liveoffroad

lookin good, i find it hard to stay motivated to work on stuff in the winter months, but its the best time for it so i need to get off my butt. good luck to ya on gettin her done

rustED

iTrader: (2)

I hear ya, I have 4 days off for new years, but still haven't got motivated to go out and work on it, lol. I need to get out and at least clean all my junk off of it!

I did end up buying those wheel spacers off CL. I got four brand new 2" spacers for $100!... I only need 2 of them, so if anyone is doing a SAS and needs some,I'll sell the other 2 for $50.

Redeth005

Thanks for showing all of this progress buddy. I recently started thinking about building my own trailer. Not any time soon. But if you checked out my dream road trip post on that KM2 bfg competition thread there is a Road trip my my girl and i really want to go on whenever i finish my school; and we are seriously thinking about making this road trip as our honey moon adventure. And i know i wont be able to manage carrying everything we need in the bed of the truck and on my roof rack. So i started thinking about possibly building a small trailer for road trips and hauling around camping gear. In my case i would need this trailer for a number of things.
- I have 1 spare tire already on my rear tire swing. But i want to be able to haul around a 2nd spare on that 12+ stop road trip in California, Arizona, Utah.
- Not to mention i want to be able to have the ability to carry extra oils, fluids, spare battery
- Tent(or maybe a roof rack tent to provide us with quick set up and clean up.
- I'd also like the ability to mount a large tarp to provide us with some nice shade and protection from the suns nasty rays because a lot of the stops that we plan to go to is going to be in the Arizona/Utah deserts.
- Another thing i would like is to haul around an 2nd Jerry can for gasoline. and a couple of jugs(cans) of drinking water.
- I like how some people on instagram have made their trailers have a folding out shelf that can be used as a work table. or a cooking table on either side.
- I have also like the idea of having some MaxTrax tire grips mounted in case i am to get stuck out somewhere; my biggest fear being stuck in the middle of nowhere and nobody there to help me get out with nobody on the CB radio replying at all.
- Home Built land anchor for winching myself out in areas with no trees or large rocks.

I have watched all the episodes of Bear Grills; Man vs Wild. But i am no survival expert. lol And with this trailer I would like to have everything i need just to prepare for the worst you know? Also I have been watching that new History channel show: Alaska Off-Road Warriors and i have really realized there are seriously a few things that a lot of people overlook in bringing. Sure it may be extra weight and most may think it is unnecessary to bring some major spare parts, possibly a 12v welder or air compressor, but when it comes to being stranded in the middle of nowhere. i would really hate not being prepared. Anyway. I'll be keeping a close eye on this thread. I really would like to see you finish t this thing soon! lol but mostly learn and get a few ideas off you. This definitely wont be a trailer to take on rock crawling trips; not even mild ones. I think it would definitely have to be strictly for camping and road trip purposes. but i'd definitely like 2 matching tires to whatever i have on the truck so they can be interchangeable in emergency situations.

Anyway that's enough. I'm hogging your thread! lol Keep up the great work Ed.

rustED

iTrader: (2)

Hey Richard good to hear from you! I saw your post on the BFG Rocks to Riches contest thread. Sounds like you guys have an awesome trip planned out, that would be a sweet honeymoon trip! (congrats by the way, got a date set?) With all the awesome work you did on your bumper builds, I don't think you would have any problems building a trailer. I should be continuing the trailer build here shortly, I plan on having it usable, (probably not completely finished) by spring.
Have you read Dirtco's camping trailer build thread? (on his trailer he used square spindles and square tubing to build his own custom width axel, wish I had done this for 2 reasons, will get to that later) A lot of good info on there: https://www.yotatech.com/forums/f88/...53/index4.html

