Redeth's Overland Trailer Build

[k9lestat]

Enjoying the build but let me throw this out for the out of the box builders like you who want to use truck frames to speed up the build.
I am building a truck frame trailer too. Only I'm using the other end of the frame. It has IFS suspension with remote control steering. Much of my trail work is in the trees.
Didn't mean to hijack your build, but thought I'd throw this out for your next build. Hopefully mine will have a box like in the last picture. (No RTT tent)
Wanting to sleep inside to keep the weight lower so it won't have such a high center of gravity.

Speaking of that;
Careful you don't get too top heavy. We built a RTT trailer for a friend and he was so top heavy it flopped over twice on sidehills.
I tried to tell him, but our second version had the RTT tent platform on a hinged post system that lowered with gas pistons to the top of the box. Turned out nice. Even his wife can raise the tent platform with his Magginoe (sp?) by herself. We needed to put it on post so he can stand in the vestibule without having to hunch over. He's a tall dude!

One thing for sure, you'll never be accused of being under built for your trailer needs. I like it.

Hijack off!

I like it. I was thinking of the same thing but with a solid front axle as my is the standard rear truck frame. I made a post inquiring if anyone had experience with it but not many responses other than people with safety concerns. Do you have built thread going on the trailer?

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[Curtis in Texas]

I did a write up on it on another Forum some years ago. But Business took off and I wasn't able to build the box.
Hoping to finish knocking it out after Winter. We closed our business this year and I retired again. This will give me time to catch up on many unfinished projects.
I'll start a full build here in Expo once I get going on it again.

As far as a straight axle for your trailer, the main thing you need to keep in mind is the King Pin alignment angle and electric steering ram length.
A straight axle would be a lot lighter than the IFS I used. But I went with the Torsion IFS because it will be easy to adapt a bell crank for ride height with air bags or electric screw drive rams. It would be a plus to be able to control the different torsion bars for side hill balance if I find I need that to stay upright.

Not to mention the obstacle clearance I can gain under the center of the trailer frame with IFS.

 

[toyotech]

Enjoying the build but let me throw this out for the out of the box builders like you who want to use truck frames to speed up the build.
I am building a truck frame trailer too. Only I'm using the other end of the frame. It has IFS suspension with remote control steering. Much of my trail work is in the trees.
Didn't mean to hijack your build, but thought I'd throw this out for your next build. Hopefully mine will have a box like in the last picture. (No RTT tent)
Wanting to sleep inside to keep the weight lower so it won't have such a high center of gravity.

Speaking of that;
Careful you don't get too top heavy. We built a RTT trailer for a friend and he was so top heavy it flopped over twice on sidehills.
I tried to tell him, but our second version had the RTT tent platform on a hinged post system that lowered with gas pistons to the top of the box. Turned out nice. Even his wife can raise the tent platform with his Magginoe (sp?) by herself. We needed to put it on post so he can stand in the vestibule without having to hunch over. He's a tall dude!

One thing for sure, you'll never be accused of being under built for your trailer needs. I like it.

Hijack off!

I don't need an off-road trailer but I never thought of a IFS trailer. I know tons about the 86-95 IFS and might need to look for a frame now. Want to build one just to be different lol.


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[Redeth005]

Y rubber tire?

The way i see if the hard plastic tires will sink into the floor easier vs the wider and thicker tires that use inner tubes. just my wierd logic i guess. i know most of the time it is going to be attached to my truck but still. i figure the rubber one is better.

Enjoying the build but let me throw this out for the out of the box builders like you who want to use truck frames to speed up the build.
I am building a truck frame trailer too. Only I'm using the other end of the frame. It has IFS suspension with remote control steering. Much of my trail work is in the trees.
Didn't mean to hijack your build, but thought I'd throw this out for your next build. Hopefully mine will have a box like in the last picture. (No RTT tent)
Wanting to sleep inside to keep the weight lower so it won't have such a high center of gravity.

Speaking of that;
Careful you don't get too top heavy. We built a RTT trailer for a friend and he was so top heavy it flopped over twice on sidehills.
I tried to tell him, but our second version had the RTT tent platform on a hinged post system that lowered with gas pistons to the top of the box. Turned out nice. Even his wife can raise the tent platform with his Magginoe (sp?) by herself. We needed to put it on post so he can stand in the vestibule without having to hunch over. He's a tall dude!
One thing for sure, you'll never be accused of being under built for your trailer needs. I like it.
Hijack off!

