Collection of Trailer Builds
- Thread starter Mr. Leary
- Start date
andrew22ha
Member
Getting closer to completion
https://www.expeditionportal.com/fo...on-trailer-build-on-a-m116a1-platform.188693/
https://www.expeditionportal.com/fo...on-trailer-build-on-a-m116a1-platform.188693/
Last edited:
mvmtmkr
New member
wow. This thing has been very well refined over the years i'm assuming? Fantastic job. Picked mine up a few months ago and am definitely going to save your pictures for inspiration because mine's not really built to my own standards. Love the swing-out with kitchen setup, as well as all the fancy electrical you built - I need to learn the electrical stuff.
Mine came with 2 6v golf cart batteries, over time I need to improve it, curious about adding a solar panel as I'd like to have on-board heated water for showers when the lady and baby join (gotta give em some creature comforts
). Other than that I think the entire thing could use a full electrical overhaul / rebuild. Just kinda shoddy the way it was all put together and run. Needs better driving lights as well for road visibility. Lots of stuff, will take some years I'm sure.Also, with your adjustable rack for the RTT, do you think that will be expensive to have someone modify my existing rack to have it electrically adjustable up/down?
Any other suggestions on things you've learned / would do differently are much appreciated.
Cheers!
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ToRo13
Active member
mvmtmkr Thanks for the compliments! I bought the trailer pretty much stock – Day 1 Image is attached below [15JUL17]. I spent the first couple of weeks designing it –– and then found out my wife was getting induced a month early. So I rushed to knock out all the major stuff. Including fabrication, lift system, paint, etc. before he was born on the 28th of August. After that I didn't have a ton of time to work on it. So from start to "finish" It took me about 6 months. Typically working on it from about 9pm until about 130am, when I felt up to it. Every time I take it out, I make more refinements to it, not sure if it will ever truly be "finished."wow. This thing has been very well refined over the years i'm assuming? Fantastic job. Picked mine up a few months ago and am definitely going to save your pictures for inspiration because mine's not really built to my own standards. Love the swing-out with kitchen setup, as well as all the fancy electrical you built - I need to learn the electrical stuff.
Mine came with 2 6v golf cart batteries, over time I need to improve it, curious about adding a solar panel as I'd like to have on-board heated water for showers when the lady and baby join (gotta give em some creature comforts
Also, with your adjustable rack for the RTT, do you think that will be expensive to have someone modify my existing rack to have it electrically adjustable up/down?
Any other suggestions on things you've learned / would do differently are much appreciated.
Cheers!
Your rack will need telescoping tubing for actuation. It could be welded to your existing cage once it gets cut off. For the rack system I think I payed a couple hundred for the steel tubing and a few hundred more for the linear actuators. I did all the welding, fabrication and electrical work myself, so I have NO idea how much it would cost. The rack and lift took me an entire day to build and test [I didn't run the permanent wiring until I started on the electrical system months later, that took another full day]
As for things that I have learned and would do differently... I would probably have made it more simple. The more moving parts and complex items, the more likely they are to fail or break. I have over engineered every aspect of this build and have backups for backups. I'm a perfectionist and like things to be as perfect as I can possibly make them. But bottom line –– things still break! Also, one of the great things about camping is that you are away from technology and modern day luxuries so don't go to crazy. I wanted some things to be super easy like the lift. We have 3 dogs that sleep in the annex, so I wanted that to be a super simple set up. And I love cooking so I made the kitchen area super functional. I think as you find out how you want to use your trailer, you will find out what you think works best. 6 to one half dozen to the other.
Check out my build page to see what I'm doing there. https://www.expeditionportal.com/forum/threads/really-big-adventure-–-m101a2-build.192241/
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M8A1MuleBuilder
New member
I went with the M8A1 Mule style mil spec trailer
Line X coated
Yes brakes, adjustable lid SUSPA strut,
5 ft long box with 29” tall box ID by 51” side ID
6,000 lb leafs
I have found this to be the best rtt rack lid combo
The rack is mounted external to frame and operates independently from the lid
So you do not have to lift the tent if you just want to grab something out of the front of the box
Line X coated
Yes brakes, adjustable lid SUSPA strut,
5 ft long box with 29” tall box ID by 51” side ID
6,000 lb leafs
I have found this to be the best rtt rack lid combo
The rack is mounted external to frame and operates independently from the lid
So you do not have to lift the tent if you just want to grab something out of the front of the box
