Building my "bucket list" expedition rig. (1 Viewer)

[Hoochie Time]

I have had my 80 now for two years and I am convinced that it is the right rig for me. Over the years I've owned five Ford power stroke 250s and 350s 4x4s and a Chevy 2500 prior to that and could not bring myself to spent the big money for another.

I drove my 80 to Cabo and back last winter and will return to the Baja next winter and probably the one after that. Anyway I want to go to the NWT, Yukon and Alaska this summer and need a bullet proof trailer that will meet my needs. I towed my Triton snowmobile trailer (Model 2KF single place coverall) to the Baja, it worked well, no problems over the 9500 kilometers. Inside the trailer I had my ATV, genset, camp chairs and lots of “necessary” stuff. With its tiny tires it was not a good candidate to explore off road. Another issue was that I had my tent on top of my 80 and once camp was setup my ATV was my only mode of transport which was OK in smaller locals but had its limitations.

So I want a trailer that will handle the Dempster Highway in the Yukon or trails in the Baja. I want to put my roof top tent on a rack on the trailer, I want easy access to my “kitchen” and camp gear, and haul a small motorcycle on a bumper rack. I looked around a lot on the net. I saw a lot of good ideas but I wanted features that I wanted control over during the construction. The only short coming on my 80 that I have not been able to overcome is its brakes (they are as good as they get), so this trailer must have good braking.
These are the design criteria I laid out for a friend of mine who owns a fabrication shop, they regularly build trailers, truck service bodies, dry boxes, head ache racks and a lot of custom aluminum, and steel work.

1. 6000 lb axle stubs, with electric brakes. Track identical to my 80.
2. Steel frame and A arms.
3. Aluminum body.
4. Firestone air bag suspension.
5. Dual Rancho 5000 shocks.
6. Limiter straps and rubber compression blocks to limit suspension travel.
7. Pull out rolling box floor.
8. LED lighting.

The rolling chassis has just been completed, next will be the body.

 

[sandcruiser]

looks beefy so far!

based on my own limited experience in baja with a trailer:

1) pintle hook is better than ball when you are on rough 'highways' with a lot of bouncing
2) some sort of shock absorption (spring? gas?) at the tongue could be a very good thing
3) large tires are good. hi-tread tires aren't necessarily good. the trailer won't have forward/aft issues with traction because it is not a driven tire. Just side-side. So you might find that a tall/narrow tire with a relatively road-biased tread offers better (less) rolling resistence and saves you some fuel. Also, trailer tires can be 8-ply or more as some roughness isn't as objectionable as it would be on the tow vehicle. And the trailer probably weighs a lot less than the tow vehicle, so the footprint can be narrower without any issue
4) Most vehicles in Baja don't have trailers. Anything you can do to draw attention to the trailer will help other drivers not merge into you. A flag, lights, etc is good.
5) brakes are a must. It looks like you already know that.
6) Some method of locking the brakes so that you can detach the trailer on an incline. Nice feature to have.
7) Good locks on the trailer will keep the wrong folks out. They'll also allow you to open the trailer on your own time if the Federales want to inspect the vehicle and trailer.



I hated dragging a trailer through baja. But if you have to do it, stack the deck in your favor. Keep it light as possible and high visibility as possible.

 

[Ebag333]

1) pintle hook is better than ball when you are on rough 'highways' with a lot of bouncing
2) some sort of shock absorption (spring? gas?) at the tongue could be a very good thing

I'm looking at using this to help dampen the noise/movement from the pintle hitch. I don't think it will eliminate it, but it should help soften it some.

 

[Rusty Pig]

A viable alternative to a pintle hitch. Nice trailer build!

Multi-Axis Couplers by Adventure Trailers

 

[Hoochie Time]

1.I am using the Lock’n Roll system Lock N' Roll Trailer Hitches
2.I am using two Rancho 5000 shocks on each trailing arm.
3.Tires and wheels are same as my truck, as is the track on the trailer, I am just going to carry one spare for all.
4.Light will be LED and mounted at eye level for following drivers not down on bumper.
5.Covered.
6.I agree regarding a parking brake, I have to think about that one.
7.I am obsessive about locking stuff up, I hate thieves.

Got the main box on the trailer today, will get some more pictures, in a couple of days.

 

[Rusty Pig]

Lock N Rolls are great, been using mine for 4 years. You will eventually experience some slop in it due to the rivet construction (metal on metal). Unfortunately it is not rebuildable, hence the reason I've been looking at the AT Multi Axis Couplers.

Most trailer breaks come with a mechanical break-away feature that you can use to temporarily lock your wheels. Don't leave it on for an extended period since it will drain your battery, ask me how I know about this.

 

[sandcruiser]

re: spare tire

you've gotta do what works best for you, but with 6 service tires and 1 spare, you can only attend to 15% tire puncture rate vs. 25% tire puncture rate on a "normal" vehicle.

While you can always leave the trailer to go get a tire fixed, my experience in baja and the rest of Central America is that leaving a trailer behind is a very last-resort option.

Maybe you can find room somewhere for a 'donut' spare for the trailer? or a 2nd full-size?
or, again, reconsider running the same tires on the trailer. Notice that semis don't run the same drive-tires as towed tires.

