PCO6's Trailer Build

About a year ago I started to make some rough sketches of what I wanted to build as an expedition style trailer. I built a utility trailer 3 or 4 years ago. It was a fun project and I wanted to build another one.

I bought some metal for the frame and started to cut it to size. I was literally about to start welding when I found a trailer for sale on a local Jeep forum. It was very close to what I planned to build and the price was more than right. I couldn’t have bought the materials for what I paid for the trailer.

It was only a little more than an hour away. I drove down thinking I would have to repack the bearings, reconstruct the coupler, etc. but it was in perfect condition. I drove it away and was fully confident with it within 10 miles or so. Thanks “Just-lift-it” – good deal!

The overall specs are …
- length 12’
- width 5’ 10”
- height 3’ 5” (without lid)
- clearance 19.75 ” to frame
- clearance 15” to axle
- tongue platform 46” tapering to 32”
- weight not sure yet !!!
- axle 3,500 lb. (brakes to come)
- wheels 16” Jeep Moab
- tires 245 75R 16 – Goodyear Duratrac
- box length 60”
- box width 48”
- box height 19.25”
- box cubic ft. 32 ft(3)
- tongue jack 1,500 lbs. – 8”x4” wheel

Here’s what I started with. This pic from the ad for it was either taken on the day it was painted or it was more likely raining. It looked shinier that it was.

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The trailer was well constructed. I understand it was used by a welding company to trailer a mobile welder to job sites. The round fenders were well built and nicely tied to the frame with deck plate running boards. It had 14” wheels and tires that were in pretty good shape. I wanted square fenders though and 16” wheels and tires to match my Jeep TJ & XJ so I decided to tear everything off.

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I sanded down a pair of 16” Jeep Moab wheels and painted them with Duplicolor wheel paint. I’ll eventually get them powder coated. I went with “graphite” to distinguish them from the silver wheels on the tow vehicles. I found an almost new set of 245/75R/16 Goodyear Duratracs on Kijiji to match what I have on my TJ. I also needed a set of spacers to mount the wheels to the hubs. I may replace the axle so I can add brakes. Unlike a lot of axles the current one does not have the flanges to bolt the brake backing plates to. If I can fabricate something suitable I’ll go that route. If not I’ll build a new axle.

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I cut off the trailer jack that came with the trailer and welded on brackets to attach a 1,500 lb. marine jack. I like the 8”x4” wheel/tire and hope it handles dirt surfaces better than the more common narrow tires.

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The trailer bed was pretty rusty and had about 30 bolt, rivet and rust holes that needed to be filled.

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Scraps from the old running boards came in handy.

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The chassis was built by a company called “EZ Tow Trailers”. I like the curved side rails which is something I didn’t plan for in my original sketches.

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I spent a lot of time underneath it getting rid of the rust.

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I eventually flipped it over and that seemed like the right time to add a 2”x2” receiver to the rear bumper for a bike rack, etc.

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With a lot of the rust gone I painted the frame with POR15 and later with a few different types of cheap aerosol bed liners. I thought I’d try a different ones out and recoat everything with the one I finally like (no decision yet).

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I finally started to build the box which is 5’ long by 4’ wide and 19.25” high. In this pic you can see the front gable in place.

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Next up was the rear tailgate gable and this where the fun started. I had some 2”x6’ tubing left over from when I fabricated new sills for my Jeep XJ. I had planned ahead and figured it would be a nice “visual” tie in to one of my tow vehicles (ha ha). To tie it in to my Jeep TJ I decided to use TJ hinges for the tail gate (thanks to “Moose” for the donated hinges!). I painted them graphite to match the wheels.

First I had to drill holes for the 4” LED lights. With the tail lights removed I can access most of the interior of the rear posts to get to any fasteners and run wiring.

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I then capped the tops. I added an internal tapping plate for some thumb screws that will be added later.

