My Off Road Worthy 5x8 Camper Build

Overall it pulls great. The Taco isn't a towing king, so I do notice the 1,500# back there, but not in any abnormal bad way. The best gas mileage I've achieved in two years of owning my truck has been towing this trailer. I contribute that to driving and shifting my automatic manually to keep it out of OD though.

No wind issues whatsoever, I'm glad I cut it down those 8". It doesn't seem to have excessive drag and isn't shaken by passing semi's or even some strong crosswinds we get in the mountains here.

The only complaint is the tongue weight needs to be a bit lighter. Right now I'm sitting around 250# and would like to see it closer to 150#. I can feel it weighting down the rear leaf springs on the truck pretty good. Bumps for the rear axle are a little more rough.

 

love the jack and shovel mount

 

I've read all through this. Love the build. I didn't have the nerve to do all the interior stuff so last year we bought a micro off road camper just the basic version but it allowed us to start camping rt away. It seems I've been modding ever since and still a ways to go. I've done several of the mods you have with the front frame except I built a large steel box to house the fridge and for storage. Cool work I think I have more fun modding this than the truck. Welding and fabrication is a large paart of whakt I do so I kinda went a little bonkers so far but it is suiting our needs perfectly. Next is wheels tires and suspension I wanted to get it to where we could be self sufficient off road first

 

Pretty much finished the rear door finally. I ended up reusing some aluminum sheet from the old doors instead of the sheet metal, all to save weight. I initially didn't go this route because reusing the aluminum meant it'd have some holes in it and would have to make out of three pieces, but I needed to trim some fat and the ole lady said I couldn't spend any more mula right now to get it done, so it'll work for now. I may redo it down the road, for cosmetic reasons. All in all, it came out ok. I covered two large holes with a license plate relocation and have come stickers coming that'll cover two more large ones.

I used some liquid nail around the exterior edges, some self tapping black screws along some of the frame and some clear caulk on the inside edges to adhere the skins to the door frame.

Door skinned, all flaws in the aluminum are visible :/



Clamping everything together for it to cure in place.



Weather seal installed.



Had to move the rain rail up a bit to clear the door effectively, also here's the shelf up/done.




Stove on the shelf



Took it out this weekend for some 10 degree camping




Next up: figuring out a 90 degree door stay to keep it open and wiring up the license plate light after relocating it.

Jake

 

Awesome build man! From the looks of it you do great work.

 

Good looking trailer. You sir have some skills to chop 8" OUT of it. Not to mention all the other work you did.

Where did you get your wheel adapters? I would like to change my 5x8's wheels out to match my truck wheels.

 

Thanks, it was just a lot of planning and a good amount of measuring twice, three and sometimes four times before cutting!

These would be the ones I purchased, from seller “lugnutguys” on eBay https://www.ebay.com/itm/2-Wheel-Ad...951687?hash=item48a0e42587:g:tZgAAOSwpgNZjfYB

The biggest negative is they come 2” thick as a minimun, due to the fact that the 5x4.5” lugs existing in the same real estate as one or two of the 6x5.5 lugs, so the 2” thickness provides the clearance with these specific lug combo.

Jake

 

@jmanscotch thank you!

 

Nice rig

 

Read through the whole thread. Very nice

 

Nicely done op

 

Saawweeeeettt!

 

Nice build.

 

Amazing!! Looking forward to more updates!

 

I was getting excited about starting back on this build, but our house plans have surprised us and instead of closing on our house in the fall (buying from a friend) it’s moved up to June. So unfortunately, very little will probably happen this summer. House to buy in June, I’ve already promised the fiancé a new kitchen, floors, master and more, so remodeling to ensue through July and August, then our wedding in September.

That said, I WILL FINALLY HAVE A GARAGE to work in! So tinkering through the winter will be an option.

I’ll update if things happen, but we’ll probably have to wait for winter for anything significant fellas.

 

No major updates yet, but with winter closing in and the house remodel almost done, work will be starting again soon. Plans to finish the inside built and equip it with all the electric stuff and just generally button her up.

For now, some pics of us our enjoying Colorado and the trailer this summer.

 

How are the wheel adapters holding up? Have you had any issues with the axle?

 

I actually just checked it all over (bolts, connections, etc) a few weeks ago, before our last outing to Ouray, CO. Zero issues with anything really.

Spacers and all lugs are still tight, axle is secure and in good shape (not surprised with the Dexter axle).

Only things I noticed were a couple spots needing touch up paint and I lubed the lock-n-roll a bit with 3in1 oil so it’d rotate a little smoother.

A wood screw, that holds the interior door trim ring on, worked loose so I’ll have to fix that. Everything else has held up great to the off-road abuse!

Jake

 

That’s good to hear.

 

Sold the Tacoma today...nearly 4 years ownership, which I know is nothing to some, but is monumental to me! I’m on my 43rd vehicle at mid-30 years of age...so I do get bored and go through them a lot and the Tacoma served me very well. Beat my old ownership record by 2 years lol.

No progress on the trailer, still finishing house projects and now I’ve gotta find a new off road hauler...I’ve got some leads though and will update as soon as I have something.

Cheers