Very cool trailer. I got sucked into a path that ended up with a 28 foot travel trailer just so the family could have indoor plumbing. I ended up spending all my time dealing with water tanks, black tanks, etc. etc. etc. Its gone now and I'm back to tent camping which is much more enjoyable to me. A trailer like yours or a simple offroad teardrop would be great and I have no need to take it further than that again. Congrats on a nice build.
Croix's Tent Trailer Build - something a little different
- Thread starter croix
- Start date
Don - I agree that "expo worthy" is a broad term which is why I put it in quotes. Your definition certainly fits the bill. How did you know about the blood on the rig? 
BTW- I just went through your M416 build (again) and really like the attention to detail. That Golden Eagle is just bad-a**.
Before I take mine on any serious expedition I want it to be more self sustaining. Right now I don't have water, power, or a means of preparing meals and these are all things I want to add... just so I can make those solo runs into the back country. I'm really happy with where mine is right now considering the time frame I've worked on it and the fact that I really only work on it Friday nights. The last couple of weeks I've put more time into it just to be ready for Elk season coming up.
This weekend I got the sheet metal cut, dimple died (sp?), and mounted under the trailer side steps. Eventually these will hold propane and possibly fuel. I also got the tongue box mounted with the battery and air compressor installed. I used riv-nuts for easy removal/replacement since I went with a cheap plastic box. I'm actually pretty happy with the box though; it's more solid than I thought it would be. I may end up keeping it since it is half the weight of a metal box. Adding the battery and box REALLY affected the balance of the trailer. I'm hoping that loading the trailer will balance it out and that when I eventually add water tanks etc. that weight distribution will be OK. Even if it does even out, I'm pretty sure that I will need to replace my tongue stabalizer with an actual wheeled jack. The stabailizer is rated to 650 lbs and I doubt that it will ever see anything close to that (especially since I estimate the whole trailer is less than that), but just picking up the tongue and moving it around kinda sucks with the added tongue weight.
I have pictures of the side steps and the box mounted that I will post later. I just need to touch up some paint (screws, bolts, latches etc.) and I will have final pics before the first trip - less than three weeks from now I'll be sure and get pics of the trip too.
-croix
BTW- I just went through your M416 build (again) and really like the attention to detail. That Golden Eagle is just bad-a**.Before I take mine on any serious expedition I want it to be more self sustaining. Right now I don't have water, power, or a means of preparing meals and these are all things I want to add... just so I can make those solo runs into the back country. I'm really happy with where mine is right now considering the time frame I've worked on it and the fact that I really only work on it Friday nights. The last couple of weeks I've put more time into it just to be ready for Elk season coming up.
This weekend I got the sheet metal cut, dimple died (sp?), and mounted under the trailer side steps. Eventually these will hold propane and possibly fuel. I also got the tongue box mounted with the battery and air compressor installed. I used riv-nuts for easy removal/replacement since I went with a cheap plastic box. I'm actually pretty happy with the box though; it's more solid than I thought it would be. I may end up keeping it since it is half the weight of a metal box. Adding the battery and box REALLY affected the balance of the trailer. I'm hoping that loading the trailer will balance it out and that when I eventually add water tanks etc. that weight distribution will be OK. Even if it does even out, I'm pretty sure that I will need to replace my tongue stabalizer with an actual wheeled jack. The stabailizer is rated to 650 lbs and I doubt that it will ever see anything close to that (especially since I estimate the whole trailer is less than that), but just picking up the tongue and moving it around kinda sucks with the added tongue weight.
I have pictures of the side steps and the box mounted that I will post later. I just need to touch up some paint (screws, bolts, latches etc.) and I will have final pics before the first trip - less than three weeks from now
I'll be sure and get pics of the trip too.-croix
DonBeasley
Adventurer
Basic is the other broad term. My M416 is perfect for me and my 33 year old son and his new girlfriend likes it too (for short stays)!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Comfort and convenience is taking over my life so my wife wants something more "substantial". Since it is hard to tow a Homewood Suites around I am starting long range planning for something small but with hard sides, a "real" bathroom, a permanent bed, etc, etc, etc.
I see a small camper overhaul that the Tacoma can tow, in my near future. :REOutCampFire03:
Comfort and convenience is taking over my life so my wife wants something more "substantial". Since it is hard to tow a Homewood Suites around I am starting long range planning for something small but with hard sides, a "real" bathroom, a permanent bed, etc, etc, etc.
