Aux fuel and water on offroad trailer (1 Viewer)

[rifleshooter]

Hello folks. I am in the design phase of my impending 4x6 trailer. 3500# axle, same wheels and tires as 80. I think I have settled on the turtleback trailer frame design, the Drifta trailer/boxrocket trailer top side. Make sense??

I have drawn much inspiration from this board. Thank you all.

My first question for the pro's around here.
I want to mount upwards of 40 gal fuel, and roughly 20 gal water on this thing. RTT and kitchen, offroad fridge etc. I have thought about mounting a 40 gal tank above the axle of the trailer, below the trailer box. Thoughts? Am I nuts thinking the 80 can drag this kind of load with ease? It seems like mounting large sums of fuel on these trailers is seldom done.

The main purpose for the trailer is to be basecamp for a family of four on remote hunting trips/baja/SW utah/WY/Canada, you get the point. I have found in the past the one thing that causing me to go back into town is needing fuel/water. With that in mind I could really use some help deciding how and where to mount this amount of fluid on such a small platform.

 

[cruiserpilot]

Mounting fuel and water under the floor is a great idea, but when full the tanks are full,
your center of gravity is going to be balanced one way. When empty it will change dramatically.
You don't want a trailer weight shifting from tongue balanced, to say, very aft heavy after shifting
fuel. You would want to be able to move cargo to compensate, which could be difficult.
It is a great idea, but that is my concern. Good luck, look forward to seeing what you do.

 

[rifleshooter]

Mounting fuel and water under the floor is a great idea, but when full the tanks are full,
your center of gravity is going to be balanced one way. When empty it will change dramatically.
You don't want a trailer weight shifting from tongue balanced, to say, very aft heavy after shifting
fuel. You would want to be able to move cargo to compensate, which could be difficult.
It is a great idea, but that is my concern. Good luck, look forward to seeing what you do.

Copy that. I am leaning to going fuel under. Water over the axle. The majority of the time the tanks can be empty, or say water but no extra fuel. If I can figure out how to build a sealable door like whats on the turtle trailers?

FWIW. I have a JD model 2 bender. Lincoln 180 duel welder. My shop is very limited (compared to some) but I hope to make it work.

Thanks for the input.

 

[rifleshooter]

The fuel.

This does not need to be something I can pull off the road, and in record time, fill the 80 tank. I am thinking more along the lines of having 40 gal of fuel sitting in the trailer, that has been parked for a week, and rigging up some kind of hand/electric pump. Like a removeable pump that I could lock away in a box. I am very much a KISS ( Keep It Simple Stupid) principle type.

 

[rifleshooter]

The water:

The water will be used for drinking and washing dishes. There will be no hot water shower to worry about here. Picture washing the guts out of a critter one second, then squirting off the dishes the next. I am just wanting capacity.

 

[cruiserpilot]

^^12V pumps are not too expensive. I have done that, with jumper cables, but make sure you have a safety off switch
just in case fuel is spilling/lines separated. Calculate fuel and water weights so you know how much weight you are looking at.
I actually thought of using a roof basket that holds 4-6 20L/5gal cans that is mounted under a trailer. That way, you can shift the
full and empty cans around to keep it balanced. That is another idea. Suck on muddy roads, but doable.

 

[rifleshooter]

Oh....and......I dont know how to post pictures of this build on mud. Bear with me please. If you know how... PM me. Thanks I am not a pro.

 

[rifleshooter]

^^12V pumps are not too expensive. I have done that, with jumper cables, but make sure you have a safety off switch
just in case fuel is spilling/lines separated. Calculate fuel and water weights so you know how much weight you are looking at.
I actually thought of using a roof basket that holds 4-6 20L/5gal cans that is mounted under a trailer. That way, you can shift the
full and empty cans around to keep it balanced. That is another idea. Suck on muddy roads, but doable.

Yeah I am fine with running jumpers.
This rig NEEDS to be very good in gumbo! If you have dealt with this tiger s*** you know what I am talking about. Mud and gumbo this trailer will see often.

 

[cruiserpilot]

At the bottom there are three boxes............................................................................................ Post Reply Attach File More Options
Click on Attach File, browse picture and double click. You'll figure it out.

 

[ntsqd]

Figure that gasoline weighs about 6.4 lbs per gallon, diesel is about 7.1 lbs. per gal. 40 gals. of fuel is a pretty significant payload all by itself.

 

[rifleshooter]

^^^Copy that. I envision stopping at the last fuel stop along the road and filling up with almost 400 lbs of fuel, with a slow crawl to camp. Water now thats another thing.

 

[rifleshooter]

What do you guys think about the rear spring hanger? Is it positioned correctly. It is stamped with "top". I asume this means top of trailer?

 

[e9999]

are these shackles and hanger a bit thinner than usual?

 

[rifleshooter]

I have no idea. I am equal distance from the brake mount location. Do I weld this all the way around the axle. The stress of fxxxing this up is killing me!!

 

[rifleshooter]

Got everything tacked into place. Just need to find some 80 rims for the trailer. Pulled the spare off to get measurments for the fenders.

 

[cruiserpilot]

I have no idea. I am equal distance from the brake mount location. Do I weld this all the way around the axle. The stress of ****ing this up is killing me!!

Yes, weld all around the spring perches. You could get away with welding the hangars just front and rear, but more is better.
Looks really good. Waiting for more now...

 

[rifleshooter]

^^copy

 

[Tennessee80]

Looking good dude! I wish I had metal working skills. I got lucky finding an already built frame

 

[rifleshooter]

Looking good dude! I wish I had metal working skills. I got lucky finding an already built frame

Thanks man. I have only had the mig for less than a year. Figured there was no way to pay/feed this passion other than just build stuff for myself. Time to get back after it tomorrow, the mountains were calling.

 

[rifleshooter]

Getting alittle closer. More tomorrow.