My scratch built expedition style trailer build up thread

[73fj]

Your project is coming together real nice, fenders look good.

[Japan4X4]

Get a set of mud flaps off a dual rear wheel Dyna, nice Toyota logo on them :-)

[Snook]

Your trailer desgin and built up looks awesome. I wished I can start from nothing but no time. I would recommended filling in the gaps before and after the fenders.

Here is the photo that I welded the "slider" would not only protect my M416 fenders from the trees during the tight turns but as a stepping platform.

Originally when I arrived at the Marine base, all of the 20 M416's fenders are warped, missing and cracked included the one I picked up so that compelled me to take some action.

Keep up the good work.

Cheers,

[REZARF]

Yeah, I have thought about that Snook, and your trailer had me thinking. I may or may not make little shelves there for a gas can or something, but I like the idea of a "slider. I will weld a strap in the leading and trailing edge either way.

I appreciate it bud.

Rezarf <><

[bigassbike]

hats off to ya. amazing!

[REZARF]

Well, I didn't get a whole lot done tonight, but I did find two batteries sitting in the front box of the trailer. When I combine them I will have 230 amp hours of reserve! Can you say ice cream in the desert!?

They will fit nice up front, I am going to make a battery hold down system tomorrow night and begin punching holes into the sheet metal for the accessories.

[REZARF]

I had a few buds over tonight to help me with the RTT placement. I had planned on using an old yakima rack I had in the garage, and that is what I will do for now.

I would like to make a custom rack to mount the tent on and have it sit a little lower and closer to the lid of the trailer, like the middle pick. But in an effort to get to Moab with the trailer securly fastened this is the route I will take. I will be adding a third crossbar in the middle as the RTT I am using is mammoth.

[REZARF]

Still have to hinge the lids and fab a tailgate, then I am mostly there with the fabrication.

[Snook]

Custom rack is what I would use like I did with my trailer but I dont have "lid" so I have good access underneath.

You will need at least four or five inches gap underneath to remove the camper's bolts "comfortable" so the yakima system should work fine.

My trailer do have a middle crossmember but the camper is not bolt to the middle tube, just a extra support when my kids and I are in the camper. Just don't want too many bolts to fiddle with.

Each bolt comes with internal rubber instead of split washer for ease of installation with one hand. The rubber works fine as long it is in the shadow, not exposing to UV that degrade the rubber.

What kind of locking mechanism would you use for your tailgate?

Regards,

[Niner]

Originally Posted by REZARF

Well, I didn't get a whole lot done tonight, but I did find two batteries sitting in the front box of the trailer. When I combine them I will have 230 amp hours of reserve! Can you say ice cream in the desert!?

They will fit nice up front, I am going to make a battery hold down system tomorrow night and begin punching holes into the sheet metal for the accessories.

Don't forget to add a vent to the box for the gases to be released while charging those gases are corrosive.

[REZARF]

Got it covered thanks! Nothing in the front box needs to be waterproofed either, and I have two 3" vents on either side of the box. I appreciate it!

Rezarf <><

[Degnol]

Drew, you may have hit on this earlier, but I must have missed it. As to final coating, what are you planning? The inside of the battery box might be a perfect place for POR 15. I did my battery tray in the '40 with it and absolutely looks new 5 years later.
Are you painting it to match the tow rig? Seems like one of your earlier design pics showed white? Also cool.

Ed

[REZARF]

Towing it behind this... so it will have smurf blue automotive (hopefully) paint, with a white lid of course

[AxleIke]

Great work as always.

You are truly a master craftsman. Well done.

[sseaman]

Progress looks great, and close to completion

[REZARF]

Well, I got crackin' tonight on the tailgate for the trailer. My simple design to shave the rear had me scratching my head for a while, but I am off and running.

Funny thing is, as I get further into this thing I am learning how to work a little faster. Tonight at least three times I played the fab out in my mind about 5 steps down, realizing exactly what needed to happen now to save time tomorrow... clear as mud?

The tailgate came together well. I decided earlier to use piano hinges throughout. People have strong opinions about them whether good or bad. I have a few tips and tricks for after paint to have them operate smooth and not have any of the "grit issues" of stuff getting down into the hinge itself.... you'll have to stay tuned!

