Father and Son's Off Road Expedition Trailer build

[Mushin_Noshin]

Kinda looks like the one I built. Firemen must think alike. Let me know if you have any questions, but it looks like yall are doing great!

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[Smksignals]

I cant offer any words of advice on the trailer build, but it's very cool you and your boys are taking on the project together ! Good luck and I am looking forward to seeing the finished rig.

 

[lacofdfireman]

Mushn, ya they look a lot alike. Do you have a build thread on yours?


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[Mushin_Noshin]

Not on expo. Got one on tntt forum tho. And if you check that forum out they got some cool builds and very helpful folks!
That being said, I got lots of build pics if you have any questions. On a side note, are you a ff in Moab? Reason I ask is that I'm headed out there on Tuesday w/ my trailer and could swing by if you wanna see it.

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[lacofdfireman]

Not on expo. Got one on tntt forum tho. And if you check that forum out they got some cool builds and very helpful folks!
That being said, I got lots of build pics if you have any questions. On a side note, are you a ff in Moab? Reason I ask is that I'm headed out there on Tuesday w/ my trailer and could swing by if you wanna see it.

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Going to Moab at end of May. I'm a Fireman for Los Angeles County. Long distance commuter.

 

[Mushin_Noshin]

Yes that's a long way to travel for work!

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[lacofdfireman]

Got a few more things done over the past few days. Here's one of my sons welds. Not bad for a high schooler

Also worked on doing cut outs for Windows and Fantastic fan.

I'd really like to get an awning for the side for those rare occasions we get rain but also for those everyday occasions where it's way to hot outside. This is our ezup next to the trailer. It's a big one but also wouldn't keep rain from running down the side of the trailer.

Decided that I'm going to do the Epoxy Resin on the exterior with paint over the top now instead of the Poor Man's Fiberglass. I want it to be smooth sides. I did a few experiments with PMF but never could get a finish that I was happy with. I think this will be my best choice since I'm not planning on skinning with aluminum.

Also as I was laying a few things out even though these are huge I couldn't stop thinking where everyone stores all there stuff? Like Dutch oven's, EZUp, Camp chairs, camp tables etc without just throwing everything on the bed? I'm second guessing wether or not to do an 8-10" platform for my bed inside and then do an under bed storage compartment. Only problem if I do is I loose a foot of headroom. I figured I could do it and put the bed platform on some struts so that it will lift assist. Just not sure I want to loose the headroom. In the back I plan on doing a sink and either a hand pump for water or some type of faucet just can't figure out which one to do. Also for the Propane Showers do most of you permanently fix these to the outside of your trailer or do you make it so you can just hook it up and store it when not in use? Thinking Ecotemp L5 on the shower. Also for cooking I'm really considering the CampChef Oven with dual burner on top. Looks like a good little unit for $200.

Was going to do the Harbor Freight water tank with sprayer that was meant to fit on the back of an ATV but couldn't figure out where to mount it so I've ordered a 21 gallon low profile plastic fresh water RV holding tank of Ebay. Going to have to crawl under the trailer now and figure out how to weld that to the frame. It's gonna be a mess though as I have already put asphalt emulsion on all the wood under there. Imagine that could get messy. But I'm learning on this first build. Still alot of stuff to figure out. Still open to suggestions, thoughts etc. It's been a super fun build. Hoping to get a bunch done this week. If I had the Epoxy Resin here already I could almost bet I could have it done in less than a weeks time. But mail is showing that it won't show up until Friday and I go back to work on Saturday so I can only do so much before I start sealing up the exterior.. Tomorrow it's hammer down time though..


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[lacofdfireman]

Also I'm considering on my door doing a standard house style door handle since my doors and frame will be plenty thick. Would that look lame on one of these trailers? What would the pros and cons be of this type of door handle?

To me the Pros are:
Better latching in my opinion
Better security as you can have the deadbolt if wanted also
A lot more options as far as types go

Cons
Only one I can think of is that it's not low profile.



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[lacofdfireman]

So we have been trying to work on the sides and getting the windows right. I found a place in Corona, Ca that is a 3 Acre RV salvage yard and picked up some windows. They must have 4-500 windows to choose from. Some new ones but mostly used ones. Here is a photo of some of the windows. And this isn't all of them..