NB: it does *look* better when all the tires match. But it doesn't work better.

 

[Hoochie Time]

Lock N Rolls are great, been using mine for 4 years. You will eventually experience some slop in it due to the rivet construction (metal on metal). Unfortunately it is not rebuildable, hence the reason I've been looking at the AT Multi Axis Couplers.

Most trailer breaks come with a mechanical break-away feature that you can use to temporarily lock your wheels. Don't leave it on for an extended period since it will drain your battery, ask me how I know about this.

Where did you find the wear in the rivet? I have the 6,000lb weld on Lock N'Roll coupler (PN 202), which we are going to weld on to the trailer tongue, there is a ceramic washer inside, in between the large hammer riveted head and the weldable face of the coupler. Is this where wear occurs?

 

[Hoochie Time]

re: spare tire

you've gotta do what works best for you, but with 6 service tires and 1 spare, you can only attend to 15% tire puncture rate vs. 25% tire puncture rate on a "normal" vehicle.

While you can always leave the trailer to go get a tire fixed, my experience in baja and the rest of Central America is that leaving a trailer behind is a very last-resort option.

Maybe you can find room somewhere for a 'donut' spare for the trailer? or a 2nd full-size?
or, again, reconsider running the same tires on the trailer. Notice that semis don't run the same drive-tires as towed tires.

NB: it does *look* better when all the tires match. But it doesn't work better.

I always run E Load Rated 10 ply tires on my trucks and have not had issues with punctures. The biggest hazard I can see for these tires is a side wall puncture usually from messing around in mud on logging show landings which should not be an issue outside of my local area. Your comment has given me some pause for thought though. I am moving my spare on to a tire carrier on my back bumper to free up room for an auxiliary fuel tank. I have another spare I could carry on my truck roof rack....mmm....

 

[Rusty Pig]

Where did you find the wear in the rivet? I have the 6,000lb weld on Lock N'Roll coupler (PN 202), which we are going to weld on to the trailer tongue, there is a ceramic washer inside, in between the large hammer riveted head and the weldable face of the coupler. Is this where wear occurs?

I have the PN 303 hitch and PN 212 coupler. That large hammer rivet is were my wear has occured. I have it packed with grease now to hopefully slow the wearing down, but did this only after I noticed it. I do not recollect having a ceramic washer so nice to see they have made an improvement. I also am getting some play on the outside rivet, basically the middle swivel point were they use a smaller rivet to connect the "ears" to the larger rivet (hope that made sense). Trust me, I have no complaints about the L-N-R, great piece of kit. I expect to get a lot more use out of it. Still much quieter and gentle than a pintle and light years ahead of a ball.

 

[mshelby]

Looks like it's going to be a solid build...when done I will take one in white please.

 

[sandcruiser]

I'd put the spare on the trailer, since you only need it when you have the trailer
you could also just carry an inner tube and some way to remove/mount the tire from the rim.
not as easy as a spare, but much better than nothing. heck, go nuts, carry 2 tubes.

 

[sirenmoses]

Looks like it's going to be a solid build...when done I will take one in white please.

x2, in 'sand beige' please, with an additional strut centered towards the rear for the multi-use my trailer will see.

 

[Hoochie Time]

I have the PN 303 hitch and PN 212 coupler. That large hammer rivet is were my wear has occured. I have it packed with grease now to hopefully slow the wearing down, but did this only after I noticed it. I do not recollect having a ceramic washer so nice to see they have made an improvement. I also am getting some play on the outside rivet, basically the middle swivel point were they use a smaller rivet to connect the "ears" to the larger rivet (hope that made sense). Trust me, I have no complaints about the L-N-R, great piece of kit. I expect to get a lot more use out of it. Still much quieter and gentle than a pintle and light years ahead of a ball.

Here is a pic of the ceramic washer on the back of the L-N-R hitch.

 

[Hoochie Time]

Well the build is progressing, it's slow as the fab shop is owned by a friend of mine and he is using this trailer build to fill in when things are slow and he is busy.

Anyway the trailer will go for paint end of Friday, they did the rack for the tent and the fenders today but I forgot my camera. I will get pics of that tomorrow.

 

[Hoochie Time]

More pics.

 

[sandcruiser]

looking very good!

 

[tomahawk]

nice build .. please post more pictures

 

[titanpat57]

Awesome job, great design!!

Why not post it in the Trailer Tech section, hell, all this nice work deserves all the attention it can get.

There seems to be a lot of issues lately with the LNR, and although I think some of them are attributed to abuse, I have to wonder about the rest. It also seems that customer service is slipping as well. I guess they got some Gov. contracts and are focusing on those. I just heard from a guy over at Expo that has 7,000 miles on his Max Coupler without any issues. Not being a LNR hater...but it sounds like your going to put some serious miles on, in some pretty desolate places.

Good luck with your "Portable Bomb Shelter"

and safe travels!!

Pat

 

[Hoochie Time]

This is the fenders, the air bags are not inflated, so the fenders should be 3 or 4 inches higher off the tires when in running configuration.