I see a small camper overhaul that the Tacoma can tow, in my near future. :REOutCampFire03:
DonBeasley
Adventurer
Yes my favorite terms that my wife rolls her eyes at are "not that much" and "just a few hundred bucks". Keep the pictures coming.
thanks jay123 - glad you enjoy the posts. It's a lot harder than I thought it would be to remember to take pictures as I go. Sometimes when I have momentum going I forget and have to come back later to get what pics I can. Of course I blame it on momentum... but it's more likely my failing memory. That reminds me, I still need to get pics of the tongue box and post them with the side step pics. Maybe I'll remember tomorrow...
Tongue box and side steps
I finally remembered that I still need to post pics of the tongue box and side steps so here they are.
For the side steps I cut sheet metal to fit, drilled, and dimple died. I attached the sheet metal underneath the steps to provide a couple extra inches since the box is so short. Hopefully I now have enough room for a couple of 5# propane bottles on the rear. Dimples are facing down mostly for drainage. They still provide some rigidity but I didn't really need them facing up for traction.
This is one of the rear steps:
Forward step:
My gas can fits perfectly. Wish I could say that I planned it this way, but just lucky chance.
Poly tongue box from Northern Tool:
This model of tongue box required that I leave some room behind for when the lid opens, so I gave it a little extra room with hopes of squeezing an axe and shovel in there later.
Battery box and air compressor mounted in the tongue box. I will need to come up with some sort of shroud to protect the air lines. Not exactly sure how that's going to work yet???
A little bling from my past
A little bling for my future
With the exception of a little touch up paint on a few missed screws and an added bracket (which I will finish this weekend, weather permitting) it's ready for its' inaugural trip in less than two weeks. Can't wait.
-croix
I finally remembered that I still need to post pics of the tongue box and side steps so here they are.
For the side steps I cut sheet metal to fit, drilled, and dimple died. I attached the sheet metal underneath the steps to provide a couple extra inches since the box is so short. Hopefully I now have enough room for a couple of 5# propane bottles on the rear. Dimples are facing down mostly for drainage. They still provide some rigidity but I didn't really need them facing up for traction.
This is one of the rear steps:
Forward step:
My gas can fits perfectly. Wish I could say that I planned it this way, but just lucky chance.
Poly tongue box from Northern Tool:
This model of tongue box required that I leave some room behind for when the lid opens, so I gave it a little extra room with hopes of squeezing an axe and shovel in there later.
Battery box and air compressor mounted in the tongue box. I will need to come up with some sort of shroud to protect the air lines. Not exactly sure how that's going to work yet???
A little bling from my past
A little bling for my future
With the exception of a little touch up paint on a few missed screws and an added bracket (which I will finish this weekend, weather permitting) it's ready for its' inaugural trip in less than two weeks. Can't wait.
-croix
I just went back and checked my spreadsheet (yes... I'm that guy) and including the initial purchase price of $1000 I have $4679.92 wrapped up in this project. That also includes some things that I had to add to the Jeep for towing (brake controller and harness). Future plans account for another ~$3300 or so for a grand total of about $7900-$8000. That's more than I thought this would run but still well under the cost of what I started looking at for new "offroad", "light weight", trailers and I feel that it's way more capable than they were as a starting point. It's been a ton of work and there were days I wanted it to be just done, but it's also been a LOT of fun and I have learned sooo much. I had never touched a welder or grinder before this project. Now I have a welder and I'm not afraid to use it
Sometimes I have a hard time getting the pictures in my head onto paper and then actually created, but for the most part it all came together like I saw it in my head. I'm sure these won't apply to everybody, but here are some personal lessons that I've learned:
Things on paper don't always work out once pieced together (front stabalizers for example - still need to work that one out)
Theory and math when designing suspension are really only starting points
Tack weld and test fit multiple times before fully welding (unfortunately took me more than once to learn that one)
Tackle big important step before midnight. Quality of work after midnight can suffer greatly.
Try to think ahead at least five steps in the build and have an idea of what your end product is. A good idea right now may not fit later.
Unless money is no object, plan and budget carefully - but be flexible.
Have a deadline (remember -these are personal lessons learned). Sometimes having a deadline was the only thing keeping me motivated - especially when things weren't going as planned.
