gwolff's Cargo Trailer Camper Conversion

I bought the 31's off a taco. Here they are on the trailer. They're a safe fit, they should definitely work. Only problem is, they have a special lug. In the pics, the lugs are just barely snug since they're not the right kind.




Here's the lug issue. Top is the lugs I had. Bottom is the lugs that came with the rims. They are different threads. I'm hoping I can find some lugs like the bottom ones in the same thread as the ones I have. I haven't researched yet so I have no clue if I made a huge mistake LOL.




Still considering finding some tires to put on my 16x8 rims (The ones I just took off). I could throw some BFGs or Toyo OCs on those and if they fit I'd be super happy.

Anyone in the market for some tires? Lol. Gonna need to off load some of this inventory I've racked up. At this point I could have bought brand new stuff, but thankfully I didn't since I sized the fender poorly.

Edit: It looks like the lugs I need are called "mag seat" lugs, and my lugs are 1/2-20. Hopefully autozone or pepboys has some lugs that fit the bill. If so, I'll at least be 100% in business for my Easter trip.

@jmanscotch, I am thinking a 265/75r16 like what you suggested would worth trying on my other rims. The ones you linked are in a location in LA I dare not tread, though!

 

Could you just weld a thick plate washer on or nah?

Nevermind, I see the point that has to seat down into the rim.

 

I'm at pep boys looking at 285/75s and 265/75s to put on my 16 inch rims. The 265s are a safe bet but I like the width of the 285. I wish I could find a 285/70

 

Big tire post incoming. So.. I pulled the trigger on a brand new 285/75r16 from Pepboys. Just one. I actually went to a couple pep boys because they had different inventory, but the one by my house was super chill and they said they'd let me return the tire for a smaller set as long as I didn't drive on it! So I had them mount it on the same rim I had the Toyos on. Here are some pics

Here is a comparison between the 315/75 Toyo OC, the 285/75 Cooper AT, and a 265/75 Cooper AT. The 265/75 was a sure fit but I thought the 285 would look way better and could probably fit, so I gave it a shot.



I brought it home and threw it on. I am hoping to hear what you guys think about clearance.



For the sake of comparison, here's how the old one looked.



And the new:


The edge of the tire is actually just inside the tubing of the fender, which I think is a good thing.



The width of the tire is a much better match for the trailer. As for whether or not there's enough clearance, I tried to do some measurements to get more data and form a better prediction.

Something really important I realized, which I considered before but didn't pay much attention to when building my fender: The wheel does not go straight up and down. It travels in an arc, up and to the rear (like a clock going from 4 to 3 o clock). THAT is why my tire hits the back of the fender! When decompressed, the wheel is dead center in the fender. Because of the function of the suspension, the wheel moves backwards as it moves up. This is very important when you're inexperienced like me and you think it's a good idea to make fenders with just enough clearance. If I was aware of how significant the rearward movement would be, I would have planned for it in my design.

So, back to the big question: Do I have enough clearance? Well, lets look at pictures. The vertical distance from the spindle to the frame, when decompressed, should be 7 5/16" per the specs. I raised the trailer and measured to confirm.




It looks about right. According to the specs, there is a maximum deflection of 2 5/8". So when fully compressed I should expect to see a distance of about 4 11/16". I put the trailer back on its own weight. It's on a driveway with a curve that is actually compressing this side of the suspension a little bit extra than if it were level. I measured it to be about 5 1/2"



So it is compressed about 1 3/4" in the picture, with about 1 inch of travel remaining. So you can imagine 1 inch of travel when you look at this photo:



I'm thinking that I am probably okay. Even though the tire will still move backwards a bit when it's compressed, I don't think I have to worry about it hitting the fender.

Keep in mind, I can still return this and go smaller if I need to. I want to know what you guys think. I'm hoping to make a decision by lunch time tomorrow. Your input is appreciated!


Oh and if you're in the market for tires let me know


Spent so far:

4 - 33" Mickey Thompson Tires, 15" rims $200
4 - 35" Toyo Open Country Tires, 16" rims $400
4 - 31" BFG Rugged Trail Tires, 16" rims $300
1 - 33" NEW Cooper A/T Tire: $160

So I am about $1100 deep in wheels right now. I am hoping I can sell the other stuff and get maybe $6-700 back


Latest video update: https://youtu.be/DDbTSaj3Ek4

 

I'm not sure on the clearance topic, but I will say with the info presented, it looks close but looks like you'd be ok. The rare full compression might result in a light scrub, but that should be ok if the size works better for you.

I was about to comment more on the Tacoma wheels and the lug issue, and I'm glad to see you went back to the black wheels. I almost said something earlier when you posted the wheels, but I kinda assumed you were pulling the tires off the wheels and installing them on your black wheels, not running the Tacoma setup as is (I didn't realize the trailer was 6 lug).

