Chief's offroad trailer build

I've turned my attention to lighting now. Here are some pics as of this evening. There is good news and there is bad news.

The good news is that the trailer wiring is all correct. I used a junction box with terminal posts, and I decided to go with a 7-pin connector to allow for future possibilities. Much of the wiring is run through 1/2" conduit. The box is mounted on the underside of the front edge of the cargo rack, with hopes that it'll give me easy maintenance access. The Darkside and I rigged up temporary mounts for the LED lights.

The bad news is that the TJ's trailer wiring is bad. Once the trailer was wired, we hooked it up to the Jeep and got NOTHING. I rigged up some jumper wires and used my car's battery for power. Voila! The trailer lights worked great, but the TJ now needs attention.

The pictures.....

Quote from deadfeat

Be sure to add lots of small d-ring loops around the frame. You will want them to secure bungies and straps and such.

Steve, two so far (in the rear) and probably two more in the front.

This morning I got my TJ's 7-pin connector/wiring all straight, so this evening I'll hook her up to the trailer and see what's what. I'm to blame for buggering up the TJ connector.....a $51 mistake.

I had yet another weekend of military duty, so not much was accomplished. Still, I was able to cut the 1.0"x1.5" box steel into the three components that will make the side ribs for the tub. Not sure this is clever at this point, but I hope to create a small ledge that will permit me to have two tiers, and which may one day have a role with "rooftop camping." We'll see.


I've welded four of the required 10 so far, and it's been frustrating. Despite my best efforts, two of the four were not at perfect right angles. So, I had to cut the welds and re-weld them. I'm not sure if that's due to carelessness or what. I hope the next 6 fare better.

BTW, a close friend I hadn't seen in years paid me a surprise visit this weekend. He's a master craftsman, and I value his opinion. He said I might want to consider tongue-and-groove wood for the floor, especially since the trailer won't spend much time (relatively speaking) outside. It would look different, and the wood would be easy to work with. I'm on the fence with that idea. Thoughts?

Today I added four of the ribs -- the uprights that will support the tub. I think they went on fairly straight and plumb. These were key, as I'll use them to make sure I have good alignment with the others.

The trailer with Thomas, my girlfriend's son and a welder from Polytech. It was nice to use the trailer build to also do a relationship build with this fine young man.

All 10 of the tub's side "ribs" are now in place, and I've added the dog-leg little vertical pieces to one side. I realize it's not the same thing, but the idea is to mimic the flared look of the ol' M416 trailer, where the top is wider than the bottom.

Quote from deadfeat

So whats the gross weight up to 7500lbs?

Don't be ridiculous....only 7400.

Quadna....Strength and versatility are driving this project, but naturally I'd like to keep it as light as possible, especially since I'm not hauling it with a full-size, long wheelbase vehicle. In a perfect world, I'd make or purchase one of those nifty, purpose-built overland expedition trailers. But, I only have space to own (store) one trailer, so it must be one-size-fits-all. I hope it'll have some good camp/offroad features, but it'll also be used to haul mulch, bicycles, kayaks, lumber...

Quote from quadna

Will you be selling the pop up and putting this one under the roof in the driveway?

Good question! Am not sure. For the short term, I believe sometime during the summer I'll sell my utility trailer -- which is actually better than new -- and let this offroad trailer take up that space in the garage. As if I need a new project, I've also mulled over improving the popup's carport into something more substantial. It stinks having sloped property.....wish I had a pole barn out back!

It's been a good long while since I updated this thread. Here are some pics I took this morning. I have left this project dormant for many months, and I've given myself a kick in the butt to get it going again.

Recently, I completed the fender frame work. Thanks to an unexpected generous donation by Scott Taylor, I had a 4x8 sheet of sheet metal to play with. I'm not exactly sure of the gauge, but trust me -- it's heavy! So, last week I cut out rectangle shapes to make the fenders, then went to a friend's machine shop to bend them. We got them pretty close, but naturally it wasn't a perfect fit; that's where good clamps come into the picture.

Then, I drilled holes long the perimeter so that I could make rosette (or plug) welds. I've sprayed on primer and paint on the underside of the first one to be welded, and I'm in the process of doing that to the second one. Naturally, I then sand off the areas around the holes where I'll weld. I just want to give the metal as much protection as possible. I'll hit everything again later with a paint brush and spary. On the top side of the fenders, I'm considering using some Raptor bedliner -- I had good luck with it in the TJ bed.

Regarding the bed of the trailer, the sides will be a thinner sheet metal that I'm going to have to buy. The floor will likely be tongue-and-groove wood...but the jury's still out on that decision. Anyway, this is just a quick update on this never-ending project.

Jeremy, that's very nice....I'll have to consider it, and you'll have to be my "technical adviser!"