Let me start out by saying this build is on a couple boards already so some Jeep guys may have already seen it. Sorry about that. I'm a "beginner" fab guy I guess you could say and this is by far the biggest project I've tackled to date. At times, I think I may have bit off more than I could chew, but I'm learning as I go and having fun doing it and it's coming out OK I think so far. I've been directed here for some help with a few things that I may need down the road in fabbing and suggestions when I get to that point, so I figured I may as well start from scratch and post the whole thing. Here goes-hope this is the right section to put it, it looked like the best place:

This will be a long, drawn out process, but I'll attempt a trailer build thread for my current project. We have a number of other trailers at home and up at the ranch for various duties ranging in size from a 30' gooseneck to a 14K tandem, some stock trailers, and my little 5x10 I regularly pull behind the Jeep. The 5x10 handles most chores well, but lacks in a few areas that I'd like to address with this new trailer. If all our trailers saw was highway use, we'd be fine, but our property is 45 minutes off paved roads up in the mountains over rough road. Some gravel, some dirt and some classified as "improved" to say the least. When it's washed out, it's rough at best. Our trailers take a beating, as does our equipment or gear. When it's dry, everything gets covered in dirt and filth, as it also does when it's raining or snowing. I'm going to attempt to build this new trailer with full sides and a removeable locking top as well as tailgate to help keep things clean inside. It will be dual-purpose for camping, but also utility work as well. Rough dimensions will be around 4'x6' and around 30" deep or thereabouts. Haven't finalized any of this yet except that I want a full 48" INSIDE box width for sure. Track width will be pretty close to the Jeep and I intend to run matching tires/rims as the Jeep so I can swap the spare from Jeep to trailer as need be and cut down on weight/bulk by only carrying one spare instead of one on the Jeep and one on the trailer both. It will be built with off-road use in mind and intended to take the beating we dish out and HOPEFULLY hold up better than our other trailers, yet still weigh in light enough that I can pull it easy enough with the Jeep when fully loaded. I HOPE I can accomplish that when it's all said and done.

Let start with the parts list:

Here is the axle setup. It's a 3500# Dexter with 10" electric brakes. The Jeep track width is roughly 60" but I'm running Spydertrax spacers so I had the axle cut to 63" WMS to be close to the Jeep with the spacers included. Part of this also deals with measuring for springs centers and the fact that I want a full 48" INSIDE box width, and taking into account the measurements needed for tire buldge measured at the fenders and distance needed to the frame. For springs, I was worried standard trailer springs would be too stiff, so I went with the longest I could get at 27" and had them remove a leaf. These are "softride" spring packs 3 pack leafs 27" instead of the standard 24/25" 4 leaf pack you normally get with this setup. Also have a trailer break-away box, bearings, etc. The builder upgraded me to EZ-Lube spindles as well, where the entire spindle has been outfitted with a zerk, drilled and tapped with a grease channel feeding the inner bearing first, then grease flows through the inner bearing, fills the cavity and works it's way to the outter bearing. These are NOT your typical "bearing buddy" setup, this is the actual Dexter EZ-Lube spindles.

http://s44.photobucket.com/albums/f47/55willystruck/trailer%20build/axleparts032.jpg

Here you can see the grease port in the spindle. Pump the grease through the zerk on the outside, it flows through the spindle, out the port here to lube the inner bearing first, then makes it's way through the hub to the outter bearing.

http://s44.photobucket.com/albums/f47/55willystruck/trailer%20build/IslandCountyFair013.jpg

Next, for the hitch, I went with the Lock-N-Roll setup. This is the 6,000# rated hitch as I felt the 2,000# would not be adequate and obviously the 15,000# was a bit overkill. Obviously it's the 2" slip-in style and will have the ability to mount forward or rear of the trailer as I'll have a receiver front and rear both. It's the 3-axis design and should work great for both on and off-road use. Very well built. Very nice setup. I got it from the Lock-N-Roll site direct here:
http://www.locknroll.com/
and used the #303 adjustable drop/rise bar hitch here:
http://www.locknroll.com/products_sub.aspx?cid=2&id=26
and the #212 2" slide in coupler here:
http://www.locknroll.com/products_sub.aspx?cid=1&id=28

http://s44.photobucket.com/albums/f47/55willystruck/trailer%20build/axleparts034.jpg

For tires and rims, I'll be running the matching Jeep Moab rims and matching tires. Thanks to MJM, I got a contact to a seller here in Washington who had a great deal on some Moab's in great shape. The tires are shot, but I'll use them for now to take measurements from to get the trailer started and get a roller going, then buy tires later when I'm further along. Final tire size will be 255/85/16. Here's the factory Moabs with the stock 245/75/16 MT/R's:

http://s44.photobucket.com/albums/f47/55willystruck/trailer%20build/axleparts030.jpg

more to come...

Best of Luck,

Mike

As far as lighting goes, I really had a tough decision with lights for this trailer. I am CONSTANTLY replacing lights on our other trailers for various reasons. We are always breaking taillights somehow, someway whether it be a tree falling on them, cattle chewing on them and ripping them off, hay bales falling over and smashing them or various other things going wrong, or just not paying attention and backing into things and breaking them, we are constantly replacing lights. I replace a lot of bulbs due to vibration on the gravel roads that just beat the tar out of the filaments and shake them loose too. As much money as I have in full replacement housings and replacement bulbs, it just made me sick, so I thought long and hard about this trailer and how I wanted to go about handling the task of illuminating it to meet WA laws and safety standards to be legal for road use yet somehow possibly save some money in the long run by not replacing so many bulbs or housings down the road.

Thankfully, I got ahold of Doug who happens to know a little something about trailer lights. Doug runs two on-line internet businesses specializing in LED lights and does an excellent job at it as well. I ordered all of my stuff through http://www.ledtrailerlights.com but you can also check out http://www.4x4led.com for a few different items for your truck. Doug is GREAT to work with and really knows his lights. I had a TON of questions for him as I knew NOTHING about LED lights in general. I fired a bunch of emails and PM's back and forth and he was lightning fast in his response and very thorough and detailed and more than happy to help out. He even listed various WAC codes and pointed me in the direction of the right legal descriptions I needed for some various things I had concerns about as well. He even helped with some wiring questions I had. After talking with Doug, the choice was clear. It might mean a little more money up front, but in the long run, I think it will be a sound investment for this trailer and will cut my costs down the road in replacement housings and bulbs as LED's last longer and are vibration proof as well as water and dust proof also. I ordered up the following for this trailer as a start:

For brake lights/STT's I went with 42 LED Maxxima's as seen here along with grommets and harness: http://www.ledtrailerlights.com/stt/stt_M63420R.htm

http://s44.photobucket.com/albums/f47/55willystruck/trailer%20build/lights010.jpg

For backup lights I went with these 27 LED units along with grommets and harness:
http://www.ledtrailerlights.com/other/H60027WSD.htm

http://s44.photobucket.com/albums/f47/55willystruck/trailer%20build/lights002.jpg

For marker lights, I went with 10 LED 2" round Amber and Red units as seen here-both with amber and red lens: http://www.ledtrailerlights.com/cm/cm_HD20010-2inch.htm

http://s44.photobucket.com/albums/f47/55willystruck/trailer%20build/lights006.jpg

Here's the harness and grommets, both very nice units and well made:

http://s44.photobucket.com/albums/f47/55willystruck/trailer%20build/lights005.jpg

http://s44.photobucket.com/albums/f47/55willystruck/trailer%20build/lights011.jpg

http://s44.photobucket.com/albums/f47/55willystruck/trailer%20build/lights003.jpg

As you can tell from the thread so far, it will be a long while before I get to install the lights and try them out. When I get to that point though, I'll post back with some shots of them actually lit up and in use. Doug was a HUGE help and I'd highly recommend anyone looking into lighting for a future trailer build to consider LED's and give Doug a shout and discuss your options. I think it will be well worth your while in the long run. I haven't even got this one built yet and I'm already planning on swapping the lights out to LED's on a couple of our other trailers that we use the most.

Thanks Doug for all the help and for the Great Service!

more to come...

Best of Luck,

Mike

I wanted to run matching tires/wheels on the trailer so that I could only carry one spare between the Jeep and trailer both and swap between either rig in an emergency if need be. With a good tire repair kit, one spare is all that is really needed anyway, so no need carrying two. It's a good place to save weight and space for other stuff. After getting my 3500# axle with electric brakes and EZ-lube spindles, and finally locating my pair of Moab rims, I came to the realization that the Moab rims would NOT bolt onto the 3500# brake drums/hubs as a direct bolt-on like I'd hoped. This meant a wheel spacer or adapter would be required to make it work. Great. I'd had the axle cut to the Jeep track width already with the Jeep spacers in mind, so my axle for the trailer is already at 63", which means my spacers or adapters for the trailer will be even wider than I wanted. Oh well, it has to be done in order to work. In the pic below, you an see why. Basically what is happening is the center bore of the 3500# brake drum hub is roughly 2 1/2" outside diameter and sticks up 1 3/4" from the WMS. The lug studs are only about 1 1/2" tall if I remember right. What happens is the center cap on the Moab rim is only 1 7/8" and the hub for the brake drum comes into contact with the narrower center cap and won't fit through the smaller hole. You can see that in the pic below-obviously the shorter wheel studs won't fit through the hole either and the WMS won't even contact:

http://s44.photobucket.com/albums/f47/55willystruck/trailer%20build/spacers018.jpg

I searched for a while trying to find an adapter or spacer that would work in order to mate the Moab rim to the 3500# brake drum. As we all know, the Moabs are 16x8 rims with 5x4.5 bolt pattern and 5" BS. It goes without saying the brake drum is also 5x4.5 bolt pattern which is a common off-the-shelf trailer axle part size, but the hard part is finding a spacer that has a center bore large enough to clear the hub on the drum. I run Spydertrax on my Jeep and have for well over 30,000 miles now, but after talking with Spydertrax direct and explaining the problem, it was determined by the Spydertrax rep that they would NOT work and they recommended I find a different manufacturer for my trailer. I could have ordered them, then taken them to a machine shop and had the centers machined out to the larger diameter and had the hub-centric ring removed and made them work, which then would have weakened the spacer and made them questionable from a safety standpoint, but why? It didn't make sense to go to the trouble and hassle of ruining and weakening a spacer making it questionable and unsafe, so the search continued. I only mention this here simply because I've seen it mentioned in other threads on other boards as a solution. It is not safe and I do not recommend it. There are other solutions that are much easier and much safer, so please, use some common sense and just buy one that fits right off the shelf.

Where do I do that you ask? Well after some searching I learned most folks are ordering custom spacers made to fit their needs. That is all fine and dandy, but is rather expensive and takes a few days to order, make and ship so it could be a while. I needed spacers now and didn't want to spend a fortune getting them. I thought I'd check one last place before going custom at a place here relatively local out in Cashmere Washington at JT's Differentials here: http://www.justdifferentials.com/ I noticed they sold wheel spacers so I called up and explained my situation, then asked if they knew the center bore diameter. Jeremy had answered the phone and said he didn't remember the exact dimensions but could I please hold and he'd go measure real quick and be right back. He was back in a matter of seconds stating that the center bore was right about 2.8". Great! the hub diameter was about 2 1/2" so this was a little more than I needed. He said I've got 1.25", 1.5" and 2" in stock, come on out if you think they'll work, I'm here till 5:00. I asked if he'd mind if I brought a rim and the drum to do some test fitting to make sure I got the right one. Jeremy said sure, no problem, bring them out with you, I'll have one of each on the counter waiting and we can test fit each to find the one that works best so you know they'll fit. Awesome, I'll be right out.

When I got to the shop, I test fit the first spacer in the 1.25" size as I wanted to keep the track width as narrow as possible. The spacer worked great! It bolted right on, everything worked fine, or at least it seemed to. No need to test the 1.5" or 2" spacers, so I just paid Jeremy for the 1.25" then was on my way back home to fit everything together, excited I finally had what I needed. The next day I got to putting the axle together, fit the spacers up then found when I put the center cap on, the wheel wouldn't fit-I was at least 1/2" too short!!! After inspecting things further, the dust cap for the axle made contact with the center cap on the rim. Crap! I didn't take that into account when I got the spacers from JT's the day before. After examining things I needed another 1/2" minimum of clearance to make this all work. JT's had a 1.5" spacer which would get me another 1/4" and I THOUGHT I could cheat another 1/4" pretty easy in another area so the simple answer was to call JT's back and explain my screw up, and ask if I could exchange my 1.25" spacer for a 1.5". Luckily I got Jeremy on the phone again who already knew my situation. I explained what happened and asked if it would be at all possible to make the swap. Sure, no problem, bring them on in, I'll have the 1.5's sitting here ready for you when you get here. Great! I was in a rush and sure enough, they were on the desk waiting when I got there so I was able to just drop them off, make the trade and go. The customer service at JT's was excellent, I was impressed with the help I got with these spacers!

The spacers themselves that you'll need are regular Jeep 5x4.5 bolt patter in the 1.5" thickness. They are made from 6061 T-6 aluminum using grade 8 hardware. JT's has these made to their specs for them. The center bore is about 2.8" so it will bolt directly on to the 3500# brake drum making it a safe, smart and easy way to make the Moab rims work on the trailer. You can get them in 1.25", 1.5" and 2" for the Jeep, but they sell other spacers for other rigs as well, and I think even for 8 lug rigs as well. Here's what I got for the trailer that was a direct bolt-on:
http://www.justdifferentials.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=467&products_id=2163
You'll notice the cost was right on these, which was about half or less than going custom so that was nice. I bolted them on using red loctite like I did with the Spydertrax spacers on my Jeep as I haven't had any trouble with them in over 30,000 miles now, so I expect these will perform just as well on the trailer.

http://s44.photobucket.com/albums/f47/55willystruck/trailer%20build/spacers014.jpg

http://s44.photobucket.com/albums/f47/55willystruck/trailer%20build/spacers015.jpg

more to come...

