So here is the story; I have owned Landcruisers since I was 18 and have always dreamed of extended trips vagabonding the country, never happened. I absolutely love the 40s and have (3) of them, I also love the 45s and have (3) of them as well but let's face it there are limitations on how far you can travel comfortably, maybe it's just me? So, I have an LX450 with a 4BTQSB/4L80E sitting on 37s that is a dream for road trips, sure it is noisy if your sitting with the hood up checking things out with the engine running before a trip but on the road it's quiet awesome. Well, I took my wife to Overland Expo East last year and slept in the back, not bad but not ideal. There is 6'2" with the seats all the way forward. So I decided to build a trailer, why you ask? I wanted to build a trailer because I prefer being off the ground even as romantic as the rain is on a tent. I also wanted my wife to be able to stand and comfortably change her clothes. I almost forgot, I also figured I could contribute to the camping scene more often if I had air conditioning! And so the build began, first I needed to source a trailer. I have always had all sorts of trailers for all sorts of tasks and I can tell you from my experience that I would much prefer to have a tire failure with a second axle helping the save. I also wanted something small, easy to maneuver and a trailer that was very well balanced. I had considered one of the little tag along trailers with a RTT but again as romantic as the rain is I wanted to have sound insulation and climate control, you know, so that I can better celebrate the activity. I searched and searched and found an Air Force jet generator mounted to a trailer that doubled as the fuel cell. The size seemed right but I was worried about the weight as the military overbuilds everything, the trailer was lighter than I expected upon inspecting the weight cert and I figured that by the time I removed the generator, housing, top of tank and baffles it would slim down quite a bit. I took the plunge and purchased the trailer knowing that I would recoup some of the acquisition with the scrap value of the copper generator and aluminum housing. After taking everything apart and selling the scrap I recovered a little more than half of what I paid and ultimately had $300 in my platform, so far so good. One of the things about the military and the quality of their builds is that they are equally challenging to decom. What I ended up with is a super small trailer that comfortably fits (6) people on folding chairs and should be no issue for my wife and I to sleep in appropriate fashion. Its well insulated and the 5000BTU A/C gets the trailer like an icebox on low. I'm not here to preach on how things should be done but here is an example of what I did, no more and no less. Other than time the cost of this trailer has been insignificant. I am at the point where I am building out the interior so any ideas and/or examples are greatly appreciated.
