Beginner questions!!

[Scottdabeast213]

Hi everyone! I’m Scott. I’m new to overlanding and I’m looking to build up a rig but I have a few questions about what I should add. I have a 2015 Nissan frontier that I’ve taken off-roading many times and I’ve recently gotten into the overlanding world. I’m 17 but I have tons of experience working with engines and cars so no project is too hard. However money is tight because of my hobby’s, so I’m looking to build up an overlanding trailer. I have a few questions about what I should add to my rig. What size should the trailer be? How big should the tires be? What are some essential items I should add to it? What are some necessary things I should add? And what style is the best? I have a pop up tent ordered, so I’m looking to build up this trailer to hold the essential things. Also any recommended upgrades to the truck would be greatly appreciated aswell!! I’m excited to be apart of this new community!

 

[K12]

Hi everyone! I’m Scott. I’m new to overlanding and I’m looking to build up a rig but I have a few questions about what I should add. I have a 2015 Nissan frontier that I’ve taken off-roading many times and I’ve recently gotten into the overlanding world. I’m 17 but I have tons of experience working with engines and cars so no project is too hard. However money is tight because of my hobby’s, so I’m looking to build up an overlanding trailer. I have a few questions about what I should add to my rig. What size should the trailer be? How big should the tires be? What are some essential items I should add to it? What are some necessary things I should add? And what style is the best? I have a pop up tent ordered, so I’m looking to build up this trailer to hold the essential things. Also any recommended upgrades to the truck would be greatly appreciated aswell!! I’m excited to be apart of this new community!

These are all hard questions to answer as everyones opinion will differ. What works for me may not work for you. The recommendation that many will make is to go out. see what works and doesnt with what you have now. From there you can see what you need in the trailer and what will just be for comfort and quality of life. When these items are figured out it will determine how big you will need the trailer to be and what you will be putting in it, how you'll be able to mount the tent ect. Many people take out trailers built on stock axels with normal road wheels/tires and do perfectly well. Depending on the trails you want to take them down this option may not suffice, so then you can determine the size that you will need to accomplish this. You can also look through the DIY trailer section and browse what people have done to get ideas of what may work. A lot of those threads will have the build progress, how they did it, and likes and dislikes of the setup they have. Once again take them as informational as a way to make it into something that suits your style of travel.

 

[Red_Leaf_Overland]

These are all hard questions to answer as everyones opinion will differ. What works for me may not work for you. The recommendation that many will make is to go out. see what works and doesnt with what you have now. From there you can see what you need in the trailer and what will just be for comfort and quality of life.

This answer is exactly what I would have written lol. I've been building/wheeling/overlanding rigs for 15 years and my gear is still always changing.

 

[Scottdabeast213]

Thank you for the advice! I didn’t know there was a thread for diy trailers. I’ll go check it out!

 

[grubworm]

hey scott
very cool you are getting into this at the age you are and nice to see your excitement and passion for it...

its great that you are asking questions and willing to listen to others and that alone will save you a lot of time and money. its good to learn from your mistakes, but even better to learn from other people's mistakes!
no matter what you decide today, chances are you will grow and want/need to change, so i think the most important thing is to build where you can easily make changes. an 8' trailer might work well initially, but will it allow for extra later on? maybe a 10' trailer is better...still small and easy to pull around, but that extra 2' of space now gives you room for the inflatable kayak you just got. more than likely you will be adding more things down the road than you will be subtracting. add another person to the equation, and you will DEFINITELY need room for more stuff. gotta think ahead...

that and having enough power i think are pretty important. i have a factory built camp trailer and also a 16' cargo trailer i converted and both are well outfitted with solar. since i had room, i went with 400w of panels and a 200ah battery. power requirements ALWAYS go up, not down. every time i turn around, either me or the wife has a new gadget we take that requires power. we have 12v water pump, 12v fans, 12v lights, 12v cooler that runs constantly, phone charging, flashlight charging, led lantern charging, etc.

guess my top 3 pieces of advice would be
1. go as big as you can on the trailer...if its between an 8' or a 10' and the 10' will fit on the trails you take, then go with the 10'
2. go with as much solar panel/battery as you can
3. dont skimp on your sleep arrangement. the better you sleep, the better you can tolerate other things

good luck on whatever you decide and be sure to share some pics

 

[Murphy Slaw]

even better to learn from other people's mistakes!

