camping trailer build...

  • That's mostly camera perspective. It actually lines up almost dead even with the fenders and tires. And the trailer follows the Jeep track almost exactly, so if the Jeep makes it through a spot, so will the trailer. The tent/fenders of the trailer are the same width as the Jeep body, so it's a few inches narrower than the Jeep (flares stick out a few inches).

    Jerry / Whatevah

    2020 Gladiator Mojave - 33" Falken mud tires, LoD side steps, Zroadz bed rack, Quadratec QRC winch bumper, Superwinch EPi 9.0, Kleinn on-board air, Kleinn air horns, lots of lights, Yaesu ham radio with GPS tracker.

    Gone- 2012 JK Rubicon with stuff. Long gone- Long-arm 2001 Cherokee with stuff.


  • Ended up packing it up sooner than planned to take it to the DMV. Officer from the auto theft unit called me and told me that I could go on any day for a home built inspection. They looked at it real hard with sceptical looks that it was truly home built, but finally gave me a VIN. Trailer weight with tent and a few tools was exactly 1000lbs on their scale.


    That makes way more sense than all the crap I've seen posted about the theft unit stuff and all that.


    When I took my home built through I just showed them my receipts, they put a sticker on it and I went inside and got the title.


    Whole different game when you are trying to title a manufactured trailer/vehicle that has no existing VIN.


    Glad you got it taken care of. :up:

  • Yeah, I got different info from 4 different sources... I guess that's expected from the DMV. Thankfully the DSP officer could set me straight. They tried stamping the ASN number but couldn't get through the chassis saver (similar to POR15), so I only have the sticker. I guess I'll stamp it myself as some point. I have to go back later for the paperwork, the office closed when I was finishing up in the inspection lane.


    They didn't even mention that I didn't have a license plate light on the trailer. I'm using LED bolts so I can't wire them until after the plate is in place, but they didn't even ask about it.

    Jerry / Whatevah

    2020 Gladiator Mojave - 33" Falken mud tires, LoD side steps, Zroadz bed rack, Quadratec QRC winch bumper, Superwinch EPi 9.0, Kleinn on-board air, Kleinn air horns, lots of lights, Yaesu ham radio with GPS tracker.

    Gone- 2012 JK Rubicon with stuff. Long gone- Long-arm 2001 Cherokee with stuff.




  • Trial camping run yesterday, went well. A lot of comments about the trailer, most figuring that it was a vintage military trailer and wanted to know where I found it. :)


    Got flagged down leaving the campsite by my neighbor who was amazed how fast it packed up. And pulled over for a guy in Dover to check it out. :)

    Jerry / Whatevah

    2020 Gladiator Mojave - 33" Falken mud tires, LoD side steps, Zroadz bed rack, Quadratec QRC winch bumper, Superwinch EPi 9.0, Kleinn on-board air, Kleinn air horns, lots of lights, Yaesu ham radio with GPS tracker.

    Gone- 2012 JK Rubicon with stuff. Long gone- Long-arm 2001 Cherokee with stuff.

  • Sadly, I don't think I could charge enough to make it worth my time. The Manley trailers are very competitively priced.

    Jerry / Whatevah

    2020 Gladiator Mojave - 33" Falken mud tires, LoD side steps, Zroadz bed rack, Quadratec QRC winch bumper, Superwinch EPi 9.0, Kleinn on-board air, Kleinn air horns, lots of lights, Yaesu ham radio with GPS tracker.

    Gone- 2012 JK Rubicon with stuff. Long gone- Long-arm 2001 Cherokee with stuff.


  • Are you worried about catching the sides of the tent on things with it sticking out past the trailer?



    I think a small hoop attached to the trailer as a rub rail would be good piece of mind. If it leaned into a tree on a tight trail it could do some damage.

  • For that to work it would have to be around the folded tent edges. Having it sticking out under would only give limited protection.

