Homemade offroad camping trailer (in progress)

[krispykritter]

Hi guys -

My family took a two week camping/four-wheel-driving trip over the christmas holiday last year, and it became VERY clear that the 100-series by itself just wasn't enough space, and there were a few things about camping that sucked: washing dishes with a water bottle, unpacking half the car because you forgot to put the coffee cups in their spot, not having a backseat because where else were you gonna put the pillows, etc. I spent the following six months messing around with different designs in paint and spec-ing them out in excel, and deciding what was important and what wasn't. Finally, two weeks ago, we decided to go for it, and I ordered a buttload of supplies. I'm attaching the gallery of images so far, and will add more as the build progresses. I'm absolutely wrecked. Everything you see in the this post was done on July 4th, 6th, and 7th...roughly 24 hours of labor so far. Next weekend should be easier - mount fenders and prep/paint the thing.

Eventually will have a 4 foot wide, 4 foot tall, 8 foot long box on it with a two burner stove, sink, 30 gallon water tank, 12v water pump, deep cycle battery and charger, slide out grill, and 20 lb propane tank, plus storage room for tents/chairs/canopies/random other crap. As of right now, is just a frame. It will eventually wear the same tires as the 100 but on tundra rims. I'm using my spare from the 100 to make sure I fit the fenders properly.

Let me know what you think.

Camping Trailer Build

Samples:

 

[greentruck]

Looks like a very good start.

 

[krispykritter]

Thanks! Hopefully almost done with the welding - will be adding in the fenders and side steps on Friday. Cleaning, prepping, and por-15ing the chassis saturday, then maybe clearcoating it sunday.

The following weekend, I'll likely start into the box build.

The frame is made of 2x3 by 1/8 steel. The rear bumper is 3 inch c channel. The front and rear receivers are prefab receiver pieces with a 2.5x2.5 by 1/4 inch square between them.

The fenders were from eTrailer here, hopefully to be attached on Friday. Seemed like the best thing I could find that could handle 33 inch tires.

The jack is also from eTrailer, found here. I used this one because it can be completely removed for any rough trails. Might add a couple more at the rear as stabilizers.

The suspension setup is the 2200 lb timbren axleless setup for wide tires: eTrailer Timbren Suspension. It has around 3.5 inches of travel. The 1 inch wheel spacers/adapters are from amazon and convert the 5 on 4.5 pattern to the Land Cruiser's 5 on 150mm. Between the suspension, brakes, and spacers, I have about an inch of clearance between the edge of the 33's and the frame. A guesstimate at the trailer says it should be around 1100 lbs before I add in things like propane and water weight, and no camping gear. Tongue weight should be between 200 and 270 lbs depending on load. A bit heavy overall, but should be fine for my plans.

I bought a max coupler from C U offroad but that hasn't gotten here yet.

 

[80t0ylc]

Thanks! Hopefully almost done with the welding - will be adding in the fenders and side steps on Friday. Cleaning, prepping, and por-15ing the chassis saturday, then maybe clearcoating it sunday.

The following weekend, I'll likely start into the box build.

The frame is made of 2x3 by 1/8 steel. The rear bumper is 3 inch c channel. The front and rear receivers are prefab receiver pieces with a 2.5x2.5 by 1/4 inch square between them.

The fenders were from eTrailer here, hopefully to be attached on Friday. Seemed like the best thing I could find that could handle 33 inch tires.

The jack is also from eTrailer, found here. I used this one because it can be completely removed for any rough trails. Might add a couple more at the rear as stabilizers.

The suspension setup is the 2200 lb timbren axleless setup for wide tires: eTrailer Timbren Suspension. It has around 3.5 inches of travel. The 1 inch wheel spacers/adapters are from amazon and convert the 5 on 4.5 pattern to the Land Cruiser's 5 on 150mm. Between the suspension, brakes, and spacers, I have about an inch of clearance between the edge of the 33's and the frame. A guesstimate at the trailer says it should be around 1100 lbs before I add in things like propane and water weight, and no camping gear. Tongue weight should be between 200 and 270 lbs depending on load. A bit heavy overall, but should be fine for my plans.

