Anarchy Joe
Observer
that is SAAAWEEETT.. love the old broncos, wish i never sold my uncut 73..
Early Bronco Expo Trailer Build
- Thread starter Miguel Sanchez
- Start date
Miguel Sanchez
Observer
About 15 miles SE in the Alfalfa area. Been in OR my whole life, love it here! Well, except the f'ed up state government, that is... ;-D
Hope to make more progress on the trailer this weekend!
Sent from my fart smone using crapatalk
dieselfuel
Adventurer
Dang this is a cool build! Excellent work man, very clean and professional. My suburban isn't even done yet and these trailer builds have me wanting to start another project already!
Miguel Sanchez
Observer
Well, a very productive weekend was had, but only partially so on the trailer project. I won't post pictures of the window trim I cut & hung on the front of my house, or of the yard work, or...
Anyway, I spent a few hours on it this afternoon and finished up the rear portion of the tonneau cover. Formed up some 18ga. sheet into a rear panel with a drip rail above the tailgate. The tailgate will seal on weatherstrip right below the lip.
The sexy chrome handle to raise the tonneau was found in the local U Pull It wrecking yard, screwed to an old handicap van with a wheelchair lift on the side. After body and paint work, the tonneau will get lift struts and draw-down latches inside the rear corners.
Time to get going on the RTT rack now!
Anyway, I spent a few hours on it this afternoon and finished up the rear portion of the tonneau cover. Formed up some 18ga. sheet into a rear panel with a drip rail above the tailgate. The tailgate will seal on weatherstrip right below the lip.
The sexy chrome handle to raise the tonneau was found in the local U Pull It wrecking yard, screwed to an old handicap van with a wheelchair lift on the side. After body and paint work, the tonneau will get lift struts and draw-down latches inside the rear corners.
Time to get going on the RTT rack now!
Oldmonkeybut
Observer
Looking Good Cuz ! Burn some wire man get that thing done. Our shakedown went great this weekend. Trailer worked perfect, Tent is great......Jeep ate up a fan clutch on the way home.
Miguel Sanchez
Observer
The rack is now roughed out and just sitting in what will be the down position.
The pieces of green tape represent what will be parallel links on each side that will guide the rack as it swings forward and up by 22". The forward two links will be linked side to side by a torque rod that goes across the front just in front of the tonneau hinge. It will be assisted by gas struts, and once in the raised position, the links will pin to the lower side rack rail and steady things fore/aft. Side to side stability will have to be a drop down diagonal brace.
Each end of the rack will get a cross bar about 16" high running across the width of the rack for hauling canoes/kayaks/etc above the folded up tent.
Only six weeks until the maiden voyage! I've already resigned myself to it likely not being painted before that trip. Hopefully I'll have my tent by then!
Sent from my fart smone using crapatalk
The pieces of green tape represent what will be parallel links on each side that will guide the rack as it swings forward and up by 22". The forward two links will be linked side to side by a torque rod that goes across the front just in front of the tonneau hinge. It will be assisted by gas struts, and once in the raised position, the links will pin to the lower side rack rail and steady things fore/aft. Side to side stability will have to be a drop down diagonal brace.
Each end of the rack will get a cross bar about 16" high running across the width of the rack for hauling canoes/kayaks/etc above the folded up tent.
Only six weeks until the maiden voyage! I've already resigned myself to it likely not being painted before that trip. Hopefully I'll have my tent by then!
Sent from my fart smone using crapatalk
jeep crawl
New member
Awesome build !
Miguel Sanchez
Observer
Progress!
Spent 10 hours welding in 90 deg heat today; drank 4 bottles of water, 1 pepsi, and 3 beers. Hydration is important! Finished up the mechanical portion of the RTT rack, roughed out a front basket for the spare and two Jerry cans, and stretched the tongue by 24".
The RTT rack is pinned in the down position like this:
Pull the pins, raise it to the up position, and put the pins in the other set of holes, locking the front legs vertical. It's actual very stable when locked up like this - I crawled all over the top of it and think it will be fine without any diagonal bracing.
With the tent rack raised, it is easy to open the tonneau cover and access the trailer contents from either side.
Still to come are gas struts to lift the tonneau, some form of lift assist for the tent rack (struts, springs, skyhooks, whatever?), and stabilizer jacks on all four corners. After this, it'll be time for paint and wiring! I have to pull the box off again and paint the frame, then strip/coat the interior of the bed before painting the exterior. It'll probably get a few test trips on it before the final paint job in case I need to make some mods.
And now, it's beer-thirty!
Spent 10 hours welding in 90 deg heat today; drank 4 bottles of water, 1 pepsi, and 3 beers. Hydration is important! Finished up the mechanical portion of the RTT rack, roughed out a front basket for the spare and two Jerry cans, and stretched the tongue by 24".
The RTT rack is pinned in the down position like this:
Pull the pins, raise it to the up position, and put the pins in the other set of holes, locking the front legs vertical. It's actual very stable when locked up like this - I crawled all over the top of it and think it will be fine without any diagonal bracing.
With the tent rack raised, it is easy to open the tonneau cover and access the trailer contents from either side.
Still to come are gas struts to lift the tonneau, some form of lift assist for the tent rack (struts, springs, skyhooks, whatever?), and stabilizer jacks on all four corners. After this, it'll be time for paint and wiring! I have to pull the box off again and paint the frame, then strip/coat the interior of the bed before painting the exterior. It'll probably get a few test trips on it before the final paint job in case I need to make some mods.
And now, it's beer-thirty!
dieselfuel
Adventurer
Looks ************** man! How much does your planned RTT weigh?
Mark Harley
Expedition Leader
Very nice design and fab work.