40 Camper - AKA The Backwoods Bellagio

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Joined
Jul 30, 2003
Threads
176
Messages
5,866
Location
Madison, MS
Inspiration for this build came from the many well planned and executed trailer builds in this forum. Two builds in particular were especially inspiring:
https://forum.ih8mud.com/trailer-tech/247851-expedition-trailer-made-fj40-tub.html
https://forum.ih8mud.com/trailer-te...expedition-style-trailer-build-up-thread.html
Both of these guys had awesome builds with great documentation that directly helped me with my build. Thanks Volcanic Iceberg and REZARF!!

Motivation for this build came from a desire to camp more comfortably for my wife and myself. Tent camping with an air mattress on the ground has proven challenging due to weather conditions like rain and heat. My wonderful wife has Multiple Sclerosis (MS) and temperature extremes in either direction take a LOT out of her. Truth be told, I have a hard time sleeping when its hot in a tent or really cold. Being from Mississippi, "really cold" is relative. Lets just say less than 45* qualifies. Temps in a tent in the upper 70s or above with little or no air movement, especially with high humidity can be difficult at best.

The requirements were to get the air mattress off the ground, and to create a small waterproof sleeping space that could be warmed up or cooled down quickly. The plan became a 40 tub based trailer that could essentially be a queen size bed on wheels with the addition of a SUV tent off the back for the ability to stand up to get dressed, storage of clothes, food, etc, and a private location for a camp potty. Storing our camping gear in the trailer to free up some storage room space was also a nice potential. Looking good would be nice, but functionality was the key. It would be potentially pulled behind my 40, my wife's 200, and any future Cruisers we might own. Our son is 14 and has an 80 or 100 in mind.

I began planning and buying parts for the trailer as far back as three years ago. I needed a 40 frame with tub, some of a second tub (front), two complete hardtops from the doors back, rear doors/hatch, and a hatch for the front. The 40 rear axle could be used if funds or time were tight but a 3500# trailer axle was the plan. The air mattress needed to sit at inner fender height, so an upper floor needed to be fabbed with storage underneath. This storage in the front tub had the potential to be substantial, but required access doors on the front or sides. Plans also included double rear carriers for the spare and jerry cans or a cooler. This would also help get some substantial weight well behind the axle since the stock axle location would result in a very heavy tongue. A local club member had '74 and '78 parts rigs that were in various stages of disassembly, but were rusting away in the back of a local shops yard. An agreement was reached and the part-out/fund raising began. Eventually the '74 frame with the tub and axles was loaded on a trailer and moved to my garage where the fun began.

Let me apologize now for my lack of picture documentation during this build. Due to an eminent job change and the fast approaching Southern Cruiser Crawl, I needed to get the 40 camper as close to done as possible in a very short time.
 
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The pictures start with fabbing the front of the frame. The pressure to get this right was tremendous since a tongue perfectly perpendicular to the axle was critical. I cut the frame where it transitions from parallel to the ground to aim up to go over the front axle. I then cut the straight section out of the front of the frame to form the angled tongue supports. The black section that the tongue passes thru is actually most of an LX450 rear cross member! Lots of measuring and trimming required!
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I wanted the tongue to be adjustable so I used 3x3x3/16 welded into the frame with a 2.5x2.5x.25” tongue that slides into the 3x3. The lunette ring slides into the 2.5x2.5x.25 due to the 2x2 inner diameter. It is adjustable by 14”. I have only used it in the middle position so far. It has the ability to be double pinned in the long and middle positions, and single pinned in the short position.
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All that was useable from the ’78 tub was the upper rail where the hardtop sits. After some measuring, I bought some 2.25x2.25x14ga square tube which can sleeve into the tub rails. I bought a couple of 24’ sticks to frame the front tub and support the upper floor. I matched the tub curve with a process I learned from Volcanic Iceberg’s build.
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more pics
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The front tub frame:
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More front tub frame:
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Fitting the top sides:
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More of top:
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Fitting the two fiberglass caps was tough:
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I hit the local truck and SUV junkyard for a pair of utility bed doors. I got really lucky and only had to modify the width and not the height. One of the doors was bent, so I had to straighten things out and weld it all back up.
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More on the doors:
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More doors:
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I did not do a good job from here on out to take pics as things really got rushed. I used 22ga galvanized sheet thanks to jrob, a good friend and clubmate. The sheet was used for the upper and lower floors, the front tub skin and replacements for all the glass in the front top and front hatch.
Time was getting really tight for our trip and I was getting discouraged about finishing it for the SCC, when my son walked into the garage and said, "hey dad, how can I help?" He was so surprided when I handed him a drill! I taught him how to punch, drill, and pop rivet. He was awesome! Thanks big dude!!
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Big thanks also go to wct49, another good friend and clubmate who swapped the buckshot mudders for the 3 33x10.50x15 BFG ATs I had been saving. When I got to his store, we discovered that all the lug nuts on one side had backed way off and the studs and nuts were trashed. I'm very lucky the wheel was not damaged too. The tires were swapped and nuts and studs replaced in no time, and I was back on the road!
 
