Fleetwood Neon Modified for off road

[MountainD]

Worked on the trailer on Sunday and took it for a brief test drive but haven't had it on the freeway yet. Got the replacement 2.5" rise Lock-n-Roll hitch and the stance is quite nice. I got the trailer harness wired in, the bed supports welded on and the support posts made as well as the safety chain bracket welded on. I like the extra length on the tongue so I am not planning to cut it yet (although I am still running the trailer hitch as bolts until I vet the design on the trail (at which time I will weld it on). I cut off the double wheel on the trailer jack as it never turned well (it would just drag sideways), as well as the stock mount, and added a pneumatic single tire and a weld-on tongue mount. Works much better. I still have to pipe and wire in the hydraulic disc brakes and form the fenders but it is getting close and I can camp with it in the condition it is in so I don't need to stress over missing a camping day!

 

[BADDANDY]

Mine's almost done. Need to install a GFI 110V dual wall socket and a few more rail screws.

 

[MountainD]

All the brakes are plumbed in and I installed the emergency brake. I am still going to make a bracket that hold the brake lever in the off position so that it can't accidentally be applied during travel. I activated it last night and left it over night to check for leaks and it was still fully pressurized and tight this morning so I am pretty happy so far. I haven't tested the electric over hydraulic brake actuator yet as my wife took the truck, but I plan to tow it around and set them up tonight when I get home. The handbrake works great. Pretty stoked overall. I wasn't able to find anyone on the Expo/web running this sort of set up (hydraulic disc brakes with drifting handbrake as parking brake) but it seems to work great so far (hoping for no "famous last words!") and I will give it a full test this weekend which is our first camping trip of the year.

Pretty stoked right now.

 

[jah310]

Cool man!


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[MountainD]

Had to fix one leak from the actuator, but the brakes are working! Emergency brake as well. I cut off and re welded the rear fender support outriggers as they were too close to the tires under load, so now everything is golden. I still need to make the fenders, but that can wait as tomorrow I get to go CAMPING! Glad it is on the road I do need to finalize the tongue length--I just have the Lock-n-Roll bolted to the tongue right now so I can do some test trails and come up with a good length, but here she is! The only thing not shown is we will have our Yeti 125 cooler on the tongue in front of the tongue box--I still need to weld the frame for that but it will be thick aluminum angle that will be bolted on.

 

[calicamper]

All the brakes are plumbed in and I installed the emergency brake. I am still going to make a bracket that hold the brake lever in the off position so that it can't accidentally be applied during travel. I activated it last night and left it over night to check for leaks and it was still fully pressurized and tight this morning so I am pretty happy so far. I haven't tested the electric over hydraulic brake actuator yet as my wife took the truck, but I plan to tow it around and set them up tonight when I get home. The handbrake works great. Pretty stoked overall. I wasn't able to find anyone on the Expo/web running this sort of set up (hydraulic disc brakes with drifting handbrake as parking brake) but it seems to work great so far (hoping for no "famous last words!") and I will give it a full test this weekend which is our first camping trip of the year.

Pretty stoked right now.

Wow looks great! Are you going to put a box or anything over it? Just curious given I find more and more I like to cover up stuff that attracts unwanted attention LOL.

 

[MountainD]

I'll cover the winch, mainly for protection. Undecided about the brake lever/actuator. I live in a pretty safe neighborhood and I can't imagine someone ****$&ing with my trailer on a trail... but I might. Not for a while for sure, just cause there are so many other things left to do that take priority. I'm about to hit the trail--hope things go smooth!

 

[sharalds]

Glad you got to get this beauty of trailer out for some camping. I hope it was an excellent weekend for you.

 

[silvrzuki77]

Pics

 

[MountainD]

Everything went great--it pulled way better than expected, slow or fast, it did great. Tracked perfect and we went up some incredibly rocky jeep trails and across a rushing stream. I watched the suspension do it's thing and the D90 pulled it really well. There were a few steep areas that I had a little wheel spin to get the trailer up but nothing too note worthy. I may actually leave the tongue length the way it is for a while--I was concerned it was too long, but being able to put it 90 degrees to the truck to turn around was nice plus reversing is so much more controlled. Since I am unsure, I will leave it for now and make that call later on. I did forget to hook up the cabin lights and the 12V outlets (which I temporarily corrected in the field). Overall, I give it a big two thumbs up! The 31" BAL C-Jacks are the bomb! The e-brake is super awesome--I really am digging that . And the Lock-n-Roll hitch worked perfectly as well. Now on to making the fender and additional tongue storage. I am also considering redoing the interior arrangement, but that is a ways a way at this point...

 

[sharalds]

... I may actually leave the tongue length the way it is for a while--I was concerned it was too long, but being able to put it 90 degrees to the truck to turn around was nice plus reversing is so much more controlled...

That sounds like it would be a really nice feature to have. Definitely run with it for awhile to see before doing something nearly non-reversible. Thanks for sharing the camping pics.

 

[VanIsle_Greg]

Looking good, glad it worked out on your inaugural run.

Well done sir.

 

[MountainD]

Thanks for the nice comments! Went out again this weekend for two nights. I just love this camp spot--there isn't anyone with a camping rig that gets up there (at least not yet) and all the campers/vans/Subarus/Westies can't get up that high so it is only some very mild "jeep" traffic and everyone we have met is cool (as are most people that get out into the sticks...). Two weeks in a row, not a revision to be done at least not yet. Works great. Still need to make fenders, and I will, but not till mid or end of July. Had a massive scare--got the trailer to the camp (maybe 40 minutes up a single wide off road trail, quite steep and rocky), found a camp site, unhooked the trailer and went to move the truck forward. Wouldn't start. Battery showed 9 volts. ******! I thought maybe my alternator failed or the electric over hydraulic brake actuator (bought used, ebay) had some short. Turned out it was what I consider a best-case scenario.... loose ground clamp. Yeah! Another great weekend under our belt... BTW---I LOVE my Trasharoo...what a great invention... I carry wood and spare stuff on the way up and trash on the way out...

 

[Beowulf]

Subscribed.

 

[DaveyCrotchett]

Going to pick up a Neon this weekend! Love what you've done to yours. Looking forward to more ideas!