Do not use/do something that you KNOW you will just change later (again - unless money is no object). Sometimes this meant waiting longer until I had the money to get what I really wanted.
This one kinda contradicts the last one, but... be willing to accept some imperfections as part of the "character of the build" (my first attempt at bodywork taught me that)
Have friends check it out during the build. I got a LOT of great ideas from just having a different point of view.
Having friends/neighbors with skills, tools, and patience is invaluable.
I'm sure that I will come up with more (and feel free to pitch in your own lessons learned), but it's the end of a long day for me and my brain's a little cooked. More to follow...
-croix
Sometimes I have a hard time getting the pictures in my head onto paper and then actually created, but for the most part it all came together like I saw it in my head. I'm sure these won't apply to everybody, but here are some personal lessons that I've learned:
Things on paper don't always work out once pieced together (front stabalizers for example - still need to work that one out)
Theory and math when designing suspension are really only starting points
Tack weld and test fit multiple times before fully welding (unfortunately took me more than once to learn that one)
Tackle big important step before midnight. Quality of work after midnight can suffer greatly.
Try to think ahead at least five steps in the build and have an idea of what your end product is. A good idea right now may not fit later.
Unless money is no object, plan and budget carefully - but be flexible.
Have a deadline (remember -these are personal lessons learned). Sometimes having a deadline was the only thing keeping me motivated - especially when things weren't going as planned.
Do not use/do something that you KNOW you will just change later (again - unless money is no object). Sometimes this meant waiting longer until I had the money to get what I really wanted.
This one kinda contradicts the last one, but... be willing to accept some imperfections as part of the "character of the build" (my first attempt at bodywork taught me that)
Have friends check it out during the build. I got a LOT of great ideas from just having a different point of view.
Having friends/neighbors with skills, tools, and patience is invaluable.
I'm sure that I will come up with more (and feel free to pitch in your own lessons learned), but it's the end of a long day for me and my brain's a little cooked. More to follow...
-croix
matthewp
Combat Truck Monkey
I just went back and checked my spreadsheet (yes... I'm that guy) and including the initial purchase price of $1000 I have $4679.92 wrapped up in this project. That also includes some things that I had to add to the Jeep for towing (brake controller and harness). Future plans account for another ~$3300 or so for a grand total of about $7900-$8000. That's more than I thought this would run but still well under the cost of what I started looking at for new "offroad", "light weight", trailers and I feel that it's way more capable than they were as a starting point. It's been a ton of work and there were days I wanted it to be just done, but it's also been a LOT of fun and I have learned sooo much. I had never touched a welder or grinder before this project. Now I have a welder and I'm not afraid to use it
Sometimes I have a hard time getting the pictures in my head onto paper and then actually created, but for the most part it all came together like I saw it in my head. I'm sure these won't apply to everybody, but here are some personal lessons that I've learned:
Things on paper don't always work out once pieced together (front stabalizers for example - still need to work that one out)
Theory and math when designing suspension are really only starting points
Tack weld and test fit multiple times before fully welding (unfortunately took me more than once to learn that one)
Tackle big important step before midnight. Quality of work after midnight can suffer greatly.
Try to think ahead at least five steps in the build and have an idea of what your end product is. A good idea right now may not fit later.
Unless money is no object, plan and budget carefully - but be flexible.
Have a deadline (remember -these are personal lessons learned). Sometimes having a deadline was the only thing keeping me motivated - especially when things weren't going as planned.
Do not use/do something that you KNOW you will just change later (again - unless money is no object). Sometimes this meant waiting longer until I had the money to get what I really wanted.
This one kinda contradicts the last one, but... be willing to accept some imperfections as part of the "character of the build" (my first attempt at bodywork taught me that)
Have friends check it out during the build. I got a LOT of great ideas from just having a different point of view.
Having friends/neighbors with skills, tools, and patience is invaluable.
I'm sure that I will come up with more (and feel free to pitch in your own lessons learned), but it's the end of a long day for me and my brain's a little cooked. More to follow...
-croix
Form my own experience, these are words to live by when building a trailer/any project! Thanks for letting us follow your build!
Above should be posted in the garage of anyone that modifies their Jeep or builds out a trailer.
Absolutely love what you have done here. Great project. Remember that a expo trailer always has a tow rig. There is nothing wrong with having some of those things on your list stored in the tow rig. I would wholeheartedly consider your trailer an expo trailer. If you can manage to add all those items from your list onto this trailer, I will be amazed and jealous of your ingenuity. I hope it works out just an you envision it.