They're are some things I would have done differently if I had the chance to do it over again.
1.) I have seen some really cheap trailers out there for sale on CL, cheaper than the amount of money I have invested in steel for my frame. I could have bought and modified a trailer and saved a lot of time and money over building it from scratch. Also if you were to buy a used trailer, make sure it's already licensed and has a clear title. I will have to get mine inspected before I can get it licensed, I have no idea what the process involves, nor how much it's going to cost me!
2.) I ordered my axel on line, I could have just bought some spindles, and tubing and built my own axel to what ever width I wanted. I would have saved a lot in shipping cost too. Or if you have a local trailer supplier you could get them local and save more. Also I would have used square trailer spindles instead of round (as mentioned above).It would have been a lot easier to mount all of my tabs and brackets to a square tube axel than a round one.
3.) Carefully plan everything out and try to stick to your plans! Sure unforseen problems might come up that you can't plan for, or you might want add or change things slightly, but try to stick to your plans as much as possible. Believe it or not I started building this trailer before I even owned my 4runner, it's been on the back burner that long! Also we moved, and I lost my original plans, I had rough idea in my head, but I changed some things, and ended up causing a few set backs. That's the reason for the wheel spacers. I changed the trailer width and made it 2" wider, and then didn't have enough clearance for the tires.
4.) Keep it simple! I over complicated things by attempting to do a 3 link suspension. I was originally going to use jeep TJ coils, then switched to Firestone air helper springs. If I would have just used some old toyota leafs springs that I already had and shackles, I could have saved some time and money, and replacement parts would have been cheap and plentiful and would probably already have finished it by now!

I hope some of the lessons I've learned helps save you and others time and money, I really hope my trailer turns out decent, so this build thread isn't a giant let down, lol! Most of the accessories you listed, I plan on having on my trailer as well, i might have to add some of the features alittle at a time as funds allow. Thanks for following this slow build, I hope to have an update soon!

Terrys87

iTrader: (1)

I learn more from mistakes then when I do it right the first time. Even looking back and thinking what you would of changed, it is still more satisfying doing it yourself when done. It will pay off in several different ways when done, just hang in there. It will get finished.

Redeth005

Oh I haven't popped the question yet. But we started talking about officially tying the knot because she is finally done with her make up school. And I am the last 9 months of my Surgical Technology class to complete before I'm done too; I'll be done in September. So we would definitely like to probably get married by maybe late next year. But I'm leaving her in suspense because I don't want her to know when I'm gonna ask haha. --- not to mention her grandparents and mother are all putting pressure on me to put a ring on her because she is their oldest grandchild and the rest of the grandkids are still young or real screw ups, the grandparents are already in their 70's and her mom has had Lupus and a few other health issues that she has had since I known her. So we really don't know how long we'll have with them with us. Not to mention my grandparents are much older then hers (80's) And the grandparents would like to at least see one of their grandkids be married. We'll see, I would like to make the moment really special with lots of our friends around and maybe get it on video because I know she likes that sort of thing. She deserves it.

Anyway as far as the trailer goes, after watching your build and seeing how complicated your 3 link looked and my limited fab skills I figured I would make it easy on myself and go with leaf springs. Mounting seemed so much simpler. And building off it would probably be easier too. Thanks for the suggestions. I will keep a look out on Craigslist when the time comes. I know my mom won't appreciate another trailer taking up space on her property with all my dad's junk out on the patio. So I will probably need to start my build when I move out or something. I really really wanna sell my SUV tent that mounts to the rear of my 4runner and get a rooftop tent for the trailer. But i know my girl won't like that idea lol. KillerToytops(same company as Chefs soft top) has their last roof top tent for sale normally it's about $1350. But since it is the last one available and they need to make space for the new ones this last one is available for about $970 with the annex base included for free. I really want to get it. Lol having something like that will definitely come in handy to have for this trip. Hopefully I will get a big payout for my taxes. With these massive school loans, laptop purchase, school expenses, and whatever else I can have deducted to add on to my payout. We will see.

Also that was one main thing that I was wondering about. Is how to get an axle exactly to the width that you want it. Do they make them or did you buy it. (Which you already answered). Also I figured I would probably just go to a junk yard and grab some Toyota leaf springs or off a different vehicle with sufficient amount of height to get it somewhat the same height as my truck is.


