cardone

i'm likin the looks of this. More pics please

bone collector

Why not use a pintle hitch? maximum movement and DOT approved....

rustED

iTrader: (2)

Thanks man! I should get a little more of the bedsides finished up, hopefully tomorrow, I'll post up some pics of any progress.

I've thought about a pintle hitch, the only draw back to them is they're noisy, lol. I'm still on the fence about what I will do, I kinda like the idea of building my own offroad hitch, and like the design of the one that Tom (chucker) posted. It wouldn't be a big deal to switch to a Ball style hitch for long on road trips, we'll see, that's a ways down the road yet...

rustED

iTrader: (2)

I got a little work done on the trailer yesterday. I got the other bedside built and 2 floor cross members tacked in place so it sits on the trailer frame now with out the use of any clamps.

I've been running into a few problems since building the trailer frame a year ago. Just little things, kind of like "what was I thinking when I did this" sorta of stuff, lol. I thought I had put a lot of thought into the trailer, and had plans drawn up on Microsoft paint program, but that was on our old computer, which has sence died... so I have kind of been winging it and changing things as I go.

One problem I noticed was that I made the overall trailer frame width 50" with the intent of having the inside usable space 48"....well with bedsides being made out of 1" square tube and attached flush with the outside of the trailer frame that leaves me exactly 48"...with the idea of this trailer being able to be multifunctional, If I wanted to say haul a sheet of plywood in it, it would be wedged in there pretty tight... I don't know why I didn't make the frame an inch wider. I thought about just going with it since now I have a pickup to haul stuff in, but I would like to stay with my original multipurpose plans, in case I'm pulling the trailer behind my 4runner or my wife's Durango. So instead of making the bedsides of the trailer flush with the trailer frame, I extended them and make them overlap the frame, so now my inside usable space is 50" with the tailgate down, I just hope that the offset of the wheels that I have still allows enough clearance with out rubbing. Here's a few pics...

rustED

iTrader: (2)

I finally ordered my jeep TJ rear coil springs off e-bay for $38 including shipping, they should be here some time this week, then I can start working on the 3 link suspension and make this project a roller, it will be a lot easier to work on then.

The weather has been cold, rainy and really windy. Hopefully it will clear up Tuesday when I'm off work so I can get motivated to get some more work done on it. I hope to get the frame work of the bedsides and floor crossmembers finished and fully welded, then I'll start on the tailgate. I still need to figure out what gage sheet metal to skin the bedsides, floor and tailgate with, and get a price quote...

rustED

iTrader: (2)

I got a little more work done today. I got the floor crossmembers welded in and the bedsides finished, I ran out of welding wire so I'll have to finish welding it up tomorrow, I also still need to build the tailgate frame.











^^^ I decided I wanted a 1" overhang on the bedsides and had some 1" tube left so I doubled it up to make it 2" wide, I eventually want a hinged tonneau cover with gas struts and figured this would give me more area/options for weather stripping, (and I just think it looks better). As a side note the trailer body frame work is sitting on the trailer frame backwards (it started raining and I was in a hurry) when I turn it around the body cross members will align with the trailer frame cross members and will help support the the floor and give me places to bolt it down.

rustED

iTrader: (2)

Well I got my Jeep TJ coil springs yesterday, and after mocking up the axel it's pretty clear that my idea isn't working like I had planned. I should have done a lot more research and planning before considering building a 3 link suspension, the jeep coils are aprox 12" tall which is about 5" taller than I need, I can't really cut and shorten them. So I am going to give it some thought, I am leaning towards just using a set of Toyota front 2" lift leafsprings that I have that I got in a trade. My main goal is to get this project usable by summer, and at the moment my funds for the project are used up, so I may have to resort to using parts I already have to save money.

I will and can use the polyurethane greasable bushing that I got that I was planning on using for the link ends for other projects, I might use them to build a swing away spare tire carrier for either the trailer or my 4runner.

rustED

iTrader: (2)

^^^Well my last post was more or less me thinking out loud. I really want to continue with the 3 link suspension vs going with the leafsprings. I think I am going to cut the Jeep coilsprings I have and weld them back together to make them the height that I want for MOCK UP ONLY, Then once I get the suspension links and brackets all dialed in I think I will swap the mock up springs for these:

I also went ahead and bought the bolts, nuts, and lock washers for my links. I didn't realize that the inner sleave of the bushing was a metric size, so I ended up buying 14mm x 100mm bolts. For 6 bolts, nuts and lock washers it came to $27 !!! That's crazy, if I hadn't been honest about it the lady at the counter was going to charge me for standard grade 2 bolts (by the pound) probably would cost less than $5, lol.

Nervo19

This is really neat. What kind of welder are you using? Are you keeping a running total on what you've spent so far?

rustED

iTrader: (2)

Thanks man. I am using a 120v Lincoln Power PAK 100HD wire feed welder. I want to eventually get a nicer 240v MIG welder when I can afford one.

I have all the receipts from last year, I just can't find where I put them since we moved, lol. But all the steel, brackets, tabs, bushings, and trailer axel that I bought last year, I think I had roughly $750 into it, then this year for all the 1" and 1-1/2" square tubing and nuts and bolts and misc, another $350, so right around $1100 total so far. For a base model Sierra 4x4 trailer without the tonneau cover they start at $4500, so I should be well below that price when it's all finished.

maachine

my uncle makes these

rustED

iTrader: (2)

Wow, that War Wagon is pretty sweet, there's a lot of cool features on it!... I definitely want a roof top tent for mine, but they can be pretty expensive... if any one knows of a company that sells them at a reasonable price let me know!

rustED

iTrader: (2)

I have done a little work to the trailer. I got the tabs for my links welded to the axel. I also went ahead and bought some Firestone Ride-Rite helper spring Airbags (P# 6781) for it to replace the coil springs I was going to originally use. (The air bags are rated at 4800 lbs at a max of 100 psi) Now I need to change the coil spring brackets and fab up some new ones for the air bags.


^^^ I was still able to use the bracket that was intended for the coil springs that I had already welded to the axel I just had to enlarge the hole a little to bolt the air bag to it.







I wasn't able to re-use the upper coil spring brackets for the air bags so I will cut down and modify the upper air bag bracket and weld this to the frame.

maachine

i'm not sure that his idea took off. i think my uncle was wanting to start a business out of it.....i am hoping he still makes them cause i plan on buying one.

he is a carpenter and avid camper/ backpacker. so i'm sure he put a lot of thought into it.

for 7 grand it should have a lot of features

powell713

PLEASE FINISH AND POST. NEST PROJECT!!!!

rustED

iTrader: (2)

Thanks for the interest in my build, I haven't worked on it lately, hopefully on my next day off I can put in some time on it. I have enough steel to build my links, then I can mount the airbags and at least roll the thing around (it's been taking up space under the carport where my 4runner usually resides, lol) I also have just enough 1" tubing to build a tailgate, then I need to get some more tubing to build the tongue, and some sheet metal for the cargo/box & fenders!

powell713

Cool, cant wait

bone collector

Keep up the good work!! I recently acquired a blank 6x10 frame so I will be following in some of your footsetps. good luck to ya

rustED

iTrader: (2)

Thanks man, nice score on the trailer frame. I just got done reading through your truck build, you've made some nice improvements! You mentioned using your old truck box to build a trailer, is that the plan with the 6x10 trailer frame?

bone collector

The original plan was to use the truck bed on the blank frame, when I first was told of this trailer frame. However when I started measuring and thinking, I might sell the bed and build a box on top of the frame. Only time will tell. I have already acquired a bigger heavier axle to use in place of the tiny pop up axle. Now all I need is some steel and some time....