Jah310 Trailer Build. Here goes...!

[jah310]

Trex, never even though of using that as a paneling for the sides. Genius, did you seal the gaps with anything inside? Would you suggest doing that?

Do they make tongue and groove Trex?

Yes they have tongue and groove (not sure what brand) but the kind they had at Lowes were all warped from the racks they were sitting on so I went with a different set.

Once I put everything together in final assembly I'll seal the gaps... More for dust and moisture than anything.

 

[jah310]

I posted a question regarding mounting the RTT in this thread - http://www.expeditionportal.com/forum/threads/117308-eezi-awn-1800-mounting-help!

This is driving me crazy!

Any help would be much appreciated...

Thanks,

 

[jah310]

I decided to upgrade to a set up Old Man Emu / Dakar leafs part # CS036R. Hopefully that will help with the "soft" suspension. If it's still too soft, I have an unused add a leaf set sitting around that I'll add. If that's not good, then I think I'll have to cut off the rear shackle hangers and weld another set an inch or two back to correct the shackle angle. In hind sight I should have just tacked them into place so they'd be easy to remove. When I originally mounted them and the trailer had no weight the angle's were more like 75 degrees...now they're near 60... Hopefully i won't have to cut them...I'll let you know how it turns out once I've mounted the new leafs.

After mounting the rtt, I need to make a few adjustments.

I used a set of pro comp leafs but one side is sagging more than the other (even before the rtt was mounted). I checked all the suspension measurements and both sides are exactly the same. I'm thinking about upgrading to a set old of man emu's (part number CS036R) because of the lean and because they don't seem to have enough spring load - it's just too soft.

I'm a little worried that I mounted the spring hanger and shackle hanger too close together - I measured eye to eye and they are 41 inches apart. Not sure what they are on a YJ wrangler, but I do know the springs are 43 inches apart. I'm hoping those two inches aren't what's causing the relatively soft suspension. The shackle angle doesn't look too extreme (about 60 degrees) but it is certainly more than a stock wrangler. You can see the angle on the sagging side in this pic...

I guess I'm going to try some new springs and see what that does. If not I may need to move the shackle hanger back a bit: / that would suck.

Any thoughts?

I'm also going to adjust the lift springs for the lid. I noticed that the way I have them mounted is the opposite than what I see on all the professional trailers. I'm going to move the bottom mount from the hinge side to the non hinge side. I think that's more efficient and will assist in opening right from the start. Right now when I open the lid I have to use considerable force...then when it's opened a few inches the lift springs take over. I've got a set of 250 pound lifters which should be plenty... Hopefully that's an easy fix.

I guess that's what you get when you build your own trailer - a bit of trial and error. It would be unrealistic to think everything is going to work in the first try... I don't have the advantage of experience of say Mario at AT trailers! Haha .... Oh well that's the fun.

Any thoughts on both the leaf springs and or the lift springs would be much appreciated.

Thanks-

 

[jah310]

So I think I finally got the suspension dialed in... It took a few more tries than I thought but I'm feeling good about it.

Ended up using the new set of Dakars even though they were softer than the ProComps. The Dakars feel more progressive and are more consistent between the two sides. (One ProComp was softer than the other causing the trailer to slightly lean to one side.) To make the setup work I added two additional leafs to the Dakar spring packs (one long and one short) and moved the shackle hangers back. The removal of the shackle hangers was a PITA.

To dial in the set up I mounted the new Dakars from the spring hangers up front, mounted to the axle and then tacked in the spring hanger. Put the whole thing back together dropped the trailer on its own weight and then checked the shackle. I did this a few times before I found the sweet spot for the shackle hanger, overall trailer height and spring rate. When I got it where I wanted I measured and repeated on the other side. The second side was super fast. .

I may at some point upgrade to a set of longer shocks, but to do so I'll have to get longer shock tabs mounted to the axle. For now I'll just leave it as is.


Old hanger removed..

Here's the shackle with the new hanger in place.

Adding a few leafs to the spring pack...

A few shots from the test drive. Took a go pro video that I'm gonna use to get a better look of how the suspension worked...

Next up is the tailgate - finally!

 

[matthewp]

Looking great! That looks like a lot of spring there, how much does your trailer weigh?

 

[jah310]

Looking great! That looks like a lot of spring there, how much does your trailer weigh?

I don't know, but I can't imagine it weighs more than other similar builds. I tried to keep weight into account throughout the build... Good news is I took it for a test drive and I could barely notice it was back there... I guess the moment of truth will be when I get it weighed : /

 

[matthewp]

I don't know, but I can't imagine it weighs more than other similar builds. I tried to keep weight into account throughout the build... Good news is I took it for a test drive and I could barely notice it was back there... I guess the moment of truth will be when I get it weighed : /

No. The moment of truth is when you're on a steep downhill grade off road, off camber and staring at a blind corner with a steep ledge!

 

[jah310]

No. The moment of truth is when you're on a steep downhill grade off road, off camber and staring at a blind corner with a steep ledge!

Correct - that's the moment of truth!

 

[Mark Harley]

Are you able to use Toyota center caps on the trailer or are the dust covers too tall?

 

[jah310]

Are you able to use Toyota center caps on the trailer or are the dust covers too tall?

No the dust covers are too long. Thought about cutting holes but just haven't got around to it. Plus I don't mind too much.

 

[jah310]

Started on the tailgate...

 

[2680]

Very nice build and great pics to document it!

 

[MtnClimber]

How does the tailgate latch once shut? I see the pieces on the gate but not on the trailer.

 

[jah310]

Pretty much finished up the tailgate.

Here I mapped out the pieces on the ground before welding them to the tailgate frame. (thanks to my nieghbor I already had the composite decking cut and ripped to size. That was a huge time saver!)

Mounting and welding the two outside uprights. (This morning I used the drill press to drill holes for the supporting bolts. They'll hold in the decking just like the other three sides).

Here's a shot of the inside with the tailgate open..

Here's how the tailgate latches shut. Used the same latches as I used for the lid.

I used an old Wisconsin license plate to mock up the position of where I'll have the CA plate.

Now I just need to get more bolts to mount the paneling. Just ran out...

 

[SwampfoxSC]

Looks great man! Weld aren't that bad either. It's ok to have a few dog tird welds. As long as you get good penetration. A grinder will take care of the rest. I just sold a real nice m100. And have a m416 clone with a flimsy chassis. So I am gonna build my own chassis. And put the tub on it. How much time and money do you have into the chassis?