Well, its 2 Heavy, 2 Wide (80") and 2 Tall but I got plates for it today....

FN4PAPA

Member
This has been the trailer project from hell… I ended up building a tank ?. I wanted it to be tough enough to go anywhere the jeep could go so the frame and superstructure was steel. The frame was 3/16”, the Tounge ¼” and the Superstructure 1/8”… but all that steel really added up… On top of that I used honey combed reinforced fiberglass boards (@1.17#/sqft) to add strength and toughness to the .032 5 bar aluminum skin. When I first took it over to have it weighed, I couldn’t believe it… 3,800# without water in the tanks, no bed frames, no camping gear and no spare tire… Needless to say I was depressed. So went back home and rebuilt the nose box entirely out of Aluminum, cut out the sleeping deck which was steel frame, posts and the fiberglass panels for flooring and replaced with a light weight all Aluminum design. Ditched my electric Moon Roof (a Jeep Sky One-Touch... know anyone who wants one??) Took out the flooring where I used deck boards (they are surprisingly heavy) and replaced with light weight Bamboo… Went back to the scales with the Spare Tire and both bed frames onboard and I am now at 3,300#, still with no water or camping gear… so next steps will be to go in with a Plasma cutter and honeycomb a lot of the steel frame and superstructure.

I have learned a few things over the past year I have been working on this project:

1 – I didn’t save any money by building it myself, If I had to do it again, I would just go buy that small Airstream and then beef it up a bit and put it on 33’s. It might not be tough enough for all the places I wanted to go but not sure the one I built will be able to either due to it’s weight.

2 – Weight really adds up fast, if you are using steel your trailer is heavy.

3 – Did I mention I didn’t save any money… this thing has gone WAY over budget in every possible way… everything ended up costing more than expected… I was really shocked at how much I have spent on all the little things like screws, adhesives, wiring, door hardware, plumbing etc… it really adds up.. as the Trailer sits today, I have spent north of $45k and I am not done, the outside is pretty much done but I still have a lot to do on the inside e.g. cabinets, Lighting, foam for the beds, Canvas for the all the openings… I will for sure have another $10k at least in getting it really finished… And while I know it is built well, I doubt I could sell it for half of what I have in it…

4 - Building a trailer is not much different than building a house (I have done that too).. you have Foundations (Suspension), Framing, Electrical, Plumbing, Cabinetry, painting, and finishing... Its really a big job, don't underestimate it...

So here are a few pics…. you can see more of the earlier pics at the link below...1 year and probably north of 1,000 hrs…

I am tired of trailer building....

Cheers

 

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jim65wagon

Well-known member
That's a nice looking trailer. You're not the only one with a heavy expensive trailer. Our teardrop ran us a good 25k when we built it 11 years ago. We included the cost of every screw, bolt, glues and all the little pieces that I'm pretty sure most people don't add into their cost.

As for weight, I'm also skeptical of most people's trailer weight. We've got an aluminum framed 5x10 teardrop, loaded for camping (chairs, ez-up, refrigerator full of food, wine cabinet full, and 40 gallons of water) we hit the CAT scale at 3500lbs. She's not light but at least we can get two weeks without a resupply.

Sent from my SM-G960U1 using Tapatalk
 

NOPEC

Well-known member
This has been the trailer project from hell… I ended up building a tank ?. I wanted it to be tough enough to go anywhere the jeep could go so the frame and superstructure was steel. The frame was 3/16”, the Tounge ¼” and the Superstructure 1/8”… but all that steel really added up… On top of that I used honey combed reinforced fiberglass boards (@1.17#/sqft) to add strength and toughness to the .032 5 bar aluminum skin. When I first took it over to have it weighed, I couldn’t believe it… 3,800# without water in the tanks, no bed frames, no camping gear and no spare tire… Needless to say I was depressed. So went back home and rebuilt the nose box entirely out of Aluminum, cut out the sleeping deck which was steel frame, posts and the fiberglass panels for flooring and replaced with a light weight all Aluminum design. Ditched my electric Moon Roof (a Jeep Sky One-Touch... know anyone who wants one??) Took out the flooring where I used deck boards (they are surprisingly heavy) and replaced with light weight Bamboo… Went back to the scales with the Spare Tire and both bed frames onboard and I am now at 3,300#, still with no water or camping gear… so next steps will be to go in with a Plasma cutter and honeycomb a lot of the steel frame and superstructure.

I have learned a few things over the past year I have been working on this project:

1 – I didn’t save any money by building it myself, If I had to do it again, I would just go buy that small Airstream and then beef it up a bit and put it on 33’s. It might not be tough enough for all the places I wanted to go but not sure the one I built will be able to either due to it’s weight.

2 – Weight really adds up fast, if you are using steel your trailer is heavy.

3 – Did I mention I didn’t save any money… this thing has gone WAY over budget in every possible way… everything ended up costing more than expected… I was really shocked at how much I have spent on all the little things like screws, adhesives, wiring, door hardware, plumbing etc… it really adds up.. as the Trailer sits today, I have spent north of $45k and I am not done, the outside is pretty much done but I still have a lot to do on the inside e.g. cabinets, Lighting, foam for the beds, Canvas for the all the openings… I will for sure have another $10k at least in getting it really finished… And while I know it is built well, I doubt I could sell it for half of what I have in it…

4 - Building a trailer is not much different than building a house (I have done that too).. you have Foundations (Suspension), Framing, Electrical, Plumbing, Cabinetry, painting, and finishing... Its really a big job, don't underestimate it...

So here are a few pics…. you can see more of the earlier pics at the link below...1 year and probably north of 1,000 hrs…

I am tired of trailer building....

Cheers


Good report!

These are expensive addi hobbies we have.....
 

FN4PAPA

Member
so neither weight nor $$$ are an issue

Both are an issue, I have to save my money so I can buy Gas :)... but weight is a big issue too.. ya the jeep has the power to pull it anywhere but traction is the problem... dragging 3k+ lbs up a steep sandy trail is a problem. So not happy about either $$$ or the weight but it is a design and like and can live with. Cheers
 

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