Another camping gear/utility/off-road trailer

[nfunlimited]

So I've been lurking here for a year or so planning my trailer. I've had it for about 5 years as it was a 4x8 utility trailer for snowmobiles and odds and ends. The thing was though it was not enclosed, so nothing stayed dry. After lurking for a while I decided to "dress it up a bit" like some of the others I;ve seen.

This was it originally (actually after upgrading from 12" to 15" wheels, and new fenders"

First I figured I would dress it up for some plywood sides, and a tailgate. This let me carry camping gear a little easier, and it matched the jeep a bit better. Even with a tarp however things still got wet, and the sides were warped and the paint started to chip....etc. I added shocks and a 3500# axle early on as well as Jeep rims as the oem 2000# broke. The shocks were free of another Jeep project

 

[nfunlimited]

I'm getting ahead of myself. I should first say that all of my mods were to be done for free, cheap or barter. That means no $500 tires and wheels, and $1000 in steel. I wanted a trailer to do the following, without spending $5000.

It had to:

-Haul 4x8 sheets of material
-be dry and secure
-have its own electrical for lights and other 12v things.
-be capable of rough roads and some of road (not rockcrawling......mostly needing ground clearance)
-be able to make runs t the hardware store as well as the dump

I manage at a Honda/Yamaha Motorsports dealership, so this allows me some perks. For one the metal. Other than the existing frame in this picture (before I started the big build), all the metal for free for atv and watercraft crates. You can see all the steel I used in the back of the jeep. It was all small pieces.

My original frame was built on 4x8 platform, however i had to build a subframe around that in order to still have 4x8 inside. Here is the frame after al the welding was done (by a good friend who really helped me out!)

 

[nfunlimited]

I then went ahead and used 3/4 plywood for the sides. I wanted steel or aluminum sides, but couldn't afford it.....so I covered the plywood with aluminum flashing which I glued on. This means I didn't have to paint, and could use leftover deck stain to treat the wood.

I used meranti board over the lid since i had it already. the lid is larger than 4x8 so i couldn't use a contiguous piece. I didn't want to spend $400 on a 5x10 piece of aluminum for the top, yet it had to be waterproof, so I covered the top with a large piece of waterproof fabric.

I barter some things with another friend for the fabric. Its like gym mat material, and he used to use it to manufacture Yurts, so he had lots.......so long as it was blue or brown.

 

[nfunlimited]

I used a $20 walmart tote box for the front storage box, and to house my battery. So far I only have a dome light under the lid, but have plans for spot lights, another dome lights as well as an 300 watt inverter and a 12 volt outlet.

Here's the trailer at its first camping trip....even though its not completed. I don;t have a lot of time at the moment to finish as I don't have a garage, so I work only on nice days when there is nothing else to do. Here are the rest of my photos.....hope its not too many!

 

[warspyder]

Great job! Your trailer looks good.

 

[Titanpat57]

AWESOME!!..not a damn thing the matter with that...mod that baby till you drop >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>:coffeedrink:

 

[rk_az]

Nice job!

 

[jeeper92]

Hey

Looks amazing!! great job!!

 

[hillbillyjake]

one of the more efficient builds i have seen. great inginuity. i l ike to use what ever i have lying around as well and make it work as well.

nice trailer.

jake

 

[T.Low]

Well done

Excellent job on the trailer.

Looking at the utility that it provides (I haul my Gas Gas more often than I go camping) it gives me the idea of simply mounting my backpacking tent on top of the trailer lid for the kids, while at camp. I already have a Moss Stardome II, and don't want a camping tailer that is limited to just camping. Could hang the lid from the garage ceiling when using the trailer for a bike hauler.

Hmm.

Corner Brook, isn't that completely on the other side of the Rock from Dan Cleary?

 

[ex m38a1er]

One word says it all...BRAVO!!!!!!!!:victory:

 

[telwyn]

Well done and very resourceful! Looks great.

 

[nfunlimited]

Thanks guys.........i would have posted as I was building but didn't have the time. Dan Cleary....yeah he's on the other side. About 7 hours drive.

A few other things I forgot to mention that saved a few dollars. The shocks for the lid were out of a VW golf tailgate that I scrapped, the taillight brackets are out of a motorcycle crate. They are used to mount the fork of a dirtbike to the bottom of the crate with no wheel on. The fenders are from boats, and at my cost are only $40 cdn each........so if they do break they're cheap to replace.....and never need painting.

The latches that hold the tailgate on are from a yamaha Rhino, and the spare tire underneath is mounted using the little mechanism that holds the spare in the trunk of a cherokee.

There is a little too much tongue weight for the jeep at the moment, so I am going to move the under mounted spare behind the axle to offset that. I don't know if there is a picture of that there yet. I'll take a few more soon.

 

[R_Lefebvre]

Nice work. Simple materials and construction, but great attention to detail make it look good. Great job!

 

[Zelix]

That's a all around great trailer. Nice use of material on hand. Great job.