Fleetwood Neon Modified for off road

[MountainD]

We bought a Fleetwood Neon at the beginning of the summer and now that we are moving into winter, I am going to get to work modifying it for more off-road use to tow behind our Land Rover D90. I am going to add softer springs and a new axle with 10" brakes and wheel adapters to the rover pattern (5 x 6.5") and run my 33's on it. It will be using an articulating hitch.

My question is in regards to the frame. The current frame is in great shape and I put a fresh coat of paint on it after I bought it-- It just isnt a very strong frame intended for off road trails. I am debating between 2 choices--

Option 1 is to build a new frame and swap the box onto it which will be very labor intensive to disassemble the box and the roof lifting mechanism in order to accomplish this. Totally doable, just not sure that it is entirely necessary. The plus side is that would be able to strengthen the box for off road labors...

Option2 (which I prefer) is to build a new frame, cut the tongue off the existing frame, and place the box and frame right on top of the new frame and weld it onto it. This is the direction I am preferring to take, but I thought I would get some feedback on if this is a good or bad idea or pitfalls that I should look out for. I would then stengthen the box in some key places (which if any of you have feedback on, it would be greatly appreciated).

Here is the current set up.

 

[fast_suv]

One of these little pop ups is the reason I snatched up the RoughOut trailer got when i saw it...

Looked at one of these that was for sale locally not to long ago and the guy have removed the fenders, tossed a wider axle, flipped the axle and matched hes 34" tire/wheels. He chopped off the tongue and replace it with 2" box (the same way i did mine) to sway between on road and off road couplers. He also had to add extensions to the support legs.

I would think if you do option 2 you could make the frame so it comes out to the width of the fenders allowing for more storage of jerry cans and small propane tanks; plus it would protect the "bow" of the camper.

That is the one thing I want to modify on mine. I would like the frame to go out an inch or to farther for protection.

Good luck and keep the updates going. Do you have a build tread for what you have done so far?

 

[silvrzuki77]

Very cool neon! I was in the same situation as you. UAV TT build on here. Option 2 would be the best I think. Just too much crappy holding it to the original frame. Use 2x3 .095 wall tubing and find longer springs. I used lifted samurai springs on my teardrop. Fast suv made a good point on extending the frame to add storage.

 

[drgrenthum]

Only thing i dont like about option 2 is raising the COG. Any pics of the underside of the way it sits currently?

 

[silvrzuki77]

Not sure if you have ever looked under a tent trailer but typically the body is held to the frame with literally 80 sheetmetal screws. Than they lay laminate and build the rest of the body. So its almost impossible to separate the body and original frame. Depending on what springs and spring over or under he can keep his height low. Plus he can just move or make higher fenders. Plus he will have to pick up a wider axle to run the new tire combo.
Look up RandPcarriages they sold me a 3500# axle Electric brakes with a manual parking hand brake.

 

[MountainD]

Here are some photos of the underside. I am not too worried about the COG of adding the subframe--it wouldn't raise it too much and you will already see how they are "lifting" the springs which I am not a fan of whatsoever particularly in terms of durability when it comes to off-roading. You will also see the factory bend from the front triangle and the pretty extensive buckling that exists where the front triangle bends to form the body rail---this has got to go (or be reinforced) no matter what as it is the most likely first point of failure. Most likely thing is I will chop the entire front off. I have seen a video on how they built the trailers (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gUIT-scg4bs ) and they look like a PITA to reverse assemble... The current under side is solid--it had only some superficial rust which I took care of, sanded the whole enchilada and then primed then painted everything. The wood is in great shape and I will be treating that after I figure out the subframe. Everything is currently solid, just not "off road" worthy. As for myself, I consider myself good with tools--I build the D90 from a frame up, built the engine from a block up, and designed and fabricated/welded all the stuff on the truck (sliders, bumpers, tire/jerry can carriers, racks...) so I feel I can do whatever I want to the trailer within my financial and time abilities.

I'll just continue on this thread as my build thread since it is already started. I am 90% sure on doing the subframe and welding that to the existing frame. Mods I have already done is a tongue box with 2xgolf cart batteries and wired into trailer for lights and power, recharges with 100W portable solar power. Here is my list of the other modifications that I would like to do:

Extend tongue to allow bed to roll out while still attached to truck and allow more tongue storage
New Axle, probably 3500 lb, 10" electric brakes, 5x5" bolt pattern (then I will use a 5x6.5" adapter to run my rover wheels, 255/85/16 MT tires)
New springs (probably either Samurai springs or I believe OME makes an aftermarket spring
Articulating hitch (such as Lock-n-Roll)
Possibly adding under body water storage--the current frame is 3" in height so if there is a sub 6" low profile water tank that could store around 10-15 gallons, I may consider adding that
New Fenders and side storage in front/rear of the tires
Fold down step
4x30" stabilizer scissor jacks at the corners



