camping trailer build...

i didnt read the whole thread, so it may have been mentioned. Look at teardrop trailers. There usually custom built so you can make it how ever you want.
You dont even have to keep that design, you could change it to how ever you wanted. I have seen some with a nice queen bed inside and a full set up kitchen on the back with storage and lights that were towed behind a motorcycle, so i know you could do something for your jeep.

JF pic threads of Jeep trailers... figured there's a few visuals for trailer mod goodies. One had a box over the fender w/ a bracket to hold a 5g propane bottle in front of it. Soooooooooo many possibilities!!

http://www.jeepforum.com/forum…jeep-trailer-pics-440899/

http://www.jeepforum.com/forum…trailer-pics-here-569561/

Okay, that might not be a 5g propane tank...

[img alt=image.jpg]http://www.jeepforum.com/forum/attachments/f59/1830745d1421944205t-post-up-your-jeep-trailer-pics-image.jpg[/img]

The fender boxes are a nice touch for added storage. For the side that your RTT flips over on though I'd make front and rear access doors instead of a hinged lid... or maybe both... that way you can access the box whether the tent's deployed or not.

[img width=640 height=591]http://i341.photobucket.com/al…iansAdventureTrailer1.png[/img]

That's what my hf looked like with a 2x6s on it. I was impressed with the quality. About 3-5 hours to build.

I'm using mine for a utility trailer. It's the non folding hf "heavy duty" model. But I've thought about building another for camping !

At work, that's pretty much all I have time to do!

Looking at that trailer below, I'd move the Jerry cans to the sides in front of the fender to open up that whole rack for storage. I saw one trailer where a guy built an enclosed storage box on the front of the frame in front of the trailer box itself. It was shaped like the /``\ front of the frame. I'm not sure if it had a hinged top or side access doors.

As for markers, lights and reflectors.. I'll see what I can find online. I'd think that the side markers would have to be out on the fenders to mark the out-most edge of the trailer as well as for visibility reasons. All the trailers that we've had/used over the years have had side marker lights. It might be better to err on the side of caution and use lights anyway.

One other thing I think is worth mentioning is, what type of hitch are you looking to use? Pintles are more common on military trailers from what I've seen. I also saw something called a tri-axis or triple axis hitch (?)....

http://www.nhtsa.gov/cars/rule…conspicuity/Trlrpstr.html

Looks like you have some pretty cool ideas. Let me know if you need help, i may have learned a thing or two between mine and helping a little with the pete.

I think I'd do something like 2x3 or box for the frame. Then use maybe one piece of 2x3 or 4 box for a crossmember for your fancy suspension setup with a few pieces of angle in between. With 2x3 box on the front, rear and sides you will have plenty of strength and surface area to weld things too, like fenders, gussets, tie down hooks, thingamabobs, bamboozllers, bracketry, etc.. It will also give you enough steel in the rear to recess a hitch reciever for ground clearance (and street cred). I would think 1/8" wall would be plenty for the front and sides, then go with 3/16 for the rear with some gussets to support the weight of a reciever rack hanging off of it. I have no emperical evidence to tell you to do something different, but I have worked on and owned my fair share of boat trailers. I can tell you that most of them are no more than 1/8" wall, many aren't even boxed and fwiw, my car trailer is almost completely made of angle except for the ramps. I'd rather it be a hair on the heavy side then twist to pieces in the middle of some trail. My .02

I 2nd the box tube. It's also much easier to work on. If you build the frame nice and rigid the rest will survive much longer.
Also- I have an extra propane tank if you need one for exchange when you get to that point.

Quote from whatevah

I'm thinking regular steel for price and just grind off the weld flash... Receiver steel seems to cost a bit extra.

FYI, the receiver tubing is not just 2.5"x.25" tubing with the seam ground off..

It's actually spec'd to the ID, where as normal square tubing is spec'd to the OD.

The wall thickness is nominal and can vary depending on country of origin, etc.; which means the ID on normal tubing will vary.

Quote from whatevah

2" box for the frame, but how thick? I want to do 3 crossmembers, could 2 of them be angle? The middle one would be 2" box to help with the suspension bracing. Then again, if I want a rear hitch receiver, angle may not be a good option, maybe just stick with 2" 1/8th wall box for all 3 crossmembers? For the tongue, the same 2" 1/8th wall for supports and a 2.5" 1/4wall for the main tongue extending to the first crossmember. (the Max-Coupler comes with a 2" end) I'm thinking regular steel for price and just grind off the weld flash... Receiver steel seems to cost a bit extra.

.250 wall seems like overkill to me. A bantam used roughly .120 formed angle for the frame and formed c for the tongue. Granted you plan on adding some more weight but not enough when you consider .125 is a tad thicker and you have an extra "H" with box. They did box in a small section with another piece of formed c. Think about how thin boat trailer frames are.

Just my thoughts.

Quote from 2000sahara

I think I'd do something like 2x3 or box for the frame. Then use maybe one piece of 2x3 or 4 box for a crossmember for your fancy suspension setup with a few pieces of angle in between. With 2x3 box on the front, rear and sides you will have plenty of strength and surface area to weld things too, like fenders, gussets, tie down hooks, thingamabobs, bamboozllers, bracketry, etc.. It will also give you enough steel in the rear to recess a hitch reciever for ground clearance (and street cred). I would think 1/8" wall would be plenty for the front and sides, then go with 3/16 for the rear with some gussets to support the weight of a reciever rack hanging off of it. I have no emperical evidence to tell you to do something different, but I have worked on and owned my fair share of boat trailers. I can tell you that most of them are no more than 1/8" wall, many aren't even boxed and fwiw, my car trailer is almost completely made of angle except for the ramps. I'd rather it be a hair on the heavy side then twist to pieces in the middle of some trail. My .02

This. 2x3 .125 wall is going to offer you a decent increase in strength over 2x2 with a minimal difference in weight. I'll go so far as to say don't even use 3/16 wall on the rear crossmember, instead run diagonals from the receiver to the side rails. I cant remember the exact dimensions we're dealing with but I would think use box for the perimeter, a center box crossmember and then 2x3 angle crossmembers at 1/4 and 3/4.

Quote from keith_c

FYI, the receiver tubing is not just 2.5"x.25" tubing with the seam ground off..

It's actually spec'd to the ID, where as normal square tubing is spec'd to the OD.

The wall thickness is nominal and can vary depending on country of origin, etc.; which means the ID on normal tubing will vary.

I'd agree...for the minimal cost of a receiver 'blank' I'm not seeing the benefit. Am I missing something or are you not just using it for a receiver on the rear of the trailer?

Another thing to keep in mind is the corners. Most box tubing has more of a radius and I seem to remember running into an issue in the past where one of the solid style inserts wouldn't fit into a homemade receiver and had to have the corners ground.

--Ian