SLO's NoBo 16.6

[SLO_F-250]

Like where your headed and will be stealing ideas for our 1706FB Winnebago, though I've upgraded to 30 lb propane tanks and added some of those adjustable aluminum stairs at the door. Copying, flattery, etc... Bigger battery is next.

What kind of frame do you have under this? I've been chewing on something to carry bikes on the back of our Micro Minnie Winnebago but the C channel frame doesn't inspire confidence, even if a cross brace is welded in to attach a hitch receiver for the bike rack that would run under the bumper. Winnebago says not to hang more than 50 pounds on the bumper and that's taken up with the spare.

Hey Bob, Thanks! We'll see where it goes. This camper has a box frame. 2x4 material I believe. I have not spent much time under it looking b/c they have a plastic cover on the bottom to protect everything. I will reinforce the bumper similar to my last trailer bumper. Check out some photos on my previous trailer build thread. The last one was a flimsy "I beam" frame. My main concern was the torsion on the 4x4 tube from the bike rack and the connection point to the frame. What I did held up well with plenty of dirt road bike bouncing. Never had an issue.

We have a long 12 day road trip planning end of July so the reinforcement must comment soon!

 

[Bob Boyer]

Yeah, just got back from three weeks rambling around upper East Tennessee, Virginia, West Virginia, Ohio, and the Mammoth Cave area of Western Kentucky. Enjoy yours! I'll check out the other thread - I-beams and C-channels don't inspire any confidence in me, so your solution could be what I'm looking for. The Winnebagos come with that same coroplast material underneath, which is very helpful keeping things warm in 14 degree temps as long as there's some ductwork down there from the furnace. I'm guessing yours has the same and if so, it will help a lot.

 

[SLO_F-250]

Well, so far we have 20 nights in the trailer and are very happy with it. No major complaints. Everything has been holding up and working well. This past weekend I was able to reinforce the bumper similar to the last trailer and add some water and storage. I added angle on each of the 4 corners of the middle section of bumper to help take the torsion force of the hitch/bike rack bouncing down the road. Then I welded on plate top and bottom of the frame connection to be sure it would not come apart there. I had to cut and extend the tire holder up 6" in order to not cover the tail light and fit the bike rack. Quick project but happy with it.





One of the Jerry Cans is for extra water when needed. Seems on a 3 day weekend, we always run out of water in the morning. That is of course because we like our showers.
The other Jerry Can is one of the Rampage Tool Boxes for my black tank stuff. I spray painted it since it was a sun faded pink.

We're now ready for our Family Summer Vacation/Road Trip (14 nights). The bikes should not fall off the back!!!

Recent Lake Fun...

 

[Mekcanix]

I love what you did with the bumper and the storage. I mounted a smaller tongue box out back for my black tanks stuff last year and love it, but now I may have to rework it similar to yours with the tire holding the shovels and cross wrench. I think thats a great idea

 

[Treefarmer]

This is great forum topic. We've often thought about buying a less expensive, less capable trailer and going heavy with the modifications. You could buy two or three of these types of trailers for what it would cost to buy one of some of the super off road capable trailers. With the money saved, you could make a lot of interesting upgrades. What do people think about NoBo adding the Curt independent trailing arm suspension to their line up? My concern is that the Ember four wheel versions with this suspension only have a CCC of 1,320 lbs. Not much for a "dual axle", so I wonder if the frames aren't engineered with enough capacity and durability, especially when going off road.

 

[SLO_F-250]

This is great forum topic. We've often thought about buying a less expensive, less capable trailer and going heavy with the modifications. You could buy two or three of these types of trailers for what it would cost to buy one of some of the super off road capable trailers. With the money saved, you could make a lot of interesting upgrades. What do people think about NoBo adding the Curt independent trailing arm suspension to their line up? My concern is that the Ember four wheel versions with this suspension only have a CCC of 1,320 lbs. Not much for a "dual axle", so I wonder if the frames aren't engineered with enough capacity and durability, especially when going off road.

Agree. So far I feel the TorFlex suspension on this thing is pretty darn rough. It could use more travel, dampening, and articulation. Honestly, my modified leaf spring setup on the last trailer felt smoother. I bet the frame needs some serious beefing up to accommodate an independent suspension but it would be worth it!
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Update: Just got back from a 13 day road trip. We camped in Pinecrest CA, Tahoe, Twin Lakes (outside Bridgeport) and Saddleback Lake up the Tioga Pass. So far we are at 35 nights in the trailer since purchasing in January. Everything is holding up well and we are pretty happy. IMO the 3.5" lift was key. Originally it was too low to the ground even for some paved roads/dips. The bumper mod's worked great and we had 2 mountain bikes on the back the whole time. No real big mods on the list or complaints after this long stint in the rig. We're happy and just want to keep using it!!