Redeth's Overland Trailer Build

[CCFD170]

Awesome trailer build! My only concern is the trailer hitch receiver tube on the rear. I wonder if it should be tied in to the rear crossmember of the frame. I'm thinking if you ever used it as an attachment point to pull somebody or you had to be pulled backwards that there would be a lot of stress on bumper where it's welded to theframe rails. Just a thought maybe that's me over engineering everything lol!! Keep up the good work and the updates.

 

[toyotech]

Love the latches and the link to buy on ebay.


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[PCO6]

... My only complaint about the one i bought is the lock. They are pretty cheap locks. And i definitely plan on swapping the locks on all 5 of them out to make sure stuff is secure inside of the trailer.

I installed a similar lock on my trailer tailgate. The first thing I did was make sure that I could get replacement keys cut for it ... and I did. Several "off-shore" locks that are available today have stamped keys and they can't be duplicated according to a few of the locksmiths I have asked locally. If you lose your key you're basically out of luck.

Post #12 of the attached shows how I installed mine ...
http://www.expeditionportal.com/forum/threads/148123-PCO6-s-Trailer-Build/page2

 

[BLKVooDoo]

You will want to drill some holes in the bottom of the water tank pan to drain any moisture that gets locked up under the tank. It will rust fast without it breathing a bit.

 

[Redeth005]

Picked up some tires for the trailer this past friday. 35/12.5/r15 BF Goodrich KM2's. Bought off of "Infamous_Ride" on Instagram.


Then over this past weekend I got started on working on the large trailer compartment floor. I started off by welding on these 1/2"x1/2" square tube along the inner walls of the 2x2 frame. The depth was made deep enough so it would fit 1/2" birchwood pieces flush with the top surface. you'll see what i mean in a bit...




Then i cut the 16guage sheet metal that i bought a few weeks ago to size to fit on top of those 1/2" square tubes. and tack welded it all the way around to keep the sheet metal from bending.


then fully welded it all the way around. Doing this will keep water from entering through the bottom of the trailer during river crossings if i ever have to cross a river that would reach that high lol


Here are both sides done already




Then i called GooseGear to ask them what thickness of flooring i should use for my trailer floor to make their job easier for when the time comes for them to build me my custom fitted drawers in the rear of the trailer. They told me to use 1/2" birch wood so i went to home depot to buy one. They said it would be easier to work with that than any other wood since they make all their products using high quality birchwood.


Bam! all cut to size flush with the upper part of the 2x2" square tube.






This was before i did the sheet metal floor but still looks really nice.


What i plan to do next to further ensure that it is going to be water proof from the bottom side is add silicone along the inner welds where the sheet metal meets the tube. after that i can go ahead and build the walls up with the precut 2x2 tubing i have and the roof of the trailer. I still have a long way to go but this flooring was some major progress in this build. it was also very time consuming to do a continuous weld throughout the whole thing.

That is all for now. I cant wait to get some more progress in.

 

[Nd4SpdSe]

Wow. How have I not come across your build! Great unique idea on how to build it and your thinking is very similar to mine!

For mine, I went with a new custom frame, cause I was suggested against mating old metal to new for the tongue of the trailer, but I was more easily able to get rid of the drop that the frame does and keep it flat and level, and make a few custom mods. But I did give it a 2" body lift. I've also got the original trucks fuel tank mounted, and tucked it up to take advantage of the body lift. and I also got a 16 gallon take that's close to the same dimensions to put on the opposing side. As well with the space underneath, I kept the spare tires winch and put it tucked up under there.

I did the same thing for the receiver on my truck as you did on the trailer to have it flush mounted with the pin hole on the inside.

I also want a heater for the tent and, I was debating between propane and a fuel fire heater since I have the fuel tank. I was worried that the propane heated would suck back too much fuel. The Wabasto fuel fire heater takes about 2.5amps at max power but only uses .27L/h, and on a fuel tank at 8 hours a night, I could use it for 34 straight nights. That unit would cost over a grand however and for later on since I have a ways to go before I put heat in.

I did some work with my dad too. He did the torching cause he's a (retired) millwright and I have no experience with it, and was afraid I'd ruin the tips, and it was my cousin's set. He did burn one of my tail lights :S

Keep it up, it looks good!

