wompser's m416 trailer build

wompser · 10-12-09, 02:25 PM

when I said earlier that the lights were dim, I meant it:

this image is with the brakes on, you can see how they compare to my jeep's brake lights.

I'm not confident that if I slam on the brakes the person behind me is going to see! while it's not a great solution when the top is not installed, I think the plan will be to have a 3rd brake light/turn signals installed on the top.

still waiting on parts to arrive, but I did a little more fabrication yesterday on the gas can mounts. here i'm mocking up the fit:

this should give you an idea about the destination:

after i get a little more steel and do some more welding, there will be one on each side: one for gas, and one for water. naturally, I've also gotta repaint or bedline these things. they'll be hinged at the bottom to swing out for filling.

Hugh Heifer · 10-15-09, 07:01 AM

Jerry can holder looks kewl.
You sure work fast!

Hugh Heifer · 10-15-09, 07:08 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by wompser

i used the original brake handle mounting plate, but relocated it. I got the idea for the turnbuckle somewhere on the mud forums, but I'm going to replace it with somethign more heavy duty pretty quick. i'm not loving this, though it is functional:

Nice work there.

gaberelli · 10-15-09, 12:13 PM

What kind of tension does the brake lever give you when applying the parking brake? I have to reef on mine just to get it too budge. Before I take it apart, strip, and re-assemble, could you let me know how you brake works?

66 fj40 · 10-15-09, 05:13 PM

It should be very easy to lock the parking break. Try some WD or PB blaster before you take it all apart if you haven't already.

wompser · 10-16-09, 12:51 PM

I agree with that. take it completely apart. I use a product called KROIL to free rusted/frozen parts. soak it in a little kroil, then use a little force to move it, then more kroil and work it some more. eventually, it should work great.

in retrospect, I should have had the brake blasted and then painted it myself. the epoxy paint they used was a little bit too thick and makes the brake a little harder to move than I'd like. not a huge deal though.

wompser · 10-26-09, 04:39 PM

my updates have been slow, but I got some more good work in. mostly electrical. I don't have pictures yet of the wiring done, but here's a few as I was putting it all in.

it looks pretty messy, but it really all tucks up nicely. (more pictures to follow.) as you can see, I have an inverter, battery, pump, winch control unit, and auxilary power installed. the cool part is that it all takes up very little space in the actual box itself, there's plenty of rooom for other stuff. I was planning on having the hot water heater externally mounted, but there's so much space in the box, I may wire it in. not sure yet though, I don't want to put more holes in the box than I have to, and mounting the shower in there would require some pretty big ones.

the one design flaw I was not prepared for is how much extending the tongue would affect the center of gravity. it's kind of a headache. it's now really difficult to move around with just one person. while I did haul it up the driveway with the onboard winch last night, I think i'm also going to change the design of the gas cans. I think now I'm going to put them hanging off the back instead of the sides. with ~10 gallons of water in the back of the trailer, it balances out the weight of the extended tongue quite nicely, to the point one person can easily lift an unloaded trailer.

wiring the trailer is mostly complete, just need to tie up some loose ends and get the battery isolator figured out.

wompser · 10-29-09, 01:05 AM

did some more electrical work... what a pain! it just seems to take FOREVER!

as you can see, i've decided to run a standard 7pin trailer connection... but I wanted a really heavy 8awg wire to charge the battery off the isolator, so you can see it in red. (eventually this will be covered, and the zip tie will be gone!) to be universal, i've also added a 4pin connector. not that i'm going to loan it to anyone... but this way i COULD.

cleaned up the wiring... more for my own permanant record... this explains what all this stuff is:

still a little clean up to do in there, but the wiring is mostly done. (gotta work on the tow vehicle and isolator this weekend, hope the weather holds)

and finally, one of the outside sides, showing the 12v accessory and 110v AC.

Koffer · 10-29-09, 02:36 AM

looking great so far BUT.........................

your landing leg is on backward

wompser · 10-29-09, 12:05 PM

duh!

it won't quite tuck up under there anymore the "right" way, because of the position of the nose box. that will be addressed, eventually.

i'm also thinking about putting some kind of removable wheel on the landing leg... might even replace the entire leg piece with a wheel/adjustable height jack.

now that the weight is so far forward on the trailer, it's really a pain to move around.* I'm also a bit concerned that I won't be able to put it on/off the hitch when it's loaded. I know may people put this kind of trailer jack on their trailers... but i'm not wild about the look. I definitely want it to be on the original lunette leg. not sure how I'm going to solve this one yet, I need a really small landing leg jack, and a very large swivel wheel. (i'm thinking something at least 12 inches around, so it can easily roll over small bumps. if it's on a swivel, it should be able to tuck up horizontal to the ground.

*I did winch it up the driveway last night, which worked great, though the landing leg just skidded up. it wasn't really fast but that #3000 winch is really strong: at one point I put the trailer brakes on, and still could easily pull the trailer, skidding it along! it's not really a very fast process though!

wompser · 11-02-09, 12:04 AM

did a little more work on the trailer this weekend. again it seems that most of it was cleaning up electrical, which is pretty boring!

however, also worked up most of a rear bumper.

here's a couple shots of setting up the layout.

forgot to take pictures of building the actual bumper part, but I really liked the idea that someone else on these boards had about beveling the bottom up to give it a more finished look.

although I was pretty careful, it turned out just a little bit crooked, I'll have to clean that up.

I also need to decide whic way to mount the cans... horizontal or vertical. after a bunch of internal debate, I think it's going to be horizontal, as the canvas top will fit better that way. I'll need to make a strap to hold them on that way. oh, and paint everything of course. I've also got some diamond tread to go over the gap between the back of the trailer and the bumper.

unfortunately, construction was halted tonight by not having the correct size drill bit, so I need to run to the store (again!) tomorrow. maybe other people have better set up shops than I do, but I can't seem to make it more than 1 day before I have to go to the hardware store... it's most annoying!

