Lots o'T's

Quick question for all you wise folks...

If you were building or had built a trail trailer (bacvk 1/2 of FJ40)... what length of tongue would you use? Do you think that 4' is enough from the front of the trailer to the hitch?

The way I figure it, 4' will give me plenty of room if I back up...

What are your thoughts?

Cruizilla, how long is your tongue from the front of the trailers body to the hitch?

mine is 4', drives well, tracks well, backs well, its well,,,good

Kurt, My M416 is too short if that helps.. I've taken out my FJ40 taillights backing up and forgetting the trailer is there. Luckily taillight lenses are cheap! :) Will wait for your research here to be complete expect a written report on your findings ! :)
I'll lengthen my M416 tongue this summer.
And..
THIS THREAD IS WORTHLESS WITHOUT PICS OF YOUR FJ40 TRAILER! :)

Originally posted by tornadoalleycruiser
...THIS THREAD IS WORTHLESS WITHOUT PICS OF YOUR FJ40 TRAILER! :)

Coming Soon... :D

Kurt, you have pic's of mine, so post them! and mine is a 4' tounge with a military pintle hookup, so it really is a bout 4.5 with the ring. Get the adjustable type of ring so you can change tire size and still have it level.

HTH

-Scott

Originally posted by Cruzilla
Kurt, you have pic's of mine, so post them!...

Oh yeah, here it is... sweet trailer!

http://www.cruiseroutfitters.com/cruzilla_trailer.jpg

Originally posted by Cruzilla
... Get the adjustable type of ring so you can change tire size and still have it level....

My ring will not be adjustable, however the pintle hitch I have is...

Thanks for your help Scott! :D

Does the side door open?

Rob

It's got 35" Interco Trxus tires to match my rig now:D . Had to drop my pintle ring as far as it could go to keep it level, had just enough room!

-Scott

No, I moed a 67 FJ40 in half just in front of the seats, then built a angle iron frame and used aluminum plate for the "doors" and the front, then I trimed it with 1/4" aluminum diamond plate for rock protection and to match the plating on my rig:D

-Scott

Hey Scott,

Remind me... what are you running for a rear axle?

I am going with a 3500lb 60" wms trailer axle... I weighed all my options and it was basically pointless to use a cruiser axle for me... Unless I used a FF, the only usable part I would have is a 3rd, and that is so easily stored in the Cruiser or in the trailer... If I was going to run a SF, I would seriously consider using the OEM axle...

When I built the trailer, I had a semifloat in the Cruiser so I left the semifloat in the trailer for that same reason (trail parts).
But now that I have the fullfloat in the rig I will be going with a real trailer axle but I will add one thing,...... trailer breaks! That trailer is heavy even when empty (go figure it's half a Cruiser;) )
I don't have any real problem stopping (all wheel disks) but it would be nice to have trailer breaks.

Brakes were a big decision of mine...

I got my trailer axle for $100 complete... axle, hubs (6-5.5"), bearings, seals, perches... 3500lb... Only downfall is they don't have the bracket for the brakes. With my fiberglass tub on the trailer, I am going to be close to 250lbs unloaded... mabey 350 with camping gear, and 450 with tools... not much more than I always carry in the back of my cruiser when on extended trips...

If you end up doing brakes, make sure you let me know how you like it... It is something that I could add down the road (axle swap)

:D

PS Did you ever get drawings for the FF DB bracket?

Yeah, I got to get a piece of string and tie it on my Hootis (just kidding:D ) to remind me and mail it off to ya:D

Originally posted by Cruzilla
Yeah, I got to get a piece of string and tie it on my Hootis (just kidding:D ) ...

Had me worried for a minute there... :D

LOL!:D Did you read that one? on the explorer board.

So how did you get such a good deal on an axle? I have not priced them yet so I fgured it would be around 300 bux with breaks.

Kurt, you know I've been thinking about a trailer for a long time, and I've talked to a lot of people about them. Some of the best infomation came from Henry Cubillan. He suggested to me to make the tongue long enough so that if you completely jacknifed the trailer the box of the trailer would miss the side of the truck, but short enough that it will not become a problem on tight trails. I will dig through my pictures too but I've seen a couple trailers with adjustable tongues. Just use some reciever hitch material with a receiver pin and give yourself as much adjustability as you want. That way you can shorten it up on the trail, or lengthen it out for the road or if you see yourself needing to back up a lot.

Mine clears the body by about 6"or 8" and can go past 90*(I used 3"x3" square tubing 3/16"s wall) as far as backing up, it can be real fun:D If you use small movements it backs up real easy, just takes pratice.

4'6" is typically the standard tongue length for most Utility trailers. Based on the width of a 40 I would say that you could go a little shorter than that if you wanted to but with a spare tire hanging off the back you might not have the room. Cruzilla, whats the wheelbase on your trailer (center of rear axle on cruiser to center of trailer axle) or am I still on your ignore list?:flipoff2:

I need to measure the with of a FJ60 axle, I want the axle on the trailer to match Cruiser axle.

-Scott

I've been considering doing something a bit different. I was going to wire my trailer brakes so the left and right could be actuated independently. This could help a lot on the trail. The adjustable tongue is a really good idea. I've seen them in action. It allows you to shorten up on the trail or extend for a smooth highway ride.

Originally posted by Cruzilla
So how did you get such a good deal on an axle? I have not priced them yet so I fgured it would be around 300 bux with breaks.

Just a trailer supply place here in SLC... They go for $130+ tax usually... Name of the place is Hendersons.. there are several in Utah, there may be one in ID?

Originally posted by Cruzilla
I need to measure the with of a FJ60 axle, I want the axle on the trailer to match Cruiser axle.

-Scott

Mine is very close at 60" WMS... I think they have them in 2" increments... but some are special order, therefor more $$$.

Originally posted by 76lcforty
4'6" is typically the standard tongue length for most Utility trailers. ...

Mine is going to be very close to 4'-4"... we are welding as we speak... :D

Originally posted by 76lcforty
4'6" is typically the standard tongue length for most Utility trailers. Based on the width of a 40 I would say that you could go a little shorter than that if you wanted to but with a spare tire hanging off the back you might not have the room. Cruzilla, whats the wheelbase on your trailer (center of rear axle on cruiser to center of trailer axle) or am I still on your ignore list?:flipoff2:

No,... I got over it:flipoff2:

Originally posted by Cruzilla


No,... I got over it:flipoff2:

Damn that sucks:flipoff2:

Originally posted by cruiseroutfit


Just a trailer supply place here in SLC... They go for $130+ tax usually... Name of the place is Hendersons.. there are several in Utah, there may be one in ID?
Henderson's is natiopn wide ;)

They also have cheap-ass ABS brand brake rotors (-$20) when everyone is else is about $36 for the same part...

More pics of trailer here....
http://www.pirate4x4.com/forum/showthread.php?s=&threadid=215407

i been away for a couple days, this thread took off pretty good, anyway i have a couple inputs, nothin new just adding.
kurt i got my axle for $100 also, 3500lb trailer axle, no brakes. it was real wide so i narrowed to the same track as the piggy. on the tongue i went with a /\ instead of the single beam, dont know why but i can almost get complety 90* on a jacknife since the frame is narrower than the body of the pig. still have alot to do with it, but i have pulled it a couple times off road and it does real well, almost dont even notice back there. one thing for sure is a want to replace the springs with softer ones, it bounces alot. i will prolly use the old stock front pig springs under it.