Home built rooftop tent trailer

[YotaTech_Garage]

Hey everyone! This is my first trailer build and my first forum build thread. So I'm gunna tell a little about me first. I've been in to 4x4 and offloading since I was a kid. As an adult I became a mechanic for Toyota. I quickly decided I wanted to buy a 4runner. So in 2012 I bought my first Toyota. A 1990 4runner with a blown motor. The story of that truck is for another thread. Anyhow as the years have gone by I met the woman of my dreams and my stepson I knew she was right for me because she drove a 1998 4runner. Fast forward a little bit and with a new born we are a family of 4 with a dog. Now to go camping I require alot more gear than I can fit in the 4runner. So this has pushed me to build a trailer. I was able to get a small trailer to modify from my parents. The trailer is about 15-18 years old and has never registered.
The deck is 4x6 and total length is about 11 feet. The wood was totally rotted out and it needs new paint but it's a good platform to start with. I pulled of the bad wood before these pics I got to excited to get to work and forgot to take before pics. First thing was to see what it would take to change the hubs to a 6x5.5 bolt pattern to be able to fit Toyota wheels and get rid of the donuts it currently has. So I removed the hubs to look at the spindle to see if i could just swap a new hub to the same spindle.
After a little research I decided to order new hus and spindles and build my own axle. I could have bought a ready made axle but I'm doing this on a tight budget. So I got on Amazon and found my hub kit for just over $100 then went down to my local metal supply yard and took a look at their scrap bin. I was able to find a 2"x2"x5' pipe with 1/4" wall. I feel for the plans I have this will be plenty. I also found the metal I need to make the fenders all for 25 bucks. So my parts came in and I ran into my first struggle. The measurements for the spindles in the description said it had a diameter of 1 1/2". When I measured them they are 1 3/4". The steel I bought has an opening of 1 5/8.

 

[YotaTech_Garage]

So my solution was to use my mill to size down and slightly square the spindles.
It worked great. More pics of the fit in the axle tube to come. So I wanted to get an idea of what it would look like with the bigger tire and an idea of the deck height. So with a few measurements and some Jack stands I get it to ride height.
So next is to weld the spindles to the axle and mount it to the springs. Time permitting I will get that done today. Gotta run to the store and get new u-boats to mount the axle.

 

[borison]

Good looking trailer, if not a bit unique. Looks to have a lot of potential.

 

[YotaTech_Garage]

Thanks it's going to need some reinforcing to be able to handle any rough trails but for free it fits what I need quite well. ?

 

[jays0n]

I believe I once owned a trailer exactly like that, lost it in a house fire 10 or so years ago. I run the same tires on my trailer and my FJ Cruiser, they wear like iron. A lot of things I ran into while building my trailer would have been easily sorted if I had a mill too, lucky! Anxious to see how this one progresses!

 

[YotaTech_Garage]

I believe I once owned a trailer exactly like that, lost it in a house fire 10 or so years ago. I run the same tires on my trailer and my FJ Cruiser, they wear like iron. A lot of things I ran into while building my trailer would have been easily sorted if I had a mill too, lucky! Anxious to see how this one progresses!

Jayson the mill has been great! It would have been a lot more difficult to do without it. Do you have a build thread for your trailer?

 

[jays0n]

We're currently in the permitting process for building a 1200 sqft shop on our property, once that happens I'll start going to auctions with a friend of mine that frequents a few and see what I can find for used equipment. Band saw is first then a lathe or a lathe mill combo but that's at least a year away, maybe more. As for build thread, I have a basic one here on Expedition Portal but the main very detailed thread is on a different forum, check them out and steal some ideas if you want to Hope you're making good progress!