looks great!

 

wow...!

 

Hahaha... That cracked me up! Of course it's hypocritical... IN A GOOD WAY! ANY time I see EITHER of you guys posting something.... I make time to check!

Seriously, Dirtco... that thing is SICK! Coming up behind it on a trail, I might think for a moment that it's a highly modded wheeler itself! haha. All you need is a Big Screen on the back of it with "cams" on the front to relay what you're crawling for those who get stuck down the trail behind you! Like a "Eat my 1080P" of sorts?

Are you thinking of making these for sale? (Not that I could justify what the cost would be,....just curious)

 

This trailer is seriously one of the coolest builds Ive ever seen, such a collage of great ideas all in one place

 

Thanks guys!

Thanks! No, I don't have plans to mass produce these. If I had my own garage I would think about it, but I would build my own frame and do some stuff different. I don't have the time or space.

Thanks man! I swear I spend more time staring at it than working on it, it's been a very complicated puzzle!

 

Well, I took the trailer out on it's first trip!

I made a trip over to Holy Cross (Link) for some wheeling and camping. It’s one of my favorite trails, and probably one of the hardest Colorado trails (besides maybe Blanca) I plan on running in the 4Runner.

While the trailer was not completely done, it was close enough to take it out on a shake down run. It was actually surreal loading it up and leaving town for a couple days. I went up Vail Pass and then cut over Shrine Pass (Link) into Red Cliff. The trailer handled great, on the highway and on Shrine Pass (easy dirt road with some steep sections, washboard and potholes).

The suspension is soft, but it really doesn't sway around much unless you hit a large pothole or dip. It worked awesome over Shrine Pass, and soaked up all the bumps/washboard great! It does feel heavier than I anticipated behind the 4Runner, but it had no issues pulling it (I just need to watch the transmission temps pulling the passes). After a few miles you get used to it being back there, and adjust your driving style. I do kind of wish I would have installed trailer brakes, it stops fine on the pavement (if you realize it's back there and give yourself some space) but in the dirt it would be nice to have some extra braking and not so much "pushing". Most of that is just having a trailer, and getting used to it being back there.

Overall it handled awesome, and was better than I expected! But, there was a couple small issues’. First, one of the rear springs is bent or has a softer/defective spring rate. I had seven gallons of fuel, seven gallons of water, and all the heavy stuff in the trailer over on the passenger side and it still wanted to lean over to the driver side (you can push on each side and notice a difference). The springs were free, but I'm going to need to buy new ones. Second, with the soft spring rate I need more up travel on the shocks, and bump stops. I rallied down Shrine pass and it was obvious the suspension was bottoming out on some of the harder hits. All in all not a big deal considering the shocks and springs were free.

I was in hurry to set up camp before dark so I forgot to take pictures of the truck / trailer in action. The campsite was very small and packed with vehicles, so again I didn't bother taking any pictures. These pictures I took a couple days before the trip explain everything, and I will take pictures the next time it’s out. I’m going to try to take it out before the Colorado Toyota Jamboree; some place local, where I can actually wheel it a little, have more time to set up camp, and experiment with new idea’s about packing, loading, setting up, etc.

 

man that turned out nice wish i had the time to make one of my own. it really turned out good man

 

wow the day has finally came and got to use it. amazing project from start to almost finish. did you ever weight the trailer and trailer brakes in the future?

 

Man, they look great together(the rig and trailer)... BOTH sick!

I'm sure you'll have plenty of pics with it in action eventually.... Can't wait.

 

I saw it in action on it's maiden voyage! DIRTCO's trailer was the talk of the trip. The details that he has built into this trailer is unreal. You don't get a grasp of how well built this trailer is until you see in it person. The wiring job alone is above 99% of the population's skill level. He will be taking it back to Holy Cross and actually getting it on the trail in a more secluded site!

 

Thanks man! It was very time consuming, but it’s worth it now that I can use it. I still have a lot on the “To Do List” but that’s normal with any project.

I have not weighed it yet; I would like to, just to get an idea of where I stand. I doubt I will put brakes on it now that I upgraded the brakes on the 4Runner, but we’ll see…

Thanks! I’ve taken it out twice now but they were shake down runs, and not the terrain I built it for. I hope to take it out next weekend on a true trail to see how it does with the trail coupler, if every works good I would love to take it out on a real wheeling / camping / expedition style trip soon!



Thanks Aaron, it’s always a great time hanging out! I can’t wait to take it to that Holy Cross site we found, it will be awesome camping in comfort that close to French Creek!

 

A little progress…

I built the side door for the cooler / dry food slide out.



The latch is overkill, but so is most of the trailer! Bolts were not going to work, so I welded it and cleared over the bare metal.



Weld on bullet hinges from Northern Tool, the whole door can lift off.



I painted the inside silver to reflect the light inside the trailer at night.

 

I also completed the cooler slide out; I was a little worried that it would not be strong enough when completely packed, but it did great (I also added a pull handle but it’s not in the pictures). I still need to find a way to secure the cooler and dry food, I have a couple ideas that should work.

 

i would live out of the trailer lol. looking great. i bet you could start selling these lol

 

Thanks! It's actually quite comfortable, I don't know if I would want to live out of it but it sure beats sleeping on the ground.

If I was going to build another one (or try to sell a couple) I would change a lot of things around, starting with building the frame from scratch. It's been a fun and challenging project, with a unique outcome!

 

I needed to figure out a solution for the suspension; as I said before the leaf springs were too soft, they would lean to the driver side, and bottom out on a regular basis. I really wanted to buy new springs and shocks, but it’s not in the budget right now. And, it’s hard to justify that kind of money on a little camping trailer that I’ve used twice.

The trailer has 4” Superlift springs that used to be on the truck before it was a trailer (I ditched the overload way back in the day). When I installed them on the trailer I removed a leaf to soften them up a little, that left me with only two leaves in the pack, that’s when I noticed the leaning / spring rate issue. I decided to re-install that leaf, and mix the packs around to try and even out the spring rate. I gained some more lift, but the trailer sits level now and it doesn’t bottom out like it used to. Overall I’m happy with the outcome, especially for using what I had laying around. Maybe in a year or two I’ll revamp the suspension, but for the time being it should do the job.

 

I’ve taken the trailer on two camping trips, but I’ve never really wheeled it. That needed to change!

I decided to hit a couple moderate local trails, and get used to the trailer behind the 4Runner. I ran up Peru Creek, then hit Chihuahua Gulch and Warden Gulch; none of the trails are that hard, but there are rocky sections, steep/loose sections, tight sections and plenty of river crossings. Pretty much a good way to get used to having a trailer behind the 4Runner and kill off half a day, not to mention the views are amazing!

 

 

awesome pictures. glad your putting it all to use. should try doing the "zuk" mod to your trailer. take your old stock rear coil over springs from the runner and slid them in

 

If anything I need the spring rate to be softer. I do plan on adding more weight, so the springs I have might work out.