show us your truck bed trailers
- Thread starter bftank
- Start date
That is a great looking setup. Looks to be well thought out and looks great.Never saw this thread during my cobble. I won't say build. Started with an early '80s Ford Courier bed on frame that had already been cut into a tongue. No spare tire, no gas tank. original axle.
-Lock-n-roll hitch
-3500 Alko axle with hubs to match my TJ of course. Then wheels and tires to match.
-15 gallon fuel cell in spare tire area, plumbed to original filler location
-10 gallon water tank in front of each wheel well.
-deep cycle battery on top of each wheel well
-water pump and filter on left wheel well
-drawers made for left side behind an on 1/2 of top of wheel well
-Coleman stove slides out, then folds onto tailgate. Stored behind left wheel well. Plumbed to 20 lb tank in front of bed.
-electrical switches (integrated fuse panel) beside stove.
-interior bed lights, exterior light pointed at stove, fuel pump, water pump all switched.
-tie down tracks inside.
-shelf outside in front of bed for firewood. This is where propane tank is. 30lb will fit.
-water spigot mounted to the back of the bed.
-7 pin trailer wiring to charge batteries from Jeep.
-area between wheel wells for ice chest, camp chairs, etc. Quite a bit of room.
-RV leveling jacks in the rear
-Maggiolina Grand Tour will eventually have a rack installed, with bat-wing awning on it.
- tent is hinged in front for easy access to cargo area, water tanks, batteries, etc.
still working on it. tows great, will go almost anywhere the Jeep will. Quite comfy sleeping 2 with just a few blankets to about 25 degrees F.
Just picked up this beauty an hour ago. Made from an early 90s ranger. Best $200 ever wasted. A little bit of rust around the wheel wells, lets me practice by body work. Will decide what i'm going to do once i get more into it. Pulled it home with the trooper, but its going to be set up mostly for being drug behind my JK.
ocblaze
Member
Nice score (none)! I recently bought a converted s10 long bed and I couldn't be happier! I can't afford a M416 or a replica but the trailer I got for $250 has been absolutely perfect! I use the trailer for my construction business and it'll hold 2700 lbs of shingles and tiles! You can't do that with a M416! I recently hauled the 1120 lb trailer along with all my tools, spare, and camping gear 140+ miles with my little CJ5. It was slow but my Jeep will never be fast. I have looked into upgrading to a 5500 axle with brakes but that's only for the work side of things and not the play side.
Love it. These do seem to be the best bang for the buck out there.
It can't hurt... the axle is cheap... the upgrade is minimal on a 3.5K lb. axle... The controller can be bought at a separate time if you're on a budget... but the upgraded axle will be ready when you decide to wire it up.
Just a thought...
D
Deleted member 9101
Guest
A few years ago I ran into a guy that used the drum breaks on the truck axle and activated them with a standard hydraulic tongue mounted master cylinder, off of a boat trailer IIRC.
That's what i've been looking into. Planning to pull off the wheels and check the status of whats under there right now to see if that's worth it or if i should just get a trailer axle and go electric brakes.
yup. Priced them out at ~$150 and i can get the 5x5 bolt pattern needed to run jeep wheels.
Just wasn't sure how much they'd actually be used. They empty trailer seems light and i don't plan on loading it down with that much stuff.
Strictly on the pavement one might not NEED them, but if loaded or off-road the price of admission is probably worth it... Just cause you have them doesn't mean you'd need to hook them up, if you found that you truly didn't then you don't have to hook them up.
Darkrider
Adventurer
Lots of great ideas in here! I know where i can get my hands on a short box from a GMT400 pick up most likely for a reasonable price. My Sierra has a Raider canopy on it that would work well on that box to create a self contained trailer. Which would open up the bed of said Sierra to have a rack system of some sort on it.
Nd4SpdSe
Adventurer, eh?
Best to check out Kijiji, used truck/4x4 groups, government surplus auctions and forums for local communities for the truck, but wrecking yards do normally have a section for good truck beds, but being a domestic, you can find new replacement aftermarket beds.