Some windows there have trim kits and some don't. It's a place that has about anything you could ever need for an RV. Hard to find parts etc. The inventory is overwhelming. They charge $1 per inch for windows. So if your window you choose is a 18x48 the window costs $48. If the window is new the cost is $2 per inch. I bought all 4 of my windows along with all the sealant and 2 new battery boxes for $175. If you come in with cash they won't charge tax either which is sweet...

 

[IdaSHO]

That place looks like a gold mine :ylsmoke:

Whats the name of the business, if you dont mind me asking?

I might have to swing by there next time Im in SoCal

 

[lacofdfireman]

Got the rear Hatch door done today. I'm a little worried about my tolerances for windows and doors. I'm worried they are to tight at the moment and I haven't started the Epoxy Resin on the Exterior of the wood yet. I'm afraid that when I do the Epoxy Resin will make my doors unable to shut and my windows not fit in since they are all tight fitting right now as it is.. Plus I plan on adding probably another 4-5 coats of Latex paint on top of the Epoxy Resin as a finish.. Here is the rear hatch in the up position. I'd say its about 6'6" at the end where I can walk under the hatch. Not alot of head room for me at 6'5 and thinking it may not even work as I'm planning on when I get my new axle to put the springs under the axle instead of over the axle. That's going to make me lose about 4" of height. But as it sits right now it's just to tall with the 5' walls..

Oh ya and my 2" spacers showed up yesterday so I got my Jeep wheels put on.

 

[lacofdfireman]

The place was called Stardeck industries.

 

[lacofdfireman]

One of my biggest concerns about this build and one of the reasons I have overbuilt it was I wanted it to be super insulated. I know I way over did it and I'll most likely regret it but live and learn. And on my next one I will have learned a few things so I can make the next one lighter and hopefully just as strong. But living in the High Desert where temps will often times see 110 in the summers and in the 90's for a good portion of the year I wanted to put in an A/C. While I had pretty much talked myself out of it and just planned on going with the Fantastic Fan as I was walking through Lowes picking up parts which seems to happen 2-3 times per day I came across a relatively Fridgidaire 6000btu small window A/C. For $189 and an extended 2 year warranty I figured I couldn't go wrong. Also wondering through CalRanch to pick me up a Camp Chef Oven Cooktop combo that they were selling for $169 I saw a Champion 2k portable Generator/Inverter that was listed at $699 and they had them for $399 so I bought one of those. Thinking I may go buy another one tomorrow. I quickly read the reviews online on Amazon on them and they got stellar reviews. Got it home and hooked it up the the A/C and it blew super cold with the generator having no issues at all running it. I ran it outside today in the 90 degree heat for 4hrs without issue and the generator didn't take hardly any fuel to do it.. The Honda 1k generator wouldn't run it without shutting down and they are a grand. So this little generator was money well spent..
Trying to decide how I'm actually going to mount this permanently so I can still take the off road trails I am planning on doing. My plan is to either make a metal frame for it to sit on and have my son weld me something straight off the frame or just mount it inside a wood box without the metal supports. Not sure if the Metal supports are overkill once again. It sits and balances pretty good as it. Either way I plan on making a wooden box to go around it with a back that will swing down when using the A/C so that you can keep the hot air moving out of the back of the unit. That is a must. Then when not using the A/C I can swing the back of the box back up and keep alot of dirt etc from getting in. I'll also make some sort of bag to go over the fins etc to keep from getting all dirty also. Anyone have any thoughts on making the mount for this? Here is a photo of it mounted in the Hole I made for it..

 

[bigKlittlecar]

Seeing that ac unit mounted reminds me of another build (can't recall which tho) where the unit is mounted on a slide so it is inside the trailer when traveling, in a box which has an inside access door. The outside also has a sealed door to keep the unit clean. In cooler weather you can remove the ac unit, which is attached to the slide, for an extra storage compartment. When using the ac the inner door is opened to cool your trailer. Hope that makes sense?!

 

[bigKlittlecar]

Also as an option you can get all fancy and spring mount the slide to absorb additional shocks during travel which in my opinion is a good way to help it last longer than a hard mounted unit might.....just thinking out loud though!