My offroad 5x8 Cargo Trailer Camper Conversion

[Jmanscotch]

Quick update on the landing. Started by trimming the expanded metal to match the front curvature of the trailer..the best one can with expanded metal sheet.




The trimmed the front and sides to match, as well as make some small trim outs to go around part of the new tongue reinforcement so it's sit flush.





Once all the sheet was trimmed, it made sense to take a flap disk and clean up all the burs, to keep them catching clothing and such when leaning up on the landing.





Then weld it down and a quick coat of paint





Jake

 

[Jmanscotch]

I need some ideas from you folks. How do I mount my fenders?

The fenders I have are 32" long...and my tires are 32" in diameter. I was going to flip the axle under the springs, which would instantly be 4-5 inches of additional fender clearance, then I was going to trim down the vertical ends of the fenders and everything would fit in place. Not so much anymore...after the new tires and leaf springs, my trailer height is ideal as it sits, so now my plan falls apart.

They'll be about 3" off the main body of the trailer. The idea was to weld more 1.5x1.5 tube off the sliders and use those as fender supports, but now I need some help designing some mounts that don't look out of place. I also don't want to flare the fenders and loose their structural stability as to not be able to use them as steps.

Here's some pics:







Anyone have a simple fix? I'm at a dead end at the moment.

Thanks, Jake

 

[villageidiot327]

I need some ideas from you folks. How do I mount my fenders?

The fenders I have are 32" long...and my tires are 32" in diameter. I was going to flip the axle under the springs, which would instantly be 4-5 inches of additional fender clearance, then I was going to trim down the vertical ends of the fenders and everything would fit in place. Not so much anymore...after the new tires and leaf springs, my trailer height is ideal as it sits, so now my plan falls apart.

They'll be about 3" off the main body of the trailer. The idea was to weld more 1.5x1.5 tube off the sliders and use those as fender supports, but now I need some help designing some mounts that don't look out of place. I also don't want to flare the fenders and loose their structural stability as to not be able to use them as steps.

Here's some pics:







Anyone have a simple fix? I'm at a dead end at the moment.

Thanks, Jake

Simplest fix is going to be cut about 4” off the ends of those fenders and raise them up to where the clearance works for you.

Then fab up the mounts for the fenders so it all jives.

I’d put a 3-4” block between the tire and fender and then cut them off level with the sliders on the trailer. Run mounts perpendicular off the sliders to hit the ends of the fender (forward and back of the fender) then add whatever you feel is necessary to support the top of the fender.

 

[Jmanscotch]

Simplest fix is going to be cut about 4” off the ends of those fenders and raise them up to where the clearance works for you.

Then fab up the mounts for the fenders so it all jives.

I’d put a 3-4” block between the tire and fender and then cut them off level with the sliders on the trailer. Run mounts perpendicular off the sliders to hit the ends of the fender (forward and back of the fender) then add whatever you feel is necessary to support the top of the fender.

Not a bad idea for the villageidiot

I think that's roughly what I'm going to attempt. The main concern with that is the rear edge of the fender might still be a contact point. If I go this route and it turns out to be, I may put a relief cut on the lowest bend on the rear and flare it out some. So it'll be a teardrop swope in the rear, which wouldn't be the most aesthetic look for the whole build, but short of getting new fenders or building my own...it might just have to work.

Thanks for the thoughts sir, they're appreciated.

 

[villageidiot327]

Not a bad idea for the villageidiot

I think that's roughly what I'm going to attempt. The main concern with that is the rear edge of the fender might still be a contact point. If I go this route and it turns out to be, I may put a relief cut on the lowest bend on the rear and flare it out some. So it'll be a teardrop swope in the rear, which wouldn't be the most aesthetic look for the whole build, but short of getting new fenders or building my own...it might just have to work.

Thanks for the thoughts sir, they're appreciated.

If they’re a steel fender then I’d cut em at the bend at the top and flare em out equally front and rear. Weld in a little piece from the back side and by the time it’s touched up, won’t even know

Another thought......

You could cut the tops out of those fenders and make a step welded to your sliders, then just hang the front and rear sections of fenders off your step, and support the bottom of the sides.

 

[Waygoner]

I had a similar issue on the Bradley I built. I made a small relief cut on the edge of the fender so I could bend it out for clearance. Weld the cut when you have it right. Run bolts through the trailer wall and use tubing as a spacer to move the fenders out. I had to do this to my Bradley too.