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I pulled an all-nighter on Tuesday night to weld on the front tub skin, fit and rivet in the "windows", and roll on some OD green paint so my wife would not be any more embarassed than necessary. I loaded it up and we headed out on the 5.5 hour drive to the Southern Cruiser Crawl at Superlift ORV park in Hot Springs, AR. We set-up behind the pavillion near an electrical outlet to run the 5000 BTU window unit with a manifold attached to enable the use of insulated flexible ducts for return air and cooled air. We used a silver tarp over the camper and later we even set up our pop-up tent over the front to shade the camper from the hot sun.

I did not get either the spare tire or cooler/jerry can carriers attached to the rear. I put the spare in the storage compartment under the front tub. As it turns out, the carriers would have taken up a lot of space inside the tent had they been there. I'll have to make them easily removable once in camp or leave them off. I was hoping they would help with the heavy tongue weight bias by adding around 150 lbs well behind the axle.

The queen size inflatable mattress was a tall version (24" +) which made the space between the top of the mattress and the roof pretty tight. A nice 6 - 8" mattress will work much better.

It pulled straight and smooth up to 80 mph. The 200 barely knew it was back there. We cruised between 64 and 74 most of the way up to Hot Springs. I hope the 40 can handle it for short trips.

The tent is a Texsport SUV tent. It is 10' x 10' x 7'2" and has a sleeve to attach to the rear of the camper. It was a little over $150 shipped and well worth it.

I used straps front to back and side to side to keep the fiberglass cap from catching air and ripping off. The drip rails were bolted to the top sides, but there still was an uneven gap where the two halves met. I have some decisions to make on the top. One of my fiberglass pieces is well out of OEM shape on one side. I may have to source another cap before doing the drip rail and fiberglass work to finish the top.

I'm planning on painting the front "windows" flat black so it looks better. The long side windows may be changed to glass if I can find some with gaskets real cheap. The front hatch glass and curved front corners will remain metal to resist rocks thrown by the tow rig. The front hatch does open for easy loading and unloading.
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Thanks to wanabecruisen, AKA Bossman for the nickname "The Backwoods Bellagio". I think it fits.
Thanks also to wngrog for the spot on his trailer for my 40 so I could pull the camper on its maiden voyage.


Future mods:
Rear stabilizer mount points for a drop leg sidewinder tongue jack like the one on the tongue, but without the added swivel/lock rubber tire. It is a 3500lb capacity jack sourced from Harbor Freight.
Fresh water tank and pump over the axle for showers with a fill neck inside the fuel door.
Extend the front and side skin down to a level even with the bottom of the frame to improve the looks and provide some shielding for the water and air tanks.
Add an air tank I already have for tires or repair or leveling??
Propane tank on the tongue for hot water for shower, cooking, etc
I have even considered making the top hinge up to provide more headroom in the bedroom.
Paint?
What would you add or modify?
 
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Well you did some fine job!!

:clap:

:beer:


Looks like I better send you that 10$ so you can use it for metal!!

;)
 

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