Exacting Specs Trailer Build

[elsensei]

I promised an update on the suspension modifications. I am finally at the point that the frame is ready for primer and paint which I'll get on as soon as I post this.

My 30 gallon water tank was delivered while I was out of town and yesterday I decided that it fit best in the center of the trailer oriented stem to stern. To support that weight, I added a couple pieces of T-bar running lengthwise which you can see here.

Here you can see a big change in the size and shape of the trailing arms, as well as in the placement of the airbags.

Arm closeup:

The final placement of the air lines and valve is going to be different...still working that out.

I was also able to remove one of the bumpstops from each side. You can see the new location of the single one here. The bumpstop itself is not installed but will be after paint.

Yes, I'm climbing under the thing for you guys.

From the rear:

Another angle:

I also finished installing the gas storage tank. It's held in place and protected by aluminum sheet salvaged from my failed tank idea. Here's some shots of it bolted in place:

Someone mentioned a first aid kit would be a good idea, as much as I cut myself up, and yesterday I narrowed the passenger side access door down by a third and welded on bracketry to hold said kit.

I also did work on the box, making a 1/2 inch square steel frame to support the plywood box that will hold all the cooking utensils. I've camped for years with all that stuff in big rubbermaid containers and those will now be eliminated.

And finally I did more work on the deck, getting the water tank framework glued and screwed together. More of that today too.

That's all for now, I'm off to prep for paint...hopefully that will be done today.

 

[slawson2000]

Nice A-arms! Maybe I missed it, but did you incorporate a way to adjust the camber/toe-in?

 

[hollaback55]

wow thats exactly what i'm thinking of building for my m101cdn. what bushings did you use for the arms to the frame?

 

[elsensei]

no camber/toe adjustment but i don't think it will be necessary with this new setup.

bushings I used were a complete solution from ORW, 20 bucks per, outer and inner steel and urethane bushing material and center bolt with locknut.

 

[slawson2000]

I have a request for father down the line. After you have had the trailer out on the road ad it has been through a few trips and loadings/unloadings, could you let me (us) know if the suspension components wore evenly on both sides and whether you think camber/toe adjusters would be benefical? I have seen alot of talk prior to a build, but not much after.

BTW, the more I look at the setup, the more I like it.

 

[elsensei]

sure. i was planning on this thread starting with the build and continuing through deployment and beyond.

 

[elsensei]

frame paint and fuel pumps

The frame needing no more welding, it was time to finish it. It was here that I realized how much i dislike painting. It's the prep work that grinds my gears. Oh well...

Of course this was a most-of-the-day job. Cleaning, sanding, more cleaning, wipedown, masking, wheels off, shocks off, airbags off, dammit too windy, wheels back on, back in the garage, 2 coats primer, four cans rustoleum bed coating.

primed:

finished:

wheels fenders airbags back on for the last time.

One thing I love about building things is when you have an "a-ha!" moment and solve a problem that has been bugging you. Sometimes it's a big thing, sometimes small. I'd had the question of location and securing of the airbag valves in my head for some time, and the other day I decided to drill holes in the fenders, tap them out with a pipe tap, and thread the valve bodies into the holes with the female:female adapter in the wheelwell. Nice and secure, out of the way but readily accessible and unobtrusive:

Then I had another flash of inspiration regarding the fuel tank and how to get the gas out of it. I could have just used suction or air pressure but that seemed kind of unsophisticated if that makes sense. I've also been selling off or using up odds and ends from my shop and while rummaging around came up with a faulty fuel pump from a ninja zx-14, a stock fuel pump from my tacoma (had to upgrade for more flow for turbo) and a fuel valve from a bombardier ds650. Plus a piece of aluminum pipe, hose clamps, and fuel line. I put them all together, did some drilling, threading and soldering and ended up with this:

my roommate quipped that it looks like something from a nuclear power plant. Haha. But now it's tall enough to reach to the bottom of the tank. The fuel valve will be opened to vent the tank when pumping gas in or out, and the fuel pump of course will do the rest. I'll wire up a switch to control the pump and everything should work perfectly.

