Lord Humongous Gigahorse Tow-coma Build

I have been waiting in anticipation for an update on this. Results will be exciting to see. Did the welding shop have anything to say about strengthening the trailer tongue?

 

Me too!
So the general consensus on the tounge bracing is it wont hurt but probably not necessary. With that said I may have it done depending on cost. I plan to take it back to the fabricator to have a couple cross members welded on for the battery box and propane tank as well as a couple tabs for a couple LED pods. The fabricator will charge the shop minimum so I may see if he can do the tounge braces with in that minimum price or few pence more. The braces aren't a complicated project but I don't trust myself to weld anything more than a fence.

Bracing I instructions I found online:

Steel angle can also used to create a sturdy, low profile brace and is stitch welded along the outside face of the tongue. The depth of the taper does not need to be too deep and can be around 50mm from the base of the tongue. Stems are not normally required

 

Australia Is so far ahead on the offroad Camper game! The layout on this is almost exactly the the same as ours as far as walk around queen, kitchen, dinette and bathroom placement however the fit and finish of the Kendron XC3 is just a tad nicer than the ol' Jayco SLX

 

Man, that makes our North American trailers look awfully crude.

 

There are a few nice options like Earthroamer and Couch offroad but they're so far beyond my current financial status lol.
Some of the overland tent trailers built here are very nice but man the value is just not there IMO. Basically spending 20k or more for a jet-ski trailer with trailing arm suspension and a RTT strapped to the top .

 

The shop did a really nice job fitting the trailer suspension. It's only about an inch higher than it was with the previous suspension tire combo and has far as we can tell no rubbing. There is way more ground clearance with no axle and preliminary parking lot curb bashing shows the ride to be much smoother.
Of course my favorite part is how much better it tows with the load range E tires. It's basically feels like I just lost 2 flat tires behind us. Very Very Very happy with this.
I'll add some better pics and more performance related updates soon.
Until then...



Contrast of the 235 85r16 mounted VS the stock load C 235 60r15




Also had 12500lb Bull Dog Collar lock coupler welded on. It has 15 degree improvement in rotation and is probably the the strongest trailer to truck connection.
And added a bull dog trailer jack to make lifting the rear of the truck up easier for the new WDH chain hangers. Also got rid of the fast way flip jack which was dangerous when parked on hills

And lastely 5000lb 30" travel stabilizer jacks on all four corners which means no more stacking blocks when parking on uneven terrain.

 

With all the work on the trailer lately I figure we ought to give it a name. New license plate coming.

 

Been waiting 2 weeks to have cross-members welded on the trailer tounge so I can finish the batteries and gas

This is starting to look very appealing to me

Lincoln Electric POWER MIG 210 MP Multi-Process Welder Aluminum One-Pak - K4195-1

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01CF5VTS...olid=1NM8Z24UVGUWV&psc=0&ref_=lv_ov_lig_dp_it

 

Dude, I have a MIG welder if you wanna borrow it. I'd offer to do it but I haven't welded in a couple of years and don't wanna fuck it up until I get some practice in first.

 

Thank you!! I may actually take you up on that, I'll let you know tomorrow.
I gotta guy I've used in the past for projects who is really convenient because he's down the street but this morning is the third time I've heard tomorrow and I need to get this done before some camping in a couple weeks.

I have limited stick electrode welding expierence and have only used a mig once or twice but I could just do a bunch of spot welds for what I need done.....

 

Last thing I built with it was my RV gate and it's still standing! haha

 

That's awesome! years ago I was volunteer welding for a gate builder because I just wanted practice and expierence welding but ultimately he had to let me go because he "couldn't afford to pay me". I'm pretty sure he smoked allot of crack while I did all the work anyway.....

 

No problem man! I'm sure if I picked it up and did a few test runs, it would be like riding a bike...

 

Awesome man I'll let you know by tomorrow!

 

Thanks man! Haha nice! It cost me about $150 in materials and a little bit of work, but it saved me a few grand if not more for a "pro" to do it.

 

I'm getting more and more tired of having "pros" do work for me. Even with little expierence I feel I do a better job than if I paid a "pro" simply because I care how it turns out and know I'm the one that has to look at it everyday.

 

I hear ya brotha! And totally agree. I just wanted something basic but not too basic. I got a quote from the "pros" for around $5000 to build a simple RV gate with a smaller entry on the side and I know it wouldn't have been done the way I did it. That bastard is sturdy and perfectly level! The whole thing only took 3-4 days to finish, working on it a few hours a day after work. Much more satisfying too!

 

Yeah man built to your standards and fun to do as well! Not to mention you ended up with a welder too! Did you get multi process and what brand did you go with if you don't mind me asking. Most good welders I've talked to say a quality machine makes makes all the difference.

 

No, not a multi process welder. It's just a small Lincoln Electric MIG welder but does a great job. It can weld both steel and aluminum but I haven't tried to weld the al-u-min-ium before! Once you get the voltage and wire speed dialed in, it lays down a nice weld man!