-------------- EDIT ---------------- EDIT --------------
As for keeping it simple there is a good amount of stuff I would like to add that I guess would make it complicated. I did recently upgrade my 70's alternator to a 150amp alternator so I can handle accessories now. But I like the idea of having some sort of a charging unit with either a solar panel or somehow rig an alternator to the wheels or something to be able to charge a secondary battery that allows me to use in emergency situations such as a jump start or anything! With 12v, and 110 outlets. I know it's complicated but I seriously get nervous when I think about being stranded. So I know having that stuff with LED lights to have as little power draw as possible. I'll have to research more and check out custom trailers on expedition portal or something. I think the trailer would probably be the easiest past. But all the electrical and extras I want on it is probably where I'm going to need help on it.

rustED

iTrader: (2)

When I was talking get about keeping it simple, I was more specifically talking about the suspension and going with leaf springs, lol. On accessories, I'm with you, I'm all about adding features to make camping life more convenient, comfortable, and fun! I would also like to have a jerry can holders for both water and fuel, an extra battery for running accessories, some sort of charging system solar or other, both 12 volt outlets and a power inverter with 120v outlets, some sort of fold out counter for cooking, or possibly a hinged hard tonneau cover that can be flipped open and doube as a table top. I would also like to have a tire carrier, and storage for tools. Maybe some sort of awning. I just need to be careful on how and where I mount things on the inside of the main cargo area, I don't want to mount anything permanently that will take away from being able to haul cargo, or things such as lumber or plywood (and garbage) since my trailer is going to basically take the place of a truck, since I currently don't have one!
The two most costly purchases I have left is a roof top tent, and some sort of bed liner. I'm hoping to convince my wife to get a roof top tent with our tax return. And I would like to do the trailer tub inside and out (possibly the trailer frame) with bed liner, probably a DIY roll on kit, I have already looked into Monsta-liner and got some color chip samples, they have a red that's a real close match to my 4runner. Anyway, I'm rambling on now, lol, it sounds like you have already have a good idea of how you want to build yours, definitely check out offroad trailers online, Expedition Portal forum, (specifically the Expedition Trailers section) is a awesome place to get ideas, I wish I had found that forum before I started my build, so much info, and build threads to get ideas from! Here's a link to that site: http://www.expeditionportal.com/foru...ition-Trailers

Redeth005

Oh man. i am 8 months late on this last post of yours lol i never knew you replied to it. Anyway Thanks so much for all your advice. i am definitely keeping it simple. I havent begun the project yet. but I'll get into detail and post the pix and info about my new trailer build as well. I didnt know you had suggested Dirtco's build since i never saw your comment till now but i discovered his page a while back ago and i am pretty much going to follow in his footsteps. Like i said i'll post up more of whats going on over on my thread but in short one of my Instagram friends donated a damn near perfect rust free IFS 4runner frame to me. He believes in helping people out and loves watching a fun project. So He gave this practically mint condition frame to me for nothing. Only left me with a promise to build something bad a$s with it. I brought it home this past sunday. and another buddy on instagram is upgrading his old broken in 4" lift trailgear leaf springs to some new ones to even out his rig and he said he would donate them to me as well as soon as he gets them off. And I have my old 4" Allpro shackles that i can use along with it. I am off to a good start. So far the only thing i paid for was the gas to pick up the frame. One thing i definitely need to look for is a stock 14 or 17 gallon 4runner gas tank that i can install onto this frame. I also want to buy, or fabricate a water storage that carries at least 20 gallons of water to use with my shower tent. I want to have all that stuff installed first before i cover everything up with the large storage box on top. So once all the storage tanks and even a battery storage is made i'll finally be able to take off with all the cool stuff. I'm sure i can find some decent used 8 or 10" shocks to use at a junk yard or for sale. we'll see. I'm going to work on my post rightn ow on my page. I'll share more info there. Thanks Ed I hope to see you bring this thread back to life soon. I am definitely up for meeting up some day in a future road trip so we could camp together with these trailers.

rustED

iTrader: (2)

Thanks for posting on my thread, hopefully I'll have the time, money and motivation to start working on it again soon! I commented over on your thread about your trailer project, looks like your off to a good start, you can't go wrong following in Dirtco's footsteps, he has an awesome trailer build!

I should have a small update soon!