I bought a max coupler from C U offroad but that hasn't gotten here yet.

Your frame is quite similar to the frame on my CVT trailer. I have the same 1/4" "spine" with receiver at either end. Not sure if you're aware, because you didn't mention it in this thread or your build link, but this is excellent for being adjustable tongue length, but the hidden value is that it's also reversible. Meaning if you get in a tight spot off road, you can use your jack to hold up the front and disco your tow rig. Take the receiver hitch out of the front of your "spine" and temporarily install it in the rear of your "spine" and pull your trailer out to a spot where you can hook up normally and turn around. Looks like size-wise it's also similar except your Timbren suspension, where mine is the traditional solid axle. Mine ended up weighing roughly 2000 lbs loaded with camping gear including RTT and awning. Did you match the track of your Land Cruiser? That will help off road. I went with the Max Coupler, also, from the same source. I chose to bolt it to the hitch instead of welding since there was no real advantage other than being more of a permanent attachment. Later on, if I choose to, I can weld it on. My trailer jack is also similar. A couple of pics:

 

[krispykritter]

You're right, I actually didn't think of that use for the front/rear receivers. That's a good point.

I also plan to just bolt the coupler to the trailer tongue. Maybe a small weld on each side just to discourage anyone from stealing it, but nothing structural.

The max suspension load is 2200 lbs, which should mean I have enough room for around 500 lbs of camping gear. No tent on this one, strictly a kitchen and gear trailer.

It does match the track of my 100 series with about half an inch, which is damn near perfect. Ideally there really won't be that much difficult off roading with this trailer, but the odd fire road or semi difficult obstacle shouldn't even slow it down.

... Famous last words.

 

[krispykritter]

Lots more work done. Completed building and painting the frame and getting the suspension attached and semi-aligned. Toe is set to about 1/4 total in, but it's definitely got a bit of positive camber to it. Have to read up what is the right amount of camber for it unloaded!

I used por15 cleaner, then metal etcher, then two coats of por15 gray for the undercoat. I then used some spraymax 2k clear to coat any part that might get extra wear and/or be exposed to sunlight. Apparently por15 doesn't have any UV resistance built in.

I think it turned out pretty damn good. No more trailer work next weekend as we've got plans the whole time. Will start back up on the weekend of July 27th.

Gallery number 2

 

[80t0ylc]

Looking good! What's the plan with the smaller square tubes welded on edge on top of your spine? My 1st thought was maybe for holding a wiring harness......?

 

[krispykritter]

Looking good! What's the plan with the smaller square tubes welded on edge on top of your spine? My 1st thought was maybe for holding a wiring harness......?

You nailed it. I was too lazy to punch a bunch of holes, run small circle steel through, then weld all the way around to seal the frame back up, so I tacked on the squares to hold the wire loom. The only place it should run below the ribs is going down passed each one. Otherwise, it'll stay tucked up above the spine.

 

[krispykritter]

More work accomplished this weekend!

Imgur Gallery

 

[krispykritter]

Alright, been so busy I haven't updated anything lately.

I'm about 85% complete with the trailer. Good enough to take it on a short camping trip this weekend. The two remaining items are the kitchen and the service electrical. I have the stove and sink, but haven't even started on the counter top or plumbing for the sink, or the interior and exterior lighting.

Imgur Gallery

Also in this update, my first ever off road experience towing a trailer. Unfortunately, I live in Florida so mud is the name of the game, but it's better than sitting at home.

Another Imgur gallery

 

[80t0ylc]

Looks good! Considering where you live, you might want to install mud flaps on trailer and upgrade your rear flaps on your LX. Looking at gallery pics, the mesh running boards almost demand mudflaps, don't they? Not sure where the mud on the side of trailer in front of wheels is coming from because your fenders should be preventing that. If it was spashed up from the LX it would be on the front side, too. Weird!

 

[Brimley]

Mad skills! I started with a military frame (not a great welder )and only added the axle,cross members and

ply/framed body/box.

