Expedition trailer made from FJ40 tub (1 Viewer)

[Corwin117]

cool. looking great

 

[Rubiconcruiser]

Nice Job all around

 

[Volcanic Iceberg]

Sink and accessories have been ordered and will be here around thanksgiving. Im hoping that it fits, since I have'nt actually seen it in person and the tolerances are very tight. Excited none the less.

 

[Volcanic Iceberg]

Skeleton for the kitchen Mostly welded together.

 

[ice man 1]

I'd been considering purchasing an M101 or an M16 trailer to make into a camper similar to yours to pull behind my 40 when I stumbled upon your thread. The idea of a matching trailer sounded fantastic, until I realized that you weren't building one from scratch but would rather canabalize (I can barely say it...) TWO FJ40 tubs to make your trailer. Then I saw the photos of the "donor" vehicles and have to admit that I threw up a little in my mouth.
Here in the Midwest, wintertime land of salt and sand, we pray to find tubs like that and dream of straight and rust free frames and bodies. Since they don't exist, we drag home sputtering rustbuckets and sandblast, weld, and otherwise rebuild pathetic tubs that you could throw a cat through in almost any direction. Then we powdercoat, undercoat, and seal as best we can these ressurrected bodies at great expense and effort, all the while knowing full well that 5 years later we will likely do it all again in order to save the species from extinction to the degradations of time.
Not to confuse you, I REALLY do like your trailer. Your project has inspired me completely: I'm thinking of giving it all up and moving to Arizona. Apparently there, they just lie around in the sun dry rotting the tires off of them!
Seriously, if you ever decide to build another one and would want to sell it, I'd be interested in buying it. I'm thinking I could build one of those Toyota FJ40 Landcruisers out of it. (Maybe even TWO?)
Now, I have to get to the store and pick up another gallon of POR 15 before they close.

(Good Luck with the rest of your camper project. It really is looking good. =)

 

[twoyotas]

it is really coming together now!

 

[Volcanic Iceberg]

It doesnt seem like I accomplished a whole lot for an entire days worth of work, but since my tolerances are extremely tight there is absolutely no room for error. I've pretty much had to do everything three times .... Its been a challenge to get everything square and to exact measurements. So today, I mounted the slides, built the flip up counter top (to the right of the stove), put in the structure that the stove will sit on, and finished welding and grinding all my welds smooth.

Id like to put in the rear folding counter top. The design is for the counter to stow folded over resting on the sink, but without having the sink in my hands, I have no way of knowing how high the sink sits above the mounting surface. if its more than 1/8" then the piano hinge will pinch it and the counter top won't lay flush. I guess that part will be on hold for a couple more weeks till the sink shows up.

 

[Volcanic Iceberg]

I got some measurements from my sister who is delivering the sink, and based on that information I went ahead and finished the counter top framework. The top two photos show it deployed, the bottom photo shows how it folds up for stowage. I am really pleased with how it turned out. I think that most kitchens of this nature are lacking in counter top/ food prep/ or just plain horizontal surface area. It was a fair amount of extra work to make this, but I doubt I will regret it. Note: the one side is slightly shorter in antisipation of the kitchen not pulling out 100% of the way and to clear the external door.

 

[ice man 1]

This looks great. What will you use for countertop material, and how will you secure it within your frame? (It will lie flat within the frame right?)

 

[Volcanic Iceberg]

This looks great. What will you use for countertop material, and how will you secure it within your frame? (It will lie flat within the frame right?)

The idea is to make the most durrable, yet light weight kitchen possible, so thats what I am trying to achieve with the "skin & bones" build method. The steel structure will provide enough strength that I can use 1/4" plywood for the skin material (rather than the commonly used 3/4"). THe skin will be recessed flush with the frame. The next step is to weld in tabs for it to be secured to. Initially I wanted to use Bamboo, but I cant get any locally and its quite pricy, so I will most likely go with a birch finish. One of the advantages to this build method is all the skin panels are removable so I can change to a different material at any time.

 

[ice man 1]

Sounds good. I have been pricing materials for a countertop for my project and looked at the HDPE (High Density Polyethylene Plastics) from my local plexiglass company and found it in black or white for somewhere around $30 for .38x24"x48" (like cutting board material), but ended up with a very large kitchen sink cut-out made of Corion that worked fine for my smaller application for $5 from a countertop installer. The Corion is heavier and more brittle, and I liked the idea of the HDPE better because it would hold screws, etc..., but this worked fine for my needs (Just an insert). Maybe you could find similar waste/ends from your local supply house installers, etc... in either materials?

 

[Walking Eagle]

When I worked for a food equipment manufacture we made shelves for holding cabinets out of HDPE that also served as cutting boards. It's one of the few materials suitable for cutting boards.

 

[Volcanic Iceberg]

I like the HDPE idea, I think it would be a great option if I were'nt limited to 1/4 thick material. I already bought a cutting board however, that matches the sink opening. It will also act as additional counter space when the sink is not in use.

 

[Walking Eagle]

I'll just throw this out there since I'm sure there are lots of people that are going to use this as reference (as in I'm respectfully not arguing your choices) - there is also UHMW - Ultra-High-Molecular-Weight Polyethylene. Very simular to HDPE, but stronger, and a smoother finish. 1/4" thick would probably be more than enough with the support you have there. Last job we used UHMW for assembly fixtures. It's a bit pricy.

 

[Volcanic Iceberg]

Just wanted to post up a couple of Thanksgiving day expo trailer pics behind the FJ40. took the kids out for a ride while the turkey was roasting. I must say, apart from the noise from the pintle hitch, this trailer really pulls nice. I only partially loaded w/ gear but I was quite pleased with how it tracked, handled the bumps, and ruts. + It looks awesome. Biased opinion, I know. Happy Thanksgiving.

 

[kling-on]

That looks Awsome

Sent from outer space via my mind

 

[The Jade Bean]

That looks Awsome

Sent from outer space via my mind

X2!

-Daniel

 

[Volcanic Iceberg]

I got one more short trip in today and took a few more shots.

 

[Volcanic Iceberg]

A few more.

 

[kling-on]

Man the whole package looks sick

Sent from outer space via my mind