First up was measuring out and welding up the top frame portion of the tailgate. This upper portion will be skinned on the outside with the latches at the upper corners. The lower portion will have the skin on the inside of the tubing to carry the theme of the sides to the rear. It also allows me to get sneaky with my wiring and hide it all for the license plate light.

My gap is 3/16" I was a little worried about getting the gap too tight as I don' have exact and precise tolerances. It is a bit bigger than what I wanted, an 1/8" would be better, but after paint, I may make that up.

[REZARF]

Forgot the pics... my bad

[REZARF]

Here is a shot of the piano or continuous hinge I am using it is a beefy unit that I got from McMaster.com

I fit up the lower tube for the tailgate and got it into position and mitered, then I drilled out the hinge and the tube together and fit it into place. My theory is, now I just need to measure out the tubes that connect the upper and lower halves and whoa-la! A tailgate.

The lower portion of the hinge will be permanently welded to the tub, but by bolting the lower edge of the tailgate on I achieve a removable tailgate... could come in handy down the road. You can see in the pic what it will look like in the closed position (first pic) and then when it is in the drop down position (pic2). I wanted the hinge to get out of the way of the drawers I will make for the rear of this thing. This gives me a very flat surface transition while allowing me to seal up the trailer, water and dust tight.

I will add a inner brace that the tailgate will seal up against with some quality weather stripping.

Stay tuned, I am not going to sleep tomorrow until I finish and latch the tailgate!

[Mike S]

Drew

You may find the crossbar above the tailgate a PITA. I hope not, tho'.

M

[REZARF]

Mike-

Man, I went back and forth over this one. I made it knowing my trailer will be used with a drawer system. We'll see, it was a compromise between stength and usability, strength won

THanks man,

Drew

[Arya Ebrahimi]

Drew, I'm pretty sure those Yakima towers can be dissassembled a bit and mounted flat to the lid. It would involve drilling holes in the lid for the feet and doing away with the gutter mount stuff, but it should save you a couple inches, and doesn't require any custom fab work.

Just a thought.

[REZARF]

Well, I finished up the tailgate tonight. It came out pretty nice. This was my first time I made a pretty good mistake and it will affect my overall fit and finish

First off, I needed to figure out a way to get everything square, but with a few clamps and a level we got pretty close. Then it was time to tack and weld everything together. This is where I had my hiccup, I am not too sure where I went wrong but my tailgate and tub sides are about 3/16" off where the angle starts. I measured lots but that is how it came out. :rant:

After welding it up, it takes about a bazillion hours to smooth out the metal work. I am trying to avoid having to use much body filler to get the panels smooth, but we will see how it goes once it is in primer.

[REZARF]

Once the frame was in place and welded tight, I moved onto the sheet metal. However, this piece was a bit different because it had to have a bend in it right across the top of the sheet. I do have a sheet metal brake in my garage for small jobbies (it is a cheap-o HF), but its reach is only 30" and I had to brake about 41".

So, I made a po' man's brake, two pieces of steel with the sheet sandwiched between, add a few clamps and invite a hammer to the party and you have a shabby brake.

The key here is little taps until you get the right bend. I probably used around 1,079,345.094 taps of the hammer to make the bend. It came out pretty good as you can see in the pic, not great but certainly acceptable.

[REZARF]

Once that sheet was bent up, it was glued and riveted into place, see my other posts for that process, no sense in repeating it here. I let that dry for a day or so and tonight I went out and welded on the upper sheet metal piece and cut the holes for the latches that I am using.

The latches were an Ebay score for a total of $2 each! I bought up 6 at that price. They are sturdy locking latches that are really nice. I was stoked to get them and they came with a gasket too. They were one of the best deals I got since working on this trailer.

The picture is of the latch in the upside down position...

[REZARF]

Here is the final product. It swings down 180* and gets totally out of the way without creating a lip that my drawers will have to slide over. I am pretty jazzed about how it came out. That was the last big piece of the puzzle as far as welding goes. I have a few little items h