Truck Bed Trailer

[HARDTRAILZ]

I sort of inherited a 98ish s-10 short bed based trailer. Decided to have some fun with it. It is definitely not the worlds greatest thing, but I think it has potential for running around town and hauling stuff for camping. First thing i did was hit the CL and find a tailgate $10 (it was missing), a plastic bedliner $10 (some minor rust in the bed floor), and a fiberglass high-rise camper shell for free.



To do:



replace rear window in camper shell

Cut rust over fenders

Install some bigger tires- dryrotted junk on there

Paint it up in black/white kinda like the truck

check wiring and lights

Big toolbox in front of the bed

Make mount for fuel can, water jug, and LP tank

Maybe side mount table.

Eventually swap over pin mount for some kinda offroad friendly hitch mount



I have a VERY small budget for this, since I am not sure this will be used much or will even meet my needs. However, it will serve as a test and experience for a possible future trailer build.



So far I got $20 in it and planning for under 200 total.

Any one have any tips or tricks or experience to share?

Will grab some pictures this weekend.

 

[HARDTRAILZ]

Drug it to town Friday so I can get it inspected n such. Definitely not pretty and needs a ton of work, but it is $20 invested so far. It pulled great at 55 mph even with the junk tires. Did not feel very heavy. Actually balanced pretty good and was not bad to move solo. Might turn into something or may not be worth it, but pics were required.













The box on the tongue is labeled as a Delta Packer 45 and is nice and heavy duty.

 

[Mark Harley]

Not bad!

Cut out flares instead of rust repair would save some time.

 

[HARDTRAILZ]

That is the plan. Then it can fit some tires to match the truck for additional spares if needed. Probably cut off some of the lower sheet metal that hangs down as well. Bolt a couple of milk crates on the tongue for holding water jug and LP tank. Reseal windows in camper shell. Paint it up. Finish the wiring. Then pull it around a bit and figure out which way to go with it.

But for $20 invested....I think its ok.

 

[Wildcat]

looks good. nice platform to start on. im still searching for one myself. got to hold out for the right one!

 

[Gravel Slinger]

Here's my cheap trick for an offroad coupler...go to local coop or a Tractor Supply & get a replacement lift arm bushing & pin. No way am I paying $200 for a fancy offroad coupler!

 

[HARDTRAILZ]

Here's my cheap trick for an offroad coupler...go to local coop or a Tractor Supply & get a replacement lift arm bushing & pin. No way am I paying $200 for a fancy offroad coupler!
View attachment 159604

Nice. Thanks for the idea!

 

[Titanpat57]

Here's my cheap trick for an offroad coupler...go to local coop or a Tractor Supply & get a replacement lift arm bushing & pin. No way am I paying $200 for a fancy offroad coupler!
View attachment 159604

Is that DOT approved?

There are reasons why those couplers are 200$

They go through rigorous testing and have to be engineered to meet certain standards.

If your "coupler" breaks, and lets your trailer loose on the highway going 65 mph...how are going to feel if it slams into someone's family and kills or maims someone..or drags you into a situation that causes you or your family harm?

Do you think it's a good bargain then?

I would imagine once the lawsuits start to pile up, the money saved by using hardware not designed to tow a trailer will be moot.

Always tow with the safety of others around you in mind...there's plenty of other things that can possibly go wrong, no sense adding more into the mix.

 

[Pooch72]

I love it when people get out there and customize their $hit. This is *my* trailer build, which has been going on for a couple years now. I use it fairly often for dump runs and donation runs. It's an all-purpose trailer, even though my original intent was to make it "expedition".

In case you're not familiar with it.....



We're planning a hunting trip this fall, so maybe i'll be able to get the trailer out there and really use it as such. Anyways, hope the thread helps you with some ideas, as I think you're going in the same direction I did.

Good luck and keep us posted with pictures!

 

[HARDTRAILZ]

Sweet. Thanks. I will check it out.

 

[HARDTRAILZ]

Got the wiring and lights working. Rigged some safety chains, but want to find a better attachment. Got plates, so I used it for a little work.

 

[Demo1986]

Do you plan to paint it white and blk like your TB?

 

[k9lestat]

After seeing the tractor bar thing, i like it. Been around tractors on my grand dads farm and think that is the only thing on that 1973 tractor that never broke. lol. those are strong as heck.

Sent from my QMV7A using Tapatalk

 

[HARDTRAILZ]

Wow been a little bit...

I do hope to paint it soon. Will be some version of white and black.

I have done a few things to it and stashed some parts for when i get a chance to really work on it. It now has 31 10.5 15 tires on some aluminum rims which really helped. It sets up higher and seems to ride better. I have a a spare tire mount, a spare wheel, tongue jack, and a couple milk crates since they will hold straps and LP tanks nicely.

 

[HARDTRAILZ]