Expedition trailer made from FJ40 tub
- Thread starter Volcanic Iceberg
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damn! I recently acquired some hard top sides and separate fiberglass top for this purpose. free luckily... we'll see what I can do with them.
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- #163
Got all the top side pieces cut & front & back peices tacked together. I am thinking that I will end up with a little lower profile than what I have now. It's 6.5" now and I think I will end up in the 4.5" range.
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- #164
Ive been chipping away, puting in as much time as I can (which isnt all that much). I got the sides welded to each other with some 1-1/2" square stock. Then I welded a 1/2" square piece to that which puts me as just the right distance to sheath front and rear with sheet metal and sit flush.
I also adjusted the tire carriers up 3/4" so that they are now lined up the way they are suposed to be. for some reason stock holes made them too low. I installed all the hardware and they are right on now. I slapped a couple of spares up there to see how it looked. I think from the side it really balances out the trailer nicely.
Put on the tailgate so I gould see if I had any conflicts with the top before I welded anything. It is going to worh out perfectly. I should be able to weather strip the tailgate nice & tight.
Tonight I measured and bent one side of the top. It was a pain but the bend turned out to be nice & straight. Now I can finally see the true profile hieght of the side. I've got it at 4-1/2".
I also adjusted the tire carriers up 3/4" so that they are now lined up the way they are suposed to be. for some reason stock holes made them too low. I installed all the hardware and they are right on now. I slapped a couple of spares up there to see how it looked. I think from the side it really balances out the trailer nicely.
Put on the tailgate so I gould see if I had any conflicts with the top before I welded anything. It is going to worh out perfectly. I should be able to weather strip the tailgate nice & tight.
Tonight I measured and bent one side of the top. It was a pain but the bend turned out to be nice & straight. Now I can finally see the true profile hieght of the side. I've got it at 4-1/2".
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- #165
more pics
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- #166
Profile pic
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- #168
Stock springs with extended shackles 1" over stock. Body is currently resting on the frame. I have fabbed up some 1/2" rubber body mounts out of semi mud flaps for when I get to that point. They look just like stock mounts.
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- #169
Last night I cut and bent and got all the side pieces down to the same hight. I was all excited this morning, busted out the jig saw and cut some fiberglass. My excitement soon faded however when I put the cap up on the trailer and realized that something was not right. The cap is too narrow by about 1-1/2". As is, the outside edge of the drip rails is about flush with the sides. Apparently the top sides on the 40's actualy taper. 
Pretty disapointing. I knew the back end tapered but the sides are more subtle so i didnt see it. The only way i can see to fix it is to section down the center and fill in the gap. Not quite sure how to do that and still maintain ridgidity. I've never worked with finerglass before. 
Days like today make me question cost vs reward on this project.
Pretty disapointing. I knew the back end tapered but the sides are more subtle so i didnt see it. The only way i can see to fix it is to section down the center and fill in the gap. Not quite sure how to do that and still maintain ridgidity. I've never worked with finerglass before. Days like today make me question cost vs reward on this project.
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Last night I cut and bent and got all the side pieces down to the same hight. I was all excited this morning, busted out the jig saw and cut some fiberglass. My excitement soon faded however when I put the cap up on the trailer and realized that something was not right. The cap is too narrow by about 1-1/2". As is, the outside edge of the drip rails is about flush with the sides. Apparently the top sides on the 40's actualy taper.
Glass is pretty tough stuff, If you section it as you mentioned, just make sure to use a heavy weight glass CLOTH, not matte. 10-12oz cloth is what i'm thinking would work, but if you can find a glass supply shop in town or ask a body shop guy, they should be able to tell you better. You'll want to put in several layers of glass cloth, make sure you have a waxed smooth surface or a matched surface finish to your sectioned top, so you don't have a big smooth patch down the middle. I really enjoyed Glass work when I was doing it. You can even throw in a filler material like a rigid foam to help make up the space of the hardtop thickness.
Have fun! I'm looking forward to seeing this thing in a state of done, with paint!
Build some wood rib stiffeners to span the underside of the different roof panels.
Secure them to the underside with either screws through the top (screw holes to be filled in later) then glass them onto the underside with fiberglass cloth and resin.
Then glass in the gap.
If you make the wood stiffeners like ribs you'll have something to attach a headliner to and can put insulation between the ribs to fininsh it all off real nice.
SSR
Secure them to the underside with either screws through the top (screw holes to be filled in later) then glass them onto the underside with fiberglass cloth and resin.
Then glass in the gap.
If you make the wood stiffeners like ribs you'll have something to attach a headliner to and can put insulation between the ribs to fininsh it all off real nice.
SSR
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- Thread starter
- #173
Since I cut both halves of the roof sections long I will have some left over pieces that will match thickness & profile, so I think I will use that to bridge the gap. I like the rib stiffener idea as well so I may use that as well.
My Trail-Trail top (fiberglass was morphed similar as you are doing) was pretty 'flimsy' for opening and shutting without even the RTT installed. I added some metal bracing under the lip (welded to the metal rain gutter). When I added the RTT I beefed it up a bit more. So now the metal structure holds the weight of the tent, the hinges and the latches, releaving all the stress from the glass.
I say cut the middle to get the width you need. Fix the glass and reinforce the gutter rail to protect the glass.
I say cut the middle to get the width you need. Fix the glass and reinforce the gutter rail to protect the glass.
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- Thread starter
- #175
Thanks for the pointer Kurt. One thing I have going for me with this top is the side pieces that it sits on. I have been working on that structure and it is becoming more and more ridgid as I go along. Tonight I welded in the radius corner pieces & the front tubular upper cross pieces. That alone was a big improvement with reguards to Ridgidity. I think Everything is going to work out. Just a pain that I have to make the top wider.
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- #176
Last pic is a little photoshop to give me an Idea of porportions when it is all put together.
Really looking forward to see this thing finished. As far as the fiberglass the earlier ones were wider. The top that fit on the corrugated sides. They were also higher and some had the vent in the top. I'm not sure when the top started to angle in. I have read that is was in 74 but I have a 73 top and it is angled. The angle is about the height if the bottom of the window opening. I can check a 88 and 72 sides this weekend to see if they are angled. Might solve your problem with a different cap.
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- #178
Thanks. dont worry about checking. Im commited to fixing what I have.
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- #179
I did a final cut on one of the top pieces. Initially I cut them long untill i had some help so I could make an acurate cut. MRPEPPER helped me today. After measuring we secured 2 squares to the drip rail, then following the edge of the squares, slowly lowered the masking tape down to make a straight cut line. I used a cut off disc to go through the drip rail and a jig saw to cut the fiberglass. Turned out nice & straight.
Id like to cut the other half as well but that cruiser got tipped on its side and as a result the drip rail is bowed in. Ill have to figure out how to straighten it before cutting. Haven't worked out how to do that yet.
Id like to cut the other half as well but that cruiser got tipped on its side and as a result the drip rail is bowed in. Ill have to figure out how to straighten it before cutting. Haven't worked out how to do that yet.
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- #180
After a failed attempt to clamp angle iron to the bottom side of the drip rail as a leaver and straighten the bend, I went to plan B. The drip rail was bent in about 3/4". So I cut the Drip rail in 3 places and after a lot of persuasion, measuring, and welding. I got the bend pretty close to perfectly straight. Close enough that it will be hard to tell it was ever bent. I am quite pleased with how it turned out and am excited that I can now proceed to measure and cut to length like I did with the orange top.
