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
www.expeditionportal.com
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
Papa's Off-road Trailer Project
HI all.. well after lurking here awhile and learning as much as I can, I have taken the plunge and have started my trailer build project. I am hoping to get a lot of feed back from you all and appreciate the Good, The Bad and The Ugly :cool: . Not sure I can pull this off but have made some...
www.expeditionportal.com