Tylersrig

UPDATE? this still being worked on? I'm looking into modding my own 4wheeler trailer into a basecamp/hunting quick hook her up and go type thing. between your trailer redeths and dirtco i think I've got a pretty goo idea of what i want to do. Happy new Year!

rustED

iTrader: (2)

Sorry Tyler for not replying sooner. No new updates on this project, it's still on the back burner for now. I sold my 86' 4runner that that had the V8 in it, that I was going to use as the main tow vehicle, I got an 87' 4runner to fill its void, but I'm not sure how well it would tow, it's pretty slow going up hills with the 22re as is, let alone pulling a trailer, lol. So for now Im kinda reevaluating this build, trying to decide what to do...I may just finish it as planned and tow it with our Chevy Silverado, at least it would be done and usable!

If you haven't already, checking out Expedition Portal, there is a whole forum dedicated to trailer builds, it's a really good source for information and inspiration!

Redeth005

DUUUUUUDE! why?!?!? that 4runner was a beast! :cry:

Well hopefully you keep the trailer build going. i would really love to see what kind of ideas you get to put into it.

rustED

iTrader: (2)

Hi Richard. Yeah I sold my 4runner, I will miss it, but my younger brother has it now, so at least it went to a good home. It's been over a year since working on the trailer last, alot has changed in that time. My wife got in another car accident and totaled our durango. She is ok, but her back is really bothering her (re-injured a previous injury from a prior car accident). With my wife's back injuries I don't really see us using the trailer as I intended, (she doesnt feel comfortable climbing a ladder to gain access to a roof top tent). So, I talked my brother into buying the trailer. So basically I'm going to finish building it for him.

I won't be doing anything to extravagant or adding a bunch of cool accessories like Richard is on his, I'm just basically going to finish up the basics and hand it over to my brother to finish however he wants. Things I will be doing are:

◆ finish the trailer tongue with a receiver so he can swap from a ball/hitch to an offroad coupler

◆ finish the 3-link suspension

◆ Build some fenders

◆ Build a hinged lid with struts

◆ Build a couple jerry can holders (maybe)

Next week I'm going to get some metal to start the lid. I skinned the trailer tub with 14 gauge, but I'm thinking that might be overkill for the lid. I was going to build a frame out of 1" square tubing, and think I will use 16 gauge to skin the lid. I will have stringers, or crossbars going across to support the center of the lid so it should be sturdy and not dent.

I did order some tabs so I can finish up the 3 link, got them from ballistic fab. I just noticed that the 2 tabs that will go to the trailer frame are 3/8" thick instead of 1/4" ....should be fine though, the hole is still 9/16" like the other tabs,

rustED

iTrader: (2)

I got a little done today on the trailer lid. Started building the frame out of some square 1" tube. I decided to keep it simple and just make it flat. Got it all tacked together.








^^^I messed up a little when I welded in this gusset in one of the lid's corners. I should have waited until I had all of the stringers in, and then welded in the gusset a little at a time, but I burned it in and warped the corner pulling it out of square some. I was able to minimize it when I put the stringers in, and it's not as noticeable as before.
I have enough 1" tube left to build some fenders and probably some side steps, I also have a sheet of 5x10' 16 gauge to skin it all.

rustED

iTrader: (2)

I got all the parts cut out to build the fenders today, it's alot faster now that I finally have a metal chop saw, with the exception of the work i did the last 2 days on the lid and fenders, everything else was cut with a 4-1/2" Mikita grinder.

Here's a couple pics of the tube fenders, I also built side steps that will go in front of the fenders, didn't get any pics of those. Not sure if I'm going to put steps behind the fenders yet, I might put Jerry can mounts there instead.

rustED

iTrader: (2)

URL=http://s1058.photobucket.com/user/rustED71/media/20160525_115633_zpsujroikqo.jpg.html][/URL]

^^^I finished one side step, and got the second tacked welded together, I was pretty happy with my clamping method, the second step turned out a near perfect match...that's when I realized I needed to make it a mirror image for the opposite side so my 30° cuts where the steps meet the fenders are on the wrongs side..DOH! Luckily it's only tacked together, one of the peices I can flip over then re-weld, the other had a 45° angle cut on one end and a 30° on the other, so I'look have to recut that peice...always seems like one step forward and two steps back.

Here's a pic of the passenger step in place.



It didn't take long to burn through 80 feet of 1" square tubing, I have just enough to fix the driverside step and add some braces between the stringers on the lid to tie it all together and make it all little stronger.