That's an awesome idea. Ive seen a few guys on here turn their trailer axles into independent spindles while using coil-overs. IT seems like it would be a much smoother ride and have way better clearance in the middle of the trailer. I like the idea. As for being overbuilt. HAHAHAH NO SUCH THING! i like to be prepared. and after many many many camping and offroad trips ive learned to hate setting up regular floor tents. my friends call me a "Glamper" because the gadgets i want are glamorous and not considered camping but i could care less; at least ill be well prepared.

I don't need an off-road trailer but I never thought of a IFS trailer. I know tons about the 86-95 IFS and might need to look for a frame now. Want to build one just to be different lol.

DO IT! i'd love to see you make something.

 

[Redeth005]

Alright guys i have some updates for you all.
First off let me show off my tow vehicle.
Every month a few of my buddies host a local "Jeep meet" but they welcome all vehicles. Usually a couple of our toyota friends and me come crash the party and show the Jeepers how the Toyota guys do it. We always get attention from the people attending these meets when we do crazy stuff like this. After all, we do have rock crawlers why not show off their capabilities! lol
My truck is the grey 4Runner to the left.







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Back to the trailer build lol

Had fun tack welding this 63"×48" sheet metal every 3" for the trailer roof. Followed by welding up the entire perimeter of the outside to make it leak proof!


After I finished the roof of the rear compartment i did the front compartment


Nice clean job. Im proud of this one. It was welded on pretty solid and didnt warp at all.


That night i primed the entire front compartment. and then began squaring off the wall tubing that will hold up the roof. I got the tubes made out to 90 degree angles then did the final welds on them. After i tried to center out the roof i found that my roof apparently warped about 0.5" toward the middle. Here in the pic you can see that there is a slight bow at the center of the roof. Unfortunately this project had to be put on hold until my dad and i get time to work on it together so we can heat up the metal and bend it back to make it straight again. I thought tack welding it all the way around before beginning the full welds would prevent it from warping but i was wrong. I'd forgotten how sheet metal can cause warpage if not welded correctly and on a sheet of this size i should have known better to weld every other side 2 to 3 inches until i finally got the entire thing done with. i learned the hard way. Now i gotta fix it. I know it wont be too bad once i straighten it out. I'm just happy the floor of the large compartment is completely square so i at least have something to work with to make sure the top is bent enough to make parallel with the floor.


I was supposed to fix the warped metal today by heating up the metal with the acetylene torch and adding pressure at the center to straighten it out. but like most of the country we were hit with a storm. Im just happy it wont be lasting very long. but for the mean time i had to cover up the whole rear compartment because it is bare metal and now i cant store it in the garage because i have the wall tubes welded in permanently. So for now on its going to be kept outside covered up with these tarps and hope it doesnt get too oxidized.

 

[toyotech]

On soft ground I put down a 2x6 or 2x8 under my plastic tire. Plus you are not gonna be pushing it around.


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[Redeth005]

Since i couldn't get anything done today i went ahead and began researching trailer lights.
Originally i was set on buying either the 2"x6" oval lights or the 4" circle lights. in Red, Amber, and clear for backing up. But considering the size of those lights i figured it was going to take up a lot of space if i were to use 3 lights on each side of the rear. i wanted to keep the tail light assembly simple with less wiring to worry about.

I have had great luck with SuperBrightLEDs.com in the past. They make great products. And i was happy to find these awesome Jeep style Trailer lights. And best of all they wont take up as much space as if i was to use the 2"x6" or 4" LED lights. This trailer light assembly measures 5.75" x 2.88" x 6.75". It is a pretty good size for what i want. and can use a plate welded to the frame then mount these babies onto them.
I bought 2 of these. with shipping the total came out to $100.74


I like the fact that they have the clean LED light on the bottom that is meant for license plate lighting on either side of the trailer.




Mounting surface


Here you can see how the bottom LEDs light up the bottom side for the licence plate.