Best of Luck,

Mike

In the post above, I mentioned an issue with the dust caps sticking out too far and making contact with the center caps and preventing the wheel from bolting on. The dust cap on the axle is also too large a diameter to fit through the center cap hole in the rim so that leaves me with either finding a way to make it all fit together, or boring out the center of the rim a little so the dust cap would fit through. If I did that, the center caps would not fit any longer and it would create an aesthetic issue when I rotate the wheels/tires to the Jeep. If I never do that, then it won't be an issue, but I'd like the option so I want to keep things clean and functioning as they should. I'll find a way to make things fit. Here's the problem:

http://s44.photobucket.com/albums/f47/55willystruck/trailer%20build/spacers019.jpg

Here's two possible areas to buy clearance:

http://s44.photobucket.com/albums/f47/55willystruck/trailer%20build/spacers020.jpg

I started with the center caps and used a dremel to cut the teeth and remove about half the material back to where it just begins to engage on the inner lip of the Moab rim. This effectively removed about 1/4" of material. Remember I got the other 1/4" by moving to the 1.5" spacers. Granted, my track width on the axle has now moved from 63" to 66", but it had to be done. My inside box width will easily be 48", likely much more now, so that goal was accomplished, may as well take advantage of that extra width. Anyway, with a simple cutting disc on the dremel, the plastic teeth came right off:

http://s44.photobucket.com/albums/f47/55willystruck/trailer%20build/centercaps003.jpg

Here they are all cut down:

http://s44.photobucket.com/albums/f47/55willystruck/trailer%20build/centercaps013.jpg

Here is the unmodded cap and the clearance issue it created:

http://s44.photobucket.com/albums/f47/55willystruck/trailer%20build/centercaps007.jpg

Here is the rough cut cap prior to smoothing out and the clearance gains I needed to make it work:

http://s44.photobucket.com/albums/f47/55willystruck/trailer%20build/centercaps009.jpg

Here you can see the dust cap and how it didn't fit prior to the mod, where it sticks out beyond the WMS-this would NOT allow the wheel to mount to the hub-keep in mind the dust cap would NOT fit through the center cap hole even with the center cap removed:

http://s44.photobucket.com/albums/f47/55willystruck/trailer%20build/centercaps012.jpg

And here is the clearance gained after trimming the dust cap-roughly 1/4" was gained here and you can see the dust cap just BARELY fits inside the Moab WMS:

http://s44.photobucket.com/albums/f47/55willystruck/trailer%20build/centercaps011.jpg

more to come...

Best of Luck,

Mike

I've been too worried about that possible 1/16" clearance and my lack of time to do anything with the axle and any possible delays when I actually get a day off work with the setback it would create IF it didn't work as Murphy usually dictates, so I spent some time with the dust caps to clearance them a bit. I mentioned "massaging" them a bit earlier-perhaps I should rephrase that to "modding" the dust caps now...

It's not exactly pretty, and was more work than I planned, but they'll be covered by the wheels and I think it will work with about 1/16" to spare now. With some trial and error, it involved testing with Mig, then ended up with grinding a bit off the top, TIG welding a patch, grinding another tiny section TIGing it, letting it cool, grinding another tiny section, more TIG, cool, grind, TIG, cool, grind, TIG, etc., then grind down to make it look decent. Here's the finished results:

http://s44.photobucket.com/albums/f47/55willystruck/trailer%20build/dustcapmod002.jpg

http://s44.photobucket.com/albums/f47/55willystruck/trailer%20build/dustcapmod004.jpg

Here you can see prior clearance prior to the mod at just over 1 5/16":

http://s44.photobucket.com/albums/f47/55willystruck/trailer%20build/dustcapmod005.jpg

Here you can see the modded cap at just under 1 1/8":

http://s44.photobucket.com/albums/f47/55willystruck/trailer%20build/dustcapmod006.jpg

Hard to see, but all this has to fit in about 1 3/16" space:

http://s44.photobucket.com/albums/f47/55willystruck/trailer%20build/dustcapmod007.jpg

Since it LOOKS like it will fit with a HAIR bit of room to spare, I'm going to try and work on the second cap tonight if time permits. This should be all the clearance I need and everything should bolt up just dandy now. Once I get a day off, it should be smooth sailing for assembling the axle now so I can measure for, and burn in the spring perches-knock on wood...

more to come...

Best of Luck,

Mike

OK so with all the above work into the dust caps, center caps, spacers, etc., it was time to test-fit everything on the axle to see if it fit, and find out both if it did for one, but also IF it did, then I could start measuring for my spring centers which would allow me to start the actual welding process. Here's how it all looks:

Here's a shot of the spindle depth that was causing all the issue with the dust caps and why the outter lip on the cap needed to be lowered a bit. This is just one solution that I came up with-you might possibly run another style cap, I don't know, I still haven't had time to look into that. It's on my list to try though for spares.

http://s44.photobucket.com/albums/f47/55willystruck/trailer%20build/wheelaxle030.jpg

This shot's kinda fuzzy but you can see with the cap on, just how far out the spindle sticks and the zerk with the flat surface of the cap in place-you really need all the clearance you can get.

http://s44.photobucket.com/albums/f47/55willystruck/trailer%20build/wheelaxle031.jpg

Here's kind of a side shot-hard to tell, but the zerk comes out right to the surface of that lower flat edge.

http://s44.photobucket.com/albums/f47/55willystruck/trailer%20build/wheelaxle032.jpg

Here's a shot with the wheel mounted. Only three lug nuts in place, but they're locked down good and in firmly in place. As you can see, not much room for error, and the tolerances are tight.

http://s44.photobucket.com/albums/f47/55willystruck/trailer%20build/wheelaxle033.jpg

Here's a side shot of just how little room there really is with the wheel locked down and dust cap in place on the axle-it is TIGHT. I was hoping for a LITTLE clearance back there, and that's just about what I got!

http://s44.photobucket.com/albums/f47/55willystruck/trailer%20build/wheelaxle034.jpg

And the money shot-it all came together and actually works!!! The center cap actually fits in place like I'd hoped for. There is literally NOT much room to spare, but it fits, the wheel spins and rotates, everything works well.

http://s44.photobucket.com/albums/f47/55willystruck/trailer%20build/wheelaxle035.jpg

http://s44.photobucket.com/albums/f47/55willystruck/trailer%20build/wheelaxle036.jpg

I needed all the room I could get and everything worked out exactly as I'd hoped. Now I can move on to the spring perches and start work on the actual cutting/welding part of the build.

I should note that I've decided for ease of maintenance and if I BL the Moabs, I'll likely NOT run the outter center caps. For other guys wanting to do so, that's how I went about it. Lots of ways to skin a cat, this is how I did it. You could run other style of dust caps on the spindle, or do the easy route and run 2" spacers. That kinda takes all the fun out of modding things though...:D

more to come...

Best of Luck,

Mike

Well, made a little progress on the frame today. Ended up changing the design twice though from my original plans. Haven't welded in a LONG time now-well over a year at least so I'm pretty rusty to say the least. Had some trouble on the vertical up welds on the rear bumper part with the 3/16" bumper welding to the 1/8" main frame. Didn't turn out as nice as I wanted so I'll be going back and making that look better later. Just when I thought I had it figured out, ended up with a major set-back as my welder blew the regulator pop-off on the guage. Made a call to Oxarc and it sounds like I can rebuild it but it will cost darn near as much as a whole new setup. That blew the rest of the day today so first thing in the morning I'll go get a new regulator/guage setup so I can get back welding again. Got a used torch setup yesterday so I'll pick up some things to go along with that as well so I'll try it tomorrow too. Will need it for the main receiver tube work-or part of it anyway. Oh, decided I HATE fitting 45 degree angles! Man, what a waste of a day that was. Between cutting on the chop saw, then spending hours with the grinder and flapper disc to fit right measuring back and forth trying to get a tight enough fit to weld-what a pain! Don't know how much time I wasted trying to get those all dialed in good. Finally got it, but man, what a pain! Anyway, here's a few pics:

Here's a shot of the pile of steel just to get things started. Some 2x4 .120 wall rectangle tube for the main frame, some 2x4 3/16" wall for the bumper, a stick of 2x2 .120 wall and 13'6" of receiver tube I'll cut down to final length currently undetermined at this time which will run full length front-back:

http://s44.photobucket.com/albums/f47/55willystruck/trailer%20build/IslandCountyFair010.jpg

Here's a shot of the main frame pieces cut with the 45's:

http://s44.photobucket.com/albums/f47/55willystruck/trailer%20build/steelpieces001.jpg

And here's where the regulator blew and I left off for the day. Main box is mostly welded and the crossmembers are cut and loosely fitted but not tacked yet. I had tacked the thing together then cut it apart about 4 different times and measured then re-measured from every damned angle possible side ways, length ways, cross ways, diagnol, etc., etc. trying to get this thing perfectly square. After cutting it apart and tacking it back for the 4th time, I finally got it. Did I mention I HATE 45's? This is my first trailer build, I've never done anything like this before, so it's a first attempt. Trying not to screw it up too bad. Anyway, here's where we left off today. It's actually SQUARE!

http://s44.photobucket.com/albums/f47/55willystruck/trailer%20build/steelpieces002.jpg

Anyway, I'll get my regulator and more supplies tomorrow then get back to it.

more to come...

Best of Luck,

Mike

cool. Looks good so far.

Okay shameless update for today. Got a late start as my Grandparents came to town this morning to see the baby so we all had a great visit and lunch at the house before they left for some business in town. Finally got to the garage around 2:00 this afternoon. Just in time to hit the heat of the day for 103 degree temps and still managed to loose 6 pounds during working with this damned receiver tube and finally getting to do some welding on the dumb thing. Man what a bear that was. Can't say that I ever want to go through that again. Finally called it quits around 8:30 tonight as I'm just getting too old for this I think.

Anyway, after fighting with the holes I bored through the frame and crossmembers and finally enlarging them enough to fit the receiver tube through, I was finally able to get the dumb thing to fit all the way through front to back. Here it is loosely sitting in there after fighting for a while just thankful it finally fit:

http://s44.photobucket.com/albums/f47/55willystruck/trailer%20build/framework010.jpg

After grinding off all the scale to nice shiny metal for welding on the front face and back face of each crossmember and front beam as well as rear bumper, then drilling out the rear receiver tube hitch hole, I set it in place and took tons of measurements to get it centered. I marked a spot up on the tongue in the center and measured for diagonal as well off the front beams to get it centered that way as well, then once it was all perfectly centered as best as I could tell from all angles, I went ahead and tacked it in place, then went ahead and burned it in. Here it is with it mostly welded across the 3 faces top and sides of what you can reach as it sits on the jack stands here. Tomorrow I go back to work on grave, but I'll finish welding the bottom side in the morning just so that part is all done.

http://s44.photobucket.com/albums/f47/55willystruck/trailer%20build/framework011.jpg

I had to bring my wife out to discuss this portion of the receiver tube for a bit. Originally I was going to flush mount the rear part of the receiver, but after lining it up and assessing where the hitch pin would line out, it worked out that it would fall almost directly on the rear bumper line and would not allow for much weld in that area. I could push the beam through more, but then it wouldn't allow for much weld on the outside face. After discussing with my wife, she decided that if she had to remove the bike rack or hitch, or shackle, or whatever was hooked up back there, she was NOT crawling underneath the trailer to undo the hitch pin. She said make the beam come out beyond the bumper so she could access the pin from plain sight outside the trailer without any trouble and without crawling underneath. She spoke, I listened, and so it be. Here's where it sits for now. If need be, I can cut it back some, but this actually serves dual-purpose as a receiver, but also protection for my LED lights as well. There will also be a pair of D-ring shackle tabs welded in as well that will stick out a couple inches so I don't think this is to bad. This sticks out 3.25" total:

http://s44.photobucket.com/albums/f47/55willystruck/trailer%20build/framework012.jpg

Anyway, after fighting with that damned receiver tube, I had to post pics for today's progress. It's not totally welded in, but I'll finish it up tomorrow on the bottom side. Some of the gaps are pretty big in order to make it fit and slide through, but even so, it was a real bear to bang in there with a sledge hammer. Luckily it's about 1'6" longer than I need so I'll cut some off the tongue end when I determine the final tongue length as the end is pretty beat up. Funny thing about this receiver tube too-my LNR hitch fits perfect with absolutely ZERO slop, but none of my other receiver hitches fit. It's 2" inside diameter seamless tubing. Haven't checked my Yakima Fullswing bike rack yet or the main D-ring recovery shackles and such. Not sure if I want to open it up slightly with a dremel just a HAIR, or take the paint off all my other items to fit. Not sure why nothing else works. It's standard receiver tube. Wonder why the LNR works??? Everything measures 2" with a tape, just splitting hairs-literally-as to whether it goes or not. Good thing is there will be NO wobble on the tonge of this bad boy when it's finished.

more to come...

Best of Luck,

Mike

Well I finished the welding of the receiver tube, then cut the tongue length down to an estimated length. I got a little nervous of spring placement so I made the tongue length 2" longer than my original planned length just in case my axle center doesn't work out as I hope it will and I need to move it forward a hair. I didn't want to have the tongue length too short if that happened. If the axle placement works out as planned, I can trim that extra 2" off no big deal and all will work out nicely as planned.

From there I went ahead and tacked in the spring hangars in their location based off my planned axle center if it works out the way I'm hoping it will. I'm still not sure of shackle angle and from what I can tell so far, anything from 0-10 is acceptable, so I set these at 6.5 degrees. Being loose with no load, they should settle under the trailer weight and kick back a hair more, then under load, be more yet which should be fine. Like I said, they're just tacked for now, so I'll play with it a bit and if I don't like it, I'll move them. Here's what it looks like after messing with it a little today. From what I figure, frame height should be roughly 27" off the ground if I'm looking at it right upside down. There will likely be some spring sag in that, but it should be close.

http://s44.photobucket.com/albums/f47/55willystruck/trailer%20build/axlefitment001.jpg

more to come...

