Small off-road trailer project

Got a wild hair finally and plasma cut the fenders off. I have a love hate relationship with my plasma torch. It is super finicky, but it liquifies metal with zero prejudice. Have some 1/4" x 3.5" steel strap that I'm going to weld to the outer edge of the frame and across the back to give the timbren axles something significant to bolt to. Also got a thick wall 2x2 square tube to run across the axles for lateral support.

 

I thought I had a line on some matching 34s to the truck, but fuckin Craigslist sellers man. Anywho, these 285s don't look so much different than what's on there now

 

Axle removed. The frame is this strange C-channel. I wouldn't call it strong, but it isn't weak either. Going to clean up the cut off welds and add my re-enforcement

 

Drilling holes for my Timbren axles. Ideally I would have had them about 6" forward, but the crossbar for the axles lined up with the crossbar of the trailer. I can't imagine anything being stronger. I'm off to drop tires and wheels off at my tire guy. I'm kinda stuck until I can temporarily get the wheels mounted to see how tall this is going to be. Then I can figure out 4 corner leveling system

 

This gonna be one, stout trailer!

 

My tire guy rocks. $40 and done in no time. Unfortunately it started raining, so project on hold

 

Timbrens on. Was really hoping to get the tires on too, but I don't have any gloves and I need to pack the bearings still. Maybe later


I also ran out of gas, I should just switch to flux core, I wish I would have thought of that from the beginning. So much welding, such a waste of expensive gas

 

Tires on. Found my winch helpful in getting it flipped over. Hitch sits about 23" off the ground, which is a bit lower than I hoped. My hitch on the truck is 29" so I need to account for a 6" drop on the lock-n-roll. They only off a 4" drop, so that makes my questioning decision to cut off that goofy 3" thin reciever tube and weld on a more sturdy 2" I can re-enforce and add a couple inches to. This is going to be a Frankenstein monster for sure now

 

I got stabilizer legs welded to all 4 corners. Tongue is getting replaced by a super stout .325" 2.5x2.5" tube, then I can finally get to making the rack for the tent

 

Small update. New tongue has been welded in and supports added. I need to clean up the bottom and paint it finally. A 3x5x12 tube is going to be welded on top of the 3.5" tube that's on there now, then a 2.5" on that. That will get me to the height of the hitch on the truck. So much welding. Wish I had something a bit stronger than my 140, multiple passes on this 1/4 to try and get as much penetration as possible

 

Almost there. Tongue is on, crossbars are on. Just waiting on the hitch, need to weld in some gussets, get some boards and make a back piece.

I think I might have to cut the crossbars off and do it again but taller. I'd like to fit a 4x4 in there, but I'll cross that road when I come to it

 

Hitch arrived today. Got it bolted in, will weld the back as well.

 

Y'all might laugh, but I've been struggling to figure out how I wanted to do the fenders. I couldn't find anything big enough to just order. Well, my job leaves me with tons of "short" stainless tubing, so I cut 4 identical 48" pieces and 8 12" pieces. The long ones I stuck in my rock sliders and put a kink in each side as I had no other way of bending them. You can weld stainless to mild steel if you don't mind having to paint. So I welded the shit out of it and voila, fender.

I have some Kydex sheets from when I was making holsters, so that will skin it perfectly. Also, I cut off the crossbars. I have an idea on how to make it adjustable. Have some 1" internal diameter steel tube I'll pick up tomorrow

 

Bought some sheet metal, hammered it into shape, managed to weld it, then ripped it all off. Didn't like the fenders at all. Now I have a different idea, and it's going to allow the fenders to be steps into the rtt as well

 

That's what making something unique is all about, trial and error till you get the outcome you want.

 

Heck yeah. I wanted something stronger anyways. Just means another trip to get more steel

 

Finished one side. Strong enough to step on, bash into rocks, drop off a cliff.

 

Should add another step at the lips of the well, that's a bit of a step up to the top of the fender.

 

Definitely. Good idea. One more thing on the list

 

This is a really cool project.