An amateur's trailer build... (3 Viewers)

[dubyahard]

At the Hillsboro DMV, the guy only cared that it was homemade. So $182 later I walk out with a plate and a title & registration in the mail.
I moved the RTT over that night.

I also tested my cheapo bike rack on the back hitch of the trailer. I was also debating where to put the plate. I like the clean look of the tailgate and I don't really want to make holes in the fenders so I ordered a set of magnets.

 

[dubyahard]

The following night I wired it up right. I ran EMT conduit underneath and used some black plastic wire loom to span the gaps between the conduit and around the rails. I ran it into the conduit so the wire wouldn't chafe. I don't have a very good shot of it except for this one where you can see it coming out of the tongue.

 

[dubyahard]

This past weekend we went to NW Overland Rally. My buddy Jeff and I were in the Veteran Overland booth.
Some poser shots on the way up hwy 97:

You can see the plate stuck to the tailgate with the magnets and the awning installed.

This was in the Yakima reservation. The whole drive to Plain, WA is beautiful. I tagged so many spots on the way home this past Sunday to hopefully check out again. We also saw a big black bear going through Wenatchee NF. It was the closest I've been to a black bear so that was rad.

And finally the setup:

It was nice. The height worked great. Setup and tear down were much easier than trying to do it on the truck. We had a lot of gear since we had the booth setup but having the trailer helped a ton. And I still got 11.7 MPG on the way there.

Checking out the other trailers at the event was helpful. Mainly because I need lighting. I like all the drawers and slide-outs and kitchens that the others had. I think my fav was the VMI aluminum one. Buuuuuutt... I can't bankroll one and I need the utility of an open bed. I can still haul mulch, furniture, dirt bikes, an ATV, dead bodies, etc. A role my old trailer filled admirably.

Next I'll add some LED strip work lighting and figure out how to power that. Some floodlights might be in the picture too.

 

[greentruck]

Nice work and on a budget that shows what can be accomplished if you're determined.

 

[dubyahard]

Nice work and on a budget that shows what can be accomplished if you're determined.

Thanks! "Borrowing" my buddy's wheels/tires save me some. I haven't added everything up, but I think I'm around $1300 all in, not counting tent/awning.

 

[shmabs]

Trailer looked great in person and the NWOR.

This is Mike, we met and chatted for a while with my friends while we chatted land cruiser things. Thanks for the detailed drawings, they should prove useful.

Mike

EDIT: Question on material.

Looking at your dimensions, it looks like you used 2.5 inch square tubing all the way around, what thickness did you use? Any reason you picked 2.5 over something else?

 

[dubyahard]

Trailer looked great in person and the NWOR.

This is Mike, we met and chatted for a while with my friends while we chatted land cruiser things. Thanks for the detailed drawings, they should prove useful.

Mike

EDIT: Question on material.

Looking at your dimensions, it looks like you used 2.5 inch square tubing all the way around, what thickness did you use? Any reason you picked 2.5 over something else?

Thanks Mike!

I just sent you a PM too. I used 2.5" x .120 on the box frame and 2.5" x .188 on the tongue. I pretty much copied Boxrocket's build so I used what he used. I think because of the tongue being on the same plane as the frame (not below it for additional strength) is why it's thicker and goes back further than just the first brace. Also, I'd like to use a Lock N Roll hitch at some point so having a tighter fit in the tube should work well with it - this is also why I left the front/tongue tube open.

 

[dubyahard]

We went to Hell's Canyon area over the weekend. The trailer performed well. I added lights (Amazon.com : WenTop Led Strip Lights Waterproof Led Tape Light 12v SMD 3528 16.4 Ft (5M) 300leds 60leds/m Warm White Flexible Tape Light for Kitchen, Closet, Mirror, Ceiling, Indoor and Outdoor - No Power Supply : Patio, Lawn & Garden) but just wired them to a neighbor's motorcycle battery he let me borrow. No switches or anything. Thing is we never really needed them. We usually went to sleep right as it was getting dark - so around 9:45 or so. That's life with a baby I guess.