Best of Luck,

Mike

Well time for another update. Did some work the last couple days to the tongue fitting the rest of the frame together. I wanted the trailer to be able to break 90 degrees from the Jeep if need be, so I bolted the axle under it, then parked it sideways behind the Jeep to simulate the same thing. It turns out my trailer sits pretty close to what I expected while on the axle/tires, at 26" exact to the bottom of the frame. This puts the center of the hitch at 27.5" off the ground, and exactly 2" above my Jeep's receiver. Somehow I neglected to measure that part on the Jeep so I'll need a rise hitch instead of a drop. Thought I had one, but turns out I don't think I do in the size I need for the build. Measurements given are with the BALD MT/R's that I'm tossing out as soon as I replace with new 255/85's of some sort. Can't get my current BFG MT's anymore so I need a replacement. Likely Toyo MT's, but we'll see. Any suggestions? Needs to be TOUGH. Anyway, I'll likely gain another 2" with the tires so I may be in a slight predicament with my swingout-we'll see after everything settles.

Anyway, with the trailer 90 degrees from the Jeep, I found I could stretch the A-frame further out than I originally thought, which is good. Stronger design than a shorter A frame would be, and more room for a bigger box and other items up on the tongue, which I was hoping for later on. All good news. Bad news is fitting this sucker was a royal PITA!!! Chop saw would only cut the rear most angle at the main frame end, so that meant cutting all four sides of the 2x4 .120 wall tube with an angle grinder and cut off wheel. Got pretty close, but still needed a fair amount of grinding/sanding with a flapper disc and MANY test fits and cleanups to get to a good fit before even thinking about welding the damn thing. Cut pretty far out with the disc too and as the receiver is more radiused, left a pretty big hole I had to fill. Welds aren't the greatest up there, but they'll work. There is a LOT of weld up there around that thing too, front and back on the main beams, top and bottom as well, then with my fish plates on the bottom as well tying it all together. I think I'm good. Man, what a bear!

Enough rambling, here's the tongue framework:

http://s44.photobucket.com/albums/f47/55willystruck/trailer%20build/tongueframe002.jpg

http://s44.photobucket.com/albums/f47/55willystruck/trailer%20build/tongueframe001.jpg

After the tongue was together, I decided it was time to break out the torch and make some fishplates for the bottom for the main joints at the front most point on the tongue on the A, at the main 3-point connection of the A and the main frame and the back of the main frame where the bumper ties in. These serve a couple purposes actually-first to lock everything together solid and secure the joint, but also to act as a skid plate of sorts when the Jeep breaks into a ditch or over a log/rock what have you and the trailer augers in to the ditch. My other trailers have all worn away the main frame in these locations and are weakening. I don't think I'll have the same problem with the 2x4 .120 wall tube, but the added 3/16" plate will be extra insurance just the same.

I acquired a few Victor torches a while back along with some tanks, tips and various other supplies to go along with. I've never used a torch before so I didn't know the first thing about them. My Jeep buddy down at Oxarc (gas supplier/welding outfit) said to bring everything in and he'd test it all and teach me how to use it, make sure it was all working and safe to use, so I did. Everything checked out and I went through the safety course with him just so I knew what I was getting into. Even with his help learning how to run it, I'd still never actually cut anything before. When I tried making my first cuts today, I kept killing the torch. Found out after a while I wasn't supplying enough gas or oxygen. I've used plasma many times before, but never a torch. One day I'll afford a plasma cutter and nice shop, but for now, this will work. Once I figured it out, and after a couple test cuts, Wow, this thing made quick work of my 3/16" plate, and sliced through it like butter!

Not sure what would happen with it, I made a make-shift platform to protect my driveway with a few bricks and some steel plate, then some more bricks to elevate my main plate I was cutting from. After tracing my templates, I transfered them to my steel, then went to work cutting them out. It was a little difficult being all bent over and cutting freehand, but it worked and they came out all pretty dang close. After some quick cleanup with the flapper disc, they burned in pretty good with the welder. Good enough for me anyway.

Here's getting started:

http://s44.photobucket.com/albums/f47/55willystruck/trailer%20build/fishplates002.jpg

And here's the silly little platform with the fishplates cut out:

http://s44.photobucket.com/albums/f47/55willystruck/trailer%20build/fishplates001.jpg

more to come...

Best of luck,

Mike

I'm not sure the proper name for these, so I'm calling them fish plates as I think that's what similar plating is called. Someone correct me if I'm wrong.

Here's one of the rear bumper/frame plates:

http://s44.photobucket.com/albums/f47/55willystruck/trailer%20build/fishplates006.jpg

Here's one of the front 3-point main frame-tongue joint plates:

http://s44.photobucket.com/albums/f47/55willystruck/trailer%20build/fishplates007.jpg

And here's the front most A-frame plate:

http://s44.photobucket.com/albums/f47/55willystruck/trailer%20build/fishplates009.jpg

After welding them, I just used a regular wire brush and hand brushed them down to look like that. Knocked all the color off from welding. Here's the whole frame:

http://s44.photobucket.com/albums/f47/55willystruck/trailer%20build/fishplates010.jpg

Once I had the bottom done-or at least I think it's done. I actually went ahead and finished burning in the spring hangars too while I was on this side. This thing is getting pretty heavy now and I'm getting tired of having to flip it over all the time, so I tried to finish the bottom side today and be done with it to minimize flips. Anyway, after getting that done, I flipped it over again and welded in the top sides. I couldn't really get the wire brush in there as the wood handle is too big, so these are pretty dirty looking. Here's the rear corner:

http://s44.photobucket.com/albums/f47/55willystruck/trailer%20build/fishplates011.jpg

And here's the front 3-point plate again from the top side:

http://s44.photobucket.com/albums/f47/55willystruck/trailer%20build/fishplates012.jpg

That's it for pics for today. It took a long time making the plates and finishing up the bottom of the main frame. I did get my main uprights cut, but had to quit as the neighbors probably don't like all the cutting/welding/grinding after 9:00pm. I'll get started on them tomorrow I hope. If that happens, I'll have to figure out what to do with either the Jeep, or the trailer as one or the other won't get to sleep in the garage anymore...

more to come...

Best of Luck,

Mike

Boy, I SEVERLY underestimated the time it would take to build this thing! I was hoping to use it by the end of the summer. A lot of that is due to my hectic work schedule and never getting time to work on it, but also, I must be about the slowest builder in the world. Granted, this is the first time I've done this, and this is by far the biggest/largest/grandest project I've ever tackled, but still, today's work didn't get me very far. Took me a while to figure out a jig system to make sure everything was square and true to the frame for each piece, and how to measure it all out so it was centered perfect, then once I had that down, took a while to level them all and get them squared and perfectly level front-back and side-side. I had to account for my fish plates underneath, so I made the corners a little longer, and the fudge factor with the cut-off wheel on the chop saw, then the center 1x2's and front 1x2's are all shorter because there is no fish plate in those locations. Once done, they're all dead level each way and exactly 30" deep to the bed depth. They all came out right, but man, sure took me a while. Cleaning the metal took the longest I think as I'm kinda picky about that most of the time, then leveling everything. Had to tack, then re-tack several of them a few times. I got the top-rails all cut, and had to box the ends of the two long rails before I could cut the 45's for the front piece. Got all that done, then cut the front section and both 45's for it. The top will be all boxed and mounted on top so everything is sealed. Don't want any bugs or critters making nests in my end pieces. Started getting too dark to see good enough to actually weld in the 45's and I want them good and square so I spent the rest of the night cleaning up. Got lucky in the placement of the trailer as the garage door only had 3/4" to close! Would hate to try and move this now. I did NOT finish weld the uprights as I want to fit the top rail first, then adjust as needed to square everything in case something moves while laying down the final beads. Here's how it looks so far:

In this pic, I have the 4 main corners tacked in already. They're 2x2 .120 wall. You can see how I went with a jig to align and place the center uprights, which are 1x2 .120 wall. With this method, I was able to center them even across the frame, support them underneath as a brace, then level and true them up from there:

http://s44.photobucket.com/albums/f47/55willystruck/trailer%20build/uprights001.jpg

Here's another shot of the jig braced up:

http://s44.photobucket.com/albums/f47/55willystruck/trailer%20build/uprights002.jpg

Here's a front-on shot with them all on:

http://s44.photobucket.com/albums/f47/55willystruck/trailer%20build/uprights003.jpg

A diagnol profile-excuse the dog, he was inspecting things:

http://s44.photobucket.com/albums/f47/55willystruck/trailer%20build/uprights004.jpg

When I load my elk camp and four wheeler on my 5x10, I stack my cook stove on top of my big cooler. The pair together was 30" deep, which is why I wanted this trailer to be 30" deep. I needed this to be no less than 48" inside width, and the way I built it, I was able to get a solid 50" inside width. It's 6' long inside once the tailgate will be done, which will sit inside the frame, and basically over the rear bumper area. Here's how the stove looks on top of the cooler right now. There will be a lid, which will sit 2" above this:

http://s44.photobucket.com/albums/f47/55willystruck/trailer%20build/uprights005.jpg

Another shot:

http://s44.photobucket.com/albums/f47/55willystruck/trailer%20build/uprights006.jpg

I've actually been asked a few times about the "pink mask" in a few of the pictures. Figured I'd post up just what that "pink mask" is for. Most folks know this already, but some don't. During cutting, welding, grinding, cleaning metal, removing scale, and yes, also during MIG welding-that plume of stuff you see given off is all putting dust and vapor in the air that you breath and inhale. This was spread out all over the garage floor just from today's little bit of work that I was able to accomplish in the uprights alone. Not much welding, not much cutting as I had the main pieces already cut last night. A fair amount of work done, and lots of hours spent working, but nothing in comparison to yesterday's welding on the fishplates. Here is the dust from today-just a hair under 2 pounds, scattered through the air and thrown all over the garage that you'd breath in without the filters:

http://s44.photobucket.com/albums/f47/55willystruck/trailer%20build/P100001.jpg

These are basic half-mask respirators with P100 filters. Or, your "pink mask". I learned about them through work, as they're required by OSHA and by our plant regulations while cutting/grinding and welding due to the plume and dust given off after a certain amount of time working. I forget the specs/standards, but the guys have to wear them. I have two of them. I got the grey one first, which is the 5500 series half-mask respirator and used it for a while. I now use that as my back-up. A short time later, I got the black one, on the left. It is the 7700 series. Both are NIOSH units, the difference in them being that the black one-the 7700 series is a little more soft, little more pliable and a lot more comfortable to wear, especially when wearing them all day long over long periods of time. They are a soft plastic type material of sorts, not sure what exactly, but are able to be totally torn down into pieces and washed in regular dish soap and water by hand. To be truly certified, you need to be "fit tested" using a sulfur stick, which I had done at work to make sure they are sealed properly. The "test" to see if they leak REALLY SUCKS! But, it's good insurance to make sure they're sealed properly and working. I think it was a sulfur stick, I could be wrong on that. The filters themselves are the "pink" P100's. They filter 100% of the particulates in the air, or all that crap you see above. Ever blow your nose after welding and have a bunch of black crap come out? I did before wearing this. I also had bloody noses and a couple major sinus surgeries. I decided my health was far more important than being seen wearing a silly pink mask. Now, after wearing this all day long, I no longer blow black crap out my nose, no longer have bloody noses, and no longer have sinus problems after cutting/grinding/welding all day. The mask themselves cost somewhere around $20-$30 and you can get any kind of screw-on cartridge for them including organics, ammonia, paints, chemicals, these P100's, etc. The P100's I have here cost between $5-$6.00 a pair for replacements and are NO comparison to the regular white dust mask you see elsewhere. These work, and work well. Oh, and they make two kinds-regular cartridge style, and the "pancake filters". These are the "pancake" style. They fit great under a welding hood! North brand 75FFP100 NIOSHP100 W177132 www.northsafety.com.

http://s44.photobucket.com/albums/f47/55willystruck/trailer%20build/P100003.jpg

Hopefully tomorrow I can get the top rail fitted and installed. If I can, I'll try and finish-weld all the uprights and top rail both. My wife will be home tomorrow with my beautiful baby girl sometime in the morning, then it's back to work Tuesday so no more trailer work for a few weeks. Hopefully I can finish the uprights before they get home. I'm about out of supplies too so time to re-stock.

more to come...

Best of Luck,

Mike

Well, it's starting to look like something. I got the top rail built, then fought with the damn thing ALL day. Right back to the slowest builder/fabricator ever as mentioned earlier. Once I got the top rail set in place, I tacked it in at the corners then went around the centers from there and adjusted as needed. Thinking I was OK, I burned in the top 2" strips along the frame. Bad idea. It pulled the whole thing in well over 5/8" at the back end where the tailgate will be-where there's no bar across to hold it steady and level like in front-just the big open gap. So, had to cut it out, cut all my 2" strips on the centers down the sides, and try again. Tried a different approach and got better, but still not good enough. Even with 4x4 bracing and ratchet straps pulling the top rail almost 5/8" over to the opposite side and that far off-center, once burned in, it snapped back with a loud twang once I loosened the straps and removed the 4x4 bracing. Ended up cutting it all out 3 differnet times and finish welding for the 4th time to get it right. Was a real PITA, but it finally worked out. Some optical illusions in the pics looking down the rails-it's all square, level, centered and even. Still have some cleanup to do and some touch-up stuff, but I'm out of materials and need to re-stock supplies.

Here's a few shots of how it sits now:

http://s44.photobucket.com/albums/f47/55willystruck/trailer%20build/toprail001.jpg

http://s44.photobucket.com/albums/f47/55willystruck/trailer%20build/toprail002.jpg

http://s44.photobucket.com/albums/f47/55willystruck/trailer%20build/toprail003.jpg

more to come...

