Expedition trailer made from FJ40 tub (1 Viewer)

[Volcanic Iceberg]

I put in the new rear sill tonight and removed some more of the cancer. One corner left to repair and then a bunch of little spots all over. There are 2 fiber glass repairs that I will cut out and replace with steel. The bed has 4 holes from an aux fuel tank. There is bondo all over this thing that I have slowly been grinding away.

I also cut out the 2 fender well roll bar supports behind the wheels. There is some space there that I have always wanted to do something with. I plan to utilize it as either storage or a place to hide the batteries. The front is going to be heavy with the water tank and kitchen, so that should help even the load a little.

I am pretty excited about this project in general. In a sea of converted military trailers, and roof top tents, I think this one will stand out as being quite unique. And it will look sharp being pulled behind my 40 - or my 80 for that matter.

I need to find at least 1 hard top in decent shape. Anyone following this thread in southern nevada, Southern California or Utah who knows where I can find one that doesnt cost too much ($300 or less) let me know. Its ok if the fiberglass in front is cracked as I will only be using the aft portion.

 

[REZARF]

That trailer will have more clean metal on it than my cruiser! Keep it up!

You are right it will be QUITE unique and that my friend... is awesome.

Drew

 

[Volcanic Iceberg]

I have been pushing some deadlines with my business so I havent had a whole lot of time to work on the trailer. But after a 16 hour day at work I decided that I needed a day off to do something i wanted to do. So I got the remaining corner patched up. The first picture shows how I get it to fit together right.

 

[Volcanic Iceberg]

Once the corner was put back together I decided to test fit the tail gate. Then I tipped it on end to show that there is just enough room to sleep in. I am 5'11" Next I flipped it right side up and rolled in a 33" tire to see how it will look once completed. haven't decided on a tire size yet. Most likely 35". I may have to modify the wheel opening a bit to accomodate the large tire size. The electric winch is an awsome tool.

 

[BionicCruiser]

looks great! you are gonna have a ton of space in there.

 

[Volcanic Iceberg]

looks great! you are gonna have a ton of space in there.

I dont know about a TON of space when you consider the whole front half will be full of kitchen, tanks, and equipment. The back half will be equal to the storage space that you have in your trailer. I have to fit the remainder of my gear in that space. How is it working out yor you?

 

[Volcanic Iceberg]

Looking for some input

I have been wrestling with how to lift the top. Originally I planned to salvege a pop up trailer lift mechanism. But then I found a company that made a scizzor lift system and that seemed to be a simpler system. But doing some research, Some people say they are less stable unless you use multiple scizzors, and now i cant find anyone that makes them to research it further. So I am leaning back towards the pop up pully mechanism again. But it is complex, and im not sure how i would make it work. This thing is stepped - not flat on the bottom. Any ideas?

I also dont have any idea how to keep the kitchen in the closed position. Originally i has planned to have it exit the front or rear of the trailer, but in order to have any depth, it will have to exit from the passenger side in front of the wheel. Id like to have some kind of closure that maintaines some preasure so the outside rests firmly against the weather stripping and so it wont come sliding out in an off camber situation. Input please. The pictures below are similar commercial versions to the slide out kitchen I am planning.

 

[BionicCruiser]

I dont know about a TON of space when you consider the whole front half will be full of kitchen, tanks, and equipment. The back half will be equal to the storage space that you have in your trailer. I have to fit the remainder of my gear in that space. How is it working out yor you?

with a wife and 2 kids, the sapce is very tight. the cooler goes on the backof the 40 and very little inside the 40 since the kids take up nearly the whole tub space. I have some tongue space too that gets used with rubbermaid boxes. I'm looking for ways to expand a little.

 

[Volcanic Iceberg]

I met with my neighbor who is a body/paint guy. He got me all excited as we talked about painting It. He is going to let me work with him on it and teach me how to do the filling and painting So encouraged, I dove into stitch welding the seams. When i ran my hand across it I felt some warpage. I think I may be able to pound it out but its disapointing. I gues I will have to space the stitches further apart on the rest of it. I also started sanding the tail gate and filled some holes on the body.

 

[REZARF]

A good high quality paddle latch and striker will keep your door closed, until you say it should open.

Drew

 

[77TLCFJ40]

Any updates?

 

[Volcanic Iceberg]

Any updates?

Nothing picture worthy at the moment. I ran out of cutting wheels and sanding disks, so had to restock. Then I got distracted working on one of the tow vehicles. I swapped engines in my 80 series due to a rod knock. I HAVE been working on the trailer though. I'm working on taking out the floor and wheel wells in the front section, drilling out all of the spot welds. Its a laborious process But I'm trying to avoid a hack job.

I also had an epifany while lying in bed about what to do about the lift mechanism. I like this idea better than all the rest. What I envision is a scissor lift on tracks front and aft that will be controlled with pullys drawn together by fixed cables which will be wound around 2 spools connected together by a rod. the cranking spool will be gear driven with a brake mechanism. Most likley a manual winch like you would find at the front of a boat trailer. Probably hard to imagine. I think I may have to mock up a model to test before I dive into fabricating.

 

[Volcanic Iceberg]

Today I finished cutting the floor out of the front section. Sill have some clean up there along the edges. I also took out the tire rack support from the front end and and transplanted it to the back on the passenger side. I measured and drilled holes in the apropriate place in preparation for the additional tube style tire rack that I reversed to mount on the passenger side. I also measured and cut vertically one of the top side pieces so that it is evactly half the length of the trailer. - Still have to procure another top before I can begin assembly.

 

[BreakinBirfs]

any pic?

 

[Volcanic Iceberg]

A couple pics

 

[Volcanic Iceberg]

One of my tow rigs

 

[Bad Mojo]

Looks pretty cool. I am doing the same idea of running two stock tire carriers, but turn one into a jerry can holder on my FJ40. Can't wait to see this project done.

 

[Volcanic Iceberg]

I have continued to chip away at the project. None of these little things are necisarrily picture worthy, but at least I am making progress. I positioned and drilled holes in the rear sill for the tail gate hinges. Filled ambulance door hinge holes with a copper welding spoon so I would have a good surface to mount the hooks for the tail gate clamps.

Due to a new baby being born in a couple months my garage is going to have to be converted into storage. So i was faced with the dilema of getting the trailer project out. My original plan was to build a frame with trailing arm & airbag suspension. But due to budget and time constraints I decided to go the easy route. In order to get wheels under it I sectioned the rear portion of the 78' FJ40 frame just in front of the rear spring hangers. The frame section slid right in and I was able to easily move the trailer out of the garage.

So my plan now is to build the front frame section and tongue which will attach to the existing frame.

 

[Volcanic Iceberg]

One more pic. Once the front section of the frame is complete I plan to do a spring over to clear the larger tires i have planned. - But this gives a good idea of how the trailer is shaping up.

 

[77TLCFJ40]

Lookin' really nice. Keep it up!