Safari Cab "Overland Camper" Trailer Build

[jscherb]

When I build a trailer I will make the box large enough to easily load a 4'x'8 sheet or drywall, plywood, whatever.

The larger of these two trailers has 49" between the inside wheel wells, so a 4x8 would not be a problem (unlike the factory Jeep tub, which has about 37" between the inner wheel wells).

And for carrying larger items, like when I transported the 5' wide Safari Cab roof panel back from South Carolina to NY, I use 2x3 load bars across the top of the tub:

I designed the trailer so it could carry 4'x8's, 16' long 2-by's (with both front and rear tailgates open and 4' of the board overhanging each end), or a complete Jeep tub (using the load bars, and the trailer has a 3000-lb. capacity).

The load bars bolt into the standard hardtop holes in the top of the tub rail.

 

[blazerdp2]

I think you have a really good idea here. Have you ever though about making a "pop up" design?

 

[jscherb]

I think you have a really good idea here. Have you ever though about making a "pop up" design?

Thanks. Yes, but I built the solid side design because I wanted a "stop and drop" camper - meaning no set up required to stop and sleep. But a pop-up could be built using the same trailer tub and the roof panel.

 

[truck mechanic]

any idear on pricing on a do it your self kit?

 

[jscherb]

any idear on pricing on a do it your self kit?

I'm trying to determine what really should be in a DIY kit, which will affect the price.

The least expensive way to do it would be to provide 2 side panels (either 4' or 7' 5" long to fit one of the commonly available trailer frames), 2 end panels (choose between two tailgate panels, two "blank" panels, or one of each), and two inner fenders. The buyer would be responsible for the floor, which most easily could be made from 3/4" plywood and some metal cross-braces, the tailgate(s) (used CJ or Wrangler tailgates would be fine), and of course the trailer frame.

If the DIY kit included only those 6 fiberglass parts, it could be very affordable.

If flooring, tailgates, etc., were to be provided, the kit price could quickly go up.

And for the longer version, the camper top parts could be part of a DIY kit - sides, roof, and either barn doors or hatches for the ends. So there could be a whole range of options one could purchase along with the basic kit.

I would think the most basic DIY kit, including only the sides, ends and inner fenders would be able to be sold for a bit more than the price of the Harbor Freight/Northern Tool trailer you'd be buying to go under it. But it's hard to say until the molds are made and a prototype is produced - a big part of the cost of the fiberglass parts depends on how thick they have to be made to provide appropriate strength.

 

[truck mechanic]

let me know whenyou come up with pricing, i am very interested, but would most likly build the trailer end of it myself.
thanx Paul

 

[jscherb]

let me know whenyou come up with pricing, i am very interested, but would most likly build the trailer end of it myself.
thanx Paul

Well I'm just a guy that designs and builds this stuff as a hobby. Once I build something, then I see if a company is interested in marketing what I've built (either the same company that is working on marketing my Safari Cab hardtop or perhaps some other company). It would be up to some company to decide to bring it to market and set a price, not me

I do plan to build the mold set for the trailer tub, but I can't predict whether any company would be interested in bringing the product to market. I've got a project in mind for one of the tubs, so that's what will drive me to do the molds. What happens after I get my first set of parts out of the mold I can't predict.

 

[jscherb]

And when the trailer isn't configured with the camper top...

16-feet long? No problem! I had to transport an extension ladder today.

Sure is handy having tailgates on both ends .

 

[97jeeperdrummer]

Wow, Just wow.. I wanted one of your tops 2 years ago when I had my TJ, and its great to see you making this project happen! I wish you the best with it!

 

[Riley]

Another amazing series of applications that seem the utmost of practicality! Outstanding effort and execution!

While I'm no high miler, I'd like to offer a suggestion. As you establish the sleeping designs for your trailer, consider having some sort of cutout in the platform to allow sitting inside near the primary access. This would allow getting shoes etc coordinated prior to exiting, or being required to open the hatch during inclement weather. Having slept in the back of several smallish suv's this would be a huge benefit.

Otherwise, it's tough to imagine a more thoroughly developed concept for improving the functionality, and perhaps personality, of the Jeep. Congratulations and best wishes for continued success.

 

[jeepdreamer]

I never saw (and just re-skimmed the thread) where you worked on the tonau (spelling, ACK!) cover for the trailer. I know you have skills but I just can't see you sitting at a sewing machine zipping one out! lol! Did you have it made custom or graft a couple ones together or..? How did the tracks mount and where did they come from? Are there supports under it to keep it tight? Pics?