Best of Luck,

Mike

Well crap. That's where I'm at so far, but now I've forgotten what I needed some help with. Have a damn headache now from all this computer work. Better get out to the garage for a few minutes before I have to go back to work tonight. Can at least do some cleanup work on the frame for a while. Didn't get to the steel yard today unfortunately.

Oh-couple easy things-I want the lid removeable so was thinking some sort of easy hinge setup, possibly greaseable, but I guess it doesn't have to be. Any ideas for those, or where to get and how to lock them in place for regular use, yet lift them high enough to slide them out when I want to remove it? Does that make sense? Tailgate will be the same way.

How about latches-want to lock the lid and tailgate somehow, yet also have them function as a solid latch/securing funtion. I guess they don't need to be both, but somehow needs to hold tension to hold lid/tailgate closed, and lock them both too. Want them both removeable like I said, and so that one will still function without the other ie can use tailgate without lid, etc. Don't want them tied to each other and dependant on one another. This will mean two locks at minimum, which is fine. I have the Detasco (sp?) style that I modified for my rear swingout on my Jeep, but I don't think you can lock it. It works good to secure the gate closed though. Anything similar or that works well?

Thanks,

Best of Luck,

Mike

Very nice work.

The trailer looks great, really clean and sturdy work man.
And I have to give my props to Just Differentials as well. Really well priced even when shipped up to Canada.

holy shit man, great write up, great pics, everything looks great..

:beer: :beer: :beer:

Gotta jump in and say GREAT TRAILER !!!!! Nice well thought out rig!
With my work we have the Speedglass welding hoods with supplied filtered air, helps tons with the black snot, sinus infections, etc. I used to deal with. Kind of a pain carrying around the filter deal like a fanny pack, but love the no sinus infections gig!!
Filter is in precarious position for "gas", but seems to filter that out too.:eek:
When leave the auto darkening lense off, it is tinted perfect for plasma cutting, lense up and you still have clear lense for grinding, and the filtered air seems to be cool in the summer heat.
I think they are just over 1200.00, but we bought a couple hundred hoods and got them for under 800.00 each a few years ago.

nice project... looking forward to your continued progress.

Nice start, I will watch for updates and ideas for my build!!

I've been following your thread on ROF. Nice job!

Very nice work. For the roof/lid you could use some barrel hinges with removeable hinge pins to attach the top. Pull a few pins and the top would lift and/or pivot from the front/back/side. Or get a few over-center latches from McMaster Carr, etc

I like the red Willys pickup in the driveway/background, too.

:eek:Man thats going to be a heavy mother when finnished, looking good tho.:grinpimp:

Very nice work. For the roof/lid you could use some barrel hinges with removeable hinge pins to attach the top. Pull a few pins and the top would lift and/or pivot from the front/back/side. Or get a few over-center latches from McMaster Carr, etc

I like the red Willys pickup in the driveway/background, too.


Wow, Thanks for all the props guys, sure appreciate it. Being my first time, I'm learning as I go. Not getting it done as quick as I'd like-especially since I was hoping to have used it by now, but have ran across a few hurdles, adapted and overcome, learned from them and had fun doing it. I am happy with it's progress and condition so far, so I guess that's what counts.

I'm liking the sound of this hinge setup. I'm not exactly sure I totally understand what they look like though-I THINK I follow, but may be a little ignorant of what exactly they are. Any chance you have a pic so we're on the same page? If they're what I think they are, I could probably build them easy enough right? Think I found a few latch styles that might work on McMaster already-at least a few possibilities anyway...

As to the weight, I scaled out my little 5x10 that I regularly pull behind the Jeep, at work a while back. It weighs in at 1100 lbs. empty and the Jeep handles it just fine. I regularly max it out, especially to elk camp, which is around 3500 lbs. max rating of the LJ. Little more of a workout for the Jeep fully loaded, but regardless, it tows it fine with the 4.88's and 6 speed on 33's. I'm trying pretty hard to keep this one right at that 1100lbs. empty mark. I've actually kept a few of the larger pieces shorter than planned (receiver tube, total length of 2x4 .120 wall and so far less 2x2 .120) so I'm looking better than planned up to this point. I'll be putting a little more in it on the fenders than planned as I just changed my mind again, and my tires are going to weigh more than planned now too-just ordered them yesterday!

Tires-I'll address them in another post once they actually arrive. They're SUPPOSED to be here Wednesday at the latest. I actually broke my own rule with tires as I have always supported local shops with them up to this point, but for the going rate these days, and being I only needed two right now, nobody local could even come close. I found a place called tirecrawler.com who had them for $206 a tire, instead of the $260 sale price local, plus mount/balance/tax/disposal, etc. Cheapest quoted price was $580, got them delivered for $460 from these guys, had them in stock and shipped yesterday supposedly. 255/85/16 Toyo MT's. Never bought on-line for tires, we'll see how it goes.

As for the Willys-Meet Pearl. She's a '55 Willys Truck. Basically stock down to the 5.38's with the exception of a transplanted engine which I THINK is a Ford inline 6 226 if the numbers traced right. Not positive on that, but I think it's close according to the parts guys at Napa. Swapped my LJ Rubi's factory MT/R's over to her a while back to have some decent rubber on there. Used to drive her all around the orchards and neighborhoods around here, but haven't in a while. All 6-volt still. Meant to be a project, just never enough funds to get started. Poor thing, has potential.

I'll be back to work on the trailer this Thurs/Fri I hope. Looks like work schedules changed again and I might actually get a couple days off.

Thanks again,

Best of Luck,

Mike

Look at Pull-Action Toggle Clamps and Draw Latches on McMaster Carr, there are a bunch of different sizes/styles.

Put 2 or 3 of these (or a strap style what ever fits on your design) on each side? Need to adjust clearances so you can pull pins/bolts on 3 sides and then the top will hinge on the other set.

465677

Great write up I am doing the same thing soon. Great job I really really like it .

Great write up. Keep up the good work.

Scott

Lookin real good! I like where you're going with it.

Finally broke down and bought some tires. Had a bit of a tough decision after fighting with the local shops on what they recommend vs. what I KNOW works, and ended up going against my own rules for buying local. I generally prefer to support local economy for tires, but with the disagreement on recommendations for the area here, and for the prices they wanted to charge for TWO tires, I thought I could do better searching on-line. I did by over $120 MINIMUM after tax and shipping to my door. It took some work and a fair amount of searching, but I somehow stumbled upon these guys at tire crawler.com. There site is here:

http://tirecrawler.com/

I don't know that I've heard of them before-if I had, I had forgotten. Somehow I found them just at the last minute though just before ordering elsewhere and wound up saving a bunch. They had about the cheapest price I could find-anywhere. I called them up and was pleasantly surprised when they said YES, we do have the tires in stock. I wanted 255/85/16 Toyo MT's, which seemed to be hit or miss and out of stock everywhere local and a special order item. I have to admit I did call one other place prior to finding these guys, and they too were special order. Tirecrawler had them in stock, for the cheapest price I could find. With the cheapest shipping too, I couldn't turn it down. Placed the order and was told they would be on the truck that day, and likely to me no later than Wednesday. I ordered Friday morning, received an email confirmation just a few seconds after hanging up the phone along with warranty info, tire performance, mounting and use info and tire registration link as well. Tires arrived Tuesday early afternoon! I have to say, for the short time on the phone, knowledge they had-or at least seemed to have while we spoke, fast email response and follow through with their word on fast shipping, I am thoroughly impressed with these guys. I'll definitely do business with them again when it comes time to replace my Jeep tires-which will also be Toyo MT's in 255/85/16's when my current BFG's wear out. Thought it was worth posting here as a good source for cheap tires. I'd not heard of them before, at least not that I remember, and from this experience, would definitely recommend them.

Anyway, here's how they look:

I thought they looked a little tall compared to my current 255/85/16 BFG MT's, so I rolled them out side-by-side to compare. Sure enough, they're 7/8" taller, measured from a level. Hard to tell in the pic, but it was level when I measured. This isn't exactly fair as the BFG's have around 25-30K on them right now, but that won't account for almost a 1" difference in height. My BFG's measured about 33.5" tall mounted, aired up when brand new. These Toyo's measure 33.25" UNmounted, sitting here as they are now. I suspect when mounted and with a little air in them, they may grow a little more-will be interesting to see how they measure up once I get that done. Right now, they look big.

http://s44.photobucket.com/albums/f47/55willystruck/trailer%20build/Toyos001.jpg

Here's a side shot:

http://s44.photobucket.com/albums/f47/55willystruck/trailer%20build/Toyos003.jpg

Just for giggles, I set them next to the old 245/75/16 MT/R's that I'm using as a "roller" on the axle-they're a full 4" taller, so just as I guessed, I'll gain about 2" in ground clearance once mounted. This means my tongue will be up another 2" and my swingout likely won't open. Looks like it may be time to ditch my Jeeperman rear bumper swingout and come up with something new...

http://s44.photobucket.com/albums/f47/55willystruck/trailer%20build/Toyos004.jpg

Off to pick up more steel and get back to the fab work...

more to come...

Best of Luck,

Mike

My experience has been that tires mounted lose a little height.....methinks they will be right about the same height when mounted and aired up as the other tires....

Good luck, nice work....keep up the pics...

Did some work on the lid framework and also made some shackle mounts for the rear bumper. The lid was kind of a PITA as it involved 45's again, and I HATE fitting those stupid things. Took forever measuring the trailer box frame, then measuring the lid frame pieces and trying to make sure the lid would work out to the same measurement as the box frame when it was welded together. Trying to fit the damn 45's and work them both length wise and width wise in order to get them to fit and mate up to be perfectly square and meet the same specs as the box frame was a bit of a challenge, but in the end, I finally got it. It fits, and looks like it works well. Main outter frame is 2x2 .120 wall, then the two long center beams are light wall 2x1 .083 standing on edge to save weight, with the 3 cross pieces laying flat running length wise down the middle. This should work and be strong enough for what I need up top-I don't plan on having anything up there anyway. The lid is basically to keep out the weather, and trail dust. I MAY throw a few light weight items up there later on, we'll see, but for now, nothing heavy is planned on going up there so this should be plenty stout enough once it's skinned.

Here's the main frame. You can see the shackle mounts at the bottom as well:

http://s44.photobucket.com/albums/f47/55willystruck/trailer%20build/lid001.jpg

Here's how it fits on the trailer. I didn't take any all around shots, but it's actually square to the main box all the way around. Don't know if I got lucky, or my measurements actually paid off. It actually fits! Now to get some hinges figured out and some latches to suck it down tight, then worry about some weather stripping to seal it up.

http://s44.photobucket.com/albums/f47/55willystruck/trailer%20build/lid003.jpg

Here's another shot of the shackle mounts. I actually had one of the guys at work drill them for me as I don't have a 7/8" drill bit here and sure as hell wasn't going to buy one just for this. They're made from 1"x2" solid bar stock and I had a heck of a time rounding down the edges and getting the scale off. Once I THOUGHT I had them good enough and after taking the pics, I realized I didn't get the scale off where they'll be welded on the front side of the bumper. I'm welding them all the way through the bumper, front and back and they're long enough to stick out the back side roughly 1/2" if need be. I can adjust length as needed depending on how much I want sticking out the front and compare with the receiver. The receiver sticks out 3.25", so I'll likely tuck these back just a hair from that measurement. Not sure on exact placement just yet, as I'll have the recessed STT LED's on the outside of them, then the recessed backup LED's mounted inboard of them. These will also be somewhat of a protection for the LED's against backing into things and breaking the lenses as well. I hope anyway. They aren't perfectly even, and took some time to make, but saved the $30 plus $10 in shipping you'd pay to order them. Plus ordering takes the fun out of doing it yourself. Besides, these add a little character to the trailer. As if it needed it... :D

http://s44.photobucket.com/albums/f47/55willystruck/trailer%20build/lid002.jpg

That's it for today. Think I'm going to mount the tires temporarily so I can start the fender work and decide exactly what I want to do with the wheels for now, just to get a little further along on the build. If I can get the fenders done sometime in the not too distant future, it won't be too long after that I can start thinking about some sheet material.

more to come...

Best of Luck,

Mike

Looks very nice. I outfitted my trailer with a few lights from www.ledtrailerlights.com too.

Subscribed.

Got the tires mounted this morning so I tossed the axle under it and mounted them so I can start working on fenders. I don't know what I was thinking with the overall size of this in all reality. It's as big as I planned on it being, but you really have no idea how BIG something is until it's life-size and sitting in front of you. This beast sits at 65 1/4" tall at the top of the lid without the sheeting. Considering I'm 5'10", it's just under 5" shorter than me! My wife about had a heart attack when she saw it sitting in the garage. She's happy with it's size overall and thinks it will work great for our camping and useage, but doesn't really know what to think overall of it's sheer mass. She just laughed when I said I still need to add the fenders, which will stick out 13" off the sides. She does like the idea that they'll serve as both a platform and a step to work from and get things in/out of. So far, there's just over 27 1/4" clearance at the bottom of the frame. The Toyo's did gain a tiny bit of height and are every bit of 33.5" tall mounted and aired up. They're now over 1.25" bigger than my current BFG's on the Jeep. While I had them balanced, I also had a 3/4 sipe done, which runs roughly out to the center of the outter lugs. I've had good luck doing it this way in the past, so figured it should work well on the Toyos too. Have a family gathering to attend this afternoon, so no more work for today. Maybe start work on fenders tomorrow. I really hope I don't have to relocate the spring hangars-it feels balanced pretty well now the way it sits, but I can easily see it getting tongue heavy with a box up front and the rest of the sheeting still needing to be added. Oh, and the Jeeperman DEFINITELY has to go.

http://s44.photobucket.com/albums/f47/55willystruck/trailer%20build/beast001.jpg

http://s44.photobucket.com/albums/f47/55willystruck/trailer%20build/beast002.jpg

more to come...

Best of Luck,

Mike

updates, i like:D.

Been a while since I posted any updates. I have some steel work done, but will get to that later. For now, update on the new lights...

