My little Lowe's Trailer build (in progress)

[Silverback_WK2]

I finally picked up one of the little trailers around mid-December. I waited a week or 3 and found a welder/fab guy just east of Atlanta (David Dial at Dialed-In Fabrication on Facebook.) that would do some of the more in-depth work for me. I had him extend the tongue 18 inches, add a 2 inch coupler, and cut the fenders off and re-attach them higher up (clearance for the forthcoming bigger wheels/tires). So he welded them along the top rail of the trailer. Next, he added some cross braces to go from the front corners of the trailer out to the tongue.

I wanted this for 2 reasons:

1. I wanted to add some strength.

2. This will allow me to add my small aluminum Kobalt toolbox for some semi-dry storage.


I'll flip the axle myself this weekend. Then……

I ordered new wheels and tires (3, so I'll have a spare). The tires I chose are basic (for now) 235/75/15's and the wheels are black steel 15x6 wheels I found on ebay. These should be on next weekend. Eventually, I’d like to order wheels/tires to match my Jeep, but for now, I’m going this route to save some cash.


That's the biggest work needed. Beyond that, plans include mounting a ladder-rack type system (RTT in the future), mounting my axe and shovel, ordering and installing an awning, making a way to add a small grill to the back, figuring out how/where to mount a jerry can holder, adding a set of maxtrax, then in the future I'll look at adding floor and walls to the insides of the trailer. The mesh steel won't be able to keep mud and dirt out. Also may add a pintle hitch system, that is yet to be decided. I don’t necessarily know if I’ll be taking it through anything too gnarly, but we’ll see.

Pics below.

 

[ArkansasDon]

personally you need to go with off the offset of the rims your using plus you need to measure from the inside of the rim (were your hub will sit against) to the "bulge"of the side wall of the tire to determine "if" you have the tire clearance to the frame. If not you can figure the size of the wheel adapter you need. Personally I would use a longer axle. Another factor to consider is axle capacity, 1,000-lb , 2,000-lb Axles: 1-1/2inch -,1-3/4inch axle diameter. The best way to raise the trailer in height would be to replacing the spring hangers with hangers that are the approximately height you want or you can flop the axle. Your tire size will dictate your fender size too. Those fender on the trailer will not work for 29" across tires which the 235x75Rx15's are. Those frames on that style of trailer will flex too much & tweak. You might want to consider adding more metal to strengthen. Hate to see you have these problems

 

[Silverback_WK2]

personally you need to go with off the offset of the rims your using plus you need to measure from the inside of the rim (were your hub will sit against) to the "bulge"of the side wall of the tire to determine "if" you have the tire clearance to the frame. If not you can figure the size of the wheel adapter you need. Personally I would use a longer axle. Another factor to consider is axle capacity, 1,000-lb , 2,000-lb Axles: 1-1/2inch -,1-3/4inch axle diameter. The best way to raise the trailer in height would be to replacing the spring hangers with hangers that are the approximately height you want or you can flop the axle. Your tire size will dictate your fender size too. Those fender on the trailer will not work for 29" across tires which the 235x75Rx15's are. Those frames on that style of trailer will flex too much & tweak. You might want to consider adding more metal to strengthen. Hate to see you have these problems

The fenders will work the way we relocated them (Look at the pic).
The current axle is a 2k axle. Same axle most other guys using this model have stuck with with no issues. I'm not going to be carrying more then about 500-600 lbs at any time.
The offset of the wheels will remain the same, but with the wider tire, I'll still be good because there's already 5 inches of clearance.

Thanks Don, happy trails!

 

[TerryD]

Looks like a good start. I've been considering one of these little trailers for a base myself. I only need to haul overflow gear from the Xterra and it won't be carrying anything like a RTT.

When you flipped the axle, did you weld on new perches or just flip the axle over? We just flipped two of our little trailers and didn't have any trouble empty, but they tracked funny when loaded. We wound up welding new perches on to get the bow of the axle back in the right direction and it solved this issue. These are similar trailers we use on the farm.

 

[persquank]

I'm interested to see this completed. That trailer looks like a good size. Do you know the bolt pattern for the wheels?

 

[Hank Outdoors]

Great start! Keep us posted on your progress!!!

 

[Silverback_WK2]

I'm interested to see this completed. That trailer looks like a good size. Do you know the bolt pattern for the wheels?

5 x 4.5

 

[Dayle Fields]

I finally picked up one of the little trailers around mid-December. I waited a week or 3 and found a welder/fab guy just east of Atlanta (David Dial at Dialed-In Fabrication on Facebook.) that would do some of the more in-depth work for me. I had him extend the tongue 18 inches, add a 2 inch coupler, and cut the fenders off and re-attach them higher up (clearance for the forthcoming bigger wheels/tires). So he welded them along the top rail of the trailer. Next, he added some cross braces to go from the front corners of the trailer out to the tongue.