Towing it up this 16% grade meant I had to use 1st gear most of the time. I used it when we declined too and didn't have any braking issues. The trailer does not have brakes.

With the lights on. These are the warm white ones. Can't complain for $9. They are thin so the ones in the awning just roll up in the frame and I leave them there. I need to find a better way of attaching them though since the 3M stuff doesn't hold to metal that well. The ones under the trailer rack are zip-tied.

Pretty epic campsite.

Going down...

So after about 50 miles of dirt/gravel road, the paint on the trailer is beat to hell. The worst damage is to the fenders and outsides of the front facing rails and skin.
Any recommendations on preventing it? I have the stock bumper/mudflaps on my 80 and was only going about 15-20 mph max.

 

[ntsqd]

Truck bed liner on the wear areas is one option. "Helicopter Tape" is another: Pegasus - Keyword Search Used to use the tape on the terribly expensive kevlar-composite noses of the Lola Sports 2000 racer to keep the rocks from chipping it and above the tires on the underside of the body to keep the rocks from star-cracking the body.

 

[Stevesnj]

Great build! I was looking for plans and yours are helpful.

 

[shmabs]

What width axle did you use?

 

[dubyahard]

What width axle did you use?

67" hub face, 50.5" spring center, 6 x 5.5, idler w/ flange, bottom mount. I could probably reverse the mount if I ever wanted more lift, but the way it is now with the current lift on my truck, it's pretty level. Plus it would make it hard to reach into.

 

[shmabs]

67" hub face, 50.5" spring center, 6 x 5.5, idler w/ flange, bottom mount. I could probably reverse the mount if I ever wanted more lift, but the way it is now with the current lift on my truck, it's pretty level. Plus it would make it hard to reach into.

Thanks! Is that a few inches wider than the track width of the 80?

 

[dubyahard]

Thanks! Is that a few inches wider than the track width of the 80?

What's the track width of an 80? 63"? I think the overall width is 76" So yeah it's a little wider. If you look at them lined up, one behind the other, then it's about the same width. If the 80 will fit then the trailer will fit.
Edit: same width with fender flares...

I did it this way for two reasons:
1. The trailer still fills utility duties. Thus an inside width of 48" was important to me.
2. I wanted to used stock 80 wheels and those required the difference from the spring centers and hub face. I think there is about 1.25" clearance between the trailer frame and tire. Enough clearance that I think if I somehow picked up road debris or an animal it wouldn't get stuck.

 

[shmabs]

Your reasons make sense to me, I think the track width is about 63 on the 80 series. I ordered a 64 inch hub face measurement and will place my spring mounts where they need to be, I wanted the same track width as the 80, because well, I wanted it the same!

Thanks for the inspiration, I started my trailer build on Saturday!

 

[dubyahard]

Your reasons make sense to me, I think the track width is about 63 on the 80 series. I ordered a 64 inch hub face measurement and will place my spring mounts where they need to be, I wanted the same track width as the 80, because well, I wanted it the same!

Thanks for the inspiration, I started my trailer build on Saturday!

Nice! Start a thread or post some pics here.

 

[shmabs]

Nice! Start a thread or post some pics here.

I just started building the frame, so I'm not very far, about 8 hours in I would say. There's nothing too innovative going on, so I don't think I'll do a thread, but maybe once its done I could do a quick recap.

I ended up getting a maggiolina tent, and with a moab trip in October I thought a base camp trailer might be nice.

 

[half k cruiser]

@shmabs I think you should do a build thread. If for no other reason then to help out future builders. I'm beginning the planning stages for our trailer and really find it helpful to look through all of the threads.

 

[dubyahard]

I just started building the frame, so I'm not very far, about 8 hours in I would say. There's nothing too innovative going on, so I don't think I'll do a thread, but maybe once its done I could do a quick recap.

I ended up getting a maggiolina tent, and with a moab trip in October I thought a base camp trailer might be nice.

Looks good!