Wanted to give a special shout out to Josh, at Skinny Pedal. Been struggling for a while with the idea of how to illuminate the trailer at night for unloading when up at the ranch. We normally pull in late at night when it's pitch black out so unloading by lantern is tough to say the least. When Josh posted up with his new "Mini-Me" Rock Lights, I knew EXACTLY what I was going to do to solve the problem-those Mini-Me's would be PERFECT for Lid lights to illuminate the trailer!!! No more lanter troubles! Next order of business was figuring out what to do about license plate lights as I didn't like any on the market that I'd seen to date. Mention word about that and Josh said well, take a look at these and see what you think. Bingo! Exactly what I needed!!! I'll take 3. We discussed a few other ideas, I'm an IDIOT at wiring and Josh had everything I needed all boxed up and shipped out on it's way. Oh-forgot to mention one other item-needed a set of switches to make everything go. Ended up with a CarlingSwitch double switch bank as well. On with the pics!!!

Here's a shot of the whole works. 3 Mini-Me's, 3 license plate LED's, a pair of in-line fuse's, a 4 block fuse bank, some wire, the carlingswitch, and mounts for the mini-mes. Think that covers the main parts. There will be 2 Mine-Me's in the main box lid and 1 in the tool box lid on the nose. 1 license plate LED on this trailer and 1 on each of two other trailers:
http://s44.photobucket.com/albums/f47/55willystruck/trailer%20build/minimes001.jpg

Here's a shot of the Carlingswitch. It's submersible for 30 minutes if I remember right, so it should work great on my trailer in the weather. I'll mount it somewhere that it won't see the harsh weather but still, wanted it somewhat protected so this should work good. One green and one red to distinguish between the trailer lid lights and the tool box lights on the nose:
http://s44.photobucket.com/albums/f47/55willystruck/trailer%20build/minimes002.jpg

I can't get over how small these Mini-Me's are-here's one light (minus the mounting bracket which doesn't take up very much room either), 4 LED's inside with great light output. I'll be getting a full set of these for the Jeep eventually:
http://s44.photobucket.com/albums/f47/55willystruck/trailer%20build/minimes003.jpg

Here's a shot at how thin they are. I got white, but Josh has a whole host of other colors including infrared I believe to suit your specific needs or color requirements:
http://s44.photobucket.com/albums/f47/55willystruck/trailer%20build/minimes004.jpg

Here's a shot at the license plate LED's-these little guys are bright too! I hooked them up to a 9-volt battery to test and was surprised at how bright they are. They'll work great on the trailers for relocating my license plates to another location so I stop tearing them up and will still be illuminated with these little guys:
http://s44.photobucket.com/albums/f47/55willystruck/trailer%20build/minimes005.jpg

Anyway, that's what I've got so far. Once I get the trailer done, I'll be back with some shots of the lights in action and lit up at night. These will work GREAT in use no doubt and are perfect for my application here, as well as their other rock light application. Josh was EXCELLENT to work with, highly recommend him if you need some rock lights for your rig or anything else wiring related. Find him at SkinnyPedal here:

http://www.skinnypedal.net/

more to come...

Best of Luck,

Mike

Needs a diagonal member on the sides and one at the front. Other than that, it looks awfully beefy for such a small trailer. If you had put a heavier axle under it you could use it for hauling cement.

nice man, keep us updated

Needs a diagonal member on the sides and one at the front. Other than that, it looks awfully beefy for such a small trailer. If you had put a heavier axle under it you could use it for hauling cement.

Not sure exactly where you're talking about, but just wait till I get a few more pics posted. I think the die-hard trailer guys will puke when they see what I've done. Others-not so sure about, may get a lot of shit for it. I THINK it will address what you're talking about with my fenders...:smokin:

Best of Luck,

Mike

Looking at the front,, he's talking about going from the top left to the bottom right or vice verse. It keep's it square and from " racking " should it get hit or from flexing, one down the side's as well. Not sure if you " really " need it but for as tall as the side are, it couldn't hurt.

Any kind of cost on it thus far minus the light's and tire's ? look's good and beefy so far. :beer:

Looking at the front,, he's talking about going from the top left to the bottom right or vice verse. It keep's it square and from " racking " should it get hit or from flexing, one down the side's as well. Not sure if you " really " need it but for as tall as the side are, it couldn't hurt.

Any kind of cost on it thus far minus the light's and tire's ? look's good and beefy so far. :beer:

Yeah, that's what I thought he meant. Like I said, just hang tight a bit for more updates. I have a few things yet to come. My 5x10 weighs in at 1100lbs. and I'm hoping to keep this somewhere close to that when it's done. If my calculations are correct-and by my steel weights, they are right on so far, it should be close. Only thing is, I've changed my plans a bit and added a few "extras" that I didn't account for so those things added a bit more than I originally planned on. Also, my sheet steel didn't come in the widths I wanted, so I had to improvise there. If I'm within a couple hundred when I'm done, I'll be OK I think. I regularly pull the loaded capacity of the LJ, which is 3500 and with my 4.88's, it handles it fine, so with what I'll do with this trailer, I'm more interested in it taking abuse off-road. I HOPE it handles that OK. My 5x10 is NOT up to that task as I proved once again while elk hunting. :shaking:

more to come-though likely after the holidays...

Best of Luck,

Mike

Very nice work.

I bought a bunch of stuff from www.ledtrailerlights.com too and plan to buy more for one of my other trailers.

Watching this.. What are the demensions? Will it hold an ATV with the lid on and closed?

I regularly carry my modified and lifted '00 AC 500 Auto on the 5x10, with gear so that was the one chore this trailer did NOT need to handle. Our 14k tandem will carry both 'Cats and the Prowler, among everything else we need, or if that doesn't do it, the big goose will. My 'Cat will fit width-wise, but as I have it up at the ranch right now, I don't recall the overall length of the quad. I'm going to say NO, it won't fit inside with the tailgate UP. With it down, yes, no problem. Definitely not with the lid ON. That's why the lid and tailgate are both removeable though-to handle larger loads when needed.

Interior dimensions are 50" wide x 72" long and 32" deep INSIDE with tailgate UP. Lid sits on top of the rail so there's a full 32". With the way I load my 5x10 for elk hunting with the AC, I needed the depth of the trailer to handle most of my gear inside without getting it wet in the rain/snow. With my baby girl going camping now, I don't want any of her stuff getting soaked or ruined so hopefully this will do the trick-the blue tarp days are over with this setup. I hope anyway.

I'm HOPING to get some work done later this week if all goes well and get some more pics up. Been FAR too long since I've last touched it.

Best of Luck,

Mike

Well, damn.

I have a lot of crap to take back and forth to the lease already, and am looking at getting an ATV this year, the Jeep is kinda a PITA getting through the woods and creek bottoms. My little 4x6 that I have now is uncovered and it takes a lot of straps to make sure everything is secured, a trailer like this may be just the ticket. Not to mention I could see putting some cross bars on top and carrying the kayak up there..

I will use thiner wall stuff to keep the weight down as much as possible, but I'd still like to find a way to carry my ice chests, canvas tent, tent frame, camping gear and qaud with my TJ.

What do you think about putting the ATV ON TOP of the trailer? I know I've seen a pop-up with provisions to park an ATV up there, maybe that would be a good option here too. I only need to carry one...

I thought about carrying one of my quads with my Jeep for a while before building this, but with my wife, our baby, the dog and my boy who visits a couple times a year-one quad just wouldn't be enough for us, so that is why I opted NOT to make it fit.

IF I was going to make it fit inside, it would have been easy to do-just a little longer, and a little taller inside dimensions. I don't remember my AC's exact exterior dimensions-I want to say it was around 80-84" or somewhere in that range??? I'm 72" inside with the tailgate up-would have been no biggie to get that extra foot or whatever it needed with the tailgate up. Also, with the lid-I think my 'Cat is somewhere around 40-44" tall IF I remember right. Again, not a huge deal to get it up that much taller on the sides to totally enclose the machine. If I did that though, I'd have gone lighter on the material selection.

As to mounting the 'Cat on top-it is DEFINITELY do-able. I see trucks all the time with two quads mounted on top over-hanging on those aluminum racks they have, which really doesn't look very safe to me-stability wise-but I guess it seems to work fine. As tall as my trailer is, it would be pretty dang top-heavy and I would NOT want to tow it off-road. If I planned on that, I'd build it lower to the ground, shorter side-walls on the box and overall lower profile to off-set the weight up top better. Maybe it won't be a problem, I don't know-but I will say this-I was thinking of tossing mine up there just to see how it looks, how the trailer handles the weight up there just get a feel for what it would take to put one up there. I might build another similar to this later on, but lower, lighter and smaller with ATV's in mind. We'll see.

One thing to consider though is the overall size of your machine. Not sure what year you have-my '00 Arctic Cat 500 is modified and runs 27"-almost 28" Bi/Tri Claws with winch, bumpers, lights, mortar box, large rack bag, tons of recovery gear-it's my work horse for fencing, working cows, timber, etc. Put my buddies newer model Arcit Cat-maybe '08 or '09 with a much bigger engine in it-I forget what size, it's well over 700cc now, but that thing dwarfs my '00 500. His is on 26" stock tires and is bone stock, but overall is absolutely massive in comparison and bigger all the way around-wider, longer, massively taller. Don't know the weight difference either. No way his would fit even close in my current trailer build. Something to consider.

edit-up until now, I've been using my 5x10 and will continue to do so for hauling my 'Cat. I'll have to dig around and see if I have any pics of an elk hunting trip as I have the 'Cat on the trailer, with all my elk hunting gear-12x14 wall tent with aluminum frame, outfitter wood stove, cook stove, large white oversized cooler along with regular size cooler, gear and food for two weeks, etc. It's loaded down with tons of straps and stuff packed under, over and all around the 'Cat but it works. Trouble is I HATE tarping crap and getting rained on and no matter how well you strap it down, that damn tarp always finds a way to work loose somewhere after hours on the road, and something gets wet. With my baby girl now, I can't have ANY of her things getting wet or ruined by the weather. No more tarps for me. I had built a rack on my 5x10 and carried both of our 'Cats up top side-ways on it, with gear underneath, which worked great for a while. Trouble is, it's too low to the ground to pull off-road over rough terrain. Works great on the highway and over gravel roads though. -All behind my Jeep to by the way.

Best of Luck,

Mike

Awesome info, thanks.

If you could, let me know what you find out about putting the ATV up on the trailer.

I think what I may do is go a tad thinner on materials and go for a 24" inside height. If the ATV can go above the trailer than all that would be inside of it is the other gear and the kid's toys. As long as my big ice chest fits I'm happy.

As for it being on top of the trailer - I think you could fab up one of those "Louisiana Guard Dog" ATV tie downs (http://www.basspro.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/Product_10151_-1_10001_49321_999040012_425000000_999040012_425-17-0) and some straps to compress the suspension and it could be pretty "safe". I wouldn't be towing it through anything too rough.

Thanks for the info, keep us updated!!

Any updates on the trailer build? I've been following this for a while and am just curious how the finished product looks. I'm thinking about doing something very similar. Very nice build!

Unfortunately, yes and no. The trailer looks different than the last updated pic here as I do have the main fender frames on-for the most part, but that's about it. I haven't been able to touch it due to my work schedule unfortunatley. Just did 23 days strait with a part day break on one day in between there two weeks ago. Tonight was my last night, I'm on vacation till the 4th so I HOPE to get some work done in the next few days in between the holidays if family permits.

I just got new steel for a new rear bumper. Got the Rokmen builders kit that I'll be modifiying a bit to suit my needs. The holes were pre-cut so it will save me some time there. Going to do the Jeep bumper first as I need it finalized so I can determine my final stinger size for the trailer receiver. Right now, the swingout won't open on the current bumper, so I'm pulling the Jeeperman swingout/jerrycan rack/co2 carrier and going to sell it to help fund the beadlocks I need. Once the new bumper is done, I can settle on the stinger size as I'll likely move the location a bit, then get back on the trailer. Should be able to finish fender framework, then get to more electrical routing framework stuff and then on to sheeting it-I HOPE anyway... Oh, found a new backup light I liked better so I will be picking up a new LED backup for both the Jeep and the trailer to match. 45 LED version, brighter, whiter, little nicer than the one I have linked above, and flat faced which is what I like best about the new one. This current one is rounded/domed out a bit and I've been affraid I may back into something and damage the lens. Doug has a new offering for backups so I'm going to go with the new design-they're pretty cool, and should work even better.

Will be back with more updates soon-hopefully next week. Need to get the exhaust on the Jeep finished Monday, then on to the rest of this stuff. Always something...

Best of Luck,

Mike

what you pay for those mini 4 led lights? can you post the link also?

what you pay for those mini 4 led lights? can you post the link also?

Sorry about that, I just realized I posted the link to his home page and not the actual lights. Here's the link to the actual mini-me's:

http://www.skinnypedal.net/index_files/minime.htm

I'm not sure what I paid for the lights themselves. I got a bunch of things and the per-each price is different than the kit price. He'll do singles as well as a 6 pack or 8 pack for rock lights for the Jeep, or whatever else you want or need. He has tons of stuff not listed on the site too-need something, just ask and he can hook you up. Switches, relays, wire, you name it.

The mini-me's have a "bigger brother" too if you will that are a little larger, called the "Eon" which is here:

http://www.skinnypedal.net/index_files/Eon.htm

They are almost three times wider though at 3" across. I wanted the smallest profile I could get though for my application so I went with the mini-me's.

Hope that helps. Need to get on to the bumper work, then back to the trailer!:D

Best of Luck,

Mike

May I ask why you put brakes on this trailer? Seems like an awful little trailer to have brakes on it. Just because your going to be towing it behind a jeep with oversize tires?