I had my idea for YEARS (about 5-6 years) but I didn't have a need, nor could I find a truck within my budget. I spent a year really looking to start that project, and ironically, it was a friend who's truck I used as a basis for my idea is what I ended up buying by coincidence because it was in the year/condition/price that I could use.
I had my idea for YEARS (about 5-6 years) but I didn't have a need, nor could I find a truck within my budget. I spent a year really looking to start that project, and ironically, it was a friend who's truck I used as a basis for my idea is what I ended up buying by coincidence because it was in the year/condition/price that I could use.
MudWaspSR5
New member
Hello fellow Draggers! I'm new to the site but had to chime in because this is such a great thread. I'm in the process of doing a lot of work to my old Toyota Tacoma this spring/summer including a 3" lift so in turn will be doing the same to my own vintage truck-bed trailer which I purchased for $250 in Denver CO, back in 2001. It's sat outside ever since (in San Diego) and maybe sees brief action once or twice a year. I've had many plans for it and this thread has got me really excited to break out the grinder and my welder. Mine is also an odd duck of sorts. The Mexican guy I bought it from built and sold these as a hobby or job. I had 3 or 4 to pick from and chose what is apparently (after sufficient research) a 1982-84 Mazda B2000 Sundowner bed and frame. Ford and Mazda worked together on mini-trucks during that era so this same truck was re-bred as the Courier and later, the Ranger. I chose this one for several reasons over the others, which had included a much larger full size Chevy bed trailer. Aside from it being a Japanese mini-truck, much like my Tacoma the bed is 63" wide at its widest exterior point which is nearly the same as the Tacoma bed and it's also a "long bed" of sorts being 7ft on the inside and is actually a full 4ft (or 49") between the wheel wells. I've carried up to 12 sheets of 3/4" birch plywood before and 15 sheets of drywall (with tailgate down but doesn't go past). I can't carry any 4x8 sheet with my Tacoma unless I put in a custom elevated support to clear the wheel wells. When I bought the trailer I was 31 at the time and new nothing about trailers (ok..still don't lol!), I just knew the size seemed right for what I needed and it sat well with my Tacoma. I also noticed that the frame is a fully boxed tube, not just "C" or "U" style like on many bigger trucks. So while the box frame is smaller at just 4.5" x 2.5" I think it's pretty robust since its a boxed tube which is fully welded along the entire seam.
As for the ride, it pulls remarkably well with my V6 Taco and it actually got a trial by fire as the main reason for the purchase was a brief move across country to rebuild a house for my grandmother. Within a month of purchase I drove it from Denver to the coast of North Carolina, then back to Denver 6 months later, then on to San Diego while taking it through Arizona and the four corners region. So it's been half-way across the USA and back twice and traveled over the continental divide. I put roughly 4,500 miles on it within 1 year. All I did to prep it was put on new tires, remove the old gas tank, flush the differential box with new oil, and remove the original drum brakes since they were not connected to anything. I then installed a new wiring harness I made myself and put in new bulbs. I did a quick sand on the outside by hand and rolled on some mid-green Hammerite epoxy over the original white to somewhat match my truck. I've actually not done a single modification since, other than let it patina and rust lol. It's in pretty rough shape but it was then too. It came with the topper which I've rarely taken off. Who knows if I could ever replace it either as who the hell makes a 7ft bed!
I've thought of selling it from time to time as I'm sure I'd get at least $200 back but have always wanted to fix it up into a really nice camp trailer. Even if I put $500 into it now I think it would be worth it. The goal is to remove the bed, have it and the frame media blasted, then Hammerite the frame and underside of the bed, then rubberize the underside of the bed and wheel wells and brush/roll in Monstaliner in the bed. I doubt I could find a 7 ft plastic bed-liner unless out of another old B2000. I think I want to coat the exterior in camo green Plasti-Dip and am probably going to line the top perimeter in flat black anodized tread plate aluminum (1/16th). This is similar to what I'm doing to my truck too since it is a dark grey-green color. I'm getting all commando with it.
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