Safari Cab "Overland Camper" Trailer Build

[jeepdreamer]

I like the idea but wonder how big a can of worms that could be? One of my gripes about my Scrambler (and my Bantam trailer too) is trying to carry a 4x8 sheet of plywood. I don't know the measurements off the top of my head but do they really have to be so large? Is there some other way to design them to allow more room? If not i would fall back to my second jeep thought. Why don't we get the wheel well storage area anymore? If the wells have to take up space, why not make them a minimum height and create a full floor out out of it and put I'n access hatches. Be a great place to store recovery gear, small parts, tools, etc... Just a thought.

 

[jscherb]

I like the idea but wonder how big a can of worms that could be? One of my gripes about my Scrambler (and my Bantam trailer too) is trying to carry a 4x8 sheet of plywood. I don't know the measurements off the top of my head but do they really have to be so large? Is there some other way to design them to allow more room?

A few weeks back I had to transport a Safari Cab roof from South Carolina back to NY. At roughly 58" x 7' 2", it's slightly too large to fit inside the trailer, and slightly too small to fit easily on top of it. So I attached some 2x3 load bars to the top of the tub using the hardtop holes and screws, and put the roof on top of those.

Carrying a 4x8 isn't too hard on either of the sizes of trailer I've pictured in my trailer tub kit concept drawings. For the longer of the two trailers, a 4x8 fits almost all the way inside, the back of the sheet rests on the top of the tailgate. For the smaller trailers, the load bar idea works great.

My plan for the trailer tub molds is to have the molds long enough so the side panels could be 8' long if desired, that would end up with an 8' 7" trailer, so a 4x8 would fit flat in one built that size, especially if you built the wheel wells as I did (see below).

If not i would fall back to my second jeep thought. Why don't we get the wheel well storage area anymore? If the wells have to take up space, why not make them a minimum height and create a full floor out out of it and put I'n access hatches. Be a great place to store recovery gear, small parts, tools, etc... Just a thought.

On a trailer the wheel wells can be far smaller than on a vehicle because the wheel travel is much less. On a vehicle the wheels articulate into the wheel wells, on a trailer generally the whole trailer rises over obstacles with much less wheel articulation, so there's far less wheel travel relative to the wheel well.

In my trailer, I added a few inches to the track width, so there's 49" between the inner fenders, unlike the Jeep tub, where there's 37" between the inner fenders. My wheel wells are still higher than they need to be given the limited articulation that the trailer has, so they could have been made shorter, but since there's 49" between them, I didn't see the need.

So my trailer has a 49" wide by 7' 5" clear floor area, which allows for carrying large items. And with the load bars, I can even carry an entire Jeep tub - that was one of my design criteria for the trailer - the ability to bring a Jeep tub home in the event of a future project requiring one. Another requirement was easy carriage of 4x8 sheets, and a third requirement was easy carriage of very long things, up to 16':

And with the 3000 pound load capacity, I don't feel like there are too many things I could ever want to carry that I couldn't carry with this trailer.

What have I missed?

 

[VanIsle_Greg]

Good to see you on here as well Jeff. Usually follow you on Jeep Forum.

I love this trailer, so well designed, want one!!!
Greg

 

[jscherb]

Good to see you on here as well Jeff. Usually follow you on Jeep Forum.

Thanks Greg. I figure there are guys here with a lot more experience than I've got with campers and trailers, so if I post my design ideas here, I can get lots of good input to help me come up with better designs.

I love this trailer, so well designed, want one!!!
Greg

Hey, who knows, if I do this fiberglass trailer tub project and it turns out well, maybe someone will want to commercialize it and then you could get one
Jeff

 

[jeepdreamer]

So how strange would it look to stretch it another 8 inches or so to allow a full sheet of plywood to fit inside? Hmm... guess that would kinda put it out of the jeep sized realm and make the top to difficult. So one other thought I had would be to maybe find someway to incorporate some tie down chanels into the floor? Recessed into it would be nice. And maybe a recessed box where someone could mount a second battery?

 

[jscherb]

So how strange would it look to stretch it another 8 inches or so to allow a full sheet of plywood to fit inside? Hmm... guess that would kinda put it out of the jeep sized realm and make the top to difficult.

I don't think it would look strange at all. I made the tub the length I did so the standard Safari Cab LJ roof panel would be the right length for it. If the trailer tub was extended 9" more, then the Safari Cab CJ-8 roof would be the right length.

So one other thought I had would be to maybe find someway to incorporate some tie down chanels into the floor? Recessed into it would be nice. And maybe a recessed box where someone could mount a second battery?