Sure-ask away-My tow rig is an '05 LJ Rubicon mildly built on 3" springs running 255/85's -true 33's. I run Currie arms with JJ's throughout, including the front housing kit, swayloc front/anti-rock rear with plans to outboard the rears soon, then do something like a poly front conversion to the front towers to increase uptravel and remove some bumpstop due to shock length. With my cage and additional armor, the rig is heavy at around 5000 pound EMPTY. Add my gear, then hook a trailer up and I'm demanding a lot from a DD Jeep that goes and does everything. I'm working on losing some weight now in a few areas. While it pulls it fine, braking was an area that needed addressed immediately. I did the Vanco brake upgrade as one of the test mules back in '05/'06 when the first test kits came out and am still running the original 15" kit with great results. Pulling a fully loaded trailer though through rough terrain, I've found many places where the ability to lock the trailer brakes-or apply pressure to them at least, will help hold the trailer on an obstacle, or prevent it from slipping off a little easier-kind of prevents "pushing" you around, even if you're locked up and holding. Hard to explain, but having a steep, off-camber downhill with the trailer jackknifed basically, and NO brakes, the trailer will tend to push the back of the Jeep down off, which can be a detriment. The ability to brake the trailer axles in this scenario is priceless. Having the ability to brake the trailer axle will be a big benefit in many areas of-road, not to mention on the road too. Granted it's more work for the driver, but again, so is towing a trailer in the first place off-road. For normal driving around town and on the highway it's fine, but even still, brakes on a trailer-little as this one may be-are an added benefit I didn't want to live without. My 5x10 does NOT have brakes and I've been meaning to add them for a while now. Once I finish this build, I plan on tearing that one down and redoing it, complete with LED's and new brakes of course. Plus, having the trailer help slow you down in traffic is easier on the Jeep too.

Best of Luck,

Mike

Any recent pictures?
It's been a month already!! :flipoff2:

I have really enjoyed reading the info so far, thanks for all the detail.
And I agree about putting brakes on the trailer, other than the specific instances you mentioned, it just prevents over-use on your vehicles brakes.

As a matter of fact, I do have a few updates on the trailer-actual steel work done...



BUT-I ain't ready to post the pics just yet! :flipoff2:

What I have likely won't make sense till I get a little more done. Hopefully later this week I can get what I need to get some real updates. I do have a couple days off next week that I should be able to dedicate at least ONE full day to the trailer-I HOPE anyway so I should be able to get something accomplished very soon and have some REAL updates by then.

For now, here's some teaser shots of the bumper work to tide you over till then:

I couldn't take it anymore so I ditched that damned Jeeperman setup once and for all. Once I pulled it, I found my factory rear crossmember was badly tweaked/warped on the passenger side where the swingout was mounted. Not sure if this is from the swingout itself with all the weight located off that single hinge point, or from towing. As the driver side was fine, I'm inclined to believe it's from the swingout. I had many issues with the setup itself and had modified it to make it better overall and address the issues, and they helped, but overall, I will not run a swingout bumper again no matter what the design. It did the job for what I needed for the time being, but I've moved on. I'll likely change from this setup as eventually I'll re-work the back end entirely at some point to something totally different for more wheeling only use, but as my rig is dual-purpose DD/wheeling and towing, this setup will work for now.

This started out as a Rokmen builders kit as it was cheap, a great kit and allows you to do whatever you want with the bumper itself, but I ended up ditching a few of their parts and using my own, as well as enlarging the hole in the back side to center it properly so the receiver actually came out strait since the holes were off by over 1/8". Having the holes already cut really saved a lot of time even though the main receiver was off a bit-didn't take much to adjust it. Used TRUE receiver tube as well, then made some gussets for the back side for more weld strength on the receiver itself. Set some LED's in it as well and left room for some STT's later if need be-worried that I may destroy my current factory tail lights and need to relocate them to the bumper later on perhaps. I tow a lot so I needed it to do that, with the intentions of pulling this trailer a lot behind it. My wife wanted a flat/level platform to help get our baby into the back as she uses the bumper to rest her knee on to get in/out from the back of the Jeep-for now anyway.

I'm still not sure what to do about carrying my spare. Thinking of building a setup off the factory mount to carry it on the gate so everything opens with one hand. If that doesn't work, I MAY build something off my corner armor. Whatever I do, it will NOT be mounted to the bumper EVER again.

On the LED's, I found Doug at ledtrailerlights.com had a new style backup. I had backups already for my trailer, but they've been bugging me all this time as they were rounded a bit, and not totally flat. My STT's are flat and I really liked that about them, among other things. This new style WAS totally flat, which I really wanted. On top of that, they were 45 LED, which was more than the 27 I think I had, so I THOUGHT they might be brighter. Seemed cool enough, but they were flat and that is what I really wanted so I talked to Doug and ordered up two sets-one for the trailer to replace what I already had, and a matching set for the Jeep bumper. That way everything matches and would look nice and neat when done. :smokin:

Here's the link to the lights:

http://ledtrailerlights.com/other/k-L16-0027-oval-backup.htm

Once they arrived, these LED's are WAY better than I had expected. The pics on his page do NOT do them justice. Very nice units overall and I'm very pleased I swapped to these instead. Here they are loose with harness's:

http://s44.photobucket.com/albums/f47/55willystruck/backupLEDsbumper001.jpg

http://s44.photobucket.com/albums/f47/55willystruck/backupLEDsbumper002.jpg

Here's a couple finished shots of the bumper:

http://s44.photobucket.com/albums/f47/55willystruck/backupLEDsbumper005.jpg

http://s44.photobucket.com/albums/f47/55willystruck/backupLEDsbumper007.jpg

http://s44.photobucket.com/albums/f47/55willystruck/LEDbackupbumpers004.jpg

So far, the bumper and lights are working GREAT. Better than expected. I'll need a new hitch for my trailer, but needed one anyway for my LNR for the new trailer, and as I changed suspension recently, I need a new one anyway for my 5x10 too. No biggie, will get those soon enough.

Should have trailer updates very soon...

Best of Luck,

Mike

Hey Mike loving the build I just started my 1st trailer project, I do have a question though what size is that reciever tube and the wall thickness you used?

I'm going with .120 2x4 frame with .090 wall 2x2" cross supports for the floor. I plan on using the receiver tube as you did for strength and a bike rack in the back, I'm not planning on carrying much wieght other than std camping gear. My box measures 4' x 2'8" the side walls I'm shooting for about 21" as you said once its all together I'll see how tall it sits.

if it turns out a little small for the TJ I'll keep it for the Zuk and build a slightly bigger one for the TJ ( 5' box length ).

And post up a pick already!

Will

What I used is "true" receiver tube, not standard 2 1/2" 1/4" wall that most folks use. Not sure exact measurements on this stuff-I'll have to check. It has exact 2" ID and is seamless. It's spendy stuff though at around $13 a foot if you pay full retail for it. Steel prices vary by the day and I think that was the going rate around the time I got it. Could be more or less now. True receiver tube has a slightly more rounded/radius to the corners though so SOME stingers won't fit when you try to slide them in-without taking a grinder and taking a little off each corner. Most are made from regular 2x2 square tube and need the corners radiused a bit to fit properly. My Lock-N-Roll hitch uses a different receiver tube stinger type material-not sure what to call it, and it's an exact match with a very solid, secure fit-proper, the way it should be. I have another stinger as well that fits just like this of a different brand-very well made and rated heavier that I tow my 14K tandem with that also fits perfect. The cheaper ones are square and DON'T fit without a little clearance work.

The issue with regular 2 1/2" 1/4" wall that most folks use when you tow over rough road or off-road is that fresh built, it has slop in it with a regular 2" stinger. Even brand new, all of mine had well over 1/16" slop and some nearly 1/8" slop depending on who made it in the receiver. Tow that over rough road for thousands of miles and that leads to enlarging the hole, lots of noise, banging, rough ride and an all around headache I got sick and tired of dealing with. Works fine on the street, most folks have done it forever and have no issue at all with it, but for what I do, I'm sick of it and wanted to do it right, so I used the real stuff.

As for pics-I have a few but haven't had time to load them. I'm hitting the garage here shortly to do a little more fender work and HOPE to get a little more progress by the end of the day. May have to go look at a new place today or possibly tomorrow depending on when I can see it so that will take a few hours and the in-laws are coming... Don't have much, but hope to get something up soon.

Best of Luck,

Mike

thanks for the reply Mike, think I'll order the Lock-N-Roll hitch soon before I attempt to purchase the reciever tube. I dont want to have the same problem with wash board roads down the road.

Lots of boxing tubes into these and it wouldn't make sense till they were mostly together, so here they are. Still not done with them, but you get the idea.

Well after several months of nothing to update, I have a LITTLE progress. Not a lot to show, but I guess something is better than nothing. I thought long and hard about fenders and what to do with them. Got sick and tired of the typical trailer fender getting beat up and trashed so I wanted something that would be stout enough to handle the abuse I put my trailers through. Hopefully these will work. Again, this is not your typical trailer, so these are not your typical fenders either. Still not finished, have a lot of welding to go, but figured I better get something up as it's been months now. You can see the basic outline of what is happening and have the general idea of what is going on, so hopefully this makes sense.

This first pic is how it sits overall:
http://s44.photobucket.com/albums/f47/55willystruck/trailer%20build/fenderwork001.jpg

In this pic you can kind of see the DOM tube inserted into the frame on each side. This will be where my electrical and eventually water lines run through, keeping them up and out of the way and preventing them from being run under the trailer. Main lines will go through there. Electrical down the driver side, water down the passenger side. It's 1.75 .120 DOM I had left over from my cage project so I'll have room for other stuff too if need be. Still need to drill the holes and run the tube (smaller of course) for the main lines going out to the LED markers. As the main receiver tube sits 3/4" below the main frame, I also brought up the center line to sit level with the deck when sheet is laid. Still need to cap the ends. Left space in front and behind to run lines over the top of the main tube:
http://s44.photobucket.com/albums/f47/55willystruck/trailer%20build/fenderwork002.jpg

Here's a long shot of the fender overall. If it looks a little crooked, it's an illusion. I off-set the light boxes to account for the distance the LED grommets stick out. They're flush mount LED's and for as many trailer lights as I've broke on my other trailers, I figured I'd build these with not only recessed lights, but recessed boxes too, to account for the grommet. So, the "light box" is set back 5/8" behind the main fender line both at the front, and the back of the main fender. I still have triangular beams to add in so the idea is that when I bash this into a tree, rock, stump or other trail debris, I am HOPING that the main fender line will deflect the trailer off and around the LED light box and the LED will pass just behind the obstacle, leaving the LED in-tact and damage free. That's the idea anyway-we'll see how it works when it's done. Here's what I mean:
http://s44.photobucket.com/albums/f47/55willystruck/trailer%20build/fenderwork003.jpg

Here's a shot of the LED box-have not yet cut the mounting hole out. Electrical lines will be run through the tube. Still need to drill holes through the tube and burn in the other smaller tube inside the main frame leading to the fender tubes at all corners:
http://s44.photobucket.com/albums/f47/55willystruck/trailer%20build/fenderwork004.jpg

Shot from behind-still have a lot of welding and cleanup work to do-it will all be cleaned up before sheet is laid:
http://s44.photobucket.com/albums/f47/55willystruck/trailer%20build/fenderwork005.jpg

Shot from the other side:
http://s44.photobucket.com/albums/f47/55willystruck/trailer%20build/fenderwork006.jpg

Seems simple enough, but a lot of time and work has gone into those damn things and I'm not even done with them yet. Still have triangular tubes to add in front/rear and off the horizontal as well up front, and more welding on them to finish them. Not far from sheeting it though, so it's getting closer. Like I said, not a lot to report, but some progress none the less.

more to come...

Best of Luck,

Mike

Looks great! Also looks like it it starting to get heavy :grinpimp:

Any idea how much it will weigh empty when done?

Thanks man! Actually I'm shooting for around 1200lbs. empty. I'm doing better than expected so far as I was able to save in a few places I wasn't expecting and had a little less in a few areas than I planned for, but I had to go a little heavier on lid and fender sheet than planned due to sizing limitations, so it may be a wash. I don't know what line-x, jack, electrical and things of that nature weigh so I may be a bit over. Either way, I should be able to max out my LJ no problem at all. If it does fine when done, I MAY swap in a 5000lbs. axle for kicks-for bigger loads behind other trucks-we'll see when it's done...:smokin:

Best of Luck,

Mike

Hey!!!!

Updates!!

:D

Sorry, haven't been able to touch the trailer since last update. Bought a new house-with a shop! :D Been spending every minute not at work trying to get ours in top shape to sell quick-hopefully anyway. I HOPE to get some work on the trailer this afternoon/tomorrow. We'll see how it goes-have a showing today so I'm kicked out for most of the day. Hope to have updates soon-with any luck, I HOPE to at least be able to haul stuff in it to the new place by the end of the month.

Best of Luck,

Mike

I like it man, very clean and quality work. You should sell these.

Holy hell...and I thought the 5x10 utility trailer I just finished building (4"x4.5# channel for frame and front/rear crossmembers, 2x2x3/16 angle for others on 24" centers) was overbuilt! Looks like quality work, but that thing is gonna be HEAVY! I'm also curious to see the final empty weight, 1200 seems like it's going to be a little tricky after it's all said and done. Work looks top notch though.

Sorry for lack of updates. Have moved most everything to new house but new shop is under-powered. Still working out of old garage till PUD can upgrade new house to 400amp and send 200amp to new shop. No Internet/tv at new place yet-again waiting on PUD for fiber. Trailer has full sheet on entire box and fenders. Plan to sheet lid tomorrow and start rear doors maybe. Need to find suitable tongue box so I can match angles for tree deflectors up front. Haven't found one in town I like yet-still looking. Will update new pics from old house soon. iPhone is too hard for that.

Best of luck,

Mike

Well it's been a while since the last update, figured it was time before I get too far behind with pics. Still no internet/computer at new place so it's tough getting things loaded here.

