Light offroad Casita

[wesel123]

Lift and tires are finally done. Came out way better than expected. The plan for this trailer is light off road, e.g. Fire trails, open desert and so on.

Here's a stock height pic:

And the final result:

Again very happy with the results and it sits pretty much level with the cruiser. Next is to reinforce the rear bumper for a full size spare and 2 AT gas can holder that have been sitting in the garage.

 

[MrCyrus16]

Now that's pretty sweet, cool idea!!!


Jim

 

[1speed]

Nice! What size tires and wheels are you running?

 

[wesel123]

Nice! What size tires and wheels are you running?

235/75 - 15" BFG All terrains. I wanted the thicker side walls to help with sway.

 

[pcampbell]

Very cool. Buddy and I have been considering the Casitas for a while and doing something similar.

Here is some visual motivation if you need some...

 

[pcampbell]

Do you plan on redoing the drain pipes, etc to prevent them from getting snagged?

 

[kidishi@gmail.com]

That looks great! What axle did you end up going with? I have a similar Uhaul trailer that I want to lift a little. Does the Casita have a torsion axle?

Caleb

 

[rctr03]

nice setup!

jimmy

 

[mrlocksmith]

Looks good, please keep us posted on how it handles off road and if anything hangs-up like exposed pipes or wires (if there are any).


Mark

 

[gasman]

i like it.. i was gonna mention the haging pipes as well.. .. that thing would really cool with some kind of exo-skeleton .. that might protect that fiberglass from low branches and stuff..
how much does that trailer weigh ?

 

[wesel123]

Thanks for all the kind words. I'll try and answer a few of the questions.

Trailer with no water is about 2200 lbs. That is including the a/c, refer and so on.

Pipes are a little concern, there is a P-trap below the shower that I need to shorten and the black and grey water valves hang off the the side but not too bad.

I purposely was looking to get the 16' Casita even if it has a lower interior height, but that was the whole idea. The 16' has the ac down low so nothing is on the roof, keeping the weight down low.

Exoskeleton was once on the list but the added weight would offset the need. There are not to many trails (at least where I live) I would dare go down that would have low lying tree's and branches. Its a good thought though.

Next on the list is:

1) Interior radio
2) Mount Gas Cans (not sure if of the rear or on tongue, most likely the front)
3) Solar, loose mounted not really interested in making a Swiss cheese with a roof that doesn't leak.
4) Re-enforce the bumper to accept spare tire carrier and full size spare
5) Small storage rack above the propane tanks to stock wood or misc. items. and add a little to the light 230 tongue weight.

 

[wesel123]

That looks great! What axle did you end up going with? I have a similar Uhaul trailer that I want to lift a little. Does the Casita have a torsion axle?

Caleb

It is a Torflex axle. I changed out the 10 degree up for a 22.5 down. After the axle is loaded I get roughly 3 1/2" of over all lift. Add the new diameter of the tires and I think I'm about 4 1/2 to 5.

 

[evilfij]

I want to do this to a scamp.

 

[toyotatruckjunkie]

Man, you beat me. AWESOME!!!! Pcampbell (above) and I have been mulling this type of build over for months.

Wesel, you and I emailed the other day about this idea. I've got a deal pending on a 1997 17' Casita. It has the AC up, which wasn't my 1st choice but I agree with you about light duty. I plan to spend a lot of time on the beach here in TX. No low hanging trees to worry about.

I was daydreaming about it hard today and came up with the idea of an exoskeleton/roofrack/branch picker upper. I could easily see bars to protect the roof vent and ac unit fitting into a surfboard/kayak rack.

I haven't gotten ours home yet to take measurements for tire size. I was originally thinking 285/75 BFG AT's to match the 100. Would love to source some matching wheels, but 5x150mm on the trailer axle is gonna be tough. I also want to tow this thing with my Runner, so I'm torn on converting it to 6x5.5 or not. Was this the largest tire reasonable for the existing wheel well opening? After looking at the trailer up close, it doesn't appear a simple task to enlarge the wheelwell.

You made it sound above like swapping out the axle was pretty easy. True statement?

Any more detailed pics we can all drool over?

Again, AWESOME!!!

 

[toyotatruckjunkie]

OK, I got mine home but haven't done anything with it yet. Wesel, I'm dying to see more pics of yours.