 

[Redeth005]

Wow. How have I not come across your build! Great unique idea on how to build it and your thinking is very similar to mine!

For mine, I went with a new custom frame, cause I was suggested against mating old metal to new for the tongue of the trailer, but I was more easily able to get rid of the drop that the frame does and keep it flat and level, and make a few custom mods. But I did give it a 2" body lift. I've also got the original trucks fuel tank mounted, and tucked it up to take advantage of the body lift. and I also got a 16 gallon take that's close to the same dimensions to put on the opposing side. As well with the space underneath, I kept the spare tires winch and put it tucked up under there.

I did the same thing for the receiver on my truck as you did on the trailer to have it flush mounted with the pin hole on the inside.

I also want a heater for the tent and, I was debating between propane and a fuel fire heater since I have the fuel tank. I was worried that the propane heated would suck back too much fuel. The Wabasto fuel fire heater takes about 2.5amps at max power but only uses .27L/h, and on a fuel tank at 8 hours a night, I could use it for 34 straight nights. That unit would cost over a grand however and for later on since I have a ways to go before I put heat in.

I did some work with my dad too. He did the torching cause he's a (retired) millwright and I have no experience with it, and was afraid I'd ruin the tips, and it was my cousin's set. He did burn one of my tail lights :S

Keep it up, it looks good!

I checked out your build. I think doing a build like yours is more complicated to do without messing up the body. Congrats on making it look good. As for the heater I went propane because I am going to be carrying a full size bbq propane tank for all my things like shower tent and my grill. So I wanted to keep the fuel consumption the same. But since you already have the gas tank why not just save up that 1 grand and buy it. It sounds like it would work out great on your trailer. Just read up on it and make sure you are able to use that heater on slightly uneven ground.

The propex one that I bought is supposed to be really great. I hear Volkswagon vans and some European vehicles use products made by this company. I also see the Truma Combi brand heater that user "Defconbrix" is supposed to be top notch. But it also cost twice as much as the one I bought lol just need to do some research before you bite the bullet and spend that much on something.

 

[Redeth005]

So at the hospital i work in i realized our case carts that carry all our surgical instruments into the operating rooms have similar door latches to the ones i bought. Here are just some nice reference pix i took for myself to look back on.



Then i went to instagram user "Ish_mrqz" to get some help mounting these 35" BF goodrich KM2 tires onto the temporary rims and talk about trucks and this trailer project.



After getting the truck level in the front with the back here is how it looks. Those tires really lifted the trailer a lot! Now it's starting to look beefy! And now I can work on the trailer without being hunched over all the time. I think these KM2's make this project look a lot more serious now.


Looking mean!


Test fitment of the "Jeep Style" trailer fenders I bought on Ebay a few months ago. I am definitely going to have to trim them from the bottom a bit. But for the most part I'm liking the way they are going to look on it; especially after I fab up some small rock sliders for it. They measure 36" at the base of the fender, 21" at the top of the fender, 19" height, and 10" wide. Once I buy the same 15×8" steel procomp rims that I have on the truck these tires will sit perfectly centered with the fender.




With the 2" spacers. Im going to have to find some strong bolts to hold up the main compartment when its loaded up with fridge/freezer, roof top tent and camping gear. I am not going to build this compartment to be removable but i am going to use the body lift to raise the main compartment because it sits too close to the tire. and i fear that when flexed out the tire will rub. So these 2" spacers are going to give me the extra clearance i need for the tire to move up some. Once i find the bolts to secure it in place im going to weld them onto the body towers that i made so they can not be removed.


I also went ahead and began to cut the flooring for the front compartment. the 0.5" wood is all cut out to size and then i traced the wood onto the remaining sheet metal from the first piece i used for the large compartment. and cut it to size. I'm really hoping it doesn't rain tonight/tomorrow so i can weld up the floor to the smaller compartment and possibly to roof as well. I would really like to see this compartment permanently welded onto the frame by tomorrow. but we will see if i have sufficient time to complete all the tasks i want to do tomorrow.


