a high-articulation off-road coupler should probably buy something like the Max Coupler ($250?) or one of the others on the market, but building one from less than $50 in parts from Tractor Supply was the right answer for me. It's got more articulation than I'll ever use, and it's plenty strong enough - the photo below shows one of the tests I did before I put it into use - I lifted the back half of my truck off the ground with it. So for me it's perfect and it's served my needs for the past few years, but for most people buying a ready-to-use coupler might be a better choice.

Now back to Burley's trailer build, sorry for the interruption .

 

[XJSuperman]

Interesting, thanks. Ive always gone the simple route. Ill take a closer look when the time comes to upgrade.

Yes, onto the build, I want to see what will happen with the fenders, and the skinning process.

 

[Burley]

Most people who need a high-articulation off-road coupler should probably buy something like the Max Coupler ($250?) or one of the others on the market, but building one from less than $50 in parts from Tractor Supply was the right answer for me. It's got more articulation than I'll ever use, and it's plenty strong enough - the photo below shows one of the tests I did before I put it into use - I lifted the back half of my truck off the ground with it. So for me it's perfect and it's served my needs for the past few years, but for most people buying a ready-to-use coupler might be a better choice.

Now back to Burley's trailer build, sorry for the interruption .

Thanks for chiming in! I completely agree that it's best used offroad, that's why it's going on an offroad trailer and why I built the trailer with a coupler. It should work great for out on the trails and thanks again for sharing it on the original post where I found it.

I'm hoping to get back at it this week. I just got back from Alaska so I've been recovering from that amazing trip. I did get some parts in the mail while I was gone though.

 

[Burley]

I got the de-sta-co 2,000lbs latches installed. I used nutserts to be able to bolt them to the body and lid. I'm really happy with the quality of these.

 

[Burley]

I also got both 250lbs struts installed. I think even with my full size RTT these struts are not going to have a problem lifting the lid.

 

[XJSuperman]

Looking sharp. Well done.

 

[Burley]

Looking sharp. Well done.

Thanks man!

 

[colorado matt]

subscribed ..... looks great ...Matt

 

[MadMax87]

Been a long term lurker on the forums here but this trailer looks great so far!