BLT Offroad trailer

HenryJ

Expedition Leader
For quite some time now I have been researching the best way to expand the gear and accommodations for the growing family. I think a good base camp for exploring is what we want. I do not want to be limited on where I can drag it though.
Last week I mentioned that I had been looking for a trailer to a friend and he suggested I come up and check out his old "Jeep" trailer. It was built for a person who hauled a Tee Pee. It has some racks on the sides for poles, that may need to be removed eventually. After some consideration I decided it was a good start and I could eventually take it where I wanted to to go. The investment would not be a loss. The thing that got me was that it was painted just slightly darker than my truck. Other than that a pretty good match. I bought it and towed it home.

The bed is made from heavy gauge steel. It looks to be 10 ga, or 1/8". The axle is sprung over and the hitch is set high for a good breakover. There is a nice big box on the front. It is shod with 31x10.5-15 rubber to give it pretty good ground clearance.

There are some things I don't like, but those can be corrected eventually.

It is a little longer than I would have liked. The bed is 7' long. A foot shorter would have been more to my liking. The tongue/drawbar is integrated into the front and the heavy gauge steel of the bed is the rear structure. This does save weight and increases clearance, but I may need to add a rear half frame eventually. Who knows I may make a suspension change too.

For now I am concentrating getting it functional. First I wired it for my truck and found a hitch to get up up high enough to sit right. Then off to email Fernando and get a tent coming. I ordered the big one from Campinglab.com A pretty good chunk of change for a tent, but I have seen these first hand and they are much more.
Now to work on the base.
The tailgate chains had to go. I installed a buckle latch for the closure and hinged straps to hold it while it is down. The old hook and chain holes are now for padlocks.
The front jack was too low so I added a removable wheel. Now it raises high enough for raising off the hitch and I can roll it around. A grab handle was added to the top of the hitch too. That helps when rolling it around.

Next I inquired about forming a lid. Some conversation with my welder guru and I decided upon .100 aluminum. He will form and weld the lid for me as I do not have a brake big enough or an aluminum welder. The lid will be hinged to one side and be 3" thick formed with lips for placing a seal around the top of the trailer. I picked up some gas struts and hardware from the salvage yard. The seal for the lid was ordered from McMaster-Carr and arrived a couple days ago. I have scoped out some latches at the hardware store that I think will work.

Last night I put together a 2" rear receiver that incorporates twin Highlift jacks to act as stabilizers. That really turned out great. Pull a pin and slide a collar and they are off to be used for other things.

The receiver can be used as a rear recovery point, or as a way to haul the Yamaha TW200. The hitch carrier does limit the declination angle, but once unloaded the carrier can be moved forward to a vertically mounted receiver on the front of the trailer for transport.

Today I bought a horse trailer mat. It is a heavy rubber mat for the bottom. 4'x7' fit perfectly. A nice tight fit. I like it.

Trailer.JPG
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Link to Picasa album

Once the lid is done and the RTT arrives things will start really taking shape.

I really am looking forward to having everything packed and ready to go on a moments notice. This really does expand the room we had and should make a good addition.
 
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G-force

Adventurer
cat??

Whats the deal with the dead cat in the pictures??

Just for show, or did you get it with the trailer??:ylsmoke:

(not intended to disgust anyone)
 

HenryJ

Expedition Leader
Whats the deal with the dead cat in the pictures?

:D That is our "old yellow cat Zelda". She thinks she needs to covertly keep an eye on me. Shes not dead, just lays there not quite under foot. She is a great mouser and earns her keep that way. As a kitten I found her living in a Vega parts car I used to have out back. I sold her home to a racer friend and she was adopted into our family.
 

kcowyo

ExPo Original
I'm still trying to figure out where the Bacon, Lettuce and Tomato come in....?


Nice find HenryJ. I'd have scooped that up too. Looking forward to seeing what else you do with it.

.
 

HenryJ

Expedition Leader
Yesterday I attached rails , a hinge, mounted the lid to the trailer and then the tent on top of it. Today I mounted the gas charged lift struts, applied the lid seal and attached the ladder.

trailer4.JPG
trailer5.JPG
trailer6.JPG
trailer7.JPG


Boy there is lots of room in that coffin. It could easily sleep two. With a tightly sealed lid, it would be a long nap.
I now wait for my lid latches to arrive.
 
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OlympiaFJ60

Adventurer
Great trailer and nice work with the lid. What did you use for the seal? Any idea who built it? Perfect start for an expo trailer.
 

OlympiaFJ60

Adventurer
Oh yeah, how about a close up of the hilift jack mounts? :) I have seen that on other trailers and think it is pretty clever .
 

HenryJ

Expedition Leader
Great trailer and nice work with the lid.
Thanx :D
What did you use for the seal?
Part number 1142A73 Rubber Bulb Seal EPDM, 1" Overall Width, 1/2" Overall Height from McMaster-Carr
Any idea who built it? Perfect start for an expo trailer.
I do not. It was custom built to haul a Tepee. That was somewhere in California probably about five years ago. Time will tell what additions need to be made. Strengths and weaknesses will show up with use. It is not exactly what I had in mind, but I am adapting. Kind of neat to put it back into an offroad recreation use. Out of its life on the ranch hauling wood and rock. Reborn.
 

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