Chief's offroad trailer build

  • If you have trailer brakes, make sure they have a lockable parking feature, combine with a hitch lock you should be fine.


    http://orschelnproducts.com/pr…er-parking-brake-systems/



    You could also design a wheel lock lever that would protrude through both of the wheel spokes and lock in place.

    Nobody belongs anywhere, nobody exists on purpose, everybody's going to die. Have a beer.


    Jeeps Owned... 89YJ, 81CJ-8, 99XJ, 93XJ, 00WJ, 05LJ, 22Bronco Badlands !

    Edited once, last by deadfeat ().


  • I have a set of stamps ( Letter and number ) if you need to borrow.



    If the trailer is going to sit for awhile, take a tire or two off.


    All that stuff would only help prove ownership if recovered.


    Once they have it, chances are it would never be seen again.


    When I titled my home built, none of the DMV guys crawled under it on a creeper looking for hidden markings.



    And Jim, what are your plans for lights?

  • Simplest way is likely to chain the trailer to something. I'll put mine to either a fence post or an eye bolt in concrete pad. That's in addition to the trailer having a Max-Coupler, I doubt many people will even know what that is. Remember, thieves look for easy jobs. I'd suggest sticking it inside the garage if you're going to be gone for several days. If they know you're gone, they'll have time to come back with a saw or good bolt cutters if they really want it.


    I'm considering using the GPS tracker I used last year locked inside the trailer. It'll be set to only ping its location every 4 hours unless it's moving, then it'll increase up to every minute if it's moving at highway speeds. I can track it online almost anywhere, but if I get close enough, I can pick it up with the radio in the Jeep.

    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.

  • Bolt cutters are so 1980.


    A cordless grinder will cut thru anything metallic (except maybe titanium) in 30 seconds or less.


    But, I would agree... Take away the opportunity is the best bet.

  • Update.....


    This evening I managed to turn the trailer upside down onto saw horses. Keith, I purchased an LED light kit at Eastern Marine. I intend to run as much wiring through conduit as possible. I could use a little advice here, so if anyone in the Dover/Magnolia area wants to swing by and give me a hand....


    Upside down gives me a whole new perspective! Now, I'll really check those welds and grindings (is that a real word?) to make sure they're good. The main thing, though, is that I plan to clean and prime the underside of the frame while it's upside down.


    Before flipping the trailer on its back, I slapped on the wheels. I've got to say that I was really tickled at how easily the trailer rolled around my garage. I'm glad I bought a good quality swivel caster for the trailer jack. I'll upload a few pics soon.


    I was wondering about something the other day. (I'm always wondering about stuff.) Since synthetic winch line has proven better than steel cable, why hasn't synthetic line replaced clunky, noisy, rusty trailer saftey chains? Discuss.

    When engaged in conversation with a fool, be sure he is not similarly engaged.
    Chief, DEJA Grammar Police

  • If you have to spend a lot of time grinding to make you feel good about your welds they probably suck. :)


    I used to work with a guy that would weld for 5 minutes and grind for 25.



    You won't hear safety chains, especially in a Jeep. And none of my have rusted.


  • Well, my welds wouldn't stack up against a pro, that's for sure. But, as I get better I'll grind less. I'm not hearing any objection to using synthetic line. I have no intention of doing that, but I'm curious why it hasn't been introduced in the industry.

    When engaged in conversation with a fool, be sure he is not similarly engaged.
    Chief, DEJA Grammar Police

  • One of the downsides to synthetic rope is the lack of resistance to sharp edges. You can route a cable over a boulder and winch a Jeep, but try that with a synthetic rope without a guard and you'll have issues. Safety chains are exposed to road debris and trailer tongue edges. You run the risk of embedding the rope with sand and other debris that will weaken the internal strands over time, and wearing down the outer edges on the tongue. Steel is just a more durable material.


    Fwiw, you can get the safety cables that have steel cable instead of chains. Zero noise and some of them self-coil for better storage. Something like this: http://smile.amazon.com/Master…ty-Braided/dp/B0009V1WTS/

    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.

  • I have the cables for my trailer, just have to swap them for chains. Synthetic rope breaks down from UV rays I think, not a good thing for something "safety". I wonder if there is anything in DOT rules about it. I used to use 3mm dynamee(sp?) And the stuff was crazy strong. Had some tied to a JD gator and had in tight and drove 15-20 feet before it broke. I think it would work fine for it but DOT may say otherwise.