From there, drilled and tapped some holes for flange bolt studs with neoprene washers:

Then seal it up and nut it down:

By the way, since I live in the PRK just about any chemical compound that works well is banned. BUT! if you need to seal anything against hydrocarbons, oil, gas, etc, use a product called "Seal All-Oil and Gas". You can usually get it at the auto parts store. This is the second time I've used it in an application like this and its really great stuff.

More painting pics up next, and I'm about ready for sheet metal...

 

[Heavyopp]

bushings I used were a complete solution from ORW, 20 bucks per, outer and inner steel and urethane bushing material and center bolt with locknut.

So what does ORW call them? I've been searching and can't seem to find them.

Nice build! I'v got a remote property that I can't leave anything on. I'm thinking a trailer like this might serve as a great base camp.

 

[jeepdreamer]

Love the build. One thing to note is about the tongue box. I have the same HF box and I had issues with the lids hinge coming off due to weak rivets. You may want to replace them with steel ones... or tack it on like I did.

 

[elsensei]

So what does ORW call them? I've been searching and can't seem to find them.

Nice build! I'v got a remote property that I can't leave anything on. I'm thinking a trailer like this might serve as a great base camp.

I don't know what ORW calls them...i was at the one on balboa in san diego and one of the guys at the counter conjured it up. might try calling that location.

 

[elsensei]

Love the build. One thing to note is about the tongue box. I have the same HF box and I had issues with the lids hinge coming off due to weak rivets. You may want to replace them with steel ones... or tack it on like I did.

thanks for that heads up. I appreciate it.

 

[elsensei]

1 month update

I just checked the calendar and realized it's been a month since my last post. A lot can happen in a month, so be warned, this is going to be the longest dang post you ever saw.

For starters, I had a trip planned to go to Front Sight Nevada to take a tactical shotgun class with my roommate, and we were going to be camping in the trailer. So I had to get this thing at least weatherproof and dustproof with the fridge working and the tent installed. OK a lot of work up ahead.

First off had to build a box to hold the water cell and then seal the baltic birch base. That took a little cutting gluing and screwing but the box is rock solid and the cell is held in place by friction and construction adhesive. Then the whole works got several layers of acrylic outdoor paint I had lying around. I love using stuff you've had for a while. Saves money, cleans off the shelves.

Then I called a couple places looking for someone to do the sheet metal, since I'd never done any before, but I couldn't seem to find anyone who wanted to take on the job in a hurry. So true to form, I ended up doing it myself.

I started with three 20 gauge sheets of 4x12 steel called "paintlock" which is a pretty nice uniform galvanized product but once I slung one on the roof of the trailer, it seemed just a bit too thin and flimsy so I shlepped it all the way back to the metal supply place and swapped it for 18 gauge. Now we're cookin'. I started right in on the roof, doing plasma cuts and grinding all the welds smooth with a series of flap discs. You find all your high-relief welds at this point. There are a lot of them.

Once that was cut, I glued and riveted one door:

then two more, and cut in the first latch:

Up until now, I'd been using a hand riveter. It dawned on me that this was a pretty big job, so I sprang for a harbor freight pneumatic riveter. Those things are awesome and made short, fun work of this:

Drilling all the holes was still a biatch, though.

About this time, I realized I'd need to make some bends. So I fabbed up a bending brake and bolted it to my workbench. It actually worked really well. I used it to skin the fold-down kitchen box in this picture:

...and then put these four bends in a continuous sheet to wrap the stove swingout door:

I'm pretty proud of that one...by the way, I didn't waste any sheet on mistakes...I don't know if I got lucky or what, but every piece just fit.

Here's a shot of an 8-foot long piece, needed to skin the front and one side of the trailer, continuous, getting formed in the brake:

which also fitted perfectly.

then finished the rear ambulance doors with latches:

and the shower compartment:

and finally one more bend for the refrigerator compartment door:

Side note: see the magnetic paper towel holder? Harbor Freight again, and easily one of the best items I've ever bought for $7. You can stick it anywhere, it really holds, and you can jam the ends tight into a paper towel roll so the wind doesn't unravel it all over camp. Highly recommended.