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The back end is starting to take shape in this pic. I store a lot of my small camping gear in a couple of 91 litre Action Packers and they kind of dictated the height of the box. In this pic you can see the removable rear cross brace. It will eventually be the surface on which the hinged top will rest. With the cross brace in place the Action Packers can slide out underneath it.

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Here are some of the details on the removable cross brace. You can also see in these pics that I decide to use Uni-strut for the side rails. I wasn’t sure about their strength at first but it will not be a problem. They are light weight, galvanized and I happened to have them in my metal scrap pile. The rails will allow me to attach various items to the box while camping.

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I built a temporary tail gate out of scrap plywood just to get a sense of the size and how I might use it. I initially thought this would be the home for my kitchen but I’ve abandoned that idea and will use the side of the trailer instead. Alternate ideas are welcome!

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I’ve had a few diversions along the way. I built these bike racks for my TJ out of a pair of roof top carriers. I wanted to be able to open my tail gate with the rack on and bikes off. The bikes come off in less than 10 seconds. I also wanted to be able to do that with the trailer. One rack slides into the other so I can go with one bike only which is what I often do.

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Here the box is starting to take shape. You can see that there is a lot of tongue area for a utility box, a cooler, water cans, etc.

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The box is skinned with 14 gauge aluminum. Here are the front and 2 sides. The 2 small pieces are for the license plate / mud guards. I’ll be skinning the tail gate in the same material.

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The box panels are just sitting in place while I construct other parts of the trailer but theses pics give you an idea of how it will look.

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The running boards and fenders came next. I decided to make all parts (3 per side) independent of each other so in the future I will be able to modify, replace, repair, paint, etc. any of the pieces without having to take everything off.

The running board frames are 1”x1” thin wall tubing that I salvaged from an old BBQ stand. The round leading edge seemed appropriate.

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The rear one was pretty straight forward to build. This pic shows where the propane tank might go (not decided yet).

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I didn’t want to get into heavy frames for the fenders so I bought ones from Princess Auto and changed the angle to get the wheel clearance I wanted. I made a couple of slits with a grinder & cut off disc. That made the fenders quite flexible. Welding them to close the slits will be pretty straight forward and will be the final step when everything else is in place.

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I fabricated 4 tabs to attach each fender to the running boards. Each one has rubber washers to provide a bit of cushion. The fenders will be tied back into the box eventually. They will also be painted black and will have black hardware.

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This pic shows an attachment to the Uni-strut … an aerial / flag pole for when traveling!

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Here I am sizing up part of where the kitchen will be. Another portable counter will be at a right angle along the top of the fender. The kitchen canopy is a Coleman 5’x7’ and will be independent of the trailer.

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I built the tailgate “in situ” vs. on my welding table as it was a lot easier to get the correct gaps this way. It’s often said that there are 3 things in life that you just can’t get enough of … and 1 of them is clamps.

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The tailgate latch / lock is a simple one that’s used for utility boxes. Next up is to make the pin for the latch to lock to and to install the rubber weather sealer When this is complete I will purchase the aluminum sheets to skin both sides of the tailgate.

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I’m about to start on the tongue box and racks for water tanks, coolers, etc. and do the electrical connections.

This is a driveway project and I’m just trying to get as much done on this job and others as I can before the snow flies. I won’t likely get into building the top until the spring. I guess the good thing is that will give me more time to design it. I don’t currently plan to put a roof top tent on it as I prefer a larger tent that I can stand up in. That could change though. I’ll more likely use the top for bike and kayak storage.

There will be minor updates over the next month or so and I’ll get back at it full tilt in the spring. I should be able to put it to use next summer!

You can buy trailer brake flanges to weld onto a 3500lb axle, they are a standard size and cheap. I put brakes on my 5x8 trailer. Very good job on the trailer so far. That is going to be awesome when it's done.