 

[theblindchicken]

Looking good! Coming together nice & smooth.

I'd build a step above the wheels off the sliders and hang your fenders on those. Maybe get a sheet of the diamond plate and lengthen them?

 

[Jmanscotch]

Welded on the three jack mounts and the safety chain hoop.

Two side wind jacks for the rear and a top wind for the tongue. For the safety chain hoop, I just used an old axle U-bolt I had, cut off the threaded portion and welded it underneath the front of the receiver tube tongue.





I also mounted the new tongue box and propane tank/holder.




I finally got the floor in too. I used sub-floor sealant on the cross members and edges, set the floor in then screwed it down as well. I'm thinking the sub-floor sealant will help keep some water from migrating between the edges of the floor and the inside of the walls.



I also finished caulking the roof, sides and doors. Not thrilled with my work on this, but it'll do its job so I'll deal with it for now.

Jake

 

[honda250xtitan]

Looking good man! I tried to make some store bought fenders work on my trailer, but at the end of the day i figured i might as well just build my own from scratch. Not to mention very few "trailer" fenders work well with a 285/70R17 tire. lol

 

[Wildcat]

love this build. now you got me looking for enclosed trailers on craigslist

 

[L3TT3RS]

I love this. I'm living vicariously through you. We had to cancel our trailer order and will pick it back up later. ( being an adult sucks) looks great man!

Sent from my SM-G955U using Tapatalk

 

[phalanx]

This build is a lot of fun to watch. Great job and keep it coming!

 

[wadle5]

Really cool building to watch, as I have recently been researching trailers for something similar. Your original trailer design is what I am currently looking at and I have been scouring the inter webs for similar ones for sale. I’m sure once I get one I will follow suit and move to a fully enclosed one. Great trailer build so far though!

 

[Jmanscotch]

First trip with the trailer was a success, though I did come back with a short list of improvements to make.



My father and I packed up Friday morning and headed west, headed for the Pomeroy Lake, near the ghost town of St. Elmo, Colorado (or 30 miles SW of Buena Vista).

The trailer towed well across the Rockies, up and through a few 10,000 ft elevation mountain passes. The tongue weight did seem to be a bit on the heavy side, especially with the truck bed loaded down on top of it all, but that should get sorted out with the work yet to come on the trailer. Some lessons I learned are: big bumps and enough speed will make the trailer axle bottom out into the trailer frame, so I have to fix that. Second; I need to rethink mounting the awning. Maybe move it to the actual feet of the roof rack so it's sucked in another ~3 inches. A half dozen times, the trailer being off kilt or sliding down a rock, put it (the awning) as the most likely part of the trailer to hang up on a tree.

We aimed to do some gold panning, fly fishing and old mine exploring so once we neared St Elmo, we turn south to begin our 3,200 ft ascent up the north side of Pomeroy Mountain. The trail we took was the old mining path established first in the late 1800's, it was a winding and steep creep up a boulder laced tight trail carefully woven between trees, cliffs and across creeks...truly stunning, though at times, a little tight and sketchy for the trailer. We didn't stop in the tough sections to get any pics, but here's some from the bottom as we got started.





*disclaimer: this last one is on the way down

About 1/2 mile from the summit (and just below tree line) we found a nice tucked away spot in the valley below the lake, which provided some wind protection and some soothing sounds from the cascading water streaming down past the camp site.






Night view from camp



We slept well, even considering the plethora of evidence that a bear was wandering the area we setup in. The trailer leveled out nicely, slept comfortably with no excess noise even with no insulation in sight. Air flow was adequate inside and no mosquitoes were able to find their way in over night. I will admit it was a bit tight for two larger gentleman, as my father and I are, but should sleep my significant other and I well.

We woke up Saturday morning and immediately set our sights on some fishing at the lake above camp. We failed...horribly.



Our first time fly fishing was a bust, but that's ok. The altitude began to take it toll and we headed back down a few thousand feet to wander the ole mine remnants.

Here's the Mary Murphy mine, circa 1902-ish






I was caught using the abandoned outhouse



More mine buildings and other dilapidated structures





Some more general rambling around and exploring ensued. We found some more rivers/creeks to explore and try out luck with fishing some more...but the disappointment trend kept up.

 

[Jmanscotch]

With that...I'm going to take a little while off from all things trailer. I need to tackle some other projects around the house as well as just devote some time to other life needs. I'll be back to finish the inside, the fenders and make some tweaks shortly...until then.

Jake