.

rustED

iTrader: (2)

I picked up another 100' ft of 1" square tubing. Started building the cargo rack for the hinged lid. My brother wanted it 4' wide by 5' long and 10" depth... here is where I'm at so far. Still need to add some braces, and finish welding it up. I'm also going to add some sheet metal to wrap around the 45° corners to close off the square tubing and give it a more finished look. I should have enough to build some steps behind the fenders, and also a rack in front of the tub body to hold water cans or whatever.

rustED

iTrader: (2)

I got a little more work done on the trailer today.








^^^I got the safari rack mostly done, added more cross bars for support, just need to wrap the 45° corners with sheetmetal to give the exposed cut 1" tubing a more finished look, and weld up the rest of the seams. Later I will take the rack back off and skin the lid and fenders with some 16 gauge sheetmetal. For now I switched gears for awhile and worked on the the trailer tongue.


^^^Here's what my trailer tongue looked like before when I first built it. The plan was to cut the extra length of the ends at a 30° angle and the plate the open ends and run a receiver through the center. Well I didn't plan it out very well, nearly impossible to cut out a square hole to run the receiver tube through in the limited space, plus I didn't like the looks of it and wanted to make it stronger. The pics below are of the reconfigured trailer tongue. I welded a temporary cross bar to keep the tongue rigid and prevent it from moving while I cut the end off (no pics of this). Then I notched the tongue frame rails for the new 2x3" that I already cut a square hole through to accept the 2x2x.250 receiver tube.








^^^The 2×2" tube sticks out 6" so I slide the 12" long 2.5"x2.5"x.250 receiver tube over the end, drilled holes on all 4 sides and plug welded them before fully welding it to the tongue.


^^^the trailer tongue is finished, also got the tongue jack mounted.





.

rustED

iTrader: (2)

I got the cargo rack finished, wrapped the 45° corners with 16 gauge sheet metal. I thought it looked kinda plain, so I added some 2-1/2" holes, really wish I had a press and dimple dies, that would have really given it a nice look, but I'm pretty satisfied with how it turned out.

I also finished the tongue, got the receiver tube welded on and the ball/hitch bolted on, still need to add the safety chains. Added the rear steps behind the fenders, got both sides finished.











Here's a quick list off the top of my head, of things that still need to be done.

□ Add safety chains to the tongue
□ *DONE* Finish adding braces to the lid, skin the lid, weld on hinges
□ Attach weatherstripping for the lid
□ *DONE* Skin the fenders and steps
□ Build a Jerry can rack across the front of the tub body (aprox. 13-1/2" by 52" wide
□ Weld on the suspension tabs for the last link (already built) mount the airbags, run the airlines, mount the shocks, limit straps and bumpstops
□ Fab up body mounts for the tub body and the main trailer frame
□ Attach weather stripping for the tailgate
□ Run the wiring, mount the tail lights, side marker lights license plate light, mount the junction box.
□ *DONE* Build a rear bumper out of 2x3" rectangular tube, add a receiver
□ Paint/DIY roll on bedliner (thinking Monstaliner)
□ Get some matching 35"x12.50 mud Terrians on black "D" window steel wheels
□ Fab up a mount for the High-lift jack (probably somewhere on the cargo rack)

....that's all I can think of right now, I'm sure I forgot some stuff...

rustED

iTrader: (2)

Started skinning the roof, I'm not to happy with it, I started in the middle and worked my way out to the sides. I was just doing short 1/4" long tack welds spaced out every 4" or so. But it still warped pretty bad. I don't have any pics. It's not that noticeable with the cargo rack mounted, unless you squat down to eye level and look at it. I might see if I can borrow a torch and heat it up and try straightening it some. I think my brother is going to use bedliner on it anyway, so some texture might help camouflage it.

I didn't want to risk warping the fender skins, so I tried a different approach. I drilled holes spaced out every 2-1/4" then tack welded the sheetmetal to the fender frame filling the hole. I was going to grind down the welds, but I kind of like the look, gives it a riveted look. I might go back and do the outside parameter of the lid so it matches.

I also got the tailgate working again, I had robbed the cables off it for some other project, lol. Still need to modify the driverside tailgate stop (thing-ama-jig) they were originally off a first gen yota.