This is the difference, 50 years from now, between you being a wise old dude, or just an old dude....

 

[Scottdabeast213]

Thank you @grubworm!

I will be sure to update on my build. I will be building it either this winter or early spring. All of your advise was really insightful! Thank you for taking the time to go into so much detail!

 

[reaver]

First of all, welcome! Also.... Excellent choice in vehicles.

I will tell you, your frontier should require zero modification to get out there. I've wheeled my stock '13 Pro4x on some pretty gnarly trails. Just choose your line carefully.

As far as "overland" gear goes, none of it is really necessary, beyond the normal basic camping gear. What you're paying for is the convenience and quick setup/teardown.

Get yourself some basic recovery gear, a decent tent, good cooler, stove and a way to carry water. You don't need to drop a couple of grand to buy this stuff either.

That being said, you could go as crazy as a titan swap, with full steel Bumpers, winch, bedrack, Rooftop tent, etc, if you want.

If you are set on the idea of a trailer, I'd highly recommend building it if you have the time and ability. I built mine, and its been working fantastic this year. Mine is 4x6 with a rooftop tent on it, and stores pretty much everything my family of 3 needs for an extended period of time.

If you're unfamiliar on modifying the frontier, I'm happy to answer any questions.

 

[pl626]

Tech is constantly changing, so being flexible is must. We are in the midst of a huge change from ICE to EV, but batteries have also changed a lot and lithium is not as expensive up front as it once was. Bottom line, don't be so invested in a technology that may limit your overlanding options.

 

[Scottdabeast213]

@reaver

Hi, I’m glad there’s more frontier fans out there! I’m looking at installing a winch on mine for recovery incase I get stuck but it’s fairly expensive for the bumper and winch. Do you think I would need one to begin with or should I wait on that upgrade?

 

[reaver]

I don't have one on either vehicle. I've only gotten stuck once in my Xterra, and I could have easily backed out of that spot. It was on a snow bank. I try not to put myself in a situation where I would need it in the first place, but we'll see after I start doing solo trips. I may change my mind.

Installing a winch and steel bumper requires other upgrades as well. Certainly you'll need new front springs to compensate for the extra weight. You may also need to upgrade your battery.

Things to consider. Traction boards can do a lot in situations where you get stuck. They're also lightweight, and have other uses as well (the can be used to level out the vehicle if sleeping in it as well).

 

[pl626]

You can also use a Hi-Lift jack as a mechanical winch. Just a fraction of the cost of a winch. Probably good to get a Hi-Lift before a winch, but also some decent tow straps. This would be the most basic recovery gear.

You can also buy a used good winch on the cheap and recondition/repair. You can also use a hitch mount winch. As mentioned, battery upgrade to a deep cycle if you don't have one, but a second battery that is deep cycle would be ideal, but this gets a bit more complex and costly.

The other thing would also be to find a local group (check OB or FB groups near you) to learn from instead of going solo. There's almost always another rig with a winch in a crowd, not to mention wisdom...

 

[Scottdabeast213]

@pl626
That’s a good idea! I forgot about them hand winch’s! And I have been looking for a local group (I’m in center NH) but I cannot find one, but I’ve been on the lookout

 

[John and Mandi]

Less is more, in all things. If budget is not a limitation then I think you'll have a lot of fun building out a trailer and taking it on trips. If budget is an option, and you have a GF, then I'd focus on the most important creature comforts to get you (or both of you) out there. If you don't currently have a GF and budget is an option you will need to save money for when you do have a GF...again mostly focusing on the necessary creature comforts. I was almost always broke at 17, worked 30 hours a week, but I always made sure I had enough coin to take my GF out when we could. I also wheeled and slept in the back of a pick-up when I went out with the fellas. Looking back, I should have had a better sleeping bag or wool blanket for dealing with the cold. Besides that, I wouldn't change a thing. One piece of advice, if you do build out an off-road trailer don't ever let one of your friends borrow it. The only exception is if you have that one friend that always takes exceptional care of things and who always puts in gas money, that's also the friend you should ask to help you build it.