For securing loads, I installed three tie-down points on each side, you can see them in the photo below. The rings screw into plates in the floor, so they're removable in the event that spot in the floor needs to be unobstructed for a large load. I used the same tie-downs in the bed of the Retro-Wrangler pickup, and I use them all the time, and I haven't found a need for more than the ones you see in the trailer - you could do channels, but at least with the loads I've been carrying in both the pickup and the trailer, these tie-down points have proved sufficient.

I suppose you could recess a box in the floor for a battery, but the bottom of it would hang down below the frame, so you'd have to carefully think about where you'd want to put it. If I'm going ahead with the fiberglass tub project, I could build some fiberglass storage boxes that could be put in as options, for either a battery or storage, although I'm not really a fan of storage compartments that aren't accessible when there's a load in the trailer.

You might also put a battery along the side of the tub, in front of or behind the inner wheel well, like I did with this storage box:

BTW this storage box is an ammo can I modified to have a locking paddle handle and a hinge along the back edge. It's secured to the bed floor using one of the tie-down points mentioned above; there's a hole in the bottom of the box, so the tie-down ring unscrews, then the box is put in place with the hole over the tie down point, and the tie down ring is screwed back in place but inside the box. It's secure, because once the box is locked you can't get to it, but it's quickly removable and you can move the box to any one of the other five tie-down points if the space it's in is needed for
a load.

 

[jeepdreamer]

So the LJ top would work and be long enough to allow a full sheet of plywood to fit inside? Awesome! Didn't realize this was based on a regular TJ length, looks long? Guess its that yellow that makes me stare.
And that ammo box upgrade is AWESOME! You should either produce those or supply some how to pics... That is a great solution to the need to remove the entire lid! And they can be cheap to find and are plenty strong!
I guess I didn't think about the ability to get in to a box when its loaded? Makes sense though. I just wish there was someplace not so in the way to mount a battery without the typical afterthought look of putting it on the tongue. Maybe if a dry cell battery was used, mounted on its side, it could be mounted above the axle? Just thinking off the cuff...

 

[jscherb]

So the LJ top would work and be long enough to allow a full sheet of plywood to fit inside? Awesome! Didn't realize this was based on a regular TJ length, looks long? Guess its that yellow that makes me stare.

Maybe I didn't explain it well enough or maybe you misread it - the roof on my current trailer is the LJ Safari Cab roof. If you wanted to lengthen the trailer 9" (which would make it longer than 8' inside), then you could use the Scrambler Safari Cab roof on it. I didn't mention the TJ roof at all.

And that ammo box upgrade is AWESOME! You should either produce those or supply some how to pics... That is a great solution to the need to remove the entire lid! And they can be cheap to find and are plenty strong!

The ammo box upgrade is pretty simple; I used a locking paddle handle from Northern Tool, it was about $12 I think. I cut off the side latches, trimmed the top a little and put two hinges along the long back side, and cut appropriate holes in the front of the box for the latch, and pop-riveted a latch catch into the inside of the top. Done. If anyone needs hole cutting template for the latch, let me know and I can email it.

I guess I didn't think about the ability to get in to a box when its loaded? Makes sense though. I just wish there was someplace not so in the way to mount a battery without the typical afterthought look of putting it on the tongue. Maybe if a dry cell battery was used, mounted on its side, it could be mounted above the axle? Just thinking off the cuff...

Here's another idea for mounting a battery - you could get one of these inexpensive tongue boxes from Harbor Freight ($79.99, $63.99 with the 20% off coupon) and mount the battery (and other gear) in there, although that assumes you don't have a tailgate on the front like I do on my trailer.

Another idea I had for the fiberglass trailer tub kits would be to use a marine hatch and make a fiberglass storage compartment to mount flush in the floor similar to the one in the photos below (except probably not as deep).

 

[jeepdreamer]

Sorry, your right. Guess i had top name overload.?. *blush*

 

[jscherb]

Here's an idea to turn the mini Harbor Freight trailer into a 5x8 camper trailer using the fiberglass trailer tub kit I've designed. A reinforced fiberglass tonneau cover would be fitted to the trailer, and hinged at the back. This would serve as a hard tonneau for the trailer, but also, when flipped open, it would become a 5x8 platform for setting up a tent. A folding leg would support the platform. You'd still have all of the cargo space inside the trailer for storing your camping gear, etc.

The tent could be pretty much any 5x8 or smaller tent that's on the market, it wouldn't have to be a custom tent for this trailer. Here's a nice one from ********'s for only $69.99:

http://www.dickssportinggoods.com/p...Id=3998058&cp=4406646.4413993.4414966.4414970

This would be a really economical way to build a camper trailer.

