Another Camper Trailer Build *pic heavy*

I started this build the 1st of April and officially finished it today, June 22nd. I ended up going the build route over buying mostly for the fun of it. Originally I planned on making this thread at the beginning and updating as I went along, but I decided to just make a thread at completion for the fear of failure . Really I'm doing this as retribution for those who have inspired me with so many ideas. So I hope this helps many others looking to start their build. I ended up getting most of my inspiration here: https://forum.ih8mud.com/threads/off-road-trailer-build.986458/ and here: https://expeditionportal.com/forum/...ler-build-pump-trailer-transformation.218978/

The original goals were to be able to handle decent off roading (no rock crawling at this time), be able to hold a 5-person RTT that articulates up for camping and down for travel, have running water with a kitchen type thing in the rear. The wheels are used spare Tacoma wheels from Craigs list. Tires are the same size at the trucks.

Apologies in advance for the messy/chaotic garage! My parents let me use their garage to do this build since I didn't have space to do it.

Ordered a custom 3.5K axle with brakes and 6 lug hubs. Leaf springs are rated at 1250 each. I wanted to get the wheels the same width as the Tacoma. I wanted the box to have the same foot print as the RTT. The trailer box witch ended up making the axle a couple of inches wider than the Taco, but I'm willing to live with it.

Took it to the scale today. 1,660lbs dry.

Pile of steel for the frame. 2X3 box tubing for the perimeter and 3" c-channel for the cross members. Ended up doing a 4" c-channel for the rear to accommodate the tail lights. Mostly 11ga for everything pictured.


Drilling some holes in 2"ID receiver tubing. The goal here is to have a removable/telescoping tongue.


Basic frame welded up. Tail lights trial fitted. Still need to get the A-frame pieces on to support the tongue box. Didn't grab a photo of them.


Getting an idea of frame height.


Picked up a lockable tongue box from harbor freight. 11ga sheet steel for the floor. Bought it for $90 as scrap from the metal yard. Cheaper than plywood!


Starting to go vertical


Box frame complete


Rear door and side door installed


Building out the kitchen. 25gal water tank installed. Slapped some ply-wood to separate the rear and front areas. 200lb slides from Amazon.


Painting the interior


Skinning it all up. Used 3m VHB tape to adhere the 16ga sheet metal to the frame. (In retrospect: holy crap look at that mess!)


Testing out the switches and Redarc battery manager.


Latch for rear door


All boxed up!


Mocking up the fenders


Fenders in progress and completed. You can see the top of a shock that was installed here too.



TEST DRIVE! Took it on a 2 mile trip to see how it did. Tracked well! Barely noticed it was back there


Needed to build out the kitchen a bit more with counter space. I'll probably add another cable to the left. But for now, the current cable is "rated" for 120lbs. So well see if I'll regret this decision


1st coat of primer of 2. Used my buddy's HVLP and went to work.


3 coats of single stage gray. I originally wanted Lunar Rock, but it's only offered in two-stage and other $400.


Coming together!


Getting it inspected and registered at the DMV. 4.5 hour process...ugh...


Time to start the adjustable tent rack. Picked up some gas struts to help with the lifting. Made holes every 2" so I could raise and lower the rack in small increments without binding. Heim joints were used on each post to help articulate.




Some final accessories/do-dads:




Batwing awning and RTT installed. Test drive and a stop by the store for a 6-pack!


Awning, tent and kitchen setup. Ended up getting a Dometic 35L cooler when REI had the annual sale.

 

That's freakin awesome. I just helped a friend do something similar, but ours was a bit more shitbox-y of a vibe. Your setup is legit.

Some of your first pictures look like this though:


Is that just me?

 

Well that’s annoying. I can only see half of them too. I used google photos to link all the images. But when I edit the thread, they appear as attachments?

 

Took the trailer out to big bear for a single nighter at a regular campsite just to shake out any gremlins. Had a tiny leak at the plastic fittings for the water pump. Two of the relays I was using from Amazon had intermittent issues. Otherwise it handled the winding mountain roads great!

 

Really nice job.

 

Awesome build, thanks for sharing

 

Spent the better part of today building a swing out spare tire rack. I didn’t want any more weight on the very rear of the trailer. The only space left blocked access to one of the RTT posts and water inlet. So, swing out it was! Still waiting on a part in the mail so it can lock while closed.

 

872 miles from home. Out on Snake River in Idaho.

 

1,062 miles from home. Winchester Lake, ID.

I did forget to mention that on our first camp site, a gust of wind blew my 270 Rino Rack bat wing and broke 3 pieces. Two of the pivoting bracket pieces and one of the horizontal pieces. I can make it work but boy it is sketch LOL

 

Just got home from my two week trip from Southern CA to Coeur d’Alene, Idaho. Total round trip of 3,036 miles. Only thing that broke was a cheap 12v usb plug and the RedArc battery manager shore power. Spoke with the folks in Austria and they’re sending me out the newest version already. The trailer itself did just fine.

So I ended up buying an OVS 270 batwing while on the trip and it beat me home. You can see the difference in build quality and choice of materials. When I get all the broken parts replaced I’ll be listing it for sale here.