Thanks for the kind words cg81. I figured that would be the case. I don't know if this has a hybrid / homemade axle of some sort but I doubt it because the trailer itself was made by a trailer company so flanges should be available. The welder that it carried in its previous life was probably at least as heavy as what this this will weigh in the end but I definitely want to add brakes to it. Jeep TJ & XJ brakes are OK but better safe than sorry!

With bikes on the rear rack, what is the tongue weight? Looks like you could load this up with a rear bias, which could give you a big wagging tail. I'm having the same issue with a tilt bed trailer. To much room behind the trailer axle, which can give a bad wag when I hit 45mph, if not loaded correctly.

Love the bumper and door layout ... looks great.

PC06

Great build. Nice attention to detail and techniques to see it through.

Looking good!

bmxdad said:

With bikes on the rear rack, what is the tongue weight? Looks like you could load this up with a rear bias, which could give you a big wagging tail. I'm having the same issue with a tilt bed trailer. To much room behind the trailer axle, which can give a bad wag when I hit 45mph, if not loaded correctly.

Love the bumper and door layout ... looks great.

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bmxdad - When I towed it home I was very happy with how stable it was. After repacking the bearings and torqueing the wheels I actually took it up to 140 km/hr (87 mi/hr) and it towed great. I haven't had it on the road yet with the larger wheels and tires. I have no idea how fast it was towed when the previous owner had the welder on it.

I haven't calculated the tongue weight yet and I'll definitely take the bikes into consideration. They may end up being transported on the lid along with 2 kayaks when I build it. The axle is 112" from the coupler and 32" to the rear of the bumper so 77.7% front and 22.2% rear. If anything it might be a bit tongue heavy. The tongue is removable and the length is adjustable so I plan to play with it a bit.

Nice job taking something out there and transforming it into your own.

Nice work. Looking forward to seeing more.

I enjoyed your utility trailer story, this one is shaping up nicely. You do great work, I am envious of your skills. If you lived closer, I would invite you over to my driveway

Looks great Stew, excellent workmanship. It'll be first class.

I too like a tent that you can set up separately. There's trade-offs, sometimes it would be nice to get up off the ground, but standing up is nice. We have dogs, and it would be a pain getting them in & out of a high tent.

Also the kitchen/cooking stove…it's nice if you can use it in the trailer, or move it away.

Thanks for the great comments guys.

Outlander said:

I enjoyed your utility trailer story, this one is shaping up nicely. You do great work, I am envious of your skills. If you lived closer, I would invite you over to my driveway

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Thanks Outlander. That was a fun project too. I've put it to good use over the past 3 or so years. I've hauled a lot of Jeep parts home with it! You can probably see the similarities in the box between that one (below) and the one I'm building now ...

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54FordPanel said:

Looks great Stew, excellent workmanship. It'll be first class.

I too like a tent that you can set up separately. There's trade-offs, sometimes it would be nice to get up off the ground, but standing up is nice. We have dogs, and it would be a pain getting them in & out of a high tent.

Also the kitchen/cooking stove…it's nice if you can use it in the trailer, or move it away.

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Thanks Brad. It's a compromise for sure. Normally I take a tent I can stand up but I camped by myself at the races at Mosport this past weekend and took my small (short) tent. As soon as I set up it started to pour and it barely stopped for 2 days and nights. I would have liked to be up off the ground!

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I completed most of the tailgate today. I had to make a catch plate to bolt to the rear post for the latch to grab. I started with a piece of 1”x1.5” angle iron and basically cut away all but what I needed for the catch. I then bent the catch portion until it caught the latch pin. With the weather strip the tail gate is now water tight, rattle free and I can lock it.

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Next up was to mount the licence plate. I started with an old backing plate from an MGB and a piece of 14 gauge sheet metal. Both came from my metal scrap pile. I also used an LED licence plate light from Princess Auto.

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I cut the sheet metal to size with my modified metal shear ( http://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=284652
). This thing is fast and works great for plate up to 3/16”.

