jon boat trailer to light duty off road trailer

[JamesR]

Hello Everyone,
I came across a jon boat trailer really cheap. I want to build a camping trailer. Nothing fancy, just a basic small trailer. The frame is 3 inch C channel. The trailer is 42.5 inches wide and 58 inches long, not including the small "triangle" at the front and the tongue. The plans are to build a box using square tubing, and upgrade the axle and wheels to match the 40/60 pattern.
So what do you guys/gals suggest, is this a good platform or will I be wasting time, effort, and money?
Thanks.

 

[greentruck]

If your intended use is more towards the "light duty, camping" end of the scale than the "offroad" end of it, you'll be OK.

There are several issues. The axle may not be up to serious off-roading, where you're going to need some bigger tires most likely. The axles for 1/4 ton mil-spec trailers tend to be in what you would spec as a 3500 lb axle if replacing, so there is a pretty big span between the load they typically carry and the strength of the axle that becomes important when the going gets rugged.

I suspect the frame of the boat trailer is going to be rather flexible. So if you account for that, OK, but bolting something square and solid to it may suffer if its does flex when offroad.

Depending on the trailer and whatever tires you can get on it, the ramp angle at the back of the trailer may not be very favorable. They tend to be lower to help the boat on and off when launching and retrieving. This could be dealt with several ways or just leave as is an accept it will limit you some.

 

[JamesR]

Thanks for the comments.
I was planning on swapping out the axle. I also thought about boxing the frame; not completely because I don't want a lot of moisture buildup, but to add some strength.
I could always just add some plywood and use it as a "garden/yard work" trailer. But I was thinking I could work on it and use it for camping/off road and yard work.