How I "toy hauler" custom Gold Rush trailer

[flylow4500]

The basics:
24,000 lb GVW
12,000 lb empty weight
All aluminum construction
36' floor length
8' gooseneck length
115" sidewall height
20" ground clearance
Tandem 12k axles
285/75 R19.5 Michelin XDE2 tires
Hydraulic landing gear front and rear
195 gal h20
100 gal diesel
75 gal gas

Onan SD10kw diesel generator
Magnum energy full suite (inverter, auto gen start etc)
750w PV
Morningstar charge controller
405 Ah @ 24V of Sun Extender batteries

Virtrifrigo dp2600i refrigerator
Sharp convection microwave
2x coleman Mach 8 15k btu AC units
Blue Sea switch panels
All lighting by Rigid Industries
Espar D5 Airtronic diesel furnace
Water heat TBD: Espar or Precision Temp
Three bunk beds
Two couches each sleeps one person
Queen mattress in gooseneck area


The designed use for this trailer is to get 3 Side by sides to remote areas and be able to stay there comfortably for extended periods of time.

This design of this trailer started in January 2013 and started construction in December. We took delivery of the basic trailer in June 2014. We are working on installing all of the subsystems now.

This is the construction of the floor. Every piece of the puzzle is made in a jig.
















































To be continued...

 

[flylow4500]

This is our first trip with the trailer, we hooked two trucks together with a strap to make sure we didn't get stuck. It stayed on top of the sand very well. Its nowhere near functioning as intended, but thats ok we still had plenty of fun.

 

[mog]

Very cool.
I like the HUGE forward sub-floor storage.
You certainly should have enough room for all your toys and people.

 

[flylow4500]

Thanks Mog, the underside storage is 28' long 99" wide and 32" tall. The tanks will be above the axles and between the fenders. I was surprised how much space spare tires and the tanks are going to take up. It is not excessively big for our needs. I plan on building aluminum racks and shelves for all the stuff we put in there so it can be organized and easily accessible.

 

[Rbertalotto]

WOW! NICE!

 

[flylow4500]

This is my brothers truck and mine ready for fun. His truck is decked out with Kelderman full air ride, Oasis compressor, ARB fridge mounted in side bin and plenty of tools.

The 4500 bed is waiting on me to build fender flares for the 22.5 wheels and tires I plan on running before I paint it.
This is test fitting the tires and wheels.

 

[flylow4500]

I needed a gooseneck hitch and while looking for the right one I soon realized that I needed to build it just how I needed it. One obstacle with a cab chassis truck is the distance behind the rear wheel is longer than a standard pickup. This becomes an issue when you put the ball in front of the axle in the ideal position, the reach becomes too long for some trailers. This is my design and build. All 3/8 plate using B&W flat bed ball mount.





Lots of welding and time, here is the finished hitch before it went to get powder coated.

 

[flylow4500]

Since the ball was adjustable I also needed a quick change safety chain hook up. I used 3/4 plate and 3/4 stainless rod (I need some practice bending matching loops)



Here it is installed before I put the utility bed on.

 

[flylow4500]

I couldn't find a good rear hitch either (cab chassis hitches are usually welded or bolted to the upfit bed.) I used 3/8 plate and 4x4" 3/8 cross tube.

 

[mog]

I thought your trailer was an 11 (on a scale of 1-10) and now your truck looks like a 12.
The double gooseneck setup is awesome and a great idea (nice solution for the safety chain connections)
Rear hitch is beautiful.
The trucks look great with that paint combination (it looks like your 'toys' match) and the 22.5s.
What airbag systems are you running?

 

[flylow4500]

Thank you. Growing up in the collision repair business we started building vehicles from an early age. We enjoy our builds.

We used Kelderman 4 bag rear suspension on the 3500 and 4500 and leveling front bag kit. The quality is great and ride is smooth. I put mechanical height valves to keep the ride height the same loaded and unloaded on the 3500, I might keep my truck manual for simplicity.

The tires are Michelin multiway Xd in 295/60 R22.5. The rear rim is the same as EarthRoamer and the front has more back spacing to keep already wide track as narrow as possible (if I ran the flat face wheel each side would be 5" wider than stock!) It is also easier to keep the truck clean and easier on the ball joints and wheel bearings.
My brothers buggy matches the company colors.

 

[flylow4500]

Back to the camper.

These pictures show the generator door and where the hot air comes out of the gen compartment. The next door is access to the storage area. The water, fuel and gas fill doors can be seen above the wheels.






This is where the batteries, inverter and charge controller are going to sit. I made drip guards for the inverter (inverter cover not installed in pic) and charge controller in case water was to drip on it while washing to top out. Probably never have water drip down but Id rather be safe than sorry.

 

[Heloflyboy]

Very Nice!

 

[Xrunner]

Nice work! Was the basic trailer built in Colorado?

 

[flylow4500]

It was built in Denver, Pa.