My "New" Willy's II Trailer Build

[slimtwo]

Tinkering on the trailer yesterday, and decided to change the location of the airbag filler valve location. Originally, they were on the side of the tongue, up near the hitch. But I have not been very happy with it there, because I felt it was to exposed, and, with the lines inside the tube, I had to heat the lines in order to get them to bend enough to fit in to the back of the valves, and one of the bags would not hold air.



So, I moved them to trailer jack docking arm. And, I welded a separate steel tube on the tongue to protect the lines.





Now, the lines have a straight shot to the valves. Much happier. More later.

Happy Trails!

 

[slimtwo]

Hello everyone! I need some technical advice. I am trying to find a way to route the battery cables from the batteries, through the bottom of the box, and make it water proof. I am probably going to use 6 gage wire. not sure. If anyone has any ideas for water tight bulkhead fittings, I could use the help.

Happy Trails!

 

[Snydmax]

Something like this?

Black Adjustable Grommet Light Single Hole Cable Entry Gland Motorhome/caravan/rv/yacht Waterproof Cable Entry Plate - Buy Abs Cable Entry Uv Resistant single Hole Cable Entry hot Sale Cable Entry Gland Product on Alibaba.com

Black Adjustable Grommet Light Single Hole Cable Entry Gland Motorhome/caravan/rv/yacht Waterproof Cable Entry Plate - Buy Abs Cable Entry Uv Resistant single Hole Cable Entry hot Sale Cable Entry Gland Product on Alibaba.com

m.alibaba.com

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[slimtwo]

Something like this?

Black Adjustable Grommet Light Single Hole Cable Entry Gland Motorhome/caravan/rv/yacht Waterproof Cable Entry Plate - Buy Abs Cable Entry Uv Resistant single Hole Cable Entry hot Sale Cable Entry Gland Product on Alibaba.com

Black Adjustable Grommet Light Single Hole Cable Entry Gland Motorhome/caravan/rv/yacht Waterproof Cable Entry Plate - Buy Abs Cable Entry Uv Resistant single Hole Cable Entry hot Sale Cable Entry Gland Product on Alibaba.com

m.alibaba.com

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Yes! That is what I am looking for to take care of the solar penetration. Only I'm gonna use the dual gland one. I may do the same thing for the battery wire too, if I can find it in a large enough size. Thank you for your input!!!

 

[slimtwo]

Howdy everyone! Well, I finally pulled the trigger and bought the material for the box.
Talk about buyers remorse. 6 weeks ago or so, I went down to get an idea how much I was going to need, to make the purchase. a sheet of 1/2" 4 x 8 was 40 bucks or so, and 3/4" 4 x 8 ply was like 65 bucks. And when I went down there on Wednesday to buy the material, it had gone up about 35 bucks a sheet. I spent almost a thousand bucks on 10 sheets of plywood. almost 400 bucks more, by the time you added the tax and all. I am kicking myself, but you know the saying, "you snooze, you loose." So, I start cutting material for the box next week.

Happy Trails!

 

[slimtwo]

I'm gonna have the floor cut out and fitted this week, and ready to mount by Friday. I did buy some plywood. By the way, some of this belongs to my friend, he's gonna build a new box for his trailer too.



We went through a dozen sheets before we found sheets that were straight. I was not gonna pay that much for sheets that looked like they came off a boat hull.

Now it's hammer time!

Happy Trails!

 

[Snydmax]

Howdy everyone! Well, I finally pulled the trigger and bought the material for the box.
Talk about buyers remorse. 6 weeks ago or so, I went down to get an idea how much I was going to need, to make the purchase. a sheet of 1/2" 4 x 8 was 40 bucks or so, and 3/4" 4 x 8 ply was like 65 bucks. And when I went down there on Wednesday to buy the material, it had gone up about 35 bucks a sheet. I spent almost a thousand bucks on 10 sheets of plywood. almost 400 bucks more, by the time you added the tax and all. I am kicking myself, but you know the saying, "you snooze, you loose." So, I start cutting material for the box next week.

Happy Trails!

Yeah, 6 weeks ago was probably your best prices in the last 12 months! At least they didn’t tell you they were out and would have any til ????


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[slimtwo]

Yeah, 6 weeks ago was probably your best prices in the last 12 months! At least they didn’t tell you they were out and would have any til ????