 

[krispykritter]

I'm not really sure where the mud on the sides came from! I can't really come up with a way for it to get there, but that didn't stop it. Mud flaps for everything are in the plan, but just don't have the time or money to get it all done in one step. Wish I did! I'm hoping the LexusCruiser gets a dissent rear bumper before a long road trip next summer but we'll have to see.

That's for the fabrication compliment. I started welding probably a year and a half ago. This is my first attempt at a really large project like this. Definitely didn't go perfectly but I am very happy with how it's come out so far. I tried looking for a military trailer to start with but just couldn't find anything I really liked, so I tackled the frame build myself. I'd say the cost to get it to rolling frame state was around 1500$, and to how it looks today was around 4000$.

Only another couple weekends of work and I'll be able to call it done.

 

[krispykritter]

Been a bit since my last post - too many things going on at once as usual.

Finally nearly finished with the trailer. I used some aluminum angle to build brackets to hold my stove/sink cabinet and got the water pump/accumulator/tubing all installed.

I installed all the various bus bars (a pair near the battery for main distribution and solar charging, and a second pair in the rear near my power switches).

Got a 500w power inverter installed as well, and lights on magnetic door switches for two of the compartments, with kitchen lights on their own physical switch (I didn't want those lights to come on every time the kitchen door was open). Fire extinguisher mounted too.

Also settled on a Renology 160w solar panel and an MPPT solar power controller. Got that all installed, wired, and tested as well.

I had an issue with my new stove that turned out to be a busted propane regulator. Replaced that, and now the stove works. Thanks Gasland Chef =( I'm most definitely not disabling the thermocouple safety feature that takes forever to let the damn thing turn on

All that's really left is to build my fold-down countertop onto the end of the cabinet and lots of little stuff, like finishing up interior painting and sorting out a good latch mechanism for the kitchen door. First big trip coming up over thanksgiving, and it's good enough in its current state that if I get nothing else accomplished, we're still good to go!

 

[krispykritter]

Oh yeah, added a hi-lift jack since the trailer frame is roughly 21 inches off the ground. I have nothing that can lift it at home without some major help. Used some hi-lift jack mounts meant for a JK to attach the jack to the side of the trailer.

 

[krispykritter]

And finally, I can declare the major work on this thing to be done. Last weekend, I finally built my counter extension that folds down when the kitchen is opened up. The trailer isn't 100% complete; it's missing some interior paint and some minor interior and exterior lighting, and some other odds and ends, but there's no real list of things to get finished after this!

I also took it get weighed now that it's mostly finished. With a full water tank and propane tank but nothing directly trip related, like camping gear and food/ice, the total weight was 1700 pounds. Since wheels/tire/brakes/etc don't count into the payload, I'd say we can take about 200 lbs out of that, and the weight the suspension is carrying is about 1500 lbs. Since it's the timbren 1 tonne suspension (2200 lbs), that give me a payload capacity of about 700 lbs; since I want to be able to carry a canoe and kayak plus camping gear, that should work out pretty well. Definitely need to pay attention though, it wouldn't be too hard to overload it with boats on top.

Our first trip cooking and camping out of this trailer is over thanksgiving weekend, where we'll do thanksgiving dinner in a campground near St. Augustine, FL! We're all super excited to try it out!

 

[krispykritter]

Alright, maybe a couple more small things.

Doors and magnetic latches for cabinet

Strage bins

Caniet storage bin

Spring loaded pin as backup to door handle

 

[krispykritter]

Major upgrade to the kitchen section: Slide out on heavy duty drawer slides and a fold down countertop:

Services drag chain for propane, lights, fridge power, water, etc.

Building 'kitchen' side

Fold-down cutout

Test fitting stove and sink

 

[krispykritter]

Faucet in, more work done

Another view of drag chain and slides

First layer of paint and countertop installed.

Safety chain to cushion the fall if one of us drops the counter

Countertop extended.

 

[krispykritter]

Drawer that holds most of the dishes and stuff under the stove.

Shows how well the Iceco fridge fits on the other side of the kitch slideout.