 

[9Mike2]

Welcome, Just a extra , always carry a note pad and if you think of something, write it down for next time. When you get older you will forget and get mad when you remember when your miles out there and it is dark as the bottom of a coal mine!

 

[reaver]

You can also use a Hi-Lift jack as a mechanical winch. Just a fraction of the cost of a winch. Probably good to get a Hi-Lift before a winch, but also some decent tow straps. This would be the most basic recovery gear.

You can also buy a used good winch on the cheap and recondition/repair. You can also use a hitch mount winch. As mentioned, battery upgrade to a deep cycle if you don't have one, but a second battery that is deep cycle would be ideal, but this gets a bit more complex and costly.

The other thing would also be to find a local group (check OB or FB groups near you) to learn from instead of going solo. There's almost always another rig with a winch in a crowd, not to mention wisdom...

With how dangerous HiLifts can be, nobody should be using one unless they know what they are doing, in my opinion. I don't carry one, and probably never will. For lifting my vehicle, I carry a simple bottle jack. It's MUCH safer.

The same task could be accomplished with a good come along, which is MUCH safer to operate. It can also be accomplished with a bunch of pulley's , a really long rope, and brute force. Something to be aware of.

 

[pl626]

With how dangerous HiLifts can be, nobody should be using one unless they know what they are doing, in my opinion. I don't carry one, and probably never will. For lifting my vehicle, I carry a simple bottle jack. It's MUCH safer.

The same task could be accomplished with a good come along, which is MUCH safer to operate. It can also be accomplished with a bunch of pulley's , a really long rope, and brute force. Something to be aware of.

Good point about safety, but with anything, one should be aware of how to use tools. Hi-lifts are more versatile than bottle-jacks, but they are also bulkier, not to mention posing more risks. I have both, but only carry the Hi-Lift when going off-road.

However, in a winching situation, they provide more leverage than a come-along. Winching poses many risks, so regardless of whether you're using a mechanical or powered device, you need to know what you're doing. For the budget conscious, it is a viable option over the powered winch, but it's important to know how to safely use your tools, regardless.

 

[pl626]

@pl626
That’s a good idea! I forgot about them hand winch’s! And I have been looking for a local group (I’m in center NH) but I cannot find one, but I’ve been on the lookout

Did you check the meetups ?
Overland Bound Meetups | OVERLAND BOUND COMMUNITY

 

[reaver]

Good point about safety, but with anything, one should be aware of how to use tools. Hi-lifts are more versatile than bottle-jacks, but they are also bulkier, not to mention posing more risks. I have both, but only carry the Hi-Lift when going off-road.

However, in a winching situation, they provide more leverage than a come-along. Winching poses many risks, so regardless of whether you're using a mechanical or powered device, you need to know what you're doing. For the budget conscious, it is a viable option over the powered winch, but it's important to know how to safely use your tools, regardless.

This is VERY true. I carry some tools and equipment that most people don't, like a multimeter and all sorts of stuff to fix and patch electrical gear. I haven't had to use most of it yet, but I did have an issue on my last trip with the circuit breaker used to control the charging current to the DC charger in the trailer.

The point being, I was able to quickly diagnose and resolve the issue using tools I had on hand, minus a pair of vice grips, which I have since added to my tool roll.

Carrying a hilift is great, but you need to know how to use it properly in any situation where it would be used, is all.

Personally, I am yet to do a solo trip. That's because I promised my wife I wouldn't do that until I had a satellite communication device.

Which I am ordering next week.

 

[Silver Rover]

Thank you for the advice! I didn’t know there was a thread for diy trailers. I’ll go check it out!

Scott: you need to decide what you want this trailer to do for you. As an example we have a modified teardrop trailer. Kitchen In the back sleeping inside. We can setup and breakdown in 10 minutes. We are travelers. Kitchen is stove, refrigerator and supplies. We travel on dirt roads, but no trail too difficult. You may want a rooftop tent & equipment trailer. You need to work that out.