- HF trailer, about $210 with 20% coupon
- 5x8 tent of your choice, $50-$200
- Fiberglass tub kit with flip-top option, $not too much

I think a DIY build on the small HF trailer base could end up in the $1000 range including the tent, and result in a light and compact camp trailer perfect for towing behind even a 4-cylinder Jeep.

Because it's built on the HF trailer frame, it wouldn't be suited for hard-core off-roading, but trailers for that purpose start at $3000 and more and go up from there based on equipment and options, so this would be a budget way to get a camper behind your Jeep for on-road and "improved trail" use.

 

[Oakbluffcamper]

Campmor.com has the Tetragon 5 on sale for $59

Eureka makes good tents I use a Tetragon 9 as a travel tent, they set up fast and easy (one person can set it up) It has good fly protection and they are inexpensive. Oh and I can stand up in put to my cloths on.

 

[jscherb]

Eureka makes good tents I use a Tetragon 9 as a travel tent, they set up fast and easy (one person can set it up) It has good fly protection and they are inexpensive. Oh and I can stand up in put to my cloths on.

Looks like the Eureka Forte SQ 2XT ($110) and the Eureka Apex 2 ($80) would fit well on the trailer platform as designed:

 

[trust]

Jeff, you never cease to amaze and impress me, just incredible ideas well executed! For those who havent enjoyed Jeff's work in person I can say the prototype build quality is better than factory production by a wide margin

I have a couple of 'next project' suggestions that I would like to see you take on (for selfish reasons) 1) an extended cab half hard top for a scrambler, tie into the stock bulkhead but extend aft some moderate distance (12"?) with a shelf at the top/tub interface behind the seats (if that makes sense) for light dry storage and 2) a fiberglass camper/topper for a stock scrambler half cab for those of us who run the half cab most of the time and would like enclosed storage while doing longer trail rides. I'd gladly volunteer my scrambler as a test mule, getting it to your place from here could be a challenge though....

No charge for the intellectual property (not being an intellectual after all)

 

[jscherb]

Jeff, you never cease to amaze and impress me, just incredible ideas well executed! For those who havent enjoyed Jeff's work in person I can say the prototype build quality is better than factory production by a wide margin.

Hey Terry,
You're much too kind. Next time I see you I'll be happy to point out the shortcomings in my amateur work .

I have a couple of 'next project' suggestions that I would like to see you take on (for selfish reasons) 1) an extended cab half hard top for a scrambler, tie into the stock bulkhead but extend aft some moderate distance (12"?) with a shelf at the top/tub interface behind the seats (if that makes sense) for light dry storage

That one would be pretty straightforward. I've already done a prototype of an extended half cab, here's a photo of it on an LJ (with a rear window drawn in). A feature of the Safari half cab is the "roll-bar pass-through", which enables the hardtop to be installed with the factory roll bars in place. The Wrangler roll bars are easier to deal with than the Scrambler roll bars, though, so I'd have to give some thought to how to pass them through the rear wall of the cab, but I'm sure it would be possible.

I doubt there would be much commercial demand for a Scrambler extended cab howver, since the number of Scramblers was never large and is shrinking every year, and this idea probably wouldn't appeal to everyone, so probably this idea wouldn't make sense to do as a commercial product. Would make a cool one-off custom though.

and 2) a fiberglass camper/topper for a stock scrambler half cab for those of us who run the half cab most of the time and would like enclosed storage while doing longer trail rides. I'd gladly volunteer my scrambler as a test mule, getting it to your place from here could be a challenge though....

I've done several concept drawings for covering the rear of a half-cab Jeep. Here they are, although shown with a Safari half cab instead of the factory half cab. The top one uses mostly parts from the Safari Cab molds with a few slight modifications, but nothing too difficult. It would be pretty strightforward to build.

The bottom one is a military-style covered wagon soft top, it would be supported by a set of bows that attach to a rail that bolts to the top edge of the Jeep's tub. The rails would also form a lip similar to the factory TJ Wrangler soft top lip at the top edge of the tub, and a plastic strip on the bottom of the canvas would slip under that lip just like the factory TJ soft top, making the canvas very easy to install and remove.

The "covered wagon" top would be a lot of fun to build, especially if you had a military-themed Jeep to put it on. Here's a few concepts I did about a year ago...

A lengthened TJ, turned into a pickup with a military M715-style bed:

And a stock LJ in military paint with a "covered wagon top":

I've also thought about doing a covered wagon top for the trailer (getting back on topic to trailers in this thread, I think that would be a really cool project ).

 

[jeepdreamer]

Anything new JS? Having neat idea withdrawals.