So I got some new tools for the shop. With them, I've made some much faster progress with cutting things. Here they be:

http://s44.photobucket.com/albums/f47/55willystruck/trailer%20build/NashTrailer001.jpg

And

http://s44.photobucket.com/albums/f47/55willystruck/trailer%20build/bullbarnearsheet005.jpg

So with them, I got a little more accomplished. Still not anywhere near finished, but getting closer. Here's some more fender work and recovery points burned in:

http://s44.photobucket.com/albums/f47/55willystruck/trailer%20build/bullbarnearsheet009.jpg

http://s44.photobucket.com/albums/f47/55willystruck/trailer%20build/bullbarnearsheet007.jpg

http://s44.photobucket.com/albums/f47/55willystruck/trailer%20build/bullbarnearsheet013.jpg

http://s44.photobucket.com/albums/f47/55willystruck/trailer%20build/bullbarnearsheet006.jpg

http://s44.photobucket.com/albums/f47/55willystruck/trailer%20build/bullbarnearsheet011.jpg

Oh and hinges for lid and back gate are 6" greaseable:

http://s44.photobucket.com/albums/f47/55willystruck/trailer%20build/bullbarnearsheet012.jpg

More to come...

Best of Luck,

Mike

Starting the sheeting:

http://s44.photobucket.com/albums/f47/55willystruck/trailer%20build/Sheeting001.jpg

http://s44.photobucket.com/albums/f47/55willystruck/trailer%20build/Sheeting003.jpg

http://s44.photobucket.com/albums/f47/55willystruck/trailer%20build/Sheeting005.jpg

http://s44.photobucket.com/albums/f47/55willystruck/trailer%20build/Sheeting004.jpg

http://s44.photobucket.com/albums/f47/55willystruck/trailer%20build/Sheeting002.jpg

Out of time for today. Need to get back to hauling dirt to the new place. Oh and yes, I have more than this done on the trailer...

Best of Luck,

Mike

Here's a few more with fender sheet. At this point, it's basically a functioning, useable trailer-minus a few "niceties" yet to come...

http://s44.photobucket.com/albums/f47/55willystruck/trailer%20build/fendersheet001.jpg

http://s44.photobucket.com/albums/f47/55willystruck/trailer%20build/fendersheet002.jpg

http://s44.photobucket.com/albums/f47/55willystruck/trailer%20build/fendersheet003.jpg

more to come...

Best of Luck,

Mike

Looks good, thanks for the pics. What are you going to use the space above the fenders for? Looks like a good spot for external storage (gas cans, etc). Nice build!

Awesome job, looks great!

updates? sick build!

Sorry, done a few other things but no pics as of late. I've moved into a new place with a new shop BUT only 60amp service out there at the new place... I NEED to sell the other house soon for obvious reasons-two mortgage payments SUCKS ASS! But once I do, I can upgrade the new house to 400amp and send 200amp to the new shop, then get the welder, plasma/compressor and everything else going again. Doing odds and ends out of the other place as I'm there about every day checking things and keeping the place looking good. Man I hope it sells soon-this is getting old...:rolleyes:

Once I find a good trailer tongue box, I can get the front end done on the trailer then start wrapping everything else up. I THINK I like the looks of the Delta Pro box the best, but can't afford to get one till the other house sells-too big of a gamble to be spending too much cash before that happens. Besides, just put in a nice garden for the wife/baby and a gamble on a bunch of blueberries as well, among other standard garden things.

Will update as soon as possible. Thanks for the kind words. Was kinda worried most folks would be put off by the massive overkill on this thing. Good to know there's at least a few can tolerate it! :smokin:

Best of Luck,

Mike

Very cool build. What gauge sheeting is that?


Thanks

Going to bump this for a bit to ask for some ideas. We've moved and are settled for the most part. Still don't have adequate power in the new shop, but enough to get by at this point. Not ready to post any real pics yet as about the only things I have at this point new are shots of the trailer in tow to it's new home. Have to say it towed beautifully behind the Jeep, handled great-better than expected actually.

Here's the "but"... Started working on the lid. Have a bunch of time into it now and basically just added the sheet to the main frame and went to secure it on. After seeing and realizing how big this really is, I have no real need for a hinged lid at this point so I'll fully weld something down. Here's the problem-again, keep in mind I'm learning having never done this before-I warped the shit out of the sheet steel in many different ways. Looks like hell and I'm not thrilled with even mounting the damn thing. It's warped in several areas, but I COULD with the use of straps, clamps and jacks-straiten the frame enough to get a good weld around the entire lid and weld the entire thing to the trailer, then eliminate the hinges entirely -have a fully boxed unit.

With that in mind, would you suggest doing just that, or cutting the current lid up and just welding in some cross beams at the top edge of the trailer rails and -making another attempt at sheet here-getting another solid sheet to sit down on top of that? Any ideas? Was really hoping to kick this in the ass and get it done in a few weeks for elk hunting, but with this lid issue, likely not going to happen that fast.

Also, any tips for sheet work? It is/was 16 guage if I remember right on the lid. I started working it down tacking in different areas on the top side, then flipped it over and started laying a couple inches of bead here and there working all around the thing. Started going pretty good and working OK-till I got to the middle where I had some 1/4"+ gaps down the centerline. Looks like hell, lesson learned but not sure best way to fix. Any thoughts?

Thanks much,

Best of Luck,

Mike

The issue with regular 2 1/2" 1/4" wall that most folks use when you tow over rough road or off-road is that fresh built, it has slop in it with a regular 2" stinger. Even brand new, all of mine had well over 1/16" slop and some nearly 1/8" slop depending on who made it in the receiver. Tow that over rough road for thousands of miles and that leads to enlarging the hole, lots of noise, banging, rough ride and an all around headache I got sick and tired of dealing with. Works fine on the street, most folks have done it forever and have no issue at all with it, but for what I do, I'm sick of it and wanted to do it right, so I used the real stuff.


I've always drilled a hole at the 12 o'clock and either the 3 or 9 o'clock positions on the receiver tube. Tack-weld a nut over the hole and use a bolt to hold the receiver down and to the side to eliminate slop and noise.

It also doubles as a "lock", as no one can just pull the pin and steal it. :)

I've always drilled a hole at the 12 o'clock and either the 3 or 9 o'clock positions on the receiver tube. Tack-weld a nut over the hole and use a bolt to hold the receiver down and to the side to eliminate slop and noise.

It also doubles as a "lock", as no one can just pull the pin and steal it. :)

Same here but I tap the receiver tube instead of weld a nut. Either way works great.

for the warping problem: you don't need full beads. most stuff like this is just spot welded. since i can't remember/figure out what you top looks like exactly i would say lay the sheet over the frame. mark and drill holes every 4 inches in the sheet where it lays over the frame. spot weld the sheet on. if it warping you are welding too hot.

Clamp the lid down to the frame then heat it with a torch. Try to heat it evenly as possible and let it cool down completely before unclamping it. You don't need it to all be red hot, just hot enough to allow it to anneal some and soften up. That's about the only thing I can say to do other than trying to weld the whole thing down. I think you'd hate having it solid like that, or at least not having the ability to open it if needed.....

for the warping problem: you don't need full beads. most stuff like this is just spot welded. since i can't remember/figure out what you top looks like exactly i would say lay the sheet over the frame. mark and drill holes every 4 inches in the sheet where it lays over the frame. spot weld the sheet on. if it warping you are welding too hot.

Great info-Thanks! Never thought of that and see how it could work very well. Think I'll try and cut the current sheet off and try this method-may take a little more time though and won't be ready for elk season in a couple weeks, but if need be I can tarp it for now...

Thanks again,

Best of Luck,

Mike

Clamp the lid down to the frame then heat it with a torch. Try to heat it evenly as possible and let it cool down completely before unclamping it. You don't need it to all be red hot, just hot enough to allow it to anneal some and soften up. That's about the only thing I can say to do other than trying to weld the whole thing down. I think you'd hate having it solid like that, or at least not having the ability to open it if needed.....

I actually have it clamped now and was going to try and heat with the torch tomorrow to see how it went. Will give this a shot-allowing to cool totally while clamped should help it maintain that shape once totally cool with clamps removed? Will give it a try and see how it goes.

I keep going back and forth on welding it solid-it's just so dang tall that I'd have to get clear up on the fenders to get anything inside it so it really isn't practical. 28" ground clearance at the bottom, 30" on top of the fender is a big step to hoist a tote into and would be hell with a full cooler. Forget the actual height overall but it's near 66-68" somewhere??? Thinking barn doors in the back will help two things-easier access, AND keep it more weatherproof once sealed. Still debating the lid/hinge thing. Definitely would be nice to have it removed for many other utility reasons...

Thanks again,

Best of Luck,

Mike

Alright, bringing this back from the dead. Unfortunately with the move, then spending a fair amount of time in and out of the hospital and now on a breathing machine, it's taken a bit to get back to the build. As my boy is in town visiting for the holidays, I figured at 12 years old, now is as good a time as any to teach him to cut/grind/weld and play with a torch. :D We've made a little progress on the trailer and I hope to get a bunch more done here very soon.

On the back end, I found the uprights had warped pretty good at over 1 3/4" inside so I ended up heating both sides and using a hi-lift to press it back out to vertical again, ensuring everything level across. That's the burn marks on the side. It sat outside for a few months under a tarp but still had some water in it so I have a little surface rust to remove. Still have a LONG way to go, but it's getting closer. Hope to get the front end finished here shortly, some doors built for the back, and a lid, then some finish work before paint and electrical. Here's how it looks now:

http://s44.photobucket.com/albums/f47/55willystruck/trailer%20build/Christmastime107.jpg

http://s44.photobucket.com/albums/f47/55willystruck/trailer%20build/Christmastime108.jpg

http://s44.photobucket.com/albums/f47/55willystruck/trailer%20build/Christmastime109.jpg

http://s44.photobucket.com/albums/f47/55willystruck/trailer%20build/Christmastime110.jpg

More to follow shortly...

Best of Luck,

Mike

Just a minor update. Got the front end bracing on which is meant for deflection of trees, rocks, stumps, etc. to help guide the trailer around the fenders. That's the HOPE anyway. I was worried that with the fenders sticking out 13" from the main frame that without these, should I run into a tree, I'd be dead in my tracks with a major hassle moving around it depending on terrain. These may not work very well, or they may be just what it needed, I don't know. Either way, they're on and full sheet will be laid down over the top.

http://s44.photobucket.com/albums/f47/55willystruck/trailer%20build/tonguebracing002.jpg

Here's a sample with the box up front. I wish I'd have waited for the slightly bigger box rather than this size. The other one is about a foot wider, which would have been great. Oh well, couldn't find one anywhere in stock so this will have to do. There will be plenty of room for other items up there too though so I guess that's good.

http://s44.photobucket.com/albums/f47/55willystruck/trailer%20build/tonguebracing003.jpg

Also have the main door setup framed in. Wasn't sure the best way to tackle this and get them even and fit proper. The bed will be line-x'd so I spaced out roughly 1/4" on each side with a slight gap in the center for movement. Gaps will be filled/covered later. I'll get the last two hinges tomorrow as soon as the truck arrives, then weld them on in place. Once that is done, I'll cut the upper and lower beam through the center between the two frames so it will then be two doors. Will then trim and box the ends flush, and add sheet. I'm still learning as I go but so far, I'm learning to hate sheet work more than anything. Not looking forward to that part at all...

http://s44.photobucket.com/albums/f47/55willystruck/trailer%20build/tonguebracing004.jpg

Also did a couple hours worth of grinding of welds. Wasn't going too as it gives it more of a "rough all business" look, but after touching up a few spots, decided I'd just see what it looked like with a few ground smooth. Decided that with the overall bulk, size and brick shithouse build it has already, that maybe grinding a few of the welds might enhance it a bit to more of a smooth, classy brick shithouse that's "all business". :laughing:

Still have a long way to go, but it's coming and getting closer by the day. Have tomorrow as well to get a little more done. Hoping to get the doors taken care of and a fair amount more grinding.

More to come...

Best of Luck,

Mike

im sure it has been mentioned.... but it looks like itll be heavy. any idea on weight so far?

With everything done so far, NO, I don't know where I'm at exactly yet. Last time I figured things, I was actually UNDER planned weight believe it or not. When I towed it up to the new place, it towed beautifully and surprisingly, better than my 5x10. I was quite pleased with that. Only have some recent minor changes since then with not a lot of weight added. My 5x10 weighs about 1100 pounds and target for this was to be 1100-1200 or thereabouts.

Unfortunately due to medical reasons, I will likely be losing my job here soon after some 14 years with the company. As a result, the trailer and tow rig are changing directions and intended useage will change as well. As the lid I'd built was warped to shit, I taught my 12 year old boy how to cut with a torch while he was visiting for Christmas. He cut up most of the lid for me which was good. With what I'm doing, I'll have to go with an entirely new lid setup which will be really tall-figuring another 14" perhaps of lid to cover what will be inside, due to height reasons. I'll have to use as light a material I can for that as the lid will only be used for weather protection and won't be opened except to load the equipment the first time, then will be locked in place till I am able to get a new trailer and move the equipment to the larger enclosed trailer, then put this trailer back to off-road use. That may be a while though. I'm afraid with the new lid design, I'll be over my target weight by a fair amount as the sheer size of what's going on is pretty massive. This is not my ideal setup now at this point for what I'm doing, but as I have so much scrap material laying around, I may as well use it now and avoid paying for a new enclosed setup at this point as it's just not in the budget-especially so if I do lose my job.

Eventually when I do get the enclosed unit, if the lid I build now works well enough, I have already concidered cutting out about 14" of the trailer itself, then re-fitting the lid and upper rail back down onto the new shortened trailer height. That would yeild the same overall height, but be easier to utilize and lighter weight. Time will tell.

I'll pick up hinges here in a bit and should get to work on the doors late this afternoon.

Best of Luck,

Mike

im sure it has been mentioned.... but it looks like itll be heavy.

My thoughts exactly. nice fab work though.

nice trailer

Yes nice trailer.

