Off-road camper idea “White trash edition”

Hey TW folks
I have an idea for an affordable diy pull behind off-road camper. I don’t believe I’m the only person to think of this, but I can’t find any examples online.

Above ^^ is the commercially available type..

below is a very crude example of The “white trash edition” idea I have in mind..


My thought process..
a camper trailer isn’t much more that a box on a frame w/ beefed up suspension. So why not take an old Jeep Cherokee, strip it down removing everything except the box, frame, and rear suspension? Pull the engine, trans, front end, interior etc. then simply weld on a trailer hitch.
After stripping as much weight as humanly possible, build it up from there.
You could pick an old Cherokee up for less than $100 that would suit your needs. They have a ton of interior room, and suspension parts are readily available and butt cheap!

What do y’all think? I think it would work like a charm, especially if you don’t mind a few sideways looks from people.

If you’ve seen anything like this send me links or pics! I would love to see examples

 

did you try google??

 

below is a taco bed, i would like to see someone hack up a 4runner

 

Instead of a Jeep and all that work, why not a Toyota truck? Find one the front end is tore off of with a good bed and throw a shell on the bed and there’s you a camper after adding a tongue. A lot less work, just as much room.

 

Title maybe an issue (Not with me) just sayin!

 

That’s a good idea too!

 

I like that a lot!
I also like the idea of using a 4Runner
I just started with a Cherokee because there’s an old wrecked one next door

 

That’s a good point..
I wonder if you could tite it as a shop build?

 

Thats fucking sexy and its the best damn color they ever made.

Thats not your by any chance is it? If yes, more pictures please.

 

I like the title. I also like the jeep trailer a lot better then a pickup bed trailer. The doors would so much more versatile at least for my purposes and the size and shape is perfect.

 

Nice!!

 

My thoughts exactly!!

 

What did you google to get that result?

 

Attaching a Jeep to a Tacoma is like the truck version of human centipede.

 

no not my truck, but i would assume the owner must be on here

*another google find:
https://expeditionportal.com/forum/threads/trdagule-tacoma-matching-trailer.148122/
https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/trailers-made-from-tacoma-beds.267043/

"toyota bed trailer"
"cherokee chop trailer"

you gotta just scroll around the google images link, google does a frightening good job

 

I feel they kinda work, done clean and matching tow vehicle. I’ve seen a couple at teardrop trailer meetups. I’d do a 4Runner trailer behind a Tacoma. You can pick them up in the “yards”. No title needed since it will be registered as a trailer.

 

It'd work, but it is a ton of metal fabrication, which is expensive. Another consideration is the jeep / 4runner / whatever else donor chassis you're converting to a camper is going to weigh a whole fucking hell of a lot more than a camper.

If you want to do a camper on the cheap, get a Harbor Freight 4x8 camper and look up plans for a "weekender" teardrop trailer. Doing the metal fab to just convert a truck chassis to a camper would take longer than that whole teardrop build. TNTTT.com is a great resource for build techniques and plans for teardrops if you're not good at googling. Spend some time there, it's a great resource.


I could slap a weekender together in my driveway in literally a weekend for under $1k in materials. The harbor freight trailers come with 5x100 axles usually, so just find your buddy with a jeep - he will also inevitably have at least two extra sets of wheels. Buy a pair off of him and throw them on there, do a block lift on the trailer axle, and you're doing the overland thing for less than the cost of a RTT. That said, I actually considered starting a business doing dirt cheap overland teardrop trailers. I can definitely build one for the cost of a cheap RTT, throw $1k on top for labor, and they'd sell like hotcakes. I just don't have the free time with young kids right now. Maybe in a few years.

 

Work with what you have. Find out what you need for registration if you plan to take it on the road, why not? Sounds like you have a project on your hands!