Next: Paint!

Strapped down and ready for transport:

I had it shot the same color as my truck. While it was getting down, the camlock latches I order arrived, and I shot them with black epoxy paint so there were ready to install once I picked up the trailer. Then it was pretty quick to glue on the dust seals and bolt on the camlocks, and I got to do fun stuff like final installation of the countertop, caulk to seal it and make it look "factory" and cable to hold it at the right height:

This, by the way, turned out to be one of the most useful parts of the whole build. Constantly in use in camp.

The camlocks crank the doors against the seals so they are dustproof, and each door has at least one keylocking cam so you can lock up the whole trailer.

Next headache was due to be the roof rack. It was several years old but still perfectly serviceable, I just needed to modify it to work on this trailer.

But before I tackled that, I did some more little stuff like the license plate and fridge and then took some "showroom" shots before it got all dirty again.

Oh, I forgot to mention...you can kind of see I made a hinged door for the fold-down kitchen box and built another wood box for interior kitchen storage, which got screwed to a welded steel frame inside the trailer itself.

It was sure nice to get all that stuff installed and off my floor. No matter how much space you have, it's a constant battle to keep it uncluttered.

Continued....

 

[elsensei]

1 month update, part II

Speaking of uncluttered, now it was time to keep headspace clear by fabbing a way to elevate the eezi-awn to well above head level. This part, believe it or not, took about 10 hours to create because I had no plan and it had to come together as it went along, and there were a total of 8 hinge points that had to work together, simultaneously, so as not to bind. Not to mention it had to be lightweight but strong enough to hold the 182 lb tent, 200 lb me, 35 lb cattledog and 120-150 lb "flavor of the month" bwahahaaa!

Here's one side collapsed:

and extended:

Next, join the two sides together rear:

..and front, test it and bolt the tent to it collapsed:

then extended:

and finally, drill, seal and bolt it to the trailer:

It came down to the wire. I finished that and other essential stuff the day before we were to leave for Nevada. I was pretty tired, but once we were on the road, it felt sooo good to get away for a few days.

We grabbed in-and-out on the way out of town:

and stopped on the side of a freeway offramp to check the load. Everything was in it's place and secure.

The trailer towed great. On the way out of town, we hit 70-75 and it tracked true. Mind you, this is without fuel or water in it, and without the brakes connected but I don't anticipate it'll be much of a problem. It sure was nice to pull a redbull out of the fridge at the gas station, and have it be 35 degrees. That Edgestar fridge rocks. Super quiet, digital precision. I recommend it.

Pulling out of Baker, CA:

At camp the next day:

Everything worked the way it was supposed to. I'm very happy how it's turned out so far. With the jacks installed, it was no trick to level the trailer on 2 axes and with the crossbraces in place, the tent was so solid it actually felt as stable as if it were on the ground itself. All the kitchen stuff worked well and with a little consolidation effort there was room for all the food, utensils and cooking paraphernalia necessary. It sure was nice to unhitch and drive to the range instead of lugging a shotgun and 500 rounds everywhere!

4 days later we managed to hit 85 mph on the way home in the middle of the desert in the middle of nowhere. Towed perfectly.

I'm going to the desert for Thanksgiving and I'm trying to get most of the remaining work done before then. Yesterday I implemented an idea to use springs to counter some of the weight of the tent when setting it up. It worked pretty well. Still takes two people to put it up, but it feels WAY lighter. Here's a shot of that:

I bought a 150 watt solar panel and controller. The panel will of course charge the battery and make an awning over the kitchen. Here's that mostly in place, though I have an idea for a hinged arm that will will be pretty cool. I'll bang that out tomorrow.

It'll swing out of the way for tent setup and takedown.

Whew. Like I said, a lot can happen in a month. Good night.

 

[grimbo]

wow, great job getting it all together. Love the intricacies of the build

 

[Mark Harley]

Looks great and matched the truck perfect!
I would run a safety cable through the lift spring
even under little tension they pack a wallop when snapped.