Here's a better idea of how big they are on real rigs








I feel that these lights will do just fine. They only cost $44.95 each. And i have had excellent experiences with their lights in the past so i know i will be off pretty well with using them on the trailer. Plus on the bright side if i ever break one i can always buy another one from their site. Here is a link to this product.
https://www.superbrightleds.com/mor...ox-led-stop-turn-tail-reverse-light/828/2055/

The best part about these lights is that they are all LEDs so there is no need to replace any bulbs or anything like that.
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I also ordered some Trail-Gear running lights.


These only ran me $7.72 each. They are 100% water proof and only measure 2 1/2" x 1" I have personally tested these lights out on my truck and i use them as turn signals/hazard lights. But I have seen many people use these as the side lights or running lights on their trucks.
I ordered 4 of these. with shipping they came out to $44.82
Here are pix of the lights from when i made my 4Runner's front bumper.


They are plenty bright to use as running lights.


Finished product on the truck




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I havent decided which direction to go with for exterior lighting yet but I want to buy some exterior LED lights to light up the campsite. Still debating on buying my buddie's "All4Offroad" rock lights. Here is an example of how much they light up.


He has a great product but I'm still debating on buying these or just going with Larger LED lights to really light up the campsite and light up a little further out because i know there are coyotes and other things that lurk out in the wild and i know i want something that will light up more then just the immediate camp ground. My girl and i were in a situation once where we saw tons of glowing eyes in the distant bushes when we were helping out with a friends late night truck repair. and once i saw the eyes i told my friend Mark (AKA chefyota4x4 on yotatech and instagram) to flip on his 360 degree roof lighting and when he did that everything that was out there scurried off. All i saw was the bushes moving as they ran off. im sure it was a family of coyotes. So i may just get these Rock lights to light up the interior of the trailer compartments and have one on something like an extension cord to route into the CVT roof top tent that i plan to run. Then i can use the larger LED's to light up around the trailer when needed with on and off switches.

 

[Redeth005]

Once i get these compartments made i'll finally be able to get around to installing the fun meticulous stuff
I still have a large to-do list:

1)Weld on some Tie downs onto the tray that holds the water tank. This way i can strap it down and keep it secured onto the tray.
2) Weld gussets onto the rear bumper tow hitch receiver to hold it onto the rear crossmember.
3) figure out a way to use the 2" body lift or just weld on 2" tube so i can permanently mount/weld that rear compartment box in place.
4) Make all the doors using the latches i bought.
5) Weld on the flanges that will be holding up the aluminum walls which will be riveted into place then paint all the steel tube and sheet metal. Then cut the aluminum to size and actually install the aluminum walls. then seal the joints with silicone inside and outside.
6) Also get around to installing the Propex HS2000 heater, heated shower set up, then order the Engel combi fridge/freezer that i want so i can get everything installed.

Once i have everything in place i'll be able to have a better idea of what my Amperage usage is going to be. I still need to and find a solar panel and fab up a mount to mount it up on top of the front compartment box. Urgh! So much more research i need to do for solar power i wish i had a solar guru to help me out with that one. I want to find out how many deep cell batteries i need so i can choose which brand battery and how many i need so i can fabricate a box or some sort of a battery tray onto the rear of the trailer to hold multiple batteries. I figure the batteries will add weight to the rear side to keep the trailer balanced because right now there is a lot more weight in the front of the trailer then there is supposed to be. I was actually thinking about taking the stock tire carrier off of my 4runner since i do not use it anymore and install it onto this trailer and just fabricate a battery holder that can easily be lifted up and down using that stock tire carrier. Not sure if I'm in over my head but it sounds like a good idea because if i decide on getting deep cycle acid batteries instead of the deep cycle optima batteries that i usually use i know i will need to do maintenance on the batteries. And being able to drop the battery tray by using that pulley will be convenient. and it will still keep the batteries up high enough under the trailer from getting hit/damaged.

 

[Redeth005]

Dang talk about quick. i just ordered these on sunday and they arrived today!
Gotta love trail-gear!

 

[Curtis in Texas]

That's good timing. I ordered some parts from Brea CA. on the 27th of January. They picked it up on the 28th. Just got tracking info it has arrived in Anaheim this morning Feb 3rd. Wow! Guess they are using the Homeless to walk stuff over in California.

Must have been that big blizzard on the East Coast that delayed it. They are telling me to expect it Friday the 5th.

I can get stuff from DZGEONG China faster than that.

