My Expedition Style Trailer Build

[dawsonc61]

Hello All!

Well, I've decided to convert a small trailer I own into an expedition type camping trailer with a roof rack tent on top. I'd like to paint the body of the trailer red like my Rubicon and paint the top and fenders black. I got the idea from Drew's build on IH8MUD.com:

http://forum.ih8mud.com/trailer-tec...edition-style-trailer-build-up-thread-28.html

I think I'll be able to accomplish this relatively cheap ( I guess cheap compared to what Drew spent) since I already have the trailer:

I drew up these sketches of what I'm thinking about doing (I don't know how to post PDF's so I just took pics of my sketches!). Anyway, I know the angles are way off and it's not to scale and I suck at drawing but I think you get the idea.

I want to put the same tires and wheels as my 2003 Rubicon so I can rotate all six tires (off the trailer and onto the rig and vice-versa). I need to replace the leaf spring (singular, only one spring per side of the trailer?), and figure out a way to lift it the same height as my jeep. I'll probably do a SOA conversion and hopefully that will give me the height i need. The jeep is stock with the addition of 2" RE coil spring spacers. I plan on replacing the stock shocks with RE gas shocks and a 1" BL. In addition I'm going to run Goodyear Wrangler MT/R 285's on the Rubi and the trailer.

I'll need to fabricate a lid for the top of the trailer and a box to go on the front. I want to redo the tongue so I'll be able to interchange a pintle and traditional hitch. I'm sure there are plenty of other things I'll want to fabricate for this thing later on.

Rough materials list:

a bunch of 3/4" square tubing
1-2 peices of 3/16" metal sheeting (4'x8')
Piano hinges
2 200lb. rated gas struts
new set of springs and mounts
new 62" 5 on 4.5 axle

Here's the rub....I don't have a clue how to weld. I'm looking into taking a class but I'm also trying to find a shop where I can learn from someone there. Any suggestions? BTW I live in Dallas for those in the area with regional knowledge.

I welcome any and all suggestions. I really don't know the first thing metal work. I know a hell of a lot about woodworking because I build furniture in my spare time. But I think that building this thing with wood might look pretty awful!

 

[ntsqd]

Wood has a place, but hasn't really been seen in structure of a vehicle in along time. A Morgan +4 was the last car I worked on with wood in it's structure. Wood is still used for the structure of some boxes added onto a steel chassis. A lot of RV's were built this way and presumably some still are.

The top could easily be a wood fabrication. Designed and executed well it could be as strong and lighter than something made from steel. Though it likely would be a bit more bulky. I can see your furniture background really dovetailing (pardon the pun) nicely into such a project.

Local junior colleges are the best place to start looking for welding education. Next place that I'd look would be to find the local welding supply places and ask them where to learn. Bad habits are hard to cure, best if there is someone with experience is right there handy to correct things before you're too far astray.

I've posted it before, but it's worth repeating. Have a look at the M.M. Smith books, particularly How to Design and Build Trailers — Vol. 1 & Trailers : How to Design and Build. Volume 2. Structure". There is an amazing amount of information on trailer design in these books.

As someone who has worked as a fabricator I found the R. Finch book on welding to be a bit of a disappointment. I might have been expecting too much & perhaps I need to look it over for a position of no welding experience. I would sooner buy a text book for the local JC's welding class.

 

[masterplumber]

I have an old trailer I built years ago that is a combination of wood & metal. The frame is metal & the box is mainly plywood. At the back of the box I have 2 pieces of angle iron welded to the frame upright to support the tailgate opening. Then I have 1 5\8'' unistrut slipped over the top edge of the plywood to reinforce it. The tailgate is a leftover CJ2A tailgate I had & I bought the fenders from a trailer supply & bolted them through the plywood sides. This whole project started with a frame & axle someone gave me that was about the right size to go behind a flat fender jeep. I think I spent a total of $150 on it about 15 years ago & it still works well. It also only weights about 300 lbs empty. Junior Colleges are a great place to learn welding & if you don't care about the course credits you can sometimes audit the class for only the shop fee.
Good luck
Doug

 

[JJtrailer]

http://www.joeharmondesign.com/

"Wood has a place, but hasn't really been seen in structure of a vehicle in along time."


Check this out.

 

[Rezarf <><]

Looks like you are off to a good start with a good starting platform to boot!

Remember, you once didn't know how to work with wood either. I learned to weld, then I built my trailer. Welding is as much art as it is science. I bought the book on how to weld, read it cover to cover, bought a welder, asked a few friends for tips along the way and now I can stick steel together.

You can do it, are you part of a 4wd club? There has to be some fabricators in any club, join one and get involved and ask for help!

You'll love camping with a trailer for sure!

Drew

 

[dawsonc61]

Looks like you are off to a good start with a good starting platform to boot!

Remember, you once didn't know how to work with wood either. I learned to weld, then I built my trailer. Welding is as much art as it is science. I bought the book on how to weld, read it cover to cover, bought a welder, asked a few friends for tips along the way and now I can stick steel together.

You can do it, are you part of a 4wd club? There has to be some fabricators in any club, join one and get involved and ask for help!

You'll love camping with a trailer for sure!

Drew

Thanks for the kind words Drew! I just joined a jeep club in north Texas and am looking forward to getting plugged in!

Update: I just pulled the trailer for the first time with my TJ and I think it needs to loose some serious weight. I'm going lose the fenders and side "steps" and see where that gets me. this trailer might not look like it but i bet it weighs about 700 lbs.

 

[Rezarf <><]

That is about where I would expect it to be. Time for that super charger you've always wanted!

In all seriousness, I built my trailer to help my life slow down a little and get out into the woods again... so the 10mph the trailer takes off my fj40's already slow speed isn't a big deal.

Put your hazzards on and get out there!

 

[davegonz]

Your trailer and mine look similar. I plan on springing her over, new tailgate, putting on the 35's I've been hoarding, and building a rack for my RTT.

 

[dawsonc61]

I came across this M-416 and it was too good a deal to pass up. So I'm scrapping the previous plans and am now going to build this up:

The guy I bought it from had a new tub fabricated to the same specs as the original, just made out of 3/16" steel this time around. The sides and bottom are made of a single sheet of steel with the front and rear welded on. The front and rear sheets need to be cut, as you can see in the pics. The tub isn't bolted to the frame yet either. I'm going to need to weld some angle iron onto the bottom in order to bolt the tub to the frame.

So I'm going to start a new thread with the M-416 and see where that gets me. Thanks for all who have been following this.

Dawson

 

[dawsonc61]

here's the new thread:
http://www.expeditionportal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=19568

 

[highlandercj-7]

I love the sticker on your back window! I just hope that holds true.

Back on topic, I liked the first one you started, it seems that it would have been easier to build. Everyone has a 416, lol. Both trailers look like nice projects.