Cherokee trailer

[Scenic WonderRunner]

Great Idea............Prep!

That is the Exact Idea I have had for my 4Runner....right down to the matching paint job! Matching wheels/tires of course!...........But I have never been able to find a good pic of the idea.

I really don't need a trailer. Everything I carry fits nicely inside. It would be more for the fun of the project.

Keep going! ............How Fun!!!!


...........and Welcome to ExPo............!!!!


.

 

[prepmech]

I got the trailer this weekend. Told Mark everyone said hi, and told him about Expo. Hopefully he will be checking it out soon as he is getting ready to start building a new rig, but I'll let him tell you about it.

It is in pretty good shape. It has some surface rust in a few spaces, and a few dents. Quite a bit of the rust will be cut out when I put on the flares.

I can't believe how light it is. I'm going to loose quite a bit of weight when I put in the new axle and remove the spare tire from underneath. It has very little tounge weight now. Removing the spare should help some as it is mounted behind the axle. I'm also going to add a floor to the triangle area made by the tounge and make a lid for it. That should put some more weight up front and give me a place to store jacks and chains.

I haven't been able to hook it up to my jeep yet, but I'm worried about being able to open my tire carrier and hatch with the trailer attached. I may have to extend the tounge a bit.

The bed is going to get painted to match my jeep, but I can't decide on what color to paint the topper. I am playing with the idea of painting it black with a slight texture like a wrangler hard top.

The raised area in the topper has a great place to add some small shelves.

There is not enough room to put a drawer under an air matteress. There is just not enough head room. Going to have to find some other places to store stuff. Probably just going to use rubbermade containers that I can put in the back when traveling, and leave underneath the trailer when I set up camp.

 

[prepmech]

Something else I noticed is that there is a fairly large gap between the bed walls and the bed liner that I could fill with insulation for cold weather camping. I am going to clean the bed and line it with herculiner before I put the plastic liner back in to keep it from rusting. Is there anything I could put in there and leave in there when the topper is off? It would have to be waterproof. As easy as it is to take the topper and bedliner out, I may just get a roll of fiberglass house insulation and put it in there when needed, then take it back out when I take the topper off.

I am also planning on putting carpet on the inside of the topper to help insulate it a bit and make it more comfortable in there.

I've been getting quite a few ideas looking through a West Marine catalogue, they have some cool stuff for boats that would be awesome for small campers.

 

[cjm]

insulation

How bout some spray foam? I have seen it being applied in house walls.....I think its waterproof and mold proof!


cjm

 

[IH8RDS]

I haven't been able to hook it up to my jeep yet, but I'm worried about being able to open my tire carrier and hatch with the trailer attached. I may have to extend the tounge a bit.

I have to jack-knife my M416 to get the tire swing open.

 

[prepmech]

Wheels and tires are here.

Axle should arrive today.

Flares are due in three weeks.

DMV opens back up tomorrow, going to get title/plates taken care of so I can use it to go pick up the axle.

Should have pics of it without the topper on and behind the jeep soon!

 

[IllianaXJ]

Followed you over from NAXJA Travis. I'm subscribing, makes me miss my old M416.

 

[OverlandZJ]

Something else I noticed is that there is a fairly large gap between the bed walls and the bed liner that I could fill with insulation for cold weather camping. I am going to clean the bed and line it with herculiner before I put the plastic liner back in to keep it from rusting. Is there anything I could put in there and leave in there when the topper is off? It would have to be waterproof. As easy as it is to take the topper and bedliner out, I may just get a roll of fiberglass house insulation and put it in there when needed, then take it back out when I take the topper off.

I am also planning on putting carpet on the inside of the topper to help insulate it a bit and make it more comfortable in there.

I've been getting quite a few ideas looking through a West Marine catalogue, they have some cool stuff for boats that would be awesome for small campers.

Congrats on getting it home travis.. look forward to seeing the progress.

The insulation sounds like a hassle to me, maybe opt for some type of propane tent heater with a sealable vent on top of the topper? Perhaps an RV heater somehow mounted to the front bulkhead? Dont know how bulky the latter would be.

I brought my trailer home last weekend, weather turned real cold so i havent messed with it yet. Plan is to get it temporarily suitable for this summer, and then go at it come late fall.

 

[prepmech]

I took the topper, spare tire, and exhaust off tonight.

hooked it up to the jeep and it fits great. I have about 1" of clearance between the tire carrier of the jeep and the bed of the trailer, so the tounge is going to work out great as it is.

Going to be picking up the axle in the morning, and will have it lifted with the big tires on it soon.

 

[IllianaXJ]

That thing still had exhaust on it?

Looking forward to pics of the progress.

 

[prepmech]

That thing still had exhaust on it?

Looking forward to pics of the progress.

Yeah, one of my buddies said to leave it on and run a piece of flex pipe between the jeep and the trailer so I can keep it functional.

 

[prepmech]

Here are some pictures from this morning, hooked up and ready to go pick up the new axle.

It sits pretty tall as is without the big tires and lift. I'm begining to worry that it is going to sit too tall, going to have to add some weight. I guess it is better to have to add weight than to remove it. I got just over 12 mpg pulling it, I usually get around 15 mpg... so not a huge drop. It will be interesting to see what it does with the new axle and bigger tires. If I figure right, it should be about the same.

 

[prepmech]

It sat quite a bit lower in the first pictures I posted because Mark was using it as a rolling storage shed and had it full of axles, an engine, and a transmission.

 

[prepmech]

The hitch worked out pretty good the way it was sitting. When I lift it I imagine that it is going to have to be modified a bit. When I lift it, it will sit 8" higher than it does now. It is sitting a little low in the back now, and I'm hoping for it to sit a little low at the tounge when empty to help keep as much weight on the tounge as possible. I'll probably have to trim the top off of the channel that holds the lunette ring to keep it from hitting the spare when I take it through ditches.

 

[prepmech]

The axle was set up wrong. I ordered it to have the springs above the axle, and they sent it with the perches below the axle. I welded on some bigger spring perches, so it was no big deal. I left the old perches on just in case I decided to lower it later on. I also had to flip the spring center pins so that they faced down to match the axle.

Here is Alex, the one who suggested keeping the exhaust, cutting off the tops of the u-bolts.

The new axle is pretty beefy. The 3" axle tubes allowed me to use the stock spring plates. The wires for the electric brakes were already ran through the axle tube to protect them from rocks and brush.

There is no weight on the springs in this picture, but when on the ground it doesn't compress them much. This thing is going to be HUGE!

I am definately going to have to add some shocks soon, I was hoping to put it off for a bit, but no such luck. The MJ springs are very long and flexy. It is amazing how much suspension movement there is when you rock it.

Tires are being mounted tomorrow morning, hope to have pictures of it sitting on them soon.