    Member since 2000

    Jeeps Owned'79 CJ5:

    Specs-

    - 258 I6

    - '93 Cherokee fuel injection and HO head,

    - bored 30 over

    - with 4x4 cam

    T18 tranny with granny low / Dana 18 t-case

    Dana 44 front and back from late '70s Wagoneer, both locked and loaded with 4.88 gears

    SOA on modified YJ springs with shackle reversa

    Fiberglass tub with 6 point cage mounted to the frame


    2015 Grand Cherokee Limited
    Spec-

    Quadratec Floor mats

  • so I'm really interested in how the trailer performed on the big trip. Anything you would've done differently or suggestions for others planning to do this type of thing with a trailer?

  • I thought about that often during the trip. Even before the trip, really... the biggest thing is the suspension, it's just stupid. In theory, it's ok, but it's limited in uptravel (1 5/8") and very stiff so it only compresses when you hit something hard (or it goes airborne). For the trails I was running, it really needed the same suspension travel as the Jeep. But, I picked that suspension because of the overall height with the 33" tires. Tent I used required a specific mounting height, but I think it would be ok to go a big higher with a better suspension. I ended up lowering the tire pressure to compensate, the sidewalls barely bulged so I think I was running too much pressure to begin with. I had it at 18psi for most of the trail and 12psi for one really horrible washboard road.


    Anything else to change... maybe the location of the rear support jacks. If you use them, there's not enough clearance to open the tailgate. I only needed them one night (leaned a little to the side), but it was raining so I didn't bother. :)


    I never had time to figure out the gas struts for the tent, those would have been nice, but I managed. The tent came with them, but those were designed to mount on the tub walls and I seriously doubt the fiberglass would have supported that.


    It held up well, just need to repaint the front of the trailer to fix the gravel spray. The brakes worked awesomely and it handled perfectly. Only wiggled once briefly when it got hit from an extra-bad crosswind in Kansas.

    Jerry / Whatevah

    2020 Gladiator Mojave - 33" Falken mud tires, LoD side steps, Zroadz bed rack, Quadratec QRC winch bumper, Superwinch EPi 9.0, Kleinn on-board air, Kleinn air horns, lots of lights, Yaesu ham radio with GPS tracker.

    Gone- 2012 JK Rubicon with stuff. Long gone- Long-arm 2001 Cherokee with stuff.

  • Sounds like it worked out great for you. Any chance we can get a trip report like the last two?? I'm dying to hear about the trip and if/how the trailer effected anything.

  • Yeah I'll post one sooner or later, haven't had time to download the photos from my camera yet. Busy busy busy...

    Jerry / Whatevah

    2020 Gladiator Mojave - 33" Falken mud tires, LoD side steps, Zroadz bed rack, Quadratec QRC winch bumper, Superwinch EPi 9.0, Kleinn on-board air, Kleinn air horns, lots of lights, Yaesu ham radio with GPS tracker.

    Gone- 2012 JK Rubicon with stuff. Long gone- Long-arm 2001 Cherokee with stuff.

  • Wow, great job. I also had renovated my jeep for camping this spring. And this summer I managed to go camping on it. I renovated it specifically to go camping. The running boards are very useful when you need to strap stuff to the roof. Also I made sleeping place in the trunk. So, I don't need to worry about to find a place for sleep and to install tent. Of course I also took with me in camping tent, rainfly, stuff sack, stove and little fridge, camping lanterns, because if I stay more than one day at one place it is better to install tent for more comfort. Many stuff for reconstruction and equipment I bought from amazon. https://www.amazon.com/Vont-Hu…-Batteries/dp/B00NPLSZF8/ The have the most affordble prices and quick delivery.

  • Your project is very interesting, good job, in fact I was looking for some ideas for camping. I planned to go on vacation with my wife, after the whole situation with COVID-19 ends. I think my jeep will be ready for some changes.I'm thinking of a tent, in the most expensive case I'll buy a trailer. I know it will take a lot of work and a long tail, that's why I'm starting work now. Thanks for the ideas.

  • I have a coleman colorado we pulled behind our 4 cyl Yj with no problem. Always planned on a spring over axle swap with matching rims but never got to it. Search esja, a guy did a black one that came out sweet. Very light and factory engineered.I should part with it. Actually, a google search works better.

Participate now!

Don’t have an account yet? Register yourself now and be a part of our community!