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I plug welded the pieces together and sanded them down for painting.

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I then welded a couple of brackets to the tailgate frame so I could attach the licence backing plate.

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I attached the aluminum skin to the outside of the tailgate and added a rubber hose to act as a conduit for the licence plate wiring on the back side of the tailgate. The back side will eventually be skinned with aluminum and this hose will be covered.

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Here’s how it turned out. Like the trailer box, the tailgate is skinned with 14 gauge aluminum. The trailer isn’t on the road yet but it’s already licensed. The laws for licensing a home made trailer in Ontario are WAY TOO EASY. All you have to do is tell the MTO what you made, or are even thinking of making, what colour it is and give them $25. No questions are asked about the design, the materials, the axle(s), tires, lighting, etc. It makes no sense ... and the licence is good for the life of the trailer.

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Next up are the running boards … stay tuned.

Wow! Nicely done!

Home built trailers built by guys who care are so much nicer than the junk they sell at stores. Nice work.

I finished the left side running boards today, although I’m not sure if that’s the right name for them. They are strong enough to stand on. I don’t plan to do that but I’m sure someone will!

This is the front one. As mentioned, the 1”x1” square tube is from an old BBQ stand. I like to repurpose things when I can … plus it beat having to bend the tube myself. The rest of the fame is 1”x1” and 1”x1.5” angle iron. The covering is 14 gauge sheet metal that I plug welded to the running board frame after spraying both pieces with weld through primer. The boards themselves are bolted to the trailer frame and the fender is then bolted to the boards. All 3 pieces can be removed quite easily.

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This pic shows the rear running board which was constructed in the same manner. With the front and rear pieces in place I’ll now be able to finish the fender. All that’s required here is to weld the slits that allowed me to reshape the fenders closed. The fenders and running boards will be painted black and bolts will be replaced with ones that are also black. Note that I’ve moved the propane cylinder to the front running board. Now that I’ve figured out the kitchen layout this is likely where it will stay.

The welding magnet shows where I have to add a small extension to the bumper.

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I’ll probably tackle the utility box, and other things that will be mounted on the tongue next … so more to follow.

Nice work

I’ve made a bit of progress in the last week or so. Picking up where I left off, I added a small extension to the rear bumper for it to line up with the running board.

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I then welded the slits I cut into the fenders shut. This really firmed them up.

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I installed the fender on the left side and this is where things currently stand.

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I made a bracket for the propane tank and installed it on the front left running board. It’s based on a couple of turnbuckles which makes it easy to remove the cylinder when needed. I have yet to make the lock which will secure one turnbuckle to the other so they won’t turn. The rubber pad is to elevate the cylinder above the running board (easier on the paint).

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I added spot lights to the rear running boards. These will run off of the trailer battery and will be used to light the camp site when needed. There is a large thumbscrew on the underside of the running board which allows me to rotate the light and retighten it.

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Other lights are being installed as I go as is the wiring, switches, fuses, etc. Everything seems to require a bracket of some sort to be fabricated.

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This shot shows the start of the tongue box. There is a lot more to come in this area so stay tuned.

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Re: Home Depot Clearance Thread 2015

PCO6 said:

There is a large thumbscrew on the underside of the running board which allows me to rotate the light and retighten it.

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Looks great! I am a firm believer in thumb screws and sometimes make my own for larger sizes or when they need to be torqued down more than is possible with off the shelf ones.

How will you secure the thumbscrew so that it doesn't vibrate off while driving down the road? My Jeep vibrates so badly, I have replaced MANY nuts with locknuts

Thanks fourjeepin. This isn't the best of pics and it may not be the final solution but I have a wing nut and lock washer that I run up against the thumbscrew. There's also a lock washer under the thumbscrew.

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Nice work. Looking good.

nice job. love the XJ. Recommend Dupli-color bedliner. Oreilly auto parts about $70.00 for a gallon.