Planning the New Exp. Trailer

[Jeeplander]

Hey People, i'm drafting up some plans for the new Exp. Trailer. I've been reading down through the forum, but some of my questions don't seem to get answered...... woundering if you guys can help me out.....

I'm driving a 2.5L Jeep TJ..... So the trailer has to be light. The trailer will spend 75% offroad and 25% highway. I'm currently running p235/75/r15 on the Jeep. I'm thinking about using the same size tires on the trailer, so I won't have to carry a spare(Use spare on Jeep) Think this is a good Idea?
What is a good height the walls should be?? I'm going to use galvized sheet metal for the walls, whats a good gage to use? Any tips or ideas......anything I may be over looking? thanks for the help....... I will post my plans in a few days, for you all to have a look....

 

[UK4X4]

Same tyres as your truck, going big just adds weight and another spare tyre,

light weight..think aluminum / composite rather than sheet steel

Height....thats up to you....pile up your gear...and measure it..

 

[Funrover]

Use the same size tires!

 

[Willman]

Use the same size tires!

^Ditto.....Matching wheels & Tires are the only way to go!!!

And.......Welcome to the ExPo!!

 

[Martyn]

The higher you go the less stability you have, especially if you are putting a roof rack on the lid and possibly a roof top tent.

If you go with galvanized steel you have issues of welding on it and producing lethal fumes. Or are you proposing building the trailer or portions of it and having it hot dipped? If that is the case you are going to need thick walled sheets to prevent warping of the steel during the hot dip process.

 

[mjm]

If you are going to use the Jeep spare for the trailer, you need to make sure that it will clear the trailer hubs you plan on using. This is a huge issue for me, because I like my Moab rims and bought a set for my trailer. I use a 1.5 in thick 5x5.5 to 5x4.5 converter/spacer on my M416 so I can use the rims.

I researched replacing the axle so I can move the wheels in and have electric brakes (Dexter). I would still need to use a spacer to clear the hubs because the hole in my rims is too small clear a standard trailer hub. My other option would be to mill the hub holes larger.

 

[Martyn]

If you are going to use the Jeep spare for the trailer, you need to make sure that it will clear the trailer hubs you plan on using. This is a huge issue for me, because I like my Moab rims and bought a set for my trailer. I use a 1.5 in thick 5x5.5 to 5x4.5 converter/spacer on my M416 so I can use the rims.

I researched replacing the axle so I can move the wheels in and have electric brakes (Dexter). I would still need to use a spacer to clear the hubs because the hole in my rims is too small clear a standard trailer hub. My other option would be to mill the hub holes larger.

We have a 7 day turn around on adapters. Most of the ones you find ready made are 1.25" thick and that isn't enough to depth to clear the wheel studs on the original hub. On Jeep rims as the center hole is too small for the spindle end plus a Bearing Buddy to fit, we end up using 2.25 thick adapters.

Boring out the center of a rim can be done, but there is usually a backspacing issue to deal with in any case.

 

[ntsqd]

On welding galvanized steels:
http://www.sperkoengineering.com/html/articles/WeldingGalvanized.pdf I've run across similar info to this on other sites. It's not quite the bogeyman it's made out to be.

For light weight you need to think about making the body of the trailer also it's frame. A unit body trailer. This isn't as hard to do as it might sound, though it's not as easy as building a traditional trailer. Conceptually the trailer frame could be 1"x1"x 0.065"wall square tube (or smaller depending on final size) used to define the body shape with thin sheet panels structurally fastened on both sides of the tube-work. That's the easy part. Where it needs thinking is spreading out the loads from the "hard" points, i.e. the places where the suspension attaches etc. To do that lightly takes some thought.

A well designed 'unit body' trailer could easily be stronger and more durable than a traditional trailer design. Non-welding panel mount options are rivets and structural adhesives, or rivets and 3M "VHB" tape. Late model pusher motorhomes use the VHB to adhere their skins to the frame. It's how they get those perfectly smooth sides.

Attached is the beginning of such a trailer design that I started on, but abandoned when the need for it evaporated.

 

[Jeeplander]

In order to use the the same rims on the trailer, I will need to use the same 5 stub bolt pattern. I don't want to get into using adapters, is there a hub or axle kit I can buy????....Is there any certain measurements I will need?

 

[UK4X4]

your TJ is 5 on 4.5" spacing, which is pretty common.

Axle widths are bought by length hub face to hub face, with either frame center dimensions or weld on perches.

Inside of tyre should be 1.75 to 2" off of the frame..

so you either calculate, or measure...take a few more looks at the trailer build threads, almost every one has axle size/details.

Take a look at ABC or e-trailer parts and look at their ordering pages, the sizes they need are listed.

 

[Ireland]

Why not for a hundred bucks go for the correct custom axle and never mind the spacers?

 

[mjm]

Why not for a hundred bucks go for the correct custom axle and never mind the spacers?

Agreed. If having seven matching wheels is a desire, replacing the stock wheels with those that fit is ultimately the best solution. There are problems when you want to use stock Jeep (TJ) wheels on a trailer. I prepared the following wheel cross section to work through my problem:

I overlaid the wheel cross section over a trailer hub to clarify the problem (Notes: The hub may not be to scale. My preferred hub manufacturer uses a hub cap that is a bit larger than this. The purpose of this figure is only to demonstrate the problem)

If I wanted to use my wheels and a Dexter axle and hub, I would still need a 1 inch spacer and a hub cap with a smaller diameter.

This is just food for thought. Hope you build one and post lots of pitcures.

 

[Jeeplander]

Thanks for all the help. I'm waiting on some price quotes on alu and steel, to see what i'm going with. I'm going with the custom axle, so I don't have to worry about spacers.... i'll keep you updated...

 

[Section 8]

Do you need a hub cap? If you maintain your trailer, there shouldn't really be a need for it if your wheels have center caps. Everytime I have taken the wheels off a car/truck its really clean behind there.

What am I missing? Water proofing? Where the grease is going to end up?

 

[ntsqd]

I think the cap in question is to cover the bearings rather than the lug nuts. Though I could be wrong.....