I don't know where you are size-wise on this but if you want to top it off with something 14" tall what are the odds of throwing a compact truck camper shell on top temporary? Then when you were done with the temporary enclosed use you could just re-sell the cap. Just a thought if your box coincidentally was similar in size to a compact pickup.

http://memimage.cardomain.com/ride_images/1/1726/3541/4314270001_large.jpg

Thanks guys! That's a great idea with the canopy-but unfortunately I haven't found one yet that will fit-at least not without more work. I'm currently finishing up all the math for how much tube/sheet I'll need for the new lid, and trying to calculate how much it will cost me-both in weight, and cash-looking at aluminum now along with steel for comparison. Looks like due to size, I can save about 120 lbs. with aluminum-not sure though if the wallet can handle the price of aluminum with everything else going on.

Haven't had time to update-have a bunch more "cleanup" type work done, the rear barn door frames are built and boxed, welded on and seem to work nicely. Wanted to sheet them or at least get the sheet cut to size before work today, but no such luck. Still waiting on UPS to show up for signed delivery of more parts. Afraid he won't make it before work either-which means no parts likely till Monday as no time tomorrow to pick them up. :( Hummm... what else? Oh-ground a bunch of the welds down on the upper rail of the inner sheet as well as a few other things-mostly "cleanup" stuff though like weld grinding, spatter cleanup, rust removal from sitting outside, and some filler welds here and there.

Oh-biggest news is my local Powder Coat company is going to do the entire trailer for me-two tone black/silver to match the Jeep. Pretty stoked about that-have been worried about paint for a while now. Having some other parts done and noticed the size of his oven. Really excited to get that done and not have to worry about it.

Seriously thinking of cutting the front section of sheet out on both sides and framing in a set of doors on each side for easy side-access. Not sure if time will allow that though, still debating it. Trying to come up with a decent setup for rear door latches/locks too to hold them shut.

My winch power quick connects showed up along with some other cables for connecting a dual-battery setup off the trailer to power the ready welder, with what should amount to roughly 15' of extra cable once wired to the batteries, and routed to the tool box up front. Have some other heavy cables for jumper use, inverter setup and few other things too, but that won't be ready to go for a while yet. Will get all holes cut/drilled for the wiring though prior to powder coat so I don't screw up the finish when done.

edit-how do you guys feel or what do you think about using rivets to secure the top of the lid down? If I go aluminum, not sure I'll have the ability to weld the sheet down smooth-and as bad as I screwed up the other lid, don't want that to happen again. Would a bunch of rivets spaced 6" apart or something like that with some silicone seal up and work OK without issue? If not, I won't waste my time-just worried about fucking up another lid, and with the price of aluminum if I do go that route, definitely don't want to screw it up. Just checking out all my options here. Thanks.

I'll get some pics up before too long-I hope anyway.

Thanks again,

Best of Luck,

Mike

Looks great. Reminds me of our trailer. It was built in the '70's and we got it a few years ago for free. Ours is built out of channel steel and doesn't have the extra brace running down the middle, or the heavy sides, or fancy light, but we have a total of about $150 in it between new bolts, paint, and registration over the few years. I can't to see it when it is done. I love the wheels (coming from a Rubi owner :D).

Just a small update. May be losing my job due to health reasons so the trailer is taking a huge detour to other ideas. It will now be used as a new business venture of sorts and will house things that need to be out of the weather. Here's the new lid frame and current work:

http://s44.photobucket.com/albums/f47/55willystruck/IMG_5909.jpg

http://s44.photobucket.com/albums/f47/55willystruck/IMG_5910.jpg

Yes, what was once "big" is now HUGE as I had to go up 16" overall from the side rails. The new "lid" is made of 1x2 main rails with 1x1 .065 main frame to keep it light weight-at least as light as it could be. It's enormous now as if it wasn't big enough before. The rear gate area where the barn doors are now have an upper gate as well that is hinged and swings up which will also act as a rain/weather cover of sorts when I'm working under it. Lighting will be involved as well, just haven't got that far yet. More work tomorrow which will include more doors and a few "twists" to the front so to speak. Progress is slow, but it's coming none the less.

Best of Luck,

Mike

First off, sorry to hear that that you might loose your job sir. I pray you don;t as no one needs that at times like these.

Second, you trailer is freaking awesome!!!! !:smokin: :mr-t:
It gives me lots of Ideas for when I got to build my off road trailer to haul behind my Willys wagon. Keep up the awesome work and best of luck

Bumping this so I don't forget. Have done a ton of work to this trailer since last update. Working on some wiring now, lights, tongue box, etc. Here's kinda how it's sitting lately:

http://s44.photobucket.com/albums/f47/55willystruck/IMG_6172.jpg

http://s44.photobucket.com/albums/f47/55willystruck/IMG_6171.jpg

http://s44.photobucket.com/albums/f47/55willystruck/IMG_6170.jpg

Here's it's mini twin-1967 M416 I'm also working on at the moment:
http://s44.photobucket.com/albums/f47/55willystruck/IMG_6163.jpg

http://s44.photobucket.com/albums/f47/55willystruck/IMG_6161.jpg

And I just got whitey back together the other day too:
http://s44.photobucket.com/albums/f47/55willystruck/IMG_6194.jpg
http://s44.photobucket.com/albums/f47/55willystruck/IMG_6208.jpg

http://s44.photobucket.com/albums/f47/55willystruck/IMG_6213.jpg

So far, on the big bomb shelter build, need to finish up the doors and handles, some weatherstrip, etc. and wiring. Have the front most LED's (ambers) in including 3/4" front markers and 2" round markers in the light boxes, wiring to rear mostly done. Still need to install a J-box back there to finish that up and install all the red markers then STT's and backups. Ground lighting is in now as well and tongue box is mostly wired along with pigtail built to Jeep. Mostly just minor things, but out of cash at the moment and working on other trailers in the mean time. Soon-it will be done! :D

Best of Luck,

Mike

Maybe I missed it, but do you know the total weight? I'm getting ready to build something close to this size, and was curious. Very nice trailer btw.

Maybe I missed it, but do you know the total weight? I'm getting ready to build something close to this size, and was curious. Very nice trailer btw.

Thanks!

Sorry, but no-I haven't had it on the scales YET. Still wrapping up some wiring, LED's, tongue box, etc. Hoping to make appointment with WSP soon to get inspection and see what I need to get licensed. It's close. I was originally targeting around 1200 lbs. empty but have since changed it entirely and added more weight. Will be interesting to see when it's said and done. I"ll be sure to report back once it's scaled out.

Best of Luck,

Mike

Can't wait to get this on the scales. Feels like it's less weight and easier to pull than the 5x10. Rock solid stable, secure and extremely quiet. Only ran it up to 60mph but really impressed with how well it did. Still not "done" but not sure it ever will be really. Still need to put some safety chains on it then get it down to get inspected and licensed. Next "big" thing will be dual battery setup to run compressor, welder, various other items as well. It's coming...

http://s44.photobucket.com/albums/f47/55willystruck/IMG_6237.jpg

http://s44.photobucket.com/albums/f47/55willystruck/IMG_6238.jpg

http://s44.photobucket.com/albums/f47/55willystruck/IMG_6220.jpg

http://s44.photobucket.com/albums/f47/55willystruck/IMG_6241.jpg

http://s44.photobucket.com/albums/f47/55willystruck/IMG_6240.jpg

http://s44.photobucket.com/albums/f47/55willystruck/IMG_6239.jpg

Best of Luck,

Mike

Well needed to get the trailer weighed so I could take the slip to the WSP for inspection and license. Decided I'd make a run to the dump with some yard waste and other crap so the trailer got it's first ever workout today:

http://s44.photobucket.com/albums/f47/55willystruck/IMG_6251.jpg

Here it is all buttoned up ready to go:

http://s44.photobucket.com/albums/f47/55willystruck/IMG_6256.jpg

I couldn't get an actual printout of the weight at the dump so I headed to a local fruit plant who was happy to get me what I needed. Here's on the way to the scale...

http://s44.photobucket.com/albums/f47/55willystruck/IMG_6260.jpg

Felt a little silly in between all the big semi trucks hauling fruit but they were happy to oblige and I got what I needed. Here's how it looked:

Trailer 1360 lbs.
Tongue weight 160 lbs.

Jeep 4480

For my first ever major project and first ground up trailer build, I'm VERY happy with how this thing pulls and handles. Very smooth, very quiet and feels great behind the Jeep. Granted it's still not "done" but it may never be... After license, next major work will be a dual-battery setup to run the welder, compressor and few other things. Overall, having to modify it's original form and add so much extra steel and weight for the new purpose, I'm not at all upset with the added 160 lbs over target. Very happy with how it turned out thus far. Feels great and feels much better than the 5x10 I regularly pull-surprisingly enough.

Best of Luck,

Mike

http://s44.photobucket.com/albums/f47/55willystruck/IMG_6213.jpg


nice build mike!

specific question on your m416 build, where did you get the SST lamps? i've been looking around for a set but nothing quite looks right. thanks

nice build mike!

specific question on your m416 build, where did you get the SST lamps? i've been looking around for a set but nothing quite looks right. thanks

Thanks Man!

I have to say lights are a problem for these. I don't like anything available really either. On my M416, I'm going to run a set of Savvy LEDs that match what's on my Jeep, but will have to build a bracket or mount of some sort for that when the time comes. I also want them up high and tight so they aren't damaged on the trail, but do not want them mounted to the tub or other holes in the tub-time to get creative with that.

THESE lights are nothing fancy-just standard off the shelf trailer STTs. I had to build a simple L bracket to mount them as due to size, they won't fit against the frame on the standard M416 bracket that the military used. These are cheap should they be broken on the trail somewhere and readily available if need be. While I don't personally "love" the setup, it works so that's all that matters.

Best of Luck,

Mike

http://s44.photobucket.com/albums/f47/55willystruck/IMG_6194.jpg
Mike

Very nice trailers you have Sir. Good luck

Thanks Man! So I have an appointment next week to get all three trailers inspected by WSP in order to get them licensed. Decided to get the M416 I'm going to keep weighed then figured what the hell, why not take it up in the hills for a shake-down and see how it does...

http://s44.photobucket.com/albums/f47/55willystruck/M416%20Build/IMG_6290.jpg

http://s44.photobucket.com/albums/f47/55willystruck/M416%20Build/IMG_6294.jpg

http://s44.photobucket.com/albums/f47/55willystruck/M416%20Build/IMG_6295.jpg

http://s44.photobucket.com/albums/f47/55willystruck/M416%20Build/IMG_6303.jpg

http://s44.photobucket.com/albums/f47/55willystruck/M416%20Build/IMG_6323.jpg

Oh-and this trailer with the new rims/tires weighs in at 680 lbs. These are heavy rims and 33" tires. Only other upgrades here are 7 pin RV style plug and junction box with pigtail. Also made some quick and dirty bolt-on brackets to run the factory TJ/LJ brake lights. Yes, reverse lights work as well...

Best of Luck,

Mike

Well the "Bomb Shelter" passed inspection by WSP and earned it's new plate. While I hauled a few loads to the dump before inspection during testing, it just returned from Elk Camp where it hauled it's first "real" load. Had the inside totally stuffed, fenders in use and things on top as well. Have to say I'm thrilled with how it performed, everything worked great. Very glad to have useable fenders, pack it full of crap and not once have to search for a tie down. Everything worked great, very happy with how it performed. Will get a ton of use for sure.

Here it is heading to camp:

http://s44.photobucket.com/albums/f47/55willystruck/IMG_6378.jpg

Made it:

http://s44.photobucket.com/albums/f47/55willystruck/IMG_6380.jpg

Didn't get any pics of going over the stumps, logs that I pulled it over but have to say I was happy with the clearance of this thing. No more bent frames from stump damage like my others. Still not totally "finished" yet and may not be for a while yet. Have full LED lid lights along with tool box lights and full underbody lighting as well to help see tools and such that I drop at night. Need to get a couple marine batteries and wire them up at some point, then should have about everything I need on it. For now, it will get used as is. Overall, thrilled with everything to date. Works very well.

Best of Luck,

Mike

just read over your whole thread. trailer looks nice, i just dont see what the need is? is there a reason you pull a trailer around rather then just drive something with a bed? not trying to bash, i just see alot of things on this forum that im not used to seeing and im intriuged by it so dont take it the wrong way.

I also just read this thread from the beginning. Added to my ideas for a sleeping/hauling off road trailer. Great build up! Thanks for all the links.

Thanks Guys!

Yes-definitely a reason behind the madness. The Jeep is my only real rig and must perform multiple duties. The wife's rig is an '07 Subaru and even with a skybox up top, with the family and the two labs-can't even begin to get us anywhere for a weekend getaway in the mountains. The Jeep will haul the wife and I along with the kids and the dogs in back. The trailer then hauls all the gear for the weekend trips. Once camp is set, trailer is dropped, top and doors come off the Jeep and the Jeep gets wheeled. I'd never dream of taking a truck where the Jeep goes off-road nor would I want the expense of beating the crap out of a perfectly good truck-that is IF I could ever afford one in the first place. Jeep does it all-daily driver in town running errands, tows the trailer to camp, wheels, then pulls us all back home again. If I could ever afford a truck, it would have to haul the family and the gear-meaning it would need to be a crew cab long box, then I'd need to pull the Jeep on the trailer just to wheel. I actually have multiple trailers of all shapes and sizes-3 of which the Jeep pulls, then yes, we do have a "Ranch truck" that pulls the tandem axles, the stock trailers and the big goose with dozer... Home life and ranch life-dual purpose rigs for everything we need. Works for us.

As to the trailer being built like a brick shit house you ask? Well-again, another purpose all together. I've beat up all the other trailers just getting in and out of the ranch under load. Tired of rebuilding them so I figured I'd do one from scratch tough enough to not get the shit beat out of it first trip up to the cabin. Heavy-yes, but it works and in it's first trip out has already proven to be WELL worth the effort and I'm very happy with what I'd built into it. Everything has worked great thus far.

Thanks again!

Best of Luck,

Mike