I also installed the hellroaring technologies battery isolator this weekend. I have not yet connected it up, but I think it's going to work great once connected.

TJ Willy · 11-02-09, 01:45 AM

Time to stop reading all the great threads here at MUD and post....

GREAT looking build. I love these documentations of builds.

My .02 worth/questions:

1. I know the tail lights cost you a lot of work, but the polished look throws me for some reason. Not your work, but the way they compliment the build.

2. I agree the cans would good horizontal... unless you needed a little space on your diamond plate ledge to mount something else. I'd give that some thought before making horizontal permanent. HiLift mount? Telescopic light mast?

3. Thanks for the labeling photo of the electrics. I am a little slow when it comes to that stuff. A wiring diagram (rudimentary) would be great if you have time some day.

4. Rescue Green looks good on anything! Did you paint that yourself? What mechanism did you use?

5. What welder did you use? I too want to learn... on a budget.

6. $5 for the box was a GREAT deal.

7. And if you don't mind me asking, what was your budget for the build?

Great job.

Phil

titanpat57 · 11-02-09, 05:43 AM

Looks great so far!! After dealing with all that electric too I can identify with that suffering!! THe only thing I might considering adding (and I'm sure the box is bolted to the frame in 10 places) is a direct ground from the battery to the frame minus the aluminum. Aluminum and metal can do whacky stuff, so I'd probably take it out of the mix when trying to isolate the problem. I can't believe you got all that in there!! (and neatly)

The back bumper is a nice touch(and a lot of work), although I'm just a bit concerned with the addtional weight of filled jerry cans that far past the axle. Weight that far back can do do weird stuff while pulling..I'd maybe setup a test run and see if acts the way you want it to.

I like all the little"custom" touches you're adding, adds a more personal feel to the build. THe match to the TV is first class

wompser · 11-02-09, 10:19 AM

1. I know the tail lights cost you a lot of work, but the polished look throws me for some reason. Not your work, but the way they compliment the build.

i'm not sure if this is a long term solution... i had to re-polish them last week due to some oxidization, I then coated them with a car wax like someone suggested. unfortunately yesterday they were looking pretty oxidized again. I've got some real aluminum protectorant on the way, hope that solves it.

2. I agree the cans would good horizontal... unless you needed a little space on your diamond plate ledge to mount something else. I'd give that some thought before making horizontal permanent. HiLift mount? Telescopic light mast?

still thinking about that one too. the highlift is already mounted on the tow rig, and a telescopic mast will be on the front, re-mountable on the back. I'm still thinking about which direction to mount thouse, but mostly because I haven't yet decided how i'm going to strap them onto the bumper/body.

3. Thanks for the labeling photo of the electrics. I am a little slow when it comes to that stuff. A wiring diagram (rudimentary) would be great if you have time some day.

sure, maybe I'll get around to this soon. I have one on paper that I could scan, but I think i'll work all the kinks out first.

4. Rescue Green looks good on anything! Did you paint that yourself? What mechanism did you use?

thanks. my sandblaster did the painting of the tub with some rescue green they had mixed up by westco auto body. it's not quite exactly perfect, but pretty darn close!

5. What welder did you use? I too want to learn... on a budget.

I used a "buzz box" welder, stick welder that is definitely the way to go if you're on a budget. they DON'T make pretty welds, (at least, not a my skill level) but as long as you're compent with a grinder and paitient, they see to work fine. I've seen them on craiglist for under $100. be aware that you may need the right plug... I have to unplug the stove in the kitchen and run a wire out to the garage, as my garage only has 110. it's definitely a fun skill to learn!

6. $5 for the box was a GREAT deal.

7. And if you don't mind me asking, what was your budget for the build?

haven't added it all up yet. i've been planning on it, but i may not do it, it's too depressing! there's some places I could have cut corners and saved money, but chose to do it my way. (stainless bolts vs. steel for example). I might add it all up once it's done.

wompser · 11-02-09, 10:24 AM

also, good comment about grounding the battery directly to the steel frame... that's an easy enough fix, and a good idea.

as for the gas cans being on the back bumper, I actually put them back there to even the weight of the trailer out... farther forward puts too much weight on the tongue (when the trailer is empty). with full cans on the back, it's just barely realistic for me to pick up the tongue and move the trailer around without a second person.

I may wind up putting some kind of "strap" from the tub to the bumper, to help hold the weight. with two full cans I jumped up and down on the bumper and it had a little more flex than i'd hoped, though not too much. ( it was actually the frame cross-member flexing.)

Hugh Heifer · 11-06-09, 08:42 PM

Great job on the wiring.

77CJ5 · 11-13-09, 07:16 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Hugh Heifer

Great job on the wiring.

Great job on the entire trailer build...can't wait to see some completed pics with it offroad!

By far, one of the cleanest trailers I have seen built...

macinsac · 11-20-09, 11:45 AM

Great write up and great build!!! I would like to know more information on the hot water heater. From what I can tell, it's a Eccotemp L5. When you get it hooked up, how long of a shower head hose can you run? I would like to be able to set up a shower about 20' away. I'm not sure that is possible. I know with that length, there would be lag time from the heater to the end of the hose, before the temp changed. Any comments would be great.

Phulcrum · 11-20-09, 05:04 PM

i dont like this build very much. it's too perfect. too clean. too well thought out. and in short it makes mine look bad. i'm afraid i must go to my think tank now to think of any reason or thing wrong with it so i can post something negative here.

i wish i had the patience to do such an awesome job on mine. . well done.