Homemade off road trailer

[broncot]

Lurker here, first post.
None of my trips match most of what I see on here, but 2021 marked a big escalation in my camping trips and adventures and I've plans to do more.
After taking a trip with my daughter where my 2002 Nissan Xterra was fully packed and out off room, I began to consider an off road trailer. I've missed a few M106's locally and stumbled onto this gem. It was on craigslist as a heavy duty 4x6 trailer. I was interested because of the 6 lug wheels. A week and $500 later, it was mine. Not sure where the parts came from or who made it, but the axle is a perfect fit as I can use the same wheels from my Xterra, 6x5.5. Looks like they've got brakes too. Leaf springs and shocks underneath.
I removed the wheels and fenders today, my old Crager Soft 8's with 285/75/16 fit without spacers and I'll reuse the fenders.
My short term plans are to have a rack made for my rooftop tent and awning, then make a tailgate and hinged top. Maybe a trailer hitch for my bike rack, mounts for a kayak, solar panels, water and fuel storage on the outside.
This was a utility trailer and I need it to be waterproof. What can I use to replace the sides (the previous owner cut the front for his dirt bike wheel) and maybe just cover the bottom.

 

[high-and-dry]

Rip out the wood, if your not going to be dumping dirt stone or anything like that in it. Go get a sheet of 1/8 aluminum tread/diamond plate.

Have a few tabs welded underneath if needed to mount it, or even just a good glue if there are a few tabs already.

 

[Snydmax]

I second the notion of ditching the wood... at least the ply wood. If you skin the outside of the frame, waterproofing will be a much simpler task. I’ve seen several out there using wood and coating it with truck bed or similar rubberized material but aluminum plate or aluminum composite panels could be an opportunity to reduce the weight.

Replace any rotten floor boards first, while it’s “easy”

On the floor, I doubt you’ll get much water, but dust will be able to get in through the gaps in the floor boards... ideally, you could replace the floor with steel or aluminum of your budget has room for that

Are you planning a lid of some kind? Tailgate/door/rear hatch?

You may need to reinforce the side frame at the rear corners to make them more rigid... the way that pipe has been welded looks like a weak point

Be sure the axles and hubs are good, lube or replace as required... don’t want a failure to trash your trailer after you get it all nice


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