Semper Gumby!
optimusprime
Proffessional daydreamer.
I just went back and checked my spreadsheet (yes... I'm that guy) and including the initial purchase price of $1000 I have $4679.92 wrapped up in this project. That also includes some things that I had to add to the Jeep for towing (brake controller and harness). Future plans account for another ~$3300 or so for a grand total of about $7900-$8000. That's more than I thought this would run but still well under the cost of what I started looking at for new "offroad", "light weight", trailers and I feel that it's way more capable than they were as a starting point. It's been a ton of work and there were days I wanted it to be just done, but it's also been a LOT of fun and I have learned sooo much. I had never touched a welder or grinder before this project. Now I have a welder and I'm not afraid to use it
Sometimes I have a hard time getting the pictures in my head onto paper and then actually created, but for the most part it all came together like I saw it in my head. I'm sure these won't apply to everybody, but here are some personal lessons that I've learned:
Things on paper don't always work out once pieced together (front stabalizers for example - still need to work that one out)
Theory and math when designing suspension are really only starting points
Tack weld and test fit multiple times before fully welding (unfortunately took me more than once to learn that one)
Tackle big important step before midnight. Quality of work after midnight can suffer greatly.
Try to think ahead at least five steps in the build and have an idea of what your end product is. A good idea right now may not fit later.
Unless money is no object, plan and budget carefully - but be flexible.
Have a deadline (remember -these are personal lessons learned). Sometimes having a deadline was the only thing keeping me motivated - especially when things weren't going as planned.
Do not use/do something that you KNOW you will just change later (again - unless money is no object). Sometimes this meant waiting longer until I had the money to get what I really wanted.
This one kinda contradicts the last one, but... be willing to accept some imperfections as part of the "character of the build" (my first attempt at bodywork taught me that)
Have friends check it out during the build. I got a LOT of great ideas from just having a different point of view.
Having friends/neighbors with skills, tools, and patience is invaluable.
I'm sure that I will come up with more (and feel free to pitch in your own lessons learned), but it's the end of a long day for me and my brain's a little cooked. More to follow...
-croix
The big one i learned.
Dont be afraid/ know when to walk away when things are not going right!
Walk the dog,wash the car,watch crap tv, don't lose your rag and hit something with a big hammer ... Yep done that when things were not going well,and i lost my temper........
Ohhh... that's a good one. Thanks optimus. I don't generally ********** things with hammers, but more than one piece of metal went to the scrap pile when I lost my cool and tried to make something work. Usually by the next morning I would come up with some other way to do it and wonder why I didn't do that in the first place.
Another one that I thought of over the weekend:
Don't understimate the cost or importance of little things. Nuts, bolts, welding wire, welding tips, sand paper, welding wire, brackets, bushings, welding wire, paint, connectors, and did I mention... welding wire. These things are all relatively inexpensive but add up quick and can all bring a project to a complete stop if you don't have them when you need them. Seems like every time I turned around I was buying welding wire, but if you run out it becomes MUCH more difficult to get steel parts to stick to each other - LOL. If a spool was half gone I would buy another spool the next time I was at the big box store - which was at least once a week. Same goes for any tools that you may need. I was dead set on using rivnuts for certain parts of my build. The rivnuts themselves were only about 50 cents each (they add up after a while though), but the tool to install them was almost $80 (for the cheap one). There are some DIY ways to install rivnuts without the tool, but ultimately I decided to make the purchase with hopes that it would be used on other projects. Turns out it saved a bunch of time and I found myself using rivnuts in more places.
-croix
optimusprime
Proffessional daydreamer.
I was always taught to put the tools away,and sweep and tidy the workspace up.
I used to think this pointless until i did my first 'project' ..... Nothing worse than opening the garage door to see tools all over and mess everywhere!
I know what this feels like. My neighbor is awesome and most of this project was built in his shop. I always try to leave things cleaner than when I got there, but unfortunately several other projects were going on at the same time and not everyone is as considerate. Not to mention, just having 3-4 big projects (engine swaps, body work, brake jobs, on and on) going on at all times just makes things messy. All REALLY good guys though and every one of them gave me a hand with this build. It's easier to deal with walking around a disassembled transmission, or not being able to find the wrench you need, when there are 2-6 guys there willing to lend a hand when needed.
-croix