I've been looking for a trailer to pull behind my Jeep JK 4 door for quite a while. I wanted something to support two-man hunting trips in the backwoods of Northern Idaho and considered several options. I initially thought about the JK Habitat but ultimately decided that my old bones didn't need to be crawling out of that in the middle of the night to pee. My focus switched to trailers which is how I found this site. There are some very clever box builds on this site (M416, M100, home built, etc.) but these designs generally require some sort of RTT which put me back in my middle-of-the-night pee situation. Next on my list of possibilities was the teardrop. I gave the teardrop a LOT of consideration and it remained at the top of my list for a long time, but I started to consider pop-up trailers as well. Livin-lite makes some neat looking stuff and began to trump the teardrop idea. I like how light they are, the fact that I can stand upright in them (not so in the teardrop) and that they at least some sort of off-road options. I like the width of the Quicksilver 6.0 but not the layout. I like the layout of the Quicksilver 8.0 but the width made me nervous. Another thing that made a bit squemish is the price. It's a fair price, but still a chunk more than I wanted to spend. I had all but decided that one of the Quicksilvers would be my answer when I found some old pop-ups being modified in various build threads on this site. I had all of the same concerns that others do - weight, width, structural integrity, how easy/hard would it be to modify, is it within my ability, etc. Still, I figured that with a little help from some friends (and paying some professionals when necessary) I could modify a pop-up for less than I could buy a Quicksilver and began the search for just the right pop-up.
I searched the RV section of Craig's List daily with search words like "tent" and "pop-up". After months of this I was questioning whether or not I would find the right combination of size, weight, condition, and cost. Everything that looked like a decent starting point was more money than I wanted to spend. Everything within my price point was either completely broken down or not quite the right layout. Then one day I came across this:
It is a 1952 Hawthorne Vacationeer from Montgomery Wards that I was able to get for $1000. I love the fact that it has two separate small beds and a rear entry. I also like that it is 4' wide by 6.5' long and the whole thing weighs about 300 pounds. I have some concerns about how well the tent will hold up under heavy snow, but will start with a tarp on top to help sluff snow and see how that works. Also, the tires will clearly not work for my intended use and the amenities are REALLY sparse. No propane, heat, electrical, water, etc. but that's the point of this build
I've already got ideas for a new axle and suspension utilizing take-off parts from my JK (control arms and trackbar) and some air bags to create my own version of a trailing arm suspension. It will have matching 17" Jeep rims and 35" tires and the track width will be able to match my JK which is pretty cool.
BUT - the first order of business is a sturdier frame. I was inspired by stomperxj's Sawtooth XL build and basically stole the idea and modified it to match my mounting points (thanks stomperxj).
I will be buying the steel next week and getting started. I have to admit that building/welding the frame makes me the most nervous but you gotta love a neighbor that's a car guy and has a welder I don't know how quickly this build will progress since I've got a pretty tight budget, but I will update when there is progress. My goal is to have at least the frame and suspension done with new tires by the time Elk camp rolls around in October. All of the kitchen amenities etc. will already be there along with several canvas tents so it should be a good inaugural run. I can work on making it solo camp worthy after that.
Wish me luck!
Croix
I searched the RV section of Craig's List daily with search words like "tent" and "pop-up". After months of this I was questioning whether or not I would find the right combination of size, weight, condition, and cost. Everything that looked like a decent starting point was more money than I wanted to spend. Everything within my price point was either completely broken down or not quite the right layout. Then one day I came across this:
It is a 1952 Hawthorne Vacationeer from Montgomery Wards that I was able to get for $1000. I love the fact that it has two separate small beds and a rear entry. I also like that it is 4' wide by 6.5' long and the whole thing weighs about 300 pounds. I have some concerns about how well the tent will hold up under heavy snow, but will start with a tarp on top to help sluff snow and see how that works. Also, the tires will clearly not work for my intended use and the amenities are REALLY sparse. No propane, heat, electrical, water, etc. but that's the point of this build
I've already got ideas for a new axle and suspension utilizing take-off parts from my JK (control arms and trackbar) and some air bags to create my own version of a trailing arm suspension. It will have matching 17" Jeep rims and 35" tires and the track width will be able to match my JK which is pretty cool.BUT - the first order of business is a sturdier frame. I was inspired by stomperxj's Sawtooth XL build and basically stole the idea and modified it to match my mounting points (thanks stomperxj).
I will be buying the steel next week and getting started. I have to admit that building/welding the frame makes me the most nervous but you gotta love a neighbor that's a car guy and has a welder
I don't know how quickly this build will progress since I've got a pretty tight budget, but I will update when there is progress. My goal is to have at least the frame and suspension done with new tires by the time Elk camp rolls around in October. All of the kitchen amenities etc. will already be there along with several canvas tents so it should be a good inaugural run. I can work on making it solo camp worthy after that.Wish me luck!
Croix