The big no-no with those Tacoma wheels is they're not lug centric, they're HUB centric. If you were to put them on the trailer, which ISN'T hub centric, then you could potential have some problems as you've worked around both centering features for wheels. On trailers, you must run LUG NUT centric (or conical / acorn) style to help center and secure the wheels since using the hub for this isn't doable.

Figured it was a good time to share this knowledge as it was one of the many lessons I learned the hard way .

 

Thought: Looking at your fender pictures again, it looks like you've got plenty of clearance on the fender in front of the wheels. If you choose to go with the 285/75s, and they want to scrub the rear of the fenders a little, could you simply cut the welds where the fenders mount to the bottom of the trailer frame, slide the whole setup back a 1/2" or 1" and reweld them? It'd be minimal additional welding, not recreating the fenders and no more material. It looks like you only have a little room between to scoot back before you'd hit the Timbren mount, but you could come back some, or even move that one brace forward on the fender some..if that makes sense.

 

Dude, I didn't even know there was such a thing as hub centric rims. I'm cringing at myself. I really appreciate you explaining things like this to me. Talk about a learning experience.

And you're right, I could scoot back the fenders if need be, it wouldn't be THAT much work. And it would solve the problem if I do get rub in the back. This whole problem could have been prevented if I had accounted for the fact that the wheels move backwards as they move up.

 

Found these on CL, they're 285/75R16 like the tester I have in the pics above:

https://inlandempire.craigslist.org/pts/d/all-terrain-tires-only-2/6503126912.html

 

I'd look at the date stamp on those and make sure they're not too old, since they're the older KO style. If anything, use it to negotiate price.

 

What age do you think is safe? I have heard up to 10 years as long as they've been used and haven't been sitting around

 

I usually just look for dry rot and less than 7 years old or so.

 

The tires were in pretty good shape. I'm getting them mounted at pep boys as we speak. The tech said they look in pretty good shape. I will upload some pictures tonight. I'm happy with their appearance and the fact that they're just a slightly smaller version of my jeep tire lol. Hopefully the fit is good. Paid $140 for them and $20 bucks to have them both mounted and balanced. Beats new tires big time

 

What's this? A wild set of 285/75R16 BFG A/Ts appeared!



With the exception of a bit of one side wear, these tires are in as good of shape as any of the tires I have found used. The guy at pep boys dunked them to check for leaks after mounting them on my rims.

BEHOLD, THE BEAST


So of course, I took it out for a drive. I took it on the same path I did where I had rub before, with ups and downs and dips and bumps. The verdict: They fit great. I couldn't do anything to make them rub. THANK GOODNESS.

I then took it the freeway. Yolo. Took it up to 65 mph. I chose a stretch that has a huge two to three lane wide emergency lane just in case I needed to pull over. But I didn't, it was smooth sailing. I drove my baby up the hill for some glamour shots right after the sun had set.





Hooray!

 

F@#& yeah! Glad that's done...now you just have to sell all the other tires/wheels

In the end, it looks great behind the Jeep man!

 

Looks great! Really matches your jeep. I think the wheels/tires look great too.

 

It's funny, I don't know if it looks cool to the average person or just to me because I am so into cargo campers that I have lost perspective. I think we probably appreciate how cool this trailer looks more than the average person on the street lol

 

Clean utilitarian lines and a color scheme that matches your Jeep? It's definitely cool. Maybe not for the average guy on the street, but for the average camper at the site it will be!

 

Looks dope. Adventure Forth!

 

Agreed. I think some non-enthusiast who see it going down the road will notice something's "off" about that cargo trailer, but not place it nor care. Everyone else who's a car guy, off road guy, etc will definitely notice and appreciate it!

We plan to run a 4 foot or so mountain-scape sticker to help ours look a little more camper-esque. Hopefully that'll help stop the confusion of why we're hauling a work trailer down mountain trails. Something in the realm of this:

 

That looks sweet, I would like to get a decal on mine. I am super inspired by this wrap but wraps are expensive. I feel like a topo map wrap would be the ultimate though. I am on a sar team and my primary hobby is backpacking/hiking/mountaineering so it'd fit perfect.



If you can't tell, this trailer was kinda an inspiration for me. I emailed the creator and he was nice enough to send me a ton of pictures and info, including the fact that this trailer, the original prototype, with its steel frame, weighed 4000lbs. It's funny, because I'm pretty sure it's the same trailer in your pic @jmanscotch. The original creator sold the design to another trailer company. They made a lightweight composite version.

I want to give him a shoutout and link to his website because his projects are cool and if I hadn't seen his trailer, I may have never built mine. http://benhedrick.com/