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The trailer project is really starting to come together. All i know is that It's gonna be tall! Once i'm done with the main compartment. It's going to be 64" tall. Plus 3 more inches to make a roof rack above the main compartment so I can mount the Mt. Rainier roof top tent that i want. AND another 15.5" of the closed roof top tent. In total it's gonna sit somewhere between 80-83" tall. It's gonna be huge when all closed up. Imagine how awesome it'll look once the large roof top tent is open! Im sure where ever i decide to camp out will be considered home base for my wheeling groups lol!

 

[Redeth005]

Got the front storage compartment floor welded on and permanently welded onto the trailer frame now. Lately even with having the trailer covered, I've been having trouble keeping oxidation away so I went ahead and primed the whole front half of the frame to keep the surface rust off as well as the entire front compartment.


I had about half a can of matte black left over from my previous project so i also painted all of the inside floor and got all the welds really good to add extra protection for the mean time.


Bought this pop rivet gun with 1/8" rivets at home depot this morning as well These are going to be used to mount the aluminum side walls onto the steel storage compartments. This particular gun is really cool because the head swivels so you can change your angle in those hard to reach places.


Also this morning i bought this trailer jack for the tongue. I was thinking about somehow mounting this tire to the bottom of the jack. But still debating on keeping it or taking it back to get something built better. Any suggestions? My tongue is 24" tall so i need something to clear that height and preferably with a rubber tire not plastic. And soon ill be adding this trailer hitch just temporarily until i get the trailer inspection done (whenever that time comes). After i get the trailer registered with the DMV i would really like to get myself something similar to the Max Coupler.

 

[Nd4SpdSe]

I checked out your build. I think doing a build like yours is more complicated to do without messing up the body. Congrats on making it look good. As for the heater I went propane because I am going to be carrying a full size bbq propane tank for all my things like shower tent and my grill. So I wanted to keep the fuel consumption the same. But since you already have the gas tank why not just save up that 1 grand and buy it. It sounds like it would work out great on your trailer. Just read up on it and make sure you are able to use that heater on slightly uneven ground.

The propex one that I bought is supposed to be really great. I hear Volkswagon vans and some European vehicles use products made by this company. I also see the Truma Combi brand heater that user "Defconbrix" is supposed to be top notch. But it also cost twice as much as the one I bought lol just need to do some research before you bite the bullet and spend that much on something.

You're probably right. Sometimes I wonder if I'm getting in over my head, haha.

I don't think there's an issue with level since it actually uses a pump for the fuel. I don't mind running a second fuel, it will come in handy for extending the range of the vehicle, and maybe if I put in a little scooter for running around. I like to keep my options open. I'm just worried about burning through a 20lb tank of propane in a night or two and have nothing left for cooking. I know people like to use the heaters for when going to bed and when getting up in the morning, but I'd like to be able to run it all night to keep warm and do some real winter camping...if you want to call it "real" when your running a heater, but I do enough "camping" in the winter, sleeping in sleeping with no heat (or just a Coleman stove and Lantern while doing shifts) at -30*C, so if I'm doing it on my own and for the fun, damn straight I'm going to be as comfortable as I can make myself, heh. On the one you got, how much propane would it use? I have a hard time figuring out the comsumption, expecially since they use by what it looks like to be European standards for tank sizes and ratings.

Your right they do, and in the cab of transport trucks and boats. It's actually hard to find information on it. No run runs them on a trailer since no one really keeps fuel on board for that reason. It's typically propane of electric through shore power or a generator.

 

[Redeth005]

Wooo! i see progress for this weekend. I just came home from buying a 4'x10' 16guage aluminum sheet metal for the walls of this trailer. I cant wait to start working on it some more. Ive had such good momentum on this project lately i would hate to stop now. lol

 

[toyotech]

Why didn't you just get a trailer jack with wheel


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[Redeth005]

Why didn't you just get a trailer jack with wheel


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That's why I was saying I may not keep this one. I bought it at Harbor freight. And i believe it was the tallest one for this. But I don't think I'm going to keep it. I'd like to buy one with the rubber inflatable tire already included. Because with this I'm just making more unnecessary work for myself.

 

[toyotech]

That's why I was saying I may not keep this one. I bought it at Harbor freight. And i believe it was the tallest one for this. But I don't think I'm going to keep it. I'd like to buy one with the rubber inflatable tire already included. Because with this I'm just making more unnecessary work for myself.

Y rubber tire?


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[Curtis in Texas]

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!