my trailer build (1 Viewer)

[BigDaveZJ]

my trailer build (was gonna be built from scratch, now M416)

Don't have a 'yota, but my DD used to be an Avalon, so that's close enough right???

I've got a 95 Jeep ZJ on 35's that for some reason I hacked the back off a few years back. Not exactly sure why I did it at this point, but it definitely made going camping and doing any long wheeling trips a PITA. With trips like Hole in the Rock, White Rim, and a combination of a bunch of trails in SW Colorado on my to do list, I've been looking at options to make this feasible with my current vehicles. My wife has a 98 ZJ that is still full bodied, so that gives me an option to carry some stuff, but most of the time the dog would be with her, and with her Jeep being on 32's I don't want to load it down with a bunch of stuff making it less capable on the trail. Mine's on 35's, so I figured it's much better suited to hauling a trailer since it shouldn't slow me down much on the easier trails.

Here's our rigs so you can see what we're working with.

Mine:

The wife's:

The trailer will end up behind my wife's rig part of the time though, mainly on road, as my Jeep spends most of its highway time on my 16' car hauler behind my F250. Makes the coupling portion of the trailer a little more interesting, but I plan on utilizing a design I've seen used on here where there's a receiver tube on the trailer for various couplings. Most likely my wife will use a standard ball to haul the trailer on the road, and then I'll switch it over to a Lock N Roll when it's behind my Jeep.

All of my "plans" so far are just on paper, haven't done anything with them on the computer yet, but I can convey my basic ideas pretty easily.

Axle will be a 3500lb trailer axle with 5x4.5 hubs, same bolt patterns as our Jeeps, and the car hauler. Wheels will be 15x8 Cragar Soft 8's, to match the Jeeps as well. Haven't settled 100% on tires, but it will probably be a 33x10.50 or a 35x12.50 (what's on my Jeep). The axle will be sprung via leafs, looking to source axle and leafs from the guys at abctrailerparts.com.

The tub and frame will be built from scratch. Rough dimensions are 48" wide, 36" tall, and 60" long for the main portion. Then the a-frame will go forward from there for an undetermined length pending some more measurements. My goal is to have the frame and coupler sit between 22 and 24" off the ground.

That's really all that's set in stone at this point. Still working on the design of the tub itself. Back in Scouts we had "Patrol Boxes" that housed all of our cooking supplies and I want to incorporate a similar design onto the side of the trailer, where the face of the box will flip down (held in place like a pickup tailgate) and allow for a work surface. Haven't decided yet if I want to do that on both sides, or just one, or to make them the full length of the trailer or not. There will be a spare tire mount somewhere as well obviously. There will be another hitch receiver on the back bumper of the trailer as well, to allow for a bike rack, or the all-important Bumper Dumper! Also thinking about some sort of "stake pocket" in the corners of the trailer where I could put a post to hang a lantern from, or use to tie off tarps for rain flies.

Ahead of the tub will be some kind of fuel/water rack on the a-frame. Thinking about putting a 10-20lb CO2 tank there (already have a 20lb in my ZJ) and maybe a small propane tank.

The rear of the trailer will have a tailgate to allow access to the main compartment of the tub. I may section the tub off and have doors on either side of the trailer in front of the wheels to allow easier access to that portion. The wife isn't too keen on having to climb back into the trailer to get stuff. Another option is building the lid like a tonneau cover with gas struts to lift it up out of the way. But with the current plan setting the roof line at ~ 5ft and Pam being 5'5", that wouldn't do her much good. So that's still up in the air.

I hope to have the trailer completed by next spring/summer to use it to go camping and do some expedition type wheeling. My plan is to start accumulating the parts I KNOW that I need and getting the frame, axle, and coupling together over the next few months and then I should be able to really start visualizing the rest of the design from there.

Any advice, ideas, criticism, whatever, lemme have it!

 

[BigDaveZJ]

Here's a rough Google Sketchup of my concept:

 

[OLDNSLO]

nice start!

 

[chappysfj40]

sweet start, lets see it get started. cheers

 

[BigDaveZJ]

sweet start, lets see it get started. cheers

I got the plan and the ideas, now I just need the money!!