Good thing I'm not hurting for the parts yet.

 

[Redeth005]

Today my Dad and I heat up the side rails of the roof to the rear box with an acetylene torch then smacked it all back into place with a 2×4 and sledge hammer. We then confirmed it was straight with a long right angle level. It looks great. That was a nice save considering the droop or bow it had in the last pix I had posted thanks to my mistake.



You can see the droop not there anymore. I already welded half of the roof into place. I'll continue the welds on Saturday. At least now it's solid and most importantly fixed!

 

[Redeth005]

That's good timing. I ordered some parts from Brea CA. on the 27th of January. They picked it up on the 28th. Just got tracking info it has arrived in Anaheim this morning Feb 3rd. Wow! Guess they are using the Homeless to walk stuff over in California.

Must have been that big blizzard on the East Coast that delayed it. They are telling me to expect it Friday the 5th.

I can get stuff from DZGEONG China faster than that.

Good thing I'm not hurting for the parts yet.

Lol they have a bunch of homeless people getting stuff from point A to point B. Lol Well my stuff always arrives very early because I live in California too; near Los angeles. And so coming from where their shop is at it usually never takes longer then 3 days.

 

[Redeth005]

My SuperBrightLEDs trailer lights came in today. And as usual they did not disappoint. The quality in this thing looks great. I'm very satisfied.

Close up of the 3 leds on the bottom side for license plate illumination.


3 screw mounting surface on the rear side.


Nice thick wires! So much easier to work with for me vs tiny thin wires that some other companies make. Wire code for the trailer lights is included on the box

 

[JasonRedwood]

Loooooooking great man!

 

[Redeth005]

I got a ton of stuff accomplished this weekend. i started off by making the frames to the doors. I actually didnt do that portion since my sense of math and angles arent the best. So my dad did those for me. once that was done i went ahead and cut out the 16 gauge aluminum sheet metal to size to use for the walls of the door.

Here's a test fitment of the door with the latch on the real compartment.


The original rivets i bought weren't thick enough so i had to buy new ones. These can rivet up to 1/4" thick. If you have never used Pop-Rivets before just know you need to drill the hole before you can use them. Drill through both surfaces, insert the pop rivet, then use the rivet gun to clamp them together.


I also went ahead and bought 5/8"s barrel hinges. the other set of hinges just seemed way too large for what it would be holding. So this smaller size is alot better for this application.


Door 1 wall secured in place.


As i said before the latches i bought are weldable so i welded them in to place


Here is the inside view of that driver side door to the trailer pretty much done; minus the hinges. This is the door that is going to hold my heated shower. I think i will end up putting a pin to maintain the door open when the shower is in use. Keeping the door open will allow the shower fumes to vent outside of the trailer while in use. Not to mention keep the propane fueled flame outside of the trailer rather then having it inside.


Next up i wanted to make the front face for the front compartment. Here i had already welded the 0.5"x0.5" 16guage square tube all around the inner lip. and it was welded into place a little less than 1/2" recessed inward.


Heres a better pic of that...


I had planned to just use the outer tube to hold the aluminum sheet metal in place but i thought having a center tube added in the middle would add extra support and keep it from vibrating as much which in turn would reduce noise when on the go


BAM! all riveted in to place. I put pop rivets every 3" in case you are wondering. And I gotta say that was a lot easier than I expected it to be. Rivet guns are very easy to use. And i think i did a really good job for my first time using them. All i really had to do was watch a few quick YouTube videos of how to work the pop rivet gun and that was it.


Then today i worked on making the 2nd door. Yes i know this door is different then the other one. You will later see why i made it like this once i get everything that will be installed on this side.


By the way this side of this compartment will house all the electrical stuff including battery bank for the solar energy system that I plan to run, breakers, relays, wires, electrical switches that will control the outdoor lighting etc etc...


I did get around to welding on the hinges but i havent taken any pictures of that yet because it got dark quick. But the front compartment is almost complete. I still gotta reprime everything again. and i would like to add a center brace for the rear wall of that front compartment the way i did to the front side. but it is pretty much done.

If i dont end up going to the Tierra Del Sol 54th Annual Dessert Safari next weekend i will probably start working on the rear compartment or get around to installing all the heated shower stuff.

Anyway until next time!