M1102 advice

[Tchcalvin]

I had posted this in another section of the forum and decided to move it:

I'm new to the site and new to overlanding. I've done lots of backpacking and primitive camping. Now that Im married my wife and younger children aren't as excited to sleep on the ground so, I picked up a m1102 trailer as a expedition style trailer project. I wanted to be able to just hook up and head out on short weekend runs with the family (2 children 1 and 4) I know many folks are modifying these things and I love the look so I picked it up for a decent value. My first impressions are that this this is massive. At 86" wide it will have a hard tome on narrow trails but most gravel road and some double track will be fine for what I do. I also like the width between the wheel wells. I think a full size patress will fit in the center.

First I civilized the trailer:
-I switched out The 24v bulbs to 12v.
-I have a 7pin converter so no need to completely re-wire.

-I have now removed the surge break and Lunette ring (don't think it worked anyways). I welded a 2in receiver on the underside of the tongue effectively dropping the tongue height by 4in and extending by 13in. This also allows me to switch different couplers in the future. I'm planning on possibly using a max coupler but the pintle/lunette combo seems fine right now. I don't notice much noise. I'm a little concerned on the Maxcoupler's strength with such a large trailer.


The plan is to keep the 37" tires and rims but ditch the inner run flats and put in some PVC inserts to shave some weight. I really like the look of the rims and tires.
The goal is a rugged, spacious weekend camper for all seasons.

I'm in between a hard top similar to Fresno's build or building a really nice "roll cage" style rack and a RTT.

How tough are the RTTs? We routinely see 20+mph winds and want to make sure it will hold up.

A hard sided shell would allow my wife and I to be comfortable but My 2 boys would be in a tent. Thats not a huge problem but seeing as they are young, security is an issue. just trying to figure out a direction and wanted to hear from the RTT guys. I love sleeping in a tent on the ground but the family doesn't quite agree. Talk me out of a hard shell.
-cheers

 

[cyclic]

I'm eventually doing a ladder rack type frame. Going to support a truck bed style tent and a bed in the trailer. When not set up I can haul kayaks and use it for a general trailer.

 

[Titanpat57]

Save yourself the trouble of buying twice...do the hard top, with plenty of ventilation, and be done with it....just my two cents

 

[toymaster]

Just a friendly heads-up. The trailer is ~1490lbs by itself. The TJ is only rated to pull 2000lbs. This leaves very little weight for gear. I understand you only want to use it on road so off-road concerns are not in play here. However, I would make sure to have the trailer brakes working.

 

[Tchcalvin]

It will mostly be pulled with my Toyota Sequoia which has plenty of toeing/stopping capacity. The Tj however has a turbocharger with 9lbs of boost, 5.13 gears, and a huge brake upgrade so I think it can pull it almost anywhere. Most stuff will be on road to dirt road, double track and primitive camp sites.

 

[Jarred]

I'm in going down the path of an RTT on top of my trailer. I had a custom rack built by a local company and when my Tepui comes in I'll put it on top (should be in a couple weeks).

This is a bit of an old pic, so the top is done now and I'm working on the electrical.



-Jarred

 

[FMF]

My wife and I are currently building out a M1102 with a hard top. Its turning out to be an overgrown teardrop or tiny travel trailer... Inside it will have a queen bed a small bunk bed and 12v refer. We still have a long ways to go with it but here are a few pics to help with ideas. I really like the simple way you extended the tongue! I may look into something similar.