So here is where I could use a little help on selecting stuff:

Axles--I am thinking a 3500lb Dexter 10" Electric brake axle--I already have a brake controller installed on the D90, and these seem like solid axles that are relatively cheap. Since the trailer weighs less than 1500lbs fully loaded, I am thinking that will do just fine with the 33" tires. I was going to go with a common 5on5" bolt pattern since that is "standard" and also fits jeep tires (in case I ever sell), and use 5x6.5" adapters to run my rover tires. I will get the axle to the width to accommodate my spaces and rim backspacing and a "future" owner can always add spacers to dial it in for them... Would this be a good axle choice knowing one of my restraints is $$?

Springs. I have heard that the Samurai springs are very good/soft/flexy. Seems to be what I would be after. OME makes some too---I could use advice on dialing in the springs.

Articulating hitch--I think I will go with a 2" receiver on the front of the trailer--right now I have a pintle and a 2" receiver on the truck (pintle for recovery or towing friends military trailer--the 2" receiver resides below the pintle). I am leaning towards the Lock n Roll and boy is there a lot of debate on which one is best. Seems to be a good quality product at a good price, but I am open to whatever works best.

Water storage--I would guess lower is better, and I only need 15 gallons tops. Most my trips we use about 10 gallons for us and the dogs, and I have a jerry can that holds 5 on the truck. If I can get a 10 or 15 gallon 6" tall water storage, I would love to toss it under the deck/frame and put a skid on it.

Frame--I am leaning towards a 2"x3" frame from reading a bunch of write ups. Silvrzuki77 probalby has a good recommendation on the .095" wall which given the weight and cross section of the trailer seems good, but I am open for that discussion. My local steel shop stocks sticks of 11 and 14 gauge and .095 is 13, so I will probably do it out of 11 gauge .120 thickness--thoughts?

Fold down steps---any good options for this?

Stabilizers--I can get (4) 30" scissor jacks pretty cheap. Is there a better option that won't break the bank?

Thanks everyone for the support and suggestions! I have read a ton of your trailer builds and it has been an amazing source of entertainment during my recovery so it is fun to start one on my own.

Chris

 

[silvrzuki77]

Alko or dexter axle are the norm and pretty cheap. My alko 3500# 6 on 5.5, electric brake plus manual parking brake was $400 shipped.

I used samurai springs on my teardrop build, stock ones won't have enough capacity. Check trail-gear for their 3" military wrapped samurai leaf springs. Great price!!

Lock n roll hitch is the only way to go! My friend has a competitors hitch and when it comes time to hook back up, the lock n roll is quicker and easier hands down.

I am reusing my fold down step and adding another step that will flip down.

For stabilizers I bought the harbor freight 3000# pound drop jacks. If you check my thread out UAV TT I just installed them.

 

[MountainD]

Does anyone make axles with a 5x6.5 bolt pattern and electric brakes? Or can do with a up charge that is reasonable?

 

[highlandercj-7]

If you are worried about COG, make the new frame wider and set the existing frame inside it. I was planning on doing my Chief that way. I would expect that you will have to order your axle with 5 on 5.5" brakes and use adapters to get that rover pattern. To my knowledge the only manufactured braked axles are 5 on 4.5" ; 5 on 5" ; 5 on 5.5" ; 6 on 6.5" ; and 8 on 6.5"

 

[Mark Harley]

Randy at R and P makes custom axles to size.

http://www.randpcarriages.com/trailers/

 

[grnhornetcustoms]

I wonder what they coat the exposed OSB bottom with if anything? That would not be advisable in my climate. Maybe they glass it or something.

 

[MountainD]

Weyerhaeuser Strucurwood. They are very proud of it! Still looks perfect. Trailer was sold first in 2006.

 

[BADDANDY]

Any updates or your mods. I just got one to lift.

 

[MountainD]

Nothing worth showing yet--I am accumulating the materials, though. I decided to build a complete frame and then cut off the existing front triangle and weld the existing frame to the new one. I plan to order the axle at the end of the month along with the steel, so expect to see a lot of progress in March/April.

 

[croix]

Here is a 10 gallon water tank that is only 4.75" tall but it is 32" wide. Not sure if your interior frame width will accommodate. The same site has a bunch of sizes to choose from. You can also choose where you want all of your connections which is pretty cool.
.
http://www.plastic-mart.com/product/323/10-gallon-rv-water-tank-rvb323
.
-croix