 

[BigDaveZJ]

Would .125 wall 2x4 be overkill for the lower portion of the main frame on this thing? My plan for the frame is a basic ladder style. There'd be the 4 outer walls, and then 3 x-members (technically 5 I guess if you count the front and rear ends). How about for the a-frame portion of it? 3/16? 1/4? I'm used to building stuff as strong as it can possibly be for the Jeeps without much of a concern for weight, but this is a little different.

 

[davegonz]

3/16 and 1/4" is way overkill for the draw bars, IMO.

You could go with 2x3x.120 for the subframe which should be plenty strong. Do a search here on what others have done to get a better idea.

 

[sprale]

Here's a rough Google Sketchup of my concept:

I like the sketch so far. I would probably widen the box and inset the wheel wells to increase internal capacity. Also, might increase top surface for rack/tent space without attaching boxes to the sides.

A personal thought, I would add a rail in front of the box for a little dirt bike. I spend more time on two wheels than four. Not sure how to balance the weight though.

Can't wait to see more progress!

 

[BigDaveZJ]

I don't see a need to put the tent on top when I have a perfectly good regular tent already, especially at the cost of the roof top tents. I'm trying to do this on the tightest budget possible. As far as the wheels go, I like them protruding like that to help keep the box in good shape too. The places this trailer will go are not the easiest to navigate in just a regular vehicle, let alone towing a trailer through it. I also plan on adding armor and skid plating similar to what my Jeep has to help protect it as well. The interior capacity should be quite ample for my needs as it sits right now. Anytime I travel where I will need my trailer, we will have at minimum 2 vehicles, one of which still has full use of its cargo area. I think at just under 60 cu ft of storage capacity the trailer should hold plenty for me. And if I do decide after using the trailer for a while that I need more room, it won't be hard at all to add additional space.

 

[sirenmoses]

there has been some discussion on here about fenders for these trailers, might be worth a search...

look forward to your build-up!

 

[BigDaveZJ]

Here's the latest design I've got going. It still maintains the "patrol boxes" on the side, as well as gives some access to the front of the storage area from the sides of the trailer. My wife's biggest concern with the design of the trailer was being able to access things in the cargo hold that weren't near the door, and this should solve those problems. It's plenty big for a giant cooler or two and other misc supplies. The total frame as it sits right now is 36"H x 48"W x 64"D. That doesnt count fenders, patrol boxes, or the rear bumper. The draw bar shouldn't end up being that long, but I still have to figure out the forward portion of the trailer. I want to build a box that could eventually be used to house electrical equipment if I end up going that route with this. I.E. a couple deep cycle batteries, charging system, etc. I also want a rack to hold a few gerry cans and some water jugs too. I REALLY like the concept of having a water tank within the trailer somewhere and using some type of pump, but from what I've seen that's cost prohibitive at this point.

I also need a place to mount the spare tire, and considering they're 35x12.50's, that's not an easy task. Even though it would raise the COG a bit, my current desired location is on top of the cargo area, as far back as it can go. With the positioning of the axle after adding the front doors (20" wide so a big cooler can go through there) I want to make sure I can properly distribute the weight.

EDIT: I know the rear tailgate looks like it's hinged off the bumper, not the frame. It will be hinged off the frame. Still figuring out all the little tricks to Google SketchUp!

 

[sprale]

Try mounting the spare up vertically against the front face of the box. I love Sketchup. I am using it to design an entertainment center right now.

 

[BigDaveZJ]

Sprale, that was one of my plans, but that's where I was going to put the electrical box and the storage for the gerry cans. And I'm afraid that would put too much weight forward of the axle.

 

[TheGillz]

Have you seen my trailer? It has everything that you have meantioned you need so far.

 

[BigDaveZJ]

Have you seen my trailer? It has everything that you have meantioned you need so far.

I have been following your build very closely!

 

[sprale]

I think its time for a IH8MUD group over at Google SketchUp.

 

[BigDaveZJ]

Here's the latest design, definitely getting close to the final product here. I really like the current setup. I think it fits all my current needs, but would also allow me to add things in the future.

 

[TheGillz]

That looks pretty sweet! Very compact design.

 

[BigDaveZJ]

That looks pretty sweet! Very compact design.

Thanks! I'm trying to keep it as compact as possible to make it easier to get through some of the terrain we'll encounter with it. A large trailer would be MUCH more difficult to drag through something like this:

 

[sirenmoses]

What about mounting the spare up under the frame?