Anyone convert an old teardrop into something that can handle off-road conditions?

[hidesertwheelin]

Has anyone turned an older aluminum tear drop into an off-road capable trailer? I found a old Scud-A-Bout for cheap I am looking at. I'm just not sure how it will hold up off-road. I know I will need to beef up the frame, but the body panels kind of worry me. It's a 60's model, so I'm not sure how build quality is back then. I'd like to mount some roof cross bars to the op, but not sure if that is even possible on these older models. I've really only looked at newer square drop trailers. This is a picture of a like model.

 

[Road]

You will get a lot of jostling and side-to-side motion on backcountry trails and gravel travel that might rack the hell out of what is probably a 2x2 wood-frame under that aluminum. I imagine it will wreak havoc on the fasteners, too, used on a trailer meant for smooth pavement. Depends on how rough a road you go and how far back in, I guess. I've seen some pretty cool little vintage trailers way back off the pavement, though.

I just spent eight months mostly off-road and gravel travel and kept a good eye on my all-aluminum trailer in the mirrors, to watch how much it shakes, twists, and racks and my trailer is made for off-road, with a military grade heavy duty aluminum frame and is huck-bolted together.

Personally, I'd be leery of investing in something cool as that and then taking it backcountry over rough and rocky roads on a regular basis.

Anywhere you can peek under the inside wall covering to see how it is constructed?

 

[hidesertwheelin]

You will get a lot of jostling and side-to-side motion on backcountry trails and gravel travel that might rack the hell out of what is probably a 2x2 wood-frame under that aluminum. I imagine it will wreak havoc on the fasteners, too, used on a trailer meant for smooth pavement. Depends on how rough a road you go and how far back in, I guess. I've seen some pretty cool little vintage trailers way back off the pavement, though.

I just spent eight months mostly off-road and gravel travel and kept a good eye on my all-aluminum trailer in the mirrors, to watch how much it shakes, twists, and racks and my trailer is made for off-road, with a military grade heavy duty aluminum frame and is huck-bolted together.

Personally, I'd be leery of investing in something cool as that and then taking it backcountry over rough and rocky roads on a regular basis.

Anywhere you can peek under the inside wall covering to see how it is constructed?

That is some of my worries also, but on the plus side, it is cheap.

 

[Road]

That is some of my worries also, but on the plus side, it is cheap.

Hell, if you can afford it as a camper trailer, I'd get it just to have it. I like the looks of it. How tall is it inside?

 

[old_man]

Yes, you can do a different axle. I recommend air bags for suspension and a good set of Gabriel trailer shocks. My trailer does great and handles the washboard roads as if they weren't there.

 

[kbudd93]

Has anyone turned an older aluminum teardrop into an off-road capable trailer? I found an old Scud-A-Bout for cheap I am looking at. I'm just not sure how it will hold up off-road. I know I will need to beef up the frame, but the body panels kind of worry me. It's a 60's model, so I'm not sure how build quality is back then. I'd like to mount some roof crossbars to the op, but not sure if that is even possible on these older models. I've really only looked at newer square drop trailers. This is a picture of a like model.

as road said, off-road usage will destroy fasteners, you may want to weld a box frame underneath so there is a fixed part of the trailer that holds the upper teardrop rigid, I would personally take out everything south of the hitch a frame axle and wheel arch, and weld up a two-piece chassis using Landrover Defender Engine Mounts and then fabricate an identical frame joined with the aforementioned engine mounts holding them together. this would hold together very well and remove almost all fastener breaking rattles.

Then for the drivetrain, I would personally use Landrover Defender trailing arm mounts and Matching Trailing Arms or whatever the cheap generic equivalent is in the US as well as coil-spring and shock mounts and an axle for your truck from the scrapyard. This way you can use the suspension components from almost anything which makes parts cheap, and by using an axle from your vehicle you can share wheel hubs, therefore, you can interchange wheels and tyres. This method also has the benefit of being able to share spare parts with your vehicle.

 

[DoggMan1163]

Has anyone turned an older aluminum tear drop into an off-road capable trailer? I found a old Scud-A-Bout for cheap I am looking at. I'm just not sure how it will hold up off-road. I know I will need to beef up the frame, but the body panels kind of worry me. It's a 60's model, so I'm not sure how build quality is back then. I'd like to mount some roof cross bars to the op, but not sure if that is even possible on these older models. I've really only looked at newer square drop trailers. This is a picture of a like model.

Yes it can be rickety on off road conditions but if it's in good condition and not rotted it should hold up to it the roads back in the 50's and 60's were not all asphalt or concrete a lot were just dirt sand and gravel and for the most part Ill maintained with ruts and holes you just have to go slower and pick your lines better