My DIY solution to the UEV 440

Rutdigger

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Hello everyone. Some of you might have seen that awesome trailer in Australia called the UEV 440. If you have looked at it then maybe you have also seen the price tag on that beast; YIKES :Wow1:! Anyway, great trailer but not practical to buy, so I decided to use that as a model and build a DIY version as close to the original as I could get by looking at the pictures. So anyway, this is my version of that great trailer.

My build began in Sept 2013 and as most can attest it was an on and off project with some weeks hitting it hard and then some taking months off for life. So here we are just over two years later and I have got it almost 95% done. Of course there will be little projects to add or change along the way but, that's how it goes when you build your own stuff.

I stated with a great 4000# axle find for 100 bucks. Local trailer shop had it sitting on the shelf for years from a warranty repair that did not fit the application so the owner sold it to me for cheap. Has 12" brakes on it also. i will be cutting this up later to make trailing arms.

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I decided to make the frame out of steel. I do not have the equipment to use alum and so far I have gotten with in the same range and the commercial trailer of this size and shape that are made out of alum. Here is the frame coming together:

The frame is upside down to allow me to work on the suspension mounts and mock-up.

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Now in this pic I was trying to be cheap and I used scrap metal left over from a project I had done earlier. It was a mistake because after finishing the arms one of them bend inward over the 900 mile drive from Colorado to Texas. I ended up totally pulling them out and making trailing arms the right way as you will see in the pics later on. Here are the pics of the wrong way to make arms so don't do this:

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Ok so I got those done and was able to flip the frame over and start welding the rest of the frame together. I needed to do this in order to be able to start framing the walls and such. I know it is hard to see in the pics with all the background things, but you gotta work where you can, right?

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Skeletal walls going up:

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Frame for kitchen slide out:

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Ok, I just got the message telling me I can only post 10 images (thank you for implementing that admins, some boards don't) so I will continue this post in other segments...more to follow.
 

Rutdigger

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Diy UEV 440 continued

More pics of the kitchen slide. I made this using skateboard bearings:

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I know it is very hard to tell from this pic but this is the floor, the actual part you will be standing on. It's the main from of the floor with 1" Styrofoam panels between the tubing. Under that is 22 Ga flat roofing metal:

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Water tank area being framed in:

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More to follow...
 

Rutdigger

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DIY UEV 440

Framing around the spring perches and a little metal skin work:

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Suburban heater goin in:

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Bottom flooring framed in with battery storage areas:

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Beginning the side wood skin that will make the cabinet cubbys on the inside. This will help to keep the weight down also:

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Shot of the rear with some insulation panels inserted between the framing:

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More to follow....
 

Rutdigger

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DIY UEV 440

Overall view so far before we packed it up and moved to Texas:

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It made the journey to Texas:

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Work on the front:

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More work on the kitchen slide out:

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More to follow...time to work in the Jeep a bit today..i will post more tonight...many more pics to post!
 

Rutdigger

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DIY 440

Inside the kitchen slide area:

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Folding table attached to ceiling:

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This blue box is where the A/C line output is located:

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Building the front bed hatch. The whole area is just a cpl inches short of a queen length and full size width:

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Adding and taping off the insulation:

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More to follow...
 

Rutdigger

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DIY UEV 440

Makin the stairs:

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Making the exit for the hot water shower exhaust:

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This area was thoroughly seals with fire block before closing it in. will be a pain in the butt if I ever need to do work on it!

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Rear door latch mechanism:

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Beginning to skin the trailer with 22 GA flat roofing sheet metal. Easy to cut with a plasma and strong as heck. It doesn't weigh as much as you are thinking. Stay tuned for the final weigh in..

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Shot of the side bed folded up. Now this area as it looks now will allow my 7 yr old to sleep in there just fine. If an adult wants to sleep in there they must allow there feet and legs to extend into the main trailer area and be supported on a fold-up support that will make the rest of the bed. But as it is now our oldest wants to sleep in his own tent outside so it works perfectly for us. When just momma and I go camping or when I go hunting that area will be used to store hunting camping gear out of the way of the main cabin:

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More to follow...
 

Rutdigger

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DIY UEV 440

Ok, I have come to the part where I told you guys are the beginning that I tore out the old suspension arms and built new ones. Here are the new arms made out of 1/4 wall square tubing. As the guys at AT have said before, these things are a bizatch to keep squared up when welding them:

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These will have air bags in the springs to act as the bump stops before I take it out:

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Side bed hatch folded down:

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More skinning goin on:

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Rutdigger

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DIY UEV 440

The skinning continues:

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This area will be redone later one when I realized that I could not waterproof the hinges:

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Cabinet cold air intake vent for the outside of the heater box. This area does not produce any heat, just a vent for fumes and to keep the box cooler:

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This will be the pantry area:

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Redoing the front hinges to the ceiling lid to add them on the OUTSIDE of the skins:

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Checking clearance with the fenders on:

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Rutdigger

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DIY UEV 440

This is how I feel sometimes while working on this trailer!..lol

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Latch pins for the the side bed arms. These will also secure the hatch very securely:

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Experimenting with the tent supports. Ultimately I end up just using one of these supports per tent:

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More to follow.....
 

Rutdigger

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DIY UEV 440

Its time for paint! I chose Monterliner and I highly recommend this product. Easy to use and a fantastic covering!

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Added automotive seals:

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Pulled it out to test the lights and see how it looks in the daylight. It's not even close to being done yet so don't go anywhere..lol. I know the tires are flat. I had to let the air out to get it out of my garage..lol:

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You can see the bed platforms very well in these pics:

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Beginning to pattern for the Shelter Rite canvass:

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More to follow....
 

Rutdigger

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DIY UEV 440

Beginning to make the tents:

Cutting out the patterns..

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Installing the zippers:

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Making the panels:

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More to follow....
 

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