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You are correct. I should just be thankful that they had what I needed. Thankfully, the box should be ready for paint in about three weeks or so.

 

[slimtwo]

Yesterday, I got set up to cut my material for the floor. The floor is in two halves, due to the size, I opted to land the seam on a cross bar that is on the axle line. once I have the wheel wells done and mounted, it will be plenty strong enough.



I am using a sheet of 2" thick, 4 x 8 insulation to cut my plywood (under the plywood). It's hard on the knees, but it is the only area I have that is big and flat enough to use the track saw. Knee pads.



Today, I cut out for the recessed locations in the rear. one for the propane, and the other for the water pump and filter.



next I cut the two sides, and the front and back panels to length. I will cut then down to the right height.



I gotta say. I mentioned that my friend and I went through half the stack of 1/2" plywood, in order to get to the more decent ones. But when I started cutting, the bows started to let loose. It really adds to the sting of how much it cost me for the material. Oh well, that's life.
Back at the shop tomorrow.

Happy Trails!

 

[Snydmax]

You gonna glass the underside of that wood or something to protect it? We are seeing the same irony all over the place... quality going down as the price goes up


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[slimtwo]

You gonna glass the underside of that wood or something to protect it? We are seeing the same irony all over the place... quality going down as the price goes up


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Yes! Once I have the box built, I will apply fiberglass resin on the outside of the box, in order to completely seal the wood. Then, for the bottom, and maybe a strip all the way around the bottom edge of the sides, I will apply two coats of Raptor liner.

 

[slimtwo]

So, yesterday I finished cutting the box sides, front and back, down to the right height. When I got done, I was just so disappointed in the quality of the wood. I decided to cut the day short, and before I left, I stacked all the ½” that I cut, on some 2 x 4’s under the hoist, and let the weight of the car lift sit on them over night (hoping that the bows would be less).



When I raised it up this morning, I will say, they did look a bit straighter. I’ll make sure to stack them on 2 x 4’s on the floor each day. Can’t hurt.



Today, I started laying out the side gussets, and doors, and bulkhead placement.



I will have to get creative for the door weather stripping door stops. But I think it will come together nicely. I have been trying to decide how to build the fender wells, and out of what, and I think I have decided to go with 16, or 14 ga. Steel. I have to draw something up so I can visualize it first, before I finalize it. I was going to just build them out of 3/4 ply, and then apply raptor liner on them. But I am not sure they will be strong enough.
More later.

Happy Trails!

 

[slimtwo]

I paid a visit to "All City Steel", to talk about building inner fenders for the trailer. I decided to go that direction instead of wood. I'm gonna use 16 ga. sheet metal for the fenders. I am having Martin bend everything upon the fender, including flanges so the fenders can be mounted from underneath.



I will do the same on the fender back. I'll flip it over, drop the fender and back in, and weld it up in place for fit. It should work well.

Happy Trails!

 

[slimtwo]

Yesterday and today, I worked on the trailer box. I ordered a rolling bench to build the box on. I decided it would be a lot easier to be able to move the box around, and, to be able to match the height of the trailer, when the time comes to mount the box on the trailer. It’s gonna work great!





I have been fitting the re-enforcement strips on the box floor, getting ready to mount the sides, and the front and back.



The other thing I’m excited about. I decided to build the fender wells out of 16 gage sheet metal. All City Steel, is gonna fab those out for me. I gave him drawings I made, and we will knock those out on Monday. He is doing them for me for $200.00. A pair of fenders with the backs. Hopefully my welding skills have improved enough to weld such thin material. Fortunately, if they don’t turn out so good, you won’t see them anyway.

More later.

Happy Trails!

 

[slimtwo]

So, I made a little more progress today. And at the same time, I almost trashed the whole thing. I am struggling with the quality of the ½” ply. The ¾” is better due to the thickness, but I’m not building the whole thing out of that. I should have gone with the Baltic birch for the four side panels at least. Then the interior with the other stuff. Oh well… live and learn.

It took me 4 attempts, to get the sides up. If the material had been straight, it would have been much easier. But finally, I managed to get all four sides up. It took a lot of clamps to do it.



I will keep on plugging away on it. It will come together.

Happy Trails!