Box Rocket Trailer Build

nice! good work

 

Is this still in the works? You made me determine to weld up my own similar trailer.

And your pictures are great! Reminds me when I lived in Utah

 

It's always in the works, but I haven't changed anything on it for quite a while. Only thing I really have planned is a lid.

 

Took the trailer back out to White Rocks last month. And to Moab again. Its still working great with no issues after continued abuse. Feel very fortunate to have had such good luck with this trailer in spite of having no idea what i was doing when i built it.

 

The fenders had been hammed from rock chips for a while now so I pulled them off tonight and sprayed them with Rustoleum bedliner. We'll see how it holds up. If it doesn't do very well, then I'll bust out the Raptor liner again.

 

I've been following this trailer build for awhile and plan on using it as a basis for my own. I like it because it's retained it's utility and doesn't seem to have become too specialized like other expo/off-road trailers I've seen.

Any lessons learned or things you wish you'd done different now that you've wheeled it for awhile?

 

Only some minor changes if I were doing it again.

First: I would have made the tongue just a bit longer. Not much, maybe 6" at most. It is rarely a problem but on very acute trail transitions such as coming to the bottom of a steep hill that sharply goes uphill again has been tricky with how I have configured the front of the trailer. With the cans and cooler on the front along with the tire carrier on the back of the truck, those acute angle can get the front of the trailer pretty close to the back of the truck. Like I said that is a rare instance but could be solved with a little length on the tongue or removing the stuff the on front of the trailer.

Second: If I were building the trailer today I would use a Max Coupler instead of the Lock-n-Roll hitch. The Max Coupler wasn't on the market at the time I built the trailer and the L-n-R was the best option at the time so I don't regret the decision but I am considering getting a Max Coupler to replace my L-n-R.

Third: Brakes. I chose not to use any brakes on the trailer mainly to keep my cost down. I wondered at the time if that would be an item I regretted not having. I have been fortunate that for my uses the trailer is relatively light and I haven't felt the need for brakes. Would they be nice? Sure. A requirement? For me, no. However, this is one other item I would consider upgrading on the trailer because of the peace of mind that comes in terms of safety. I never have felt unsafe or "white-knuckled" with this trailer but brakes are an upgrade I'm considering.


There are several other "overland" specific things that I could have added to the trailer but those are exactly what I think you were talking about with it becoming too "specialized". I haven't done many of those things because of the utility needs I have with this trailer. If I used it purely for overlanding/camping and nothing else, then it would be different.

I can't describe how pleased I am with how the trailer has worked out. Everyone told me I'd regret using trailer springs for the suspension and that it wasn't worth building if I didn't build it either with longer springs or with airbags and trailing arms. Are longer springs or airbags better? Maybe. But I have had zero issues with the trailer suspension and using the correct air pressure in the tires it has handled on road and trail better than I would have ever thought. Unlike the coupler issue, I see no reason to change the suspension setup I'm currently using.

 

Very nice work and it looks like you achieved just what you wanted.
Where did you get the custom axel from?
I have looked at some M series trailers and with all the work to change hubs to match the Tacoma and questionable age on frames ect. I think I want to follow your build and do one myself.
Thanks for all the great photos and inside during the build.
Well done sir!

 

I got the custom axle at Henderson Wheel in Salt Lake City. It was a great price. Custom width, and lug pattern and included the spring hangers/perches and springs for $115.

 

Thank you for the info that is a smokin deal.

 

Got some pics of the fenders all finished up. It's a different look with black fenders but I like it and hopefully they'll hold up to the abuse of gravel blasting from the tires.







this shows the texture of the rattlecan bedliner






I thought this was something worth pointing out about my build. I'm using magnetic towing lights for the taillights. They are all hard wired and loomed up underneath the trailer but I liked this idea because each of the lights has a plug near the end. This way if I'm on a difficult rocky trail that could damage the lights I can just unplug them and pull them off the trailer. Then just reattach them when I get back to the road. Ended up being a very simple and cheap solution for the lights.

Magnetic light


you can see the plug a little better in this pic.

 

that is a really cool looking trailer

 

Great build! I can appreciate your hard work in this as i sell and service cargo and utility trailers.

Hows the fender/tire clearance? Looks like there isnt much room for the tire to move inside the well. We usually leave 4" from tire to fender.

 

Clearance is close. Originally the tires on the trailer were 285's and there was plenty of room. I have sinced changed to 315s on the trailer to match my Land Cruiser so clearance is a bit tighter. But that being said, the suspension is 3500* trailer springs and I am never even close to that amount of weight with the trailer so there isn't much movement of the suspension. This is also the reason I run ~10-12psi in the tires typically. A lot of the "suspension" is absorbed by the tires.

the clearance actually looks closer than it is because of the CJ5 jeep flares that are on it. There is at least 2" of additional clearance to the edge of the actual fender, so probably in the 3.5-4" range of clearance to the fender, but the flares are definitely closer. But so far, nothing hits.

 

What is the overall length of the trailer?

 

6'

Edit: sorry that's just the box. I think with the tongue and hitch it's right around 10'

 

So your saying for it to be ideal with the swing away tire rack it should be about 10'6" then? I'm considering building one of these and also a swing away bumper similar to CBI's. Mine will be on a second gen though. Do you foresee any clearance issues with the second gen? I guess it would be similar to the fitment on the cruiser though. Also on your hubs when you got them were they a generic hub (6 on 5.5) that fits chevy and toyota? I found a hub like that but it doesn't specify. In fact I'm not even sure if it would matter on a trailer.

 

Tongue length will depend on the tow rig and how the front of the trailer is configured.

I designed the length of the tongue on my trailer to be as short as possible for better trail maneuverability but long enough that if I jackknifed the trailer (you will jackknife it, believe me) that it would not contact the body of the truck. One thing to keep in mind is that these measurements can change. If you take those measurements on flat ground you may run into issues if you need to jackknife the trailer with the truck on flat ground but the trailer is being backed up an steep incline.

But the simple answer would be to make the tongue long enough so that you can put the trailer at a 90* angle to the truck and not have any part of the trailer contact any part of the truck. You should be good in most cases that way.

Since you brought up swing aways. Make sure that your swing out tire carrier isn't longer than the length of the tongue on your trailer. If my swing out were the full width of my tailgate I could not open it without it hitting the trailer. That is why my swing out is roughly half the width of my tailgate. If you need a full width of swingout for gear, consider a dual swing out instead.

On the hubs I just told them I needed a 6 on 5.5 lug pattern. That matches most Toyota patterns.

If you order a custom axle. Order it to match the track width of the tow rig. That way (unless you have a VERY long tongue on the trailer) the trailer will follow in essentially the same tracks as the tow vehicle even around corners. This is improtant especially on technical trails when you have to carefully pick lines. You'll be glad if you trailer will follow the same lines you can drive.

 

Good point bringing up the length of the swing away. I haven't thought of that. But better to know it now than to figure it out once everything is on the truck and the trailer hitched up.

I had found the hubs with a 6 on 5.5 pattern I just didn't know if you used them or there was an actual toyota hub out there that was hub centric like the trucks. That was an awesome deal you got on that axle. I was looking at making the axle out of 2x2 and using the spindles that go in it. I'll have to research the axle some more though before I decide anything. Tracking around here won't be a problem as we don't have the trails like you guys do out there. It would probably be more for utility use around town and occasional trips to the mountains w/o and significant trails to speak of. Thanks for the info. Your trailer is a true work of art.

 

Magnetic tail lights. Would've never thought of that...

I wonder if there's a way to calculate the ideal hitch to axle length? Or is it that pretty much any short trailer will track in nearly the same path?