JeepAndrew's Jetski Trailer-to-Offroad RTT Hauler Build

X1000. Almost no difference in cost for a 3500# axle and it will save you from all kinds of headaches.

 

Yeah you tested that thing to the max! That max coupler is bad ass.

 

Holy shit I've neglected this thread! Had a lot going on lately, but now it's time for some teaser pics of progress on the trailer. It's nearly done, just have a few more things to do:

 

subbed looking good!

 

Lookin good so far Andrew.

 

Thank you fellas! Quintin your trailer is sick! Really clean build! I was going to go with the box type when I originally designed mine.

 

thanks we will both have trailers on the epic trip !

 

Hopefully I'll have my RTT by then!

 

So here's a quick rundown of the progress so far:

Total cost ~$2,500



After the road trip to northern AZ, I realized two things; 1- the trailer didn't have enough tongue weight, and 2- the tongue wasn't quite sturdy (and long enough) for my preferences. So, I cut the old tongue bar off, and replaced it with a full length of 2.5 x 1/4" thick receiver tube, and triangulated it with 1x3x3/16" rectangle tube.



As you can see, I also added a tongue box, which is equipped with a 12v AGM battery and 1000 watt Vector inverter, as well as a space for tools, accessories etc, which is foam padded to keep down noise from anything inside bouncing around.

I still need to build the panel that will have the 120volt outlet, 12v outlets, and switches for some of the electrical accessories (bed cargo lights, rock lights, and what not) that will mount over the space with the battery.

I also made damn sure that the box was watertight.



Everything electrical on the trailer, including marker and tail lights, is wired through this enclosure. The battery will charge off the tow vehicle via 30 amp circuit through the 7 round trailer plug. This wiring is already installed on my Cherokee (haven't done the Wrangler yet) and works perfectly.

Since I wanted to be able to disconnect the trailer light cable whip when offroad on some of the nastier trails, I made up a piece of cable with two male ends on it, and installed a vehicle side female plug into the tongue box. The safety chains are removable from the trailer for the same reason.





I also added Jerry can holders that will accept either fuel or water cans, and there are provisions for jacks on both back corners.



After bending the rear axle on the road test, I had originally picked up a 2k axle to replace it, but after a couple members raised some valid points, I traded it out for a 3500lb, ordered new leafsprings, and replaced the entire setup. I had an extra set of Rough Country steering stabilizer shocks for my Cherokee so I tossed those on since the new springs really needed some dampening.

 

Andrew!

 

Thank you good sir! You'll be seeing this trailer in action, hopefully with an RTT on it!

 

Sweet!

 

Looks great dude!

 

Pimp!

 

Andrew, any plans on switching to an independent trailing arm style suspension?

 

So far no, I'm actually surprised at how well the leafsprings handle offroad. Maybe down the road I might, but I can't argue with the simplicity of leafsprings.

 

Yea, I need to build on of those myself. Excpet mine will be on 37's. As soon as my 35" Goodyear MT/R's are gone I am going with Maxxis Creepy Crawlers. Probably 37x14.5R15 for the Jeep and 37x12.5R15 for the trailer. I have already removed the rear fenders and am cutting the fender for clearance, also I have metal cloak arched front fenders and new inner fenders that will give me plenty of room to run 37's. That coupled with my belly up kit will give me all the ground clearance I need and a nice low center of gravity.

I would like to do a trailing arm suspension, but maybe for initial simplicity I will just do like you did go with a straight axel initially.

 

If you need any help with working on your trailer let me know! The axle with hubs and bearings for mine was around $160, springs, perches and brackets another $75. Not too bad. And you can always 3 link the axle later.

 

I like the trailer plug charging the battery how and what do i need ?

 

If you already have the large 7 round trailer plug on your Tacoma then you're golden, you just need to use one of the spare pins in the plug. Most trailer wiring only uses 4 of the 7 pins (unless you also have trailer brakes). I ran a 10 gauge wire from the battery back to the plug on my jeep, and then same thing on the trailer side cord to the auxiliary battery. That's the smallest size (and largest you can use with a standard 7 round plug) I'd go with for a charge lead, since the trailer battery may draw a lot of current under charge if it's run low while you're out camping.

Also, make sure you have some sort of protection on the charge lead at the vehicle battery (fuse is good but a self-resetting automotive breaker will be much better, a fuse may have issues with blowing randomly when you start the truck with the trailer plugged in) and that the trailer ground wiring to the lead vehicle matches the size of your charging lead. It goes without saying, that the hitch itself IS NOT AN ADEQUATE GROUND for a trailer battery charging system.