Truck bed trailers (1 Viewer)

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samibattlemaiden

samibattlemaiden

Joined
Feb 15, 2007
Threads
119
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947
Location
Santa Rosa, CA
ok so i added my 0.2 to another thread on here about expedition trailers made from truck beds, how ever someone made me an offer i couldn't refuse, i can get a chevy silverado bed and rear end free all i gotta do is go cut it up or take it off, i didn't have anything with me so i did an arm span measurement and the bed is about as wide as Rooths big @$$ so im good to go there however the question is this .... is that gunna be way to heavy? i like the idea of the added width more space to roll over if i sleep in it, more fire wood ect can fit, but ide imagine a chevy bed has alot more weight to it than a yota (ill probly avoide the rest frame ect unless i can get the breakes ect with out to much work)

so what do you think?
 
from what i understood it's no bueno in ca at all but, i guess that what we get for living here and then again theres the possibility that i have been mis informed but i hafta go to dmv in the neer future any way so....
 
yeah i been looking on here and craigslist for free ish stuff to go with both to see which i could do the freeist. im just tryng to figure out if the extra space is worth the weight of a full size bed?:confused:
 
Your weight of the bed is not a problem, it is more so the length and width. Your cruiser is a shade over 5 ft 6 and the pickup bed is over 6 ft at the wheelwells, Comfort is prime and worse case scenario take a chunk out of the center of the bed to narrow it In Calif you will need to lose the 3rd member and replace it with a straight axle. Yota beds are a better bet. Have fun
 
ok sounds pretty str8 forward heres another question i could probly get my parents neigbors to give me there old trailer they have, its a truck frame back halfed axle 3rd member and all but with a wooden bed could i transfer the title then build my trailer on that or would that make it a new trailer? any thoughts
 
I'm not sure if it would make it a new trailer. But, I just bought an M416 for a guy in California. When I registered it here in AZ, I found out that it had been rebuilt in 2000. The trailer was originally sold by the military in 1983, but it was now titled as a 2000 trailer because of the rebuild. So, I would guess that the California DMV could make you register it as a new trailer if you rebuild it.

I know that a lot of people run the vehicle rear axle under a truck bed trailer. But, I would not do that because of problems that the differential could cause later on down the road. A 3500 pound axle is fairly inexpensive and is cheap insurance. Plus, when you do swap the axle, you can get the lug pattern that matches the tow vehicle.
 
ok another question about trailers would it be a horrible idea to put a similar suspention on my trailer when i build it to that of a built 4x4. such as revolver shackles and or 3/4 eliptical springs?
im just trying to plan as much as possible before i start compiling more of what ill need.
 
samibattlemaiden said:
ok another question about trailers would it be a horrible idea to put a similar suspention on my trailer when i build it to that of a built 4x4. such as revolver shackles and or 3/4 eliptical springs?
im just trying to plan as much as possible before i start compiling more of what ill need.
Click to expand...

It's not a horrible idea, but it is not really needed. The trailer is not as heavy as tow rig. So, you just need springs that will handle that load. The hitch set up is what will articulate, so you won't need any of the trick suspension parts just plain old shackles. The main thing is to get a hitch that will articulate well. The lunette and pintle hitch work real well if the lunette (or pintle hitch) can rotate. the Lock-N-Roll from Adventure Trailers is another good option. Check out the thread here in the trailer section on hitch options.
 
sounds good i was palnning on a pintle set up any way for that exact reason, hopefully i can find one of the pintle/ball set up so i can do both types with the same hitch.
 
The pintle/ball hitch is noisier than a pintle hitch. My lunette fits so well in the pintle hitch that I can't hear any noise from it. Also, other posts have said that the pintle/ball combo is more prone to failing. (IE - the ball breaking off)
 
good to know thanks plus there a bit more $$$$ so y not save money and problems
 
Pics of my truck bed trailer

View attachment 176812

This is my trailer, it is I think an '88 or '89 Datsun, I bought it off ebay for $200. It was in bad shape, but had the bed removed, sandblasted and powder coated the frame; had extended shackles made to lift it and put add-a-leafs to have more payload capacity. Kept the axle; removed the brake inards; and put lifted Rancho shocks on it. Had a custom bumper built and I did the lights and wiring. The bed was in bad shape so I just Duracoated the inside and and out. I added a tool box and a 5x7 canvas tarp to cover the bed. The wheels are 33x10.5 BFG's.
 
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wow and you wanna give it to me after all that hard work, geepers my mom always told me being a good boy would pay off.

no but seriously thats a nice set up. ive tried to find a pre doen one to fix but, there all ither 2 expensive or not right some how or i find a good deal and am just flat broke at the time...... such is life so ill probly end up building one but, maybe ill get lucky and find a good deal the day after payday

hopefully when alls said and done it'll ride about the same hight as the cruiser and have matching tires wheels so i can run an 8 tire rotation, gosh i have expensive ideas.
 
trailer

How much do you think that it weighs? I have been thinking of building a trailer, but that one looks nice, and I could pick up something like that up for cheap. I just wonder what the difference in weight would be?
 
That is a very nice truck bed trailer. I have seen one like it with a spring-over, but without the storage box on the front. Based on what my M416 weighs empty (600 Lb), I would guess that the one that I saw weighed between 750 and 800 pounds.

That era of Datsun trucks makes a great trailer for us Toyota fans because it already has the same lug pattern as our Toyota 4x4s. They are lighter that some of the later trucks because they are a single wall tub. If you keep the factory fuel tank in it, you can put an electric fuel pump in the factory location on the frame and have a rolling auxiliary tank with a transfer pump.
 
Yeah, I don't know how much it weighs, but I can move it around pretty easily by hand; like you said, probably 650-750lbs. I wish I had a pintle hook on it, but for where I've been off road so far (California desert) its worked pretty good. It's just the right width for my fj60; appears to be about 1" narrower on each side. If I could find a similar bed at a junkyard, I would paint it to match the truck. But right now its just Duracoated sprayed with Krylon flat Camo tan paint. So when it gets scratched, I just quickly repaint it.
View attachment 178334
 
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I know this is an ancient thread, but wanted to post up for any fellow Californians that I successfully registered a truck bed trailer today, with rear truck axle still intact. It had no VIN (since I bought it from the guy who built it, and he never registered it), no title - all I had was a bill of sale.

I walked in and without a VIN, they sent me into the vehicle verification line to get a VIN assigned. The inspector (AKA DMV Monkey, but a nice monkey) asked me how much it weighed. I told her 900. She put 900 down and sent me back inside with VIN in hand and on trailer.

Then I had to fill out the PTI application and "statement of facts" concerning how I got it and why I needed a VIN. I simply wrote "Bought it from guy who built it and never registered it. No idea when it was built". I was out the door with PTI plates in hand.

She didn't mention/ask anything about the truck axle still being in place. And when searching the vehicle code, I found nothing prohibiting them. If you get hassled for having a truck axle, I'd suggest either going to another DMV OR politely asking them to show you where, in the vehicle code, it makes such such a prohibition.

This was in the Bay Area. Just putting it out there for information's sake, your results may vary depending on which DMV Monkey you get.
 
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