 

[jscherb]

I never saw (and just re-skimmed the thread) where you worked on the tonau (spelling, ACK!) cover for the trailer. I know you have skills but I just can't see you sitting at a sewing machine zipping one out! lol! Did you have it made custom or graft a couple ones together or..? How did the tracks mount and where did they come from? Are there supports under it to keep it tight? Pics?

Short version: I didn't sew it, it was made specifically for my trailer by a leading truck tonneau manufacturer.

Long version: When I went to the SEMA show in Las Vegas last fall, I met people from a major truck tonneau company and talked to them about doing a version of their top-selling tonneau to fit Jeeps. They agreed, so I worked with them over the following weeks to help them build a prototype, size the hardware, etc. The end result was the new tonneau cover that Gr8Tops sells to go along with their half cabs:

As part of the prototyping process that resulted in the Gr8Tops product, I asked them to make me a special longer one custom fit to my trailer, which they did - since the fabric pattern and cutting is all CAD-driven, it was really easy for them to make a custom length for me. (In fact, they made it before I had even gotten my trailer tub welded together - but since I did detailed design drawings for the trailer, I knew in advance exactly how long the tonneau needed to be ).

The details are as follows:

- There are rails that mount to the top edge of the tub, they can be seen in the photo above. In the case of my tonneau, these are secured using hardtop-style screws/nuts through the normal hardtop holes in the top edge of the tub.

- There are cross-bars which snap into place to keep a crown in the cover. The half cab tonneaus have one cross-bar, but I asked for my trailer tonneau to be made with three due to its extra length. Once of the bars is peeking out from under the cover in the photo above.

- There is also a tailgate bar, it slides in to the ends of the side rails and is very easily and quickly removable. The tailgate seals against it, there's a bulb-type weatherstrip just under the bar, you can see it in the photo above. The weatherstrip is very similar to the weatherstrip in the Wrangler soft-top tailgate bar. For my trailer, because it has tailgates at both ends, I've got these tailgate bars at both ends also.

The tonneau cover performs great. I've towed the trailer at high speeds in the rain for several hours with no water leakage at all, and no flapping or other undesirable behavior. I think it adds a really nice custom finished look to the trailer.

 

[jeepdreamer]

Wow... your right! It does lend a great finished look to the trailer (and the LJ!). Are these for the GR8TOPs TJ halfcab only or would they work on a Scrambler too? I assume there is some sort of chanel at the bulkhead/halftop to seal out the water too? They look great! Handy that you work off of CAD stuff, lol! Keep on rollin'... We are all watching for the updates!!

 

[jscherb]

Wow... your right! It does lend a great finished look to the trailer (and the LJ!). Are these for the GR8TOPs TJ halfcab only or would they work on a Scrambler too? I assume there is some sort of chanel at the bulkhead/halftop to seal out the water too? They look great! Handy that you work off of CAD stuff, lol! Keep on rollin'... We are all watching for the updates!!

Thanks! For the half cab the same channel that runs down the sides is used across the front, and it mounts on a piece of aluminum angle that bolts to the bulkhead.

At the moment they're only commercially available for the Gr8Tops half cabs without roll bars. When Gr8Tops releases their version of the Safari Cab with the roll-bar pass-through feature (prototype photo below), I'll probably work with the tonneau company to produce a version of the tonneau that has sleeves to go around the roll bars, and maybe at that time we'll think about a Scrambler version.

BTW if you happened to be making a trailer out of a Jeep tub and made it the same length as one of the Gr8Tops tonneau covers, you could just buy one of these tonneaus from Gr8Tops for the trailer.

 

[jscherb]

A while back I posted an idea in this thread about making molds for fiberglass Jeep tub style trailers. The molds would be made such that any length trailer up to 8' could be made. Specific versions could be made to fit common and inexpensive trailer frames from either Harbor Freight or Northern Tool.

The nearest Harbor Freight to me is about 90 minutes away; the nearest Northern Tool is several states away. My travels over the next few days are going to take me to places where both stores exist, so I'm going to stop in and do some measurements of their trailers. The fiberglass trailer tub kit idea is still on my list of possible next projects, and I need a few measurements to finalize the design work for making tub kits that would fit on these two trailers.

What do you guys think of the idea of making Jeep-style fiberglass tubs to fit these trailers? If you like the idea, how would you like to see them configured/how would you configure yours? If you think building these is a dumb idea, why is it dumb?