"TrailTop" modular trailer topper building components
- Thread starter jscherb
- Start date
jscherb
Expedition Leader
I took the trailer to Lowes to pick up plywood for the skin, so while I had it out I checked the fit of the end panel. Since the dimensions of the trailer tub in the spare room are identical to this one, it fit as planned.
In these photos it may look like the trailer will be a lot taller than the Jeep, but that's due to the perspective of the photos. In fact the top of the roof will be only slightly taller than this Jeep, it'll be about level with the top of the roof rack crossbar.
In these photos it may look like the trailer will be a lot taller than the Jeep, but that's due to the perspective of the photos. In fact the top of the roof will be only slightly taller than this Jeep, it'll be about level with the top of the roof rack crossbar.
rudee13
Member
Really good to see you working on these again. I've been hoping these would get picked up for production sometime (soon) with the "get outside" movement I think they could be a hit for diy'ers. Have always admired your skills.Made up the side panels this morning.
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Bullseye240
Adventurer
JSherb, is there any chance these parts might make it to production? I love the Traildog design and would love to build one.
jscherb
Expedition Leader
Thank you very much. It is good to be working with these parts again, it's a lot of fun building with them because with a fairly small amount of work the end result looks very nice.
I don't know if the TrailTop parts will ever see production. The interest I've had so far hasn't been encouraging - either from people who aren't qualified or were only interested in a small subset of the parts or wanted to modify the parts so they'd really only work for a specific application. I do admit that I'm not spending any time trying to find a company or person who's interested in bringing these to market, unfortunately I'm too busy with other projects to spend any time trying to find a home for this.
I've got a bunch of ideas for additional TrailTop components to make more designs possible, and I'd love to see a TrailDog built, if my other work slows down maybe I'll have time to do more.
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jscherb
Expedition Leader
I've posed a CJ-style drop-down tailgate in the tailgate opening:
I have a window that's the right size to install in the rear door.
A side-swing door above a drop-down tailgate would look like this:
Or I could do a one-piece swinging door:
I'm thinking I'll probably do the upper half door and leave the drop-down tailgate on the trailer. That way when I take the topper off to use the trailer as an open cargo trailer I won't have to swap a tailgate back on, I can just leave the tailgate in place for all configurations.
If my primary use for the trailer with topper was as a camper I'd probably do the full door.
I drew the doors in the above images with piano hinges, but on second thought I think the door should swing on lift-off hinges like Jeep doors have. That way the door can be removed if the trailer is needed to carry something that has to hang out of the back.
I have a window that's the right size to install in the rear door.
A side-swing door above a drop-down tailgate would look like this:
Or I could do a one-piece swinging door:
I'm thinking I'll probably do the upper half door and leave the drop-down tailgate on the trailer. That way when I take the topper off to use the trailer as an open cargo trailer I won't have to swap a tailgate back on, I can just leave the tailgate in place for all configurations.
If my primary use for the trailer with topper was as a camper I'd probably do the full door.
I drew the doors in the above images with piano hinges, but on second thought I think the door should swing on lift-off hinges like Jeep doors have. That way the door can be removed if the trailer is needed to carry something that has to hang out of the back.
jscherb
Expedition Leader
I don't plan to put "Alpine windows" on this one because I'm just going to use the lid from the existing trailer on top of the topper:
But one of the additional TrailTop components that would be fun to make a mold for some day would be top corners that accept the same Alpine windows I put in the JK Safari Cab hardtop...
jscherb
Expedition Leader
One option for a "one piece door" would be to do something like I did on both the LJ and JK Safari Cabs - an upper door that attaches to a factory side-swing tailgate.
I considered that for this project, but I like the drop-down tailgate when I'm using the trailer for cargo and I'd rather not have to swap tailgates every time I swap the topper on and off.
screwball48
Explorer
I love seeing you work with the TrailTop components. Great ideas as always.
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jscherb
Expedition Leader
The reason I've put the TJ-style bevels on the top edge of the topper is because the lid I've got is designed to fit and seal properly to that profile. Here's the lid/pop-up on the base trailer:
The pop-up will look something like this on top of the new section, and will provide enough headroom for me (6'6") to stand up. Here's a quick concept image:
To make the pop-up canvas work, one more thing is necessary - I've got to add TJ-style soft top retainers to the top of the beveled edge because that's how the canvas secures to the tub. I had one set on hand and the other day I managed to grab a second set from a u-pull junkyard, so now I've got the necessary parts.
I posted this image a few years ago when I was doing the initial molds for the TrailTop parts...
Have to think about adding some windows to the sides.
The pop-up will look something like this on top of the new section, and will provide enough headroom for me (6'6") to stand up. Here's a quick concept image:
To make the pop-up canvas work, one more thing is necessary - I've got to add TJ-style soft top retainers to the top of the beveled edge because that's how the canvas secures to the tub. I had one set on hand and the other day I managed to grab a second set from a u-pull junkyard, so now I've got the necessary parts.
I posted this image a few years ago when I was doing the initial molds for the TrailTop parts...
Have to think about adding some windows to the sides.
jscherb
Expedition Leader
Something I'm considering for the front wall is this hatch - it would allow access to cargo stored up front.
When used as a camper a screen could be put inside the hatch so the hatch could be opened for fresh air.
I'm also thinking about putting a few windows in the sides. Mostly I'm building this topper for cargo usage, but with a few windows (and the pop-up camper top) it could serve as a pretty decent camper. Not sure what style windows to install, how many, where they should go, etc., so any suggestions anyone has would be welcome.
Or, I could keep the side panels solid for cargo use and build a separate set of side panels for camping use. Each side panel costs less than $20 to make, and since they bolt in place so swapping side panels is easy so it's not a big deal to have a multiple sets of side panels for different uses.
When used as a camper a screen could be put inside the hatch so the hatch could be opened for fresh air.
I'm also thinking about putting a few windows in the sides. Mostly I'm building this topper for cargo usage, but with a few windows (and the pop-up camper top) it could serve as a pretty decent camper. Not sure what style windows to install, how many, where they should go, etc., so any suggestions anyone has would be welcome.
Or, I could keep the side panels solid for cargo use and build a separate set of side panels for camping use. Each side panel costs less than $20 to make, and since they bolt in place so swapping side panels is easy so it's not a big deal to have a multiple sets of side panels for different uses.
