Some of you guys on facebook have seen a few posts about trailer ideas... I want something to both carry camping gear and to sleep in. And, be easy to set up, because messing with tent poles in below freezing temps is a pain. I put some thought into this driving back from Utah last year and was thinking about a small trailer with a fold-out platform for a regular tent but that still required messing with the tent poles. Meh. Fast forward to browsing on harborfreight and saw comments from a guy that built up a small enclosed trailer using a 4x8 trailer frame. Interesting idea there, but not very refined and a bit too much wind drag when I lift it enough to drag over some trails. But, I love the idea of not messing with a tent...
Ok, fast forward a bit more and I'm doing a lot of research into trailer tents. Similar to roof-top tents, but designed for a lower mounting point like on the top of a mil-surp trailer. Downside here is they're expensive, especially when coupled with a quality store-bought trailer like the Manley Basecamp (and that's on the cheaper end!). But, during all that research, I stumbled upon Dinoot, a company that sells fiberglass body kits that mimic a Jeep tub or the popular M416 trailer. Most people either modify a Harbor Freight frame or build one themselves and drop the body kit on top. I really like the look of the "M-series" kit. http://www.dinoot.com/models/m-series.html
I'm watching ebay and the adventure/expedition forums for used trailers, but assuming I can't find one for a crazy low price, I want to build one. Start with either a Harbor Freight frame, shorten/narrow it and upgrade the axle to have brakes and JK bolt pattern wheels, or buy some steel and spend some time at Eastern Marine sourcing the suspension/axle components (and owe some more favors to friends with welders) and build up a custom frame. I think actually installing the body kit will be easy.
After the trailer is done, time for the tent... I really like the OZtrail Outer Ridge Venturer. It's a trailer tent with an extra room on the side to keep you out of the elements a little longer. It's also the model Quantum73 has on his trailer build, so I know it's good. However, it'll cost a fair penny... One benefit of this model is that it includes the trailer lid, which has access panels to get stuff from the trailer without getting out of the tent.
My goal is to get this 100% complete before August so I can do a trial run before going to CO/UT/WY in September. I can see many beach trips in its future, along with an occasional overnight trip to Rausch Creek or AOAA.
Ok... enough of my rambling... anybody have ideas, suggestions or input?