Dedicated enclosed rtt trailer for the JK with slide out kitchen

GJK5

New member
Haven't made much progress lately, spring is just too busy. Finally got some time to do a little work and got the fenders framed. The 2200lb timbren specs say they have about 6" of travel, and with the current weight the suspension is only squatting by about a 1/2". I still need to figure out how the fender will actually bolt to the trailer frame, then I will work on skinning the fenders and steps.

Looking good, I am getting close on mine. Also to haul behind JK(U in my case), enclosed body, slides for kitchen and fridge, Timbrens and RTT.
 
Looking good, I am getting close on mine. Also to haul behind JK(U in my case), enclosed body, slides for kitchen and fridge, Timbrens and RTT.
Sounds like a nice build. Do you have a build thread? I am still trying to figure out exactly how my slide out kitchen will be laid out.
 
Have been getting lots of little things done. Hoping to raptor line the frame next weekend, but still got a few welds to do and a lot of rust / mill scale removal first.

Initially I only had the two areas for the crossbars, but after talking to 23zero, they mentioned the tents should not overhang more than 12 inches, so I added two more to the ends of the trailer. Wish I had preplanned that a bit, as the spacing is a little weird now. Debating if I should cut out the one towards the rear and center it.

I haven't done much caulking, and it did not go as smooth or clean as I had expected. Hopefully I can clean it up with some sanding and paint
 

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Lots of progress this week. Got some chain holders, front stabilizer brackets, and a rear hitch welded on. Made some tail light brackets for the rear channel and raptor lined the frame. I taped over where the VHB tape will go for the ACM panels, as primer should be a better surface for that.
 

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Over the last two weeks I got the electrical done for the tail lights, trailer breaks, and added a 7 pin harness with break controller to the Jeep. Today I finally got the skin on. Some ACM from Piedmont Plastics attached with VHB tape. I cut the roof and floor panels prior to installing as the side supports allowed it guide into place. The side panels where all attached with some overhang on each side that I used a router with a flush trim bit flush up
 

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I did not like how my framed fenders had so much space between the tires and the top, and realized I was looking at the wrong spec for the timbren flex, so decided I'd rebuild my fenders. I'm definitely happy I did, as I believe theses look much better
 

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Got some raptor on the body to color match the Jeep and the cross bars welded on. The fenders and rack still need to be raptor lined in black. I also raptor lined the doors to match the rest of the body, but they aren't pictured as I'd like the raptor to cure a bit longer before putting them in place
 

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Got the trailer registered and the tent mounted. Next on to the interior. The plan is to have the fridge and sink slide out the front door, with a secondary slide for the stove. For the rear I am planning on having some large drawers with a flat deck on top for larger items such as camp chairs. The water tank and batteries will be over the axle between the fridge slide and rear drawers.
 

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I'm planning on starting a similar build soon, though one that can slide off the trailer to still be able to use it as a utility trailer.

Did you use any other builds to reference?

What did you do to finish the exterior corners? Where the ACM panels meet?

Is the lip inside the doors welded angle steel or something else? Did you use a gasket to waterproof the doors?

Is the floor also ACM or something else?

Any other info you have is greatly appreciated! I'm having a hard time finding info on this style of trailer done with ACM panels.
 
I'm planning on starting a similar build soon, though one that can slide off the trailer to still be able to use it as a utility trailer.

Did you use any other builds to reference?

What did you do to finish the exterior corners? Where the ACM panels meet?

Is the lip inside the doors welded angle steel or something else? Did you use a gasket to waterproof the doors?

Is the floor also ACM or something else?

Any other info you have is greatly appreciated! I'm having a hard time finding info on this style of trailer done with ACM panels.

I looked through a lot of builds on this site as reference for many ideas, but none to specific. Adv4x4 on Youtube is probably the best resource i've found for using ACM.

I have not yet finished the exterior corners, but plan on using some angle aluminum. I am waiting for warmer weather for better drying conditions for paints and adhesives. I've attached a image of the test fit of aluminum angle notched to fit around the tent platform. I'll update the thread with better pictures once I complete this.

The doors fit between 1 1/4 steel tube that supports the tent. I welded some 2" flat behind the 1 1/4 tubing and some 3/4" flat on the tops and bottoms to create a 3/4" door jam around the whole door. To seal it I got some Trim-lok from Amazon. The Trim-Lok is intended to have rounded corners, but for space constraints I plan on cutting them at a 45* angle for mitered ends. I have not yet installed the trimlok as I need to do some touch up on the paint on the door jams. I'll update the thread once the trimlok is installed and will test to see how well it keeps water out with the mitered corners.

The floor is ACM, but I am currently building a frame out of aluminum extrusions that will secure the fridge / sink slide, batteries, water tank, rear drawer and a platform, so the ACM is mostly to keep dirt and water out. I have used the trailer on two short trips without the aluminum extrusion frame and the ACM floor seemed to be fine with some heavy camping gear, but I don't know how well it would hold up to cargo bouncing around and would probably opt for something else if I planned on using it that way.
 

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Last edited:
I looked through a lot of builds on this site as reference for many ideas, but none to specific. Adv4x4 on Youtube is probably the best resource i've found for using ACM.

I have not yet finished the exterior corners, but plan on using some angle aluminum. I am waiting for warmer weather for better drying conditions for paints and adhesives. I've attached a image of the test fit of aluminum angle notched to fit around the tent platform. I'll update the thread with better pictures once I complete this.

The doors fit between 1 1/4 steel tube that supports the tent. I welded some 2" flat behind the 1 1/4 tubing and some 3/4" flat on the tops and bottoms to create a 3/4" door jam around the whole door. To seal it I got some Trim-lok from Amazon. The Trim-Lok is intended to have rounded corners, but for space constraints I plan on cutting them at a 45* angle for mitered ends. I have not yet installed the trimlok as I need to do some touch up on the paint on the door jams. I'll update the thread once the trimlok is installed and will test to see how well it keeps water out with the mitered corners.

The floor is ACM, but I am currently building a frame out of aluminum extrusions that will secure the fridge / sink slide, batteries, water tank, rear drawer and a platform, so the ACM is mostly to keep dirt and water out. I have used the trailer on two short trips without the aluminum extrusion frame and the ACM floor seemed to be fine with some heavy camping gear, but I don't know how well it would hold up to cargo bouncing around and would probably opt for something else if I planned on using it that way.
Thanks! This was super helpful!
 

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