JKMike's Kakadu "build" thread

[JKMikey]

Hey Guys,

So I thought I would post some progress as I go through "building" up my trailer. It's more so modifying the existing trailer to suit what I want to do. By no means doing the sort of builds that many on here have done. I bought the trailer just over a year ago, and have made some changes, with more to come. I'm using many of the builds here for inspiration on the changes that can be made.

Here we go.

I decided I wanted to go ahead and purchase the Kakadu Bushranger 200XT. This has the heavy duty trailer, a 3 axis connector, independent suspension, bigger tires, etc. I wanted to modify the trailer to have running rims and tires, but this required too much money and time for this to be completed. I contacted Matt and found out he was coming to Calgary for a show. We worked out a deal that he could keep the model on display and show off the closed version (mine) and open up a regular one for the show. I took it home afterwards and saved the shipping. Here it is on the floor and on my jeep.




With the spare tire mounted to the front, it meant that I had to carry water and fuel in the trailer. I went to Princess Auto and picked up a spare tire carrier and some track. I dont have any welding skills, so I made a mounting piece out of PT 2x4's to allow the spare tire to face forward and give me space to mount the water, fuel and propane. (it worked great for our BC road trip and a couple more, but weakened over time)



This was all completed, and we headed out on our 10 day trip through BC. From Calgary we heading through Banff and Jasper (staying the night in Jasper). Next day made it to Telkwa and on the third day into Prince Rupert (where my sister is living). Here are some pictures.

All hitched up and fuelled up.


It was still early... (very early...) in the season so most camp sites in Jasper weren't open yet. We found one and set up camp late. Morning after setup.


Day 2 en route


We went out kayaking with my sister. One minute the water was clear, empty, next minute, FILLED with jellyfish



To be continued

 

[JKMikey]

After leaving PR, we heading back through Prince George and then south.

Found another Bushranger tent on a M101 ? trailer. I think this was in Quesnel


Some nice roads to drive through


All set up near Kaslo


It was a great trip through some of BC. Trailer towed great behind the jeep, just a little slower going up some of the hills.

 

[JKMikey]

ok, back to the build portion of the "build" thread. The PT 2x4's for the spare tire mount servered their purpose for the first year, but it needed to go. I decided I would mount the tire to the back gate of the trailer.

Here is my "test fit". Tire & mount are being held by my cargo rack leaning against it.



Mounted


I also ordered a Drifta DSO camp kitchen from Matt over at Kakadu. Got this mounted at the same time. First go the kitchen must have shifted so I couldn't open the gate. Redrilled some holes, and all is good now.



and open


I've taken everything off the front of the trailer for now. I have a tongue box to be mounted and will be installing the fuel behind it. Water is going to be mounted to the side in front of the fenders. I have 2-10lb propane tanks which hopefully will mount behind the fenders (Hopefully I wont have clearance issues with the tent). I've also ordered an ARB 50qt fridge/freezer to mount in the trailer on some slides. This way, when the kitchen is out, I'll be able to slide the fridge to the edge of the back door.

Get to take it out next weekend for its first trip out of the season (been in Ft. Mac for too much of the season thus far)

Mike

 

[VanIsle_Greg]

After leaving PR, we heading back through Prince George and then south.

Found another Bushranger tent on a M101 ? trailer. I think this was in Quesnel
View attachment 169963

Ha ha, small world, that is a friend of mine Eric...those are my old wheels and tires on that there M101 CDN2!

Nice trailer setup BTW, was on the Kakadu site last night looking at the XT 250. LOTS of room in there!

 

[JKMikey]

For sure. A little big for me since its just the misses and I right now. Good for a family though.

 

[TheThom]

Looks great!

 

[Caanuck]

Ha ha, small world, that is a friend of mine Eric...those are my old wheels and tires on that there M101 CDN2!

Nice trailer setup BTW, was on the Kakadu site last night looking at the XT 250. LOTS of room in there!

Yep, that was my rig parked outside the sports restaurant in Quesnel. You could have met up with the ncoas group that weekend for the canyon crawl... Good group of people.

Nice rig, keep posting the mods as you do them!

 

[chrisinkorea]

Quesnel? As in northern BC? Cool. I've got friends from there. Beautiful area

Sent from my SHV-E120S using Tapatalk 4 Beta

 

[JKMikey]

Ya, we were just passing through Quesnel when I saw the trailer and pulled a u-turn. I think I saw Matt post pictures from that trip on his FB page.

Anyways, yes, more mods to come. I'm heading out camping this coming weekend at Burnt Timber. Hopefully the next time I'm home I'll get the tongue box mounted, and the jerry mounts.

Can anyone provide thoughts how to do a drawer slide that will over extend past the trailer. To explain, with the rear gate closed, the kitchen takes up about a foot and a half of space. My new fridge and maybe the cooler will be mounted to a slide behind this in the trailer. Most slides have only 1 extension, which would probably not make it outside the trailer box. I haven't seen yet drawer slides with multiple extensions that would accomplish this. The other thought is to mount 1 slide to a mounting tray, and mount the fridge on a second set of slides. THis might work.

Give me your thoughts.

Thanks

 

[ManleyORV]

Great work on the mods and good to see you enjoying the Kakadu/OZtrail tent. The guys in my shop are really digging the extra room it has over a regular RTT, especially when the weather takes a turn for the worse.

Plus you can't beat Matt's customer service at Kakadu!

Looking forward to seeing updates to this thread.

-Josh

 

[JKMikey]

Well, time to resurrect a very old post. I've just been out enjoying the camper since back then. Haven't been on any road trips with it, just camping around Calgary area.

I ordered up a Propex Heatsource HS2800 after reading some reviews. Finally came last week, so this weekend I had some time, and got started.

Marked out the holes, and started to drill. I decided to use threaded inserts as a good way to secure the mounting plate.

A year ago, my fiancee bought me this sign. It couldn't be more true in most of my projects. I very much take after my dad.

So, with that sign in hand, I started to drill out all the holes that didn't line up with the inserts.

Mounted

Because the sleeping platform overhangs the trailer dimensions, I had to be a little more creative with how to run the duct work.

And I want to ensure I could open the trailer to access the inside, without any issues.

Connected the duct work on the inside.

And lastly, mounted the thermostat.

How she sits right now

Ran out of time tonight, so I still have to wire up to the battery, and connect the propane tank to the heater.

 

[VanIsle_Greg]

Awesome.
That looks like a pretty slick install. I am very much in like with those heaters and have them on my list of things to consider should I come into some spare $$.

 

[BCzuk]

Nice setup. The Drifta kitchen box is rad

 

[JKMikey]

Nice setup. The Drifta kitchen box is rad

I really like the kitchen, I'm just trying to figure out how to best outfit it. I've just repurposed old stuff, so it doesn't quite fit as nicely as if I bought some items specifically for the trailer.

 

[JB87]

Sorry to bump this tread, some nice upgrades! Like the heater that you installed.
Have the same trailer and live in Stony Plain AB, would like to know where you got the heater and if you still like it.

Thanks.