Gave the trailer the washboard Death Valley Test

[CaliCruiser]

My dad and I have been working on our trailer for awhile now in anticipation of a trip to Death Valley last week. I think I posted some progress of it a while ago, but I figured it is deserving of a thread now that it is tested. It is not done yet, and will require a ton of tweaking since we figured what worked and what didn't.

The first problem was that is was way to bouncy and considerably slowed us down on the rough washboard stuff throughout Death Valley. I am thinking some heavy duty shocks or air bags are in order for extra stability.

The second problem was a lack of tie downs in the correct spot inside the trailer. We have four interior tie downs now, but they are located to high, and after the load shifted a bit inside, the tie downs were worthless. We are thinking of some of those adjustable Corr-Trax tie downs to span the length of the trailer.

Overall the trailer did great and survived some tough terrainm but we definetly found some small stuff mentioned above to tweak. It was nice to keep the trailer full of crap and keep my fj60 empty for the bed system on the inside. Here are some pictures. . . updates will continue slowly through the spring.

Dylan

Here it is when we decided to start taking pictures

Working on the fenders

Triangulated the front and added a Jerry can rack

Started on the lid structure. We ended up doing a steel frame with plywood that we routered (sp?) out and set into the frame.

The lid in primer

Tied the fenders back into the body so they were not hanging off the side.

Finally the lid completed with a little luggage/support rack

 

[CaliCruiser]

 

[bull]

Looks good J Fro! How long did it take you?

Have you thought about getting a drop hitch to get the trailer level when you are pulling it with the huge as blue 60..

 

[spressomon]

Dylan: Welcome to the trailer club buddy! I noticed, from the posted DV pics, you had a trailer in tow. It sure is nice to have all your camping stuff out of the main rig. And especially nice for trips where a base camp is set for a few days and you're off exploring in a lighter more agile rig.

 

[kellyo]

What canyons did you go up? Which side to the mnt. range where you on?

 

[CaliCruiser]

Oops, guess I should respond in my own thread, eh?

 

[CaliCruiser]

Looks good J Fro! How long did it take you?

Have you thought about getting a drop hitch to get the trailer level when you are pulling it with the huge as blue 60..

We ordered up the drop receiver with two weeks advance, and the guy never shipped it in time for out trip to DV. We stopped counting the hours at 100 or so.

Dylan: Welcome to the trailer club buddy! I noticed, from the posted DV pics, you had a trailer in tow. It sure is nice to have all your camping stuff out of the main rig. And especially nice for trips where a base camp is set for a few days and you're off exploring in a lighter more agile rig.

Lovin' it!

What canyons did you go up? Which side to the mnt. range where you on?

We we all over the north end of the park. Started in Eureka dunes, over Steele Pass and it to the springs. From there we went down Saline Valley road and went over Lippencott pass and into racetrack. Then we went up to tea kettle junction, hung a right and started in towards Hunter Peak. The next day we went over Hunter peak and picked on again somewhere on saline valley, and then we split off and headed home.

Dylan