M101 3/4 Ton Expedition Trailer Build

[robertwalker2003]

Hello,

I like what you are doing, but i like to ask you a maybe silly question in your opinion, but wasn't it easier just to toss in everything and lift the cover and take something you needed instead of having to do all this welding and cutting and so on?

I might have understood your goals wrong, but ithought you did'nt do this for the looks of it? or did you?

I really don't want to upset you, but this is something which i just don't understand? (now you have to buy expensive boxes and all that)

to be honest, i don't know, is there a reason why a lot of them popular trailers have everything bolted up on the outside? In my opinion everything which is just on the outside can get wet and dirty very easy and not to mention, being stolen i.e. Africa or so.

Beeing in Libia (before the war) and was glad i did not have anything hanging of my Dodge, dut did'nt dare to leave my truck 2 minutes unattended in the villages!

I'm really curious at your answer!

And again, no pun intended!
cheerio,

Bart

Dear Bart,


Dear Bart,

You ask some very good questions, some questions that I have asked myself during this build. By no means have you upset me, in fact you are the first person that has really questioned what I was attempting to do with this trailer. I'm going to try and explain, or maybe give the reason for the direction I'm taking.

The first question I want to answer is the one about the look of the trailer. I would be lying to myself as well as you if I said looks were not important. They are not the driving force with this build, but they are part of it. I think anyone that builds something themselves wants the trailer to look good. I also want to show people that I can build something that looks like the production trailers, but is more designed for what I plan to use it for. The other reason for the look of trailer is to make it smaller in size, one for weight savings because these trailers are very heavy empty and making it smaller will help with maneuvering and sight around the trailer when off road.

The second question I want to address is putting everything under one top. There is an old saying. “Time is Money”. I hate having to spend as much time if not more setting up camp then actually camping. The idea is that everything, well maybe not everything, will be able to be accessed without having to move or dig thru something else. In addition some of the things will be mounted to the trailer, like the stove and propane bottle. I hope to make most of the boxes myself to cut down on the expense of buying them and hope my current design ideas will keep everything clean and dry.

I'm not expert on this type of camping and this trailer is going to progress on different levels. I hoped to have it road ready this year so I could take it out and see just what I needed, but life has put up some obstacles so I have taken this time to rethink a few aspects of the trailer so things might change and input like yours is most welcome to help with those ideas.

I also think were you travel makes what type of equipment you use different. I hope to travel the United States with this trailer before the good lord takes me on his expedition and that is primarily what this trailer will be for. Traveling Africa would be so nice, but if I ever do get that chance I don't think this trailer would go with me, I don't think I could afford to ship it.

So once again thank you for your input. It is most welcome and in no way upsetting so please, keep them coming.

Thank you Sir

Robert Walker

 

[robertwalker2003]

Not trying to speak for him but personally I prefer to keep certain things outside. I don't like to keep 1. Fuel inside due to things rubbing bouncing etc. 2. Propane for my stove same reason. 3. Things that get dirty etc quickly like tarps shovels etc. Granted I don't have the setup to mount such things outside I just carry them in my truck bed at the moment in individual boxes and containers but if I had the setup that would be my first choice.

I think maybe you said it better than I did, and far less long winded than I did.

Robert Walker

 

[Chris Cordes]

Well glad to chip in my 2 cents. Keep up the good work Robert!

 

[Toyotero]

Thanks again for the advice and hopefully yours suggestions will help.

Robert Walker

Robert,

You're welcome; welding is an art, a science and a fun game. :-D

BTW, if you enjoy doing the fab yourself, it is totally worth the time and effort to take a welding class at a local community college.
I took a class a few years ago as part of the "Community Education" classes (IE, not for college credit, easier to register, cheaper). Learning under the guidance of a professional teacher for two hours two days per week for a few months greatly accelerates your rate of progress vs learning on your own just by watching videos, reading and practicing in the garage. You can typically bring projects to class also to work on with the guidance of the teacher.

Cheers,

 

[robertwalker2003]

Tail gate, trailer wiring.

Made some more progress this week.

 

[Mark Harley]

Robert:

That looks great!
I like the shortened tailgate and capped taillight housing.
Very nice work, I like where it is going.

 

[robertwalker2003]

Thanks Mark

Robert Walker

 

[robertwalker2003]

Decided I needed something to tie the side panels to the front panels. That was when I remembered that the original sides had curved edges on the overlap. I did save those pieces from the originals, but they were bent up and one was so distorted that I could not get it back in shape. So I used some of the scrap metal from all the cutting and made my own curved pieces. I think they look pretty good. Need to do some more trimming. My welding is getting better. I ground down the welds and you can’t even see the seams, but I can feel the joint on the other side. Not a pro yet, but getting better.

 

[Mark Harley]

Nice!

 

[Scrapdaddy]

Robert,

Good job, on the welding. Everything is coming along, keep going at it.

 

[robertwalker2003]

Being poor makes you pinch the pennies. I made these tailgate latches from some scrap metal from the trailer. They are not as heavy as the ones I want to buy but will work for right now. All I need them to do is hold the tailgate up while I work on the trailer because I don’t see getting out with before winter hits. It’s already down to freezing at night here and I’m not set up for winter camping yet.

 

[robertwalker2003]

The sun was out today.

Had a pretty nice day here, for a change, so I was finally able to start working on my trailer again. I decided a good warm up project would be something to hold my fuel and water cans on the front of the trailer. I like several different designs that are out there but not one had all the features I was looking for so I decided to build my own.


Here is my mockup of the bottom of the can holder.


Some in progress shots.


Here it is with all the tack welds. Will finish weld this coming weekend if it’s nice weather

 

[robertwalker2003]

Here is the one side on the trailer.


Well more to come. I'm planning on starting work on the lid this comming weekend. I want to be able to take the trailer out for an overnight trip very soon.

Robert Walker

 

[Mark Harley]

Tub looks good!

 

[Coal]

Inspirational! I've been lurking for awhile and figured this would be a great place for my first post. Im actually getting ready to start a very similar build and have definitely bookmarked this for ideas. Keep up the good work!!