RTT Trailer Build on college budget

After having my RTT for over a year I decided it was finally time to build a trailer that would serve as a mount for the tent as well as extra storage. Being in college I couldn't drop a grand or more into a fancy or converted military trailer, so I looked on craigslist for awhile at the carry-on trailers and other smaller trailers that I could convert rather cheap. Finally, I found this one for $200 and couldn't pass it up.

After picking the trailer up the first thing I did was remove the hubs and bearings and regrease them and make sure that they were in good condition which they were luckily. The trailer sat to low for my liking so I did the simple axle flip which was fairly simple other than having to soak the u-bolt nuts in wd40 to get them to come off
The trailer sat like this till I could figure out if I wanted to spend the money to get it sandblasted or not ( I will be doing later this summer ). I decided to save the money and just coat the entire trailer in rust prevention paint, I did 4 coats on the bottom and sides while doing 2 on the tub floor and then covering it with a coat of truck bed coating that would prevent chips in the paint.


Also, during the painting process I took the bed bars that I had on the truck off and cut roughly 9in out of the middle and then had my brother in law weld them back together so that they would fit the trailer. Once the base coat was on the trailer I began the actual paint for the sides.


The trailer was mostly done at this point so I mounted the RTT along with the front swivel jack and wired the lights along the bottom of the tub

Before taking it out on the first trip I noticed the left side tire loosing some air and found where the tire had been crudely plugged by the PO so instead of waiting a little longer for tires I bit the bullet and order two General Grabber AT 2's that were a little bigger then the original tire


Future Plans:
-Sandblasted and repainted
-Metal locking tailgate
-12v converter and battery
-Enclosed bed rack to replace bed bars

 

Damn dude, not bad at all! If i could find a trailer for $200, I’d do the exact same...

 

I maybe spent $60 in paint but the only thing that cost me a decent amount were the new tires they cost more then the trailer lol

 

Nice job! That's a great find.

 

Damn thats sweet! Ive been looking for something like this i could do as a summer project but most of the trailers i find at that price are 20+ years old with a beat axle and springs with a particle board wood body with metal nailed too it and shit. One day i will find one

 

Way cool man!