  • One of the downsides to synthetic rope is the lack of resistance to sharp edges. You can route a cable over a boulder and winch a Jeep, but try that with a synthetic rope without a guard and you'll have issues. Safety chains are exposed to road debris and trailer tongue edges. You run the risk of embedding the rope with sand and other debris that will weaken the internal strands over time, and wearing down the outer edges on the tongue. Steel is just a more durable material.


    Fwiw, you can get the safety cables that have steel cable instead of chains. Zero noise and some of them self-coil for better storage. Something like this: http://smile.amazon.com/Master…ty-Braided/dp/B0009V1WTS/



    I have the self coil cables on one of my Jet Ski trailers. I hate them. They are thin cable and are very sharp from rust. Stick with the standard chains.

  • This weekend I was able to flip the trailer upside down again, check my welds, and roll on a coat of Rust-Oleum metal primer to the "underside" -- which I knew would be harder to do later. I also picked up some safety chains, and I'll attach those soon. While it's upside down, I want to run the wiring. I'm not quite sure how best to do it, except I do want most of it to be protected by conduit.

    When engaged in conversation with a fool, be sure he is not similarly engaged.
    Chief, DEJA Grammar Police


  • This weekend I was able to flip the trailer upside down again, check my welds, and roll on a coat of Rust-Oleum metal primer to the "underside" -- which I knew would be harder to do later. I also picked up some safety chains, and I'll attach those soon. While it's upside down, I want to run the wiring. I'm not quite sure how best to do it, except I do want most of it to be protected by conduit.



    I would consider socks on that thing or it will be very bouncy and not fun to tow.

  • Just my $.02 but I'd run the wiring through the main beam of the trailer (blue lines). Cut out 1 (A) access port for the wiring to the pigtail and then 2 (B both sides) at the rear for the lighting. Install some rubber grommets, pre-fab your wire harness, wrap it in wire loom and then fish it through the frame. Another alternative to eliminate the wiring being exposed under the rear crossbar would be to drill a hole through the main bar and the crossbar to allow the wiring to stay completely within the framing. I'd drill the hole from the bottom up into the crossbar (C) and then either weld a plate over the exterior hole or find a rubber plug (see Jodie for this :razz: ) to close it. The rubber plug would be nice if you ever have to access the wiring later down the road... and my reasoning for going bottom to top is that water is less likely to make it's way up against gravity as opposed to the other way around.

    I'd also take the time to make a quick disco harness at each light for ease of replacement down the road. If your rear crossbar is wide enough, you could cut out ovals and install flush mounted LEDs... you just have to ensure that their large enough for DOT/NHTSA standards.

    Your life is made up of 2 dates and a dash... make the most of the dash!

  • I believe he's using 2x3 for the frame, the light grommets are usually around 3-1/8th". Most trailer lights have a plug connector for easy replacement, though. :) I'm going with all LED so I'll hopefully never need to touch them again.

    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.


  • I believe he's using 2x3 for the frame, the light grommets are usually around 3-1/8th". Most trailer lights have a plug connector for easy replacement, though. :) I'm going with all LED so I'll hopefully never need to touch them again.



    Wondering if a LED brake/blinker combo strip like those that pickups use under their tailgates would suffice? That way there's no splitting the wire harness to hit each end of the crossbar...

    Your life is made up of 2 dates and a dash... make the most of the dash!

  • I don't think they meet the brightness requirements. Plus, I wouldn't trust them, I've never seen one on the road that was working correctly. I did consider one on my trailer for supplemental lighting, but the lights I'm using are plenty bright. That, and my trailer is too narrow for those lights. :)


    Oh, he'd still need to have a split harness for the rear side marker lights. Those run on the same tail light circuit.

    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.

  • Jeremy, quick feedback for you.....


    Remember, I'm using a removable tongue. It sleeves into the 3x3 receiver (the piece that runs the length of the trailer), so I cannot run wiring inside it. For that same reason, I cannot screw conduit brackets into that receiver; the screws would penetrate into the inside and stop the tongue from sliding in. However, what I am thinking of doing is:


    A. Using plastic conduit and screwing the brackets to the underside of the crossmembers, or
    B. Using plastic conduit and welding little homemade brackets to the side or bottom of the 3x3 receiver.


    Since I really don't think there's much chance of finding a rubber grommet that will let the wiring protrude and still keep the moisture out, I am leaning toward using silicone caulk to seal up the open ends of the conduit. As long as I don't use too much, it should be removable. And yes, I'll need to split my harness at some point...probably toward the rear.

    When engaged in conversation with a fool, be sure he is not similarly engaged.
    Chief, DEJA Grammar Police

Participate now!

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