Longbed Stepside Expedition Truck Trailer

[Pooch72]

I thought I’d try my hand at building a trailer.

My father was going to get rid of his fleetside trailer. It matches his truck, except for the fact that it’s a huge piece of garbage, and his truck is a gorgeous work of art. Here is a pretty bad picture of the trailer. Sorry about the quality.

I figured, that taking the fleetside body off the trailer and putting a stepside body on it wouldn’t be that big of a deal!

I picked up a long bed stepside body for 50 bucks and it’s been sitting for almost a year. I’ve finally gotten around to doing this project.

Step 1: Remove the fleetside body.

Step 2. Beef up the suspension.

Step 3: Big *** wheels/tires. It’s gotta look cool, right?

Step 4: Figure out a way to mount a stepside body to a fleetside frame. Especially when they’re vastly different in mounting positions. Of course, THAT'S where I am right now.

I'll post more as progress continues

 

[Pooch72]

Phase 2 progressed pretty slow.

So, I started bolting the cross braces to the frame rails. They match up laterally, and I figured that (at this point) I'm on the right track. This will probably be as easy as it is in my head.

Decided to go ahead and put on the rear bed support. While I was there, I installed the (very heavy) bumper. Keep in mind, This is a one-man job.

 

[Pooch72]

THAT is one heavy bumper!

 

[OverlandZJ]

I have an early Chevy stepside that was converted to a trailer, hope to find time to get it road worthy soon.

What coils did you swap in and how much lift do you expect to gain from them?

 

[Pooch72]

I have an early Chevy stepside that was converted to a trailer, hope to find time to get it road worthy soon.

What coils did you swap in and how much lift do you expect to gain from them?

Excellent question!

I went to the 4x4 swap meet with my teenage boys a couple weeks ago, and we looked high and low for springs. Finally found a set from a 90's F150. They were 4" longer than the ones I pulled off (16" as opposed to the sagging soggy stock 12" springs).

With the 37" tires, and the 4" longer springs, I bet this trailer will be a foot taller than it was when I started.

 

[MrBeast]

Interesting build, im subscribed

 

[OverlandZJ]

2wd or 4wd coils? You might find them a bit stiff depending on how much weight you end up with.

Alot of these era truck owners are using Jeep TJ rear coils for a 3" drop, and seem to be happy with the spring rate. So.. a 6" lifted TJ rear coil would equate to a 3" lift on your chassis.. just something to keep in mind. XJ and ZJ coils might also suit..

I found a Dexter 2K axle on CL for $10, but it's an arched axle and a bit wide i think, i considered just swapping the trailing arms to the top, which should equal about 4".

Good luck with your build, keep us updated.

 

[Pooch72]

I have no idea whether they're 2wd or 4wd coils, but the coil thickness was right, the overall height was right, and the cup size was right, so I figured they would work. I was right.

Stiff? Maybe. They're certainly going to be tougher than what I took out of there. I wasn't only looking for lift, but strength as well. I hope to be able to use this trailer for hauling stuff, as well as recreation. We'll see.

 

[Pooch72]

NOW comes the task of learning to weld.

Currently, the bed sides of this trailer were completely cancer(ed) out, and as a result, the bad part was cut out. What I'm left with is just the outside frame (of sort).

In other words, there's nothing for the wheel tubs to bolt to.

My task... weld a new sheet of metal in place of that which was cut out. Unfortunately, THIS is the only picture of what I'm currently doing.

I'll take more pictures shortly, but for those interested, this be the latest update. Still haven't figured out how all this is going to bolt together though.

 

[Pooch72]

Wellllll. I took a nice, long, 4-day weekend and attacked my trailer like a teenager on his date at prom night. Ok, not quite, but I bought some new "stuff" and got to work.

First up, I cut off the old (and broken) trailer lift off the tongue. I bought this little guy from Harbor Freight. It's a 1500# lifting capacity, double wheeled, boat trailer lift for under 40 bucks.

After drilling the holes and buying some grade 8 hardware, the thing looks great and works flawlessly. I couldn't be happier.

I also picked up some new safety chains, but I'm not quite sure how to mount them yet. Still trying to work that one out so it's safe and will pass inspection.

Next step was to start mocking things up. There are some design changes that need to happen with this build. Overall, I believe that they'll be pretty minor.

I purchased some new metal this weekend to re-locate the lateral "hat sections" that will support the bed wood. Being that this trailer was originally a fleetside bed, and will now have a stepside bed mounted on it, it's hole locations are off.

I picked up some flat stock to re-locate those lateral supports. Here's how it's mocked up.

keep in mind, nothing is drilled yet. I also grabbed a couple boards that were lying around to get an idea of how things would sit.

 

[Pooch72]

and... a few more pictures I took....

 

[sapper]

I like the idea of the trailing arm coil spring suspension. My 72 Chevy was setup the same way and it handled very well. Have you thought of replacing the diff with a trailer axle instead? It would save a lot of weight too.

 

[Pooch72]

good call on saving weight, but at this point, I'm trying to keep it pretty low-budget, and I think a trailer axle would only save me a few pounds.

Total costs so far:
The tires were 200 bucks for the pair.
The wheels were 100 for the pair.
The trailer frame was free.
The bumper was 40 bucks
The stepside fenders (body panels) was 50 bucks
The bed strips and hardware from LMC was about 100

Total weight so far:
I honestly have NO CLUE

A few odds and ends here and there, and so I figure I'm into it already for about the high end of 500 bucks. After bed wood and more supplies, it will likely run me a cool grand. But, if it comes out the way it is in my head, I'll be a happy camper.

 

[Pooch72]

More progress on the trailer yesterday. I had to go home early, and since it was a nice day, I spent the remainder of the day working on the trailer. Sure was a nice way to spend the day. Anyways, onto the progress...

First of all, I've secured the safety chains. This was kind of weird, but I made it work. The safety chain was one long chain with a hook at each end. I took it to the local hardware store and had them cut off two links out of the middle, then it was two equal lengths, each with a hook. Much better. Then I mounted them to either side of the tongue.

so, the new chains, coupled with the new trailer jack, and now new hardware holding the hitch in place, the very front is now fairly complete. I'm still considering replacing the hitch though. It's pretty old.

Finished up the welding yesterday. I now have brand new sheet metal for the entire sides of the bed. they're such big panels, that they started to warp, but I think once the supports get put on, everything should end up flattening out pretty well. Very happy with the way they turned out.

After finishing the welding, I cleaned them up a bit, then put the 4 sides together to make the box. Then I stood it up on end. It's 8 feet tall when upright, so it's BIG!

I have more cutting and welding to do. The forward panel of the trailer is really cancered out. It's riddled with holes on the lower inch. I have a piece of angled aluminum that I will splice in. I have it sitting in the pictures for reference.

Next step was to lay out some lumber. It's just boards I have lying around, that used to be shelves in my kids' rooms. But, they're the right thickness, so, they represent what will be going in there soon. Good enough for now.

My son and I then laid the box down and picked it up and walked it into the garage, and carefully set it down on the frame. This is still mock-up stage, so nothing is being bolted down as of yet. Still measuring, cutting, measuring, welding, measuring, drilling, measuring, cleaning, and more measuring. But, here's how it looks as of completion last night.

I still need to figure out the outside tub fitment, but it's starting to really come together.

 

[Pooch72]

another quick update!

I fit the outside tub this weekend, and snapped a couple pics. Sorry for the glare. Not much progress, just a little.

as big as this thing is... the outside tubs make it look smaller!