Hi.
I'm in the UK and fed up with frequently putting a tent up and down and having no space left in my truck once loaded up so I'm looking at the feasibility of a small semi-offroad camper trailer.
My biggest problem is going to be weight and size as my truck is a Suzuki Samurai so the whole thing needs to be less than 1700mm wide to track behind the truck. Also from speaking to a few others who tow conventional trailer tents with their Samurais I've been advised a good target weight would be 500kg.
I don't really need to carry water as its not actually for expedition so to speak and if I did need water I will just carry it in the truck.
I would like some basic electricity. Battery, solar panel, led lights, maybe a small sound system.
I would plan to build it from scratch so I can use matching Suzuki components. So a rigid axle with Samurai stub axles and using Samurai leaf springs too.
What kind of construction should I look at to achieve this size and weight if its even possible? I was thinking 20-25mm box section steel with a 2-3mm wall thickness?
Obviously I will need some heavier steel for the the chassis bit so I was thinking that if I aim for the floor to be a bit more of a monocoque design rather than making a trailer and bolting the floor to it it will save some weight.
I'm thinking I will clad the outside with thin aluminium and thin ply on the inside with dense foam insulation between?
Do you guys think I will achieve this weight with this style of design or am I dreaming?
That's probably enough questions for now although I have many more.
This is the kind of shape I was thinking of.
Thanks in advance.
Dan.
Here's a photo of my truck too just for fun.
I'm in the UK and fed up with frequently putting a tent up and down and having no space left in my truck once loaded up so I'm looking at the feasibility of a small semi-offroad camper trailer.
My biggest problem is going to be weight and size as my truck is a Suzuki Samurai so the whole thing needs to be less than 1700mm wide to track behind the truck. Also from speaking to a few others who tow conventional trailer tents with their Samurais I've been advised a good target weight would be 500kg.
I don't really need to carry water as its not actually for expedition so to speak and if I did need water I will just carry it in the truck.
I would like some basic electricity. Battery, solar panel, led lights, maybe a small sound system.
I would plan to build it from scratch so I can use matching Suzuki components. So a rigid axle with Samurai stub axles and using Samurai leaf springs too.
What kind of construction should I look at to achieve this size and weight if its even possible? I was thinking 20-25mm box section steel with a 2-3mm wall thickness?
Obviously I will need some heavier steel for the the chassis bit so I was thinking that if I aim for the floor to be a bit more of a monocoque design rather than making a trailer and bolting the floor to it it will save some weight.
I'm thinking I will clad the outside with thin aluminium and thin ply on the inside with dense foam insulation between?
Do you guys think I will achieve this weight with this style of design or am I dreaming?
That's probably enough questions for now although I have many more.
This is the kind of shape I was thinking of.
Thanks in advance.
Dan.
Here's a photo of my truck too just for fun.
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