Building up my first camping trailer

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate
links, including eBay, Amazon, Skimlinks, and others.

The water tank is a 15 gallon polyethylene spot sprayer. I got it at Harbor Freight for pretty cheap (for a water storage.) It also came with a 12v SHURflo pump.
 
LOOKS GREAT----i like the sink set up ----
 
I swear I saw you driving Northbound on I-15 around Centerville, UT. just after 4:00 pm Sunday. I knew I had seen that trailer and 80 here in the Trailer section. For the few seconds I saw you, the trailer and rig looked great! My wife thought I was nuts! "I know that cruiser and trailer!!! I've seen it on MUD." She was like......:rolleyes:
 
Old#7 said:
I swear I saw you driving Northbound on I-15 around Centerville, UT. just after 4:00 pm Sunday. I knew I had seen that trailer and 80 here in the Trailer section. For the few seconds I saw you, the trailer and rig looked great! My wife thought I was nuts! "I know that cruiser and trailer!!! I've seen it on MUD." She was like......:rolleyes:
Click to expand...


Yeah that was me. I was on my way back to Idaho from Tucson, Arizona. I was in Tucson visiting friends and family. I even got to go to the Overland Expo for a day! Using the trailer has been great on trips with the wife and four kids. Thanks for the compliments.
 
awesome build

this build has inspired me to build my first trailer :eek:...I've pretty much plagiarized your design, but instead of welding the main cargo "box" area to the trailer, mine is going to bolt down so I can remove it (after emptying my camping crap) and use the trailer as a utility trailer to haul taller objects.
(I'm trying to think of a way, for later down the road, to make the top open up for a motorcycle or something...if anyone has ideas)

I too am on a timeline. My girlfriend and I are driving to North Carolina to see her family and I'd like to take the trailer with all my camping gear :steer:...I'm trying to get it complete to the point that you did for your first trip. Which brings me to my question: How did you secure the temporary plywood sides to the cargo "box" frame? I'm trying to decide how I will do this without holes all over the outside of my trailer. Maybe just drive some self tapping screws from the inside, thru the plywood & into the inside of the frame??? :hhmm: Let me know if you have a better solution, more pics, or ideas on how you would've done things different.

Thanks, and compliments on your simple yet well executed build!:clap:
 
red87runnerATX said:
this build has inspired me to build my first trailer :eek:...I've pretty much plagiarized your design, but instead of welding the main cargo "box" area to the trailer, mine is going to bolt down so I can remove it (after emptying my camping crap) and use the trailer as a utility trailer to haul taller objects.
(I'm trying to think of a way, for later down the road, to make the top open up for a motorcycle or something...if anyone has ideas)

I too am on a timeline. My girlfriend and I are driving to North Carolina to see her family and I'd like to take the trailer with all my camping gear :steer:...I'm trying to get it complete to the point that you did for your first trip. Which brings me to my question: How did you secure the temporary plywood sides to the cargo "box" frame? I'm trying to decide how I will do this without holes all over the outside of my trailer. Maybe just drive some self tapping screws from the inside, thru the plywood & into the inside of the frame??? :hhmm: Let me know if you have a better solution, more pics, or ideas on how you would've done things different.

Thanks, and compliments on your simple yet well executed build!:clap:
Click to expand...


Sorry, I just saw this post. I know this is a bit too late, but what you said above is exactly what I did - self tapping screws from the inside and then silicone everything up so water stays out.
 
ecameron87 said:
Sorry, I just saw this post. I know this is a bit too late, but what you said above is exactly what I did - self tapping screws from the inside and then silicone everything up so water stays out.
Click to expand...

Very cool. It's held up fairly well, but I tried a different idea on the roof. Basically the front half hinges up to one side so you can open it and access gear from the top. The rear half does not open and is fixed to the trailer. This design has definitely been more convenient, but very difficult to seal well from the elements.
 
Well, I finally have some money saved up and a little time to start on phase 2 of my trailer project. This trailer has seen many trips between Idaho, Utah, and Arizona over the past three years. The compartment has stayed dry up until a trip from Idaho to Arizona for Christmas. We had bad weather the whole way down and the salt from the Utah highways did some damage to my cheap paint job. A tiny bit of water came in through the side wood panels. They did their job for almost three years and now it is time for them to go.

I plan to compartmentalize the main box into three sections. There will also be a slide out kitchen with a sink and stove. I am adding a hot water heater, a battery, and some LED lights that I will fab up myself. Everything will be made from metal this time.

Here is a pic to show that I actually use it.
12024-1278190723-2d8f2593fc6c770b48910a14b042b6af.jpg
 
Last edited:
Here I took the side panels off and started removing the old paint using a wire wheel.

2011-4-12 022.JPG



I added solid panels to driver side. I welded only part of it. The rest will get bondo and then some silicone on the inside to seal it up.


2011-4-12 032.JPG


Here is the driver side compartment. I attached a full lip, flat metal attached to the back of the square bars, around all the door openings. This is what the seal will attach to.

2011-4-12 031.JPG
 
Last edited:
Got the driver side panels done and installed all the doors. The slide out is next.

Passenger side:

DSCN1734.JPG



Driver side:

DSCN1732.JPG
 
Last edited:
That is a very handy trailer, and you are upgrading from wood to metal. Exellent work!
 
Well, I got a lot done this last week. All of the metalwork is done and I started the paint. Here are two pictures of it primered without the slide-out kitchen installed. This was painted seperately. I used Ace hardware's Rust Stop primer and paint.

DSCN1813.JPG


DSCN1814.JPG
 
Last edited:
I finally finished painting. Here are some shots of the final product. The paint color is "Sherwood forest" which is the closest I could get to an army green.

These two pics are of the passenger side with the rear compartment open. The two verticle slats will hold some quick fists for shovel and axe mount.

DSCN1828.JPG


DSCN1827.JPG



Driver side without the slide-out kitchen installed (it was still drying.)

DSCN1829.JPG



More to come when it is all buttoned up.
 
Last edited:
Really enjoying this thread, looks really nice!
 
DSCN1830.JPG
Well the trailer is mostly done except for half of the slide-out kitchen. Here is a picture of it all painted up before adding the water heater, sink and faucet.



I had to have the trailer rolling so that I could use it this last weekend for a trip to the Idaho side of the Grand Tetons. I had it all done except for the stove and the interior lights. The heater worked great for the first day, but overnight water froze in the pipes and now the water heater is shot. I only got to use it for one day! I will tear it apart to see what went wrong and what I could have done different.

Here is a camera phone shot while leaving camp. I will try to get some of the kitchen soon.
IMAG0023.jpg
 
Last edited:
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

HSTexan
Building out my M101A2
Replies
2
Views
2K
Land Shark
Land Shark
OvrlndScrambler
M416B1 Tongue extension help
Replies
3
Views
1K
ntsqd
ntsqd
JDM Journeys
Kamparoo Transcontinental rear-fold
2
Replies
31
Views
5K
JDM Journeys
JDM Journeys

Share this page

Back
Top Bottom