You guys are killing me here!
I have some sort of trailer disorder or something. I just love them...in particular outfitting and building them.
So how many people are building their own?
I tend to do my offroad exploring without the wife and kids. Wife likes getting out but I tend to go with the 4x4 club and that has worked out to be more my deal then hers. When the family goes camping the Airstream and Suburban will be involved.
I needed a little cargo trailer a few years back before I had the Sub. Haul mowers, building stuff for the house and junk like that. It started life as a $450 wire mesh floor 5x8 utility trailer with a 3500 lb axle and 15 inch wheels.
My trail truck was just that... a trail truck. Always ready to go trail riding for a day trip but seldom had camping gear in it. Most of the trails in the SE are day runs. So a base camp is pretty normal. I would throw some camping gear on the little 5x8 so I didn't have to pack the truck full. Drop the trailer at camp and hit the trail.
I like camping except for the tent on the ground.....Every time I have been tent camping I end up on a flat air mattress with a rock in the middle of my back and a critter ends up in there with me most times, or sopping wet in the rain with a river running under and through the tent then spending a day drying out all my gear or all of the above. So the last day was sort of miserable then having to go home wet and deal with the gear for several hours so it wouldn't mildew.
I got the bright idea to enclose this trailer after getting caught in the rain again. I had set the tent on the bed of the trailer that time because it was already raining by the time we got to camp. So not nearly as wet but the Mattress went flat again but no rock in the back this time.
So I built the "Redneck Special". See picture below. After it was all said and done and a wreck that necessitated building a new frame later It ended up being 5x10 ( 5x8x 5.5 inside main box) about 6.5-7ft overall width with tires. The front 2ft houses storage boxes for gear, Battery for running lights and fan and space for 3 Jerry cans and it will haul enough wood for a weekend with the club. The camper shell has screened windows to fend off the bugs and no jammed zippers. The roof rack on the back has extensions to support a 12ftx12ft canopy to keep the rain out of the back and it supports a tarp over the front that works as a rain fly for the side windows. It also leaves some air space and helps keep it cool in the day.
The inside is still bare for cargo duties. I have a little frame that screws in real quick to support a spare twin mattress off my kids trundle bed. Its ugly as it gets but it does the job.
So I went to Dixie run first weekend in October at Tellico (primitive camping)..Everybody looks at it makes comments and giggles. That night pouring rain they are all under my canopy using my grill. I go to sleep in a nice REAL bed it gets down to 28......and snows LOL.
So next morning everybody but me and the folks that had actual campers are wet and miserable. It seals pretty good so it wasn't so bad in my little homebuilt even without a heater. Wadded up my tarps and bungee them down on the front box and headed home. Other then two tarps I could throw over the car in the garage I had nothing to dry out. It worked out better then expected.
Now I downsized from a K5 Jimmy with a 350 v8 down to a first gen 4Runner with a 4cyl.....The "Redneck special" is a little more then the 4 banger is happy with (I over built the frame so its not lite). Fact of the matter is I could almost get the 4 runner IN the redneck special.
So I am back to looking at a new trailer thats down sized as well. Redneck special will become just a cargo trailer again to be towed by the Suburban.
Now I am as cheap as they come and I like building. I have welders and ways to cut and fabricate. So it sort of irks me to lay out cash on something I can build.
My options:
1. I know somebody that has M101 thats rough and had the back hacked up. Its $250 and I figure it needs at the very least $250 to get it back into basic shape. Then do this
http://www.muttmotorpool.com/M416_camper.html to get me where I would be happy with it.
I may buy this regardless because restored I can get $800 if not more for it if I don't end up needing it. It would be handy for running to the home store for stuff. It only costs $25 a year for tags so keeping an extra trailer is not a big outlay if the neighbors won't lynch you for it.
2. I have come to own several aluminum double door boxes (doors on opposite ends). They are 28x32x20. I have 4 that are identical. If they were 40 inches on the long side they would be perfect for expedition trailer. I also have some empty shells of similar width and lengths that would make for a dandy Aluminum body trailer. A quick C channel frame and a little work and I would have a good trailer. Some quick math it would end up having a main body about 7ft long I would have widen the boxes to 40 inches for the front part of the body. That would allow it to track the same as the vehicle towing it. Again add or make a top style tent.
3. Tear drop style....Whats to say...they are just as cool as they get and can be made very light. No need to for a tent (did I mention I really hate tents?) at all but there is more expense and a LOT of build time involved.
4. I may have a chance to get a liner style pickup truck drop in work body. Possibly for free. I'm keeping my fingers crossed for this one.
Its like a work shell with flip up side doors but it has a full floor. The floor has a built in full length aluminum drawer and it has a full length bed slide that would make an instant table 30x50 that will require no other support. At night it would be the bed frame.
Put two of my aluminum boxes stacked on the front to house battery and some gear and a small water tank 20lb propane tank on the that for a camp grill and lantern. Its a Short bed style thats 80 inches long. With the boxes it would be just over 8ft plus the Hitch length. Rig up my canopy extension and It would be good to go.
http://www.brandfxbody.com/fibrebody/inserts.htm thats the body. Put some camper windows in it that have screens and a power roof vent. .Not nearly as heavy as you would think either. About 300lb plus about 70lb for the bed slider. A little wider then I would like but should be able keep it down to under 6ft over all width. So it would track about 8 inches wider then the 4Runner. Thats livable. Hight would end up around 6.5 ft on the trailer.
The big plus is the price if I get it for free. Looking about $250 for a 6 lug axle with brakes, $300 or so in materials. Its probably going to come in around the same weight as I would build a tear drop or the other trailer. It already has internal lighting. Great storage systems in place already with the one side door having a full length set of shelves add a fold out table to set a small stove on and would make an instant kitchen area. Its already water tight. Even if it does leak its all fiberglass so no rot issues. Has about the same head room as a tear drop. Would not be pretty but it would be functional with less effort then my other ideas.
Nice! The pics don't even really do that bowl justice... it's steeeeep.