I wanted this for 2 reasons:

1. I wanted to add some strength.

2. This will allow me to add my small aluminum Kobalt toolbox for some semi-dry storage.


I'll flip the axle myself this weekend. Then……

I ordered new wheels and tires (3, so I'll have a spare). The tires I chose are basic (for now) 235/75/15's and the wheels are black steel 15x6 wheels I found on ebay. These should be on next weekend. Eventually, I’d like to order wheels/tires to match my Jeep, but for now, I’m going this route to save some cash.


That's the biggest work needed. Beyond that, plans include mounting a ladder-rack type system (RTT in the future), mounting my axe and shovel, ordering and installing an awning, making a way to add a small grill to the back, figuring out how/where to mount a jerry can holder, adding a set of maxtrax, then in the future I'll look at adding floor and walls to the insides of the trailer. The mesh steel won't be able to keep mud and dirt out. Also may add a pintle hitch system, that is yet to be decided. I don’t necessarily know if I’ll be taking it through anything too gnarly, but we’ll see.

Pics below.View attachment 46364 View attachment 46365 View attachment 46366 View attachment 46367

Can't wait to see the build.

Sent from my SM-N950U using OB Talk mobile app

 

[ShyTRex]

Subbed
Can't wait to see what you do with it

 

[jdeady]

I was looking at these trailers this past weekend, keep us updated on the build please!

 

[Biker Eagle]

Silverback....great minds think alike :-)
I had welded 2 bars to mount my RTT to the trailer(bars are high enough for Rubbermaid Action Packers and Yeti coolers to slide underneath), replaced the tires/rims with 13", and put leveler jacks at both rear corners with a wheeled tongue jack. Also, had bearing buddies installed. Next up will probably extend the tongue and diamond plate the bottom and sides.

 

[Silverback_WK2]

Well, it's been a while since my last update. Kids soccer, work and family time has slowed me down somewhat.

Let me get caught up with what else I've done with the trailer:
I bought a tongue mounted jack at Tractor Supply and mounted it. I also got a set of LED trailer lights and swapped them in for a litte extra brightness. I also have a small 20 inch LED light bar I'll mount to the rear of the trailer and wire in with my reverse lights. The little bastard trailer is tough to see out the mirrors in the dark.

I also finally got my wheels in and then I spent a full day at the tire shop we (the company I work for) use and had the shop foreman, Miguel, measure everything over and over and we went with a 215/75/15 A/T tire. The size ended up being perfect.

We only ran into one small issue where a bolt was protruding out. It wasn't touching the tire, but it was closer than we were comfortable with. We considered 1/2 inch wheel spacers. Then we decided no. Took them back and got my money back. So, he used his cutting wheel to trim it back some and then we mounted the new wheel/tire combo up. All good now.

One more thing, I had them balance the wheels once the tires were mounted. Figured it would help make a smoother ride. As Arkansas Don mentioned above, I've decided to get my fab/welder guy to add some cross support. Then we will decide on a rack system for the RTT. I'm fairly certain I'll be going with the Tuff Stuff Ranger. But that will be later down the road and probably a whole new thread.

Next up, going to put a load in it uo to about 500 lbs and go off road to test it.

 

[Silverback_WK2]

Silverback....great minds think alike :-)
I had welded 2 bars to mount my RTT to the trailer(bars are high enough for Rubbermaid Action Packers and Yeti coolers to slide underneath), replaced the tires/rims with 13", and put leveler jacks at both rear corners with a wheeled tongue jack. Also, had bearing buddies installed. Next up will probably extend the tongue and diamond plate the bottom and sides.
View attachment 47468

Care to post pics of your rails you use to mount the RTT onto?

 

[Biker Eagle]

Just some stock the welder had laying around. ( 1x3 approx, u shaped) He cut a couple of smaller pieces to weld to the top of the trailer rails, and then welded the cross pieces to them. This was done to give clearance for the mounting hardware of the RTT and clearance for Action Packer totes. I'd bought some bars from Lowes but he said his stuff was better and we used his.

Nice job on your trailer. I was too lazy to move the fenders, so 13" wheels was as big as I could go.

 

[SimpleJack]

Awesome build. I’m currently building an OB trailer with the same trailer.


Sent from my iPhone using OB Talk

 

[Andy G]

Following this...hoping to be able to do the same.

How much $ do you have into it at this point?

 

[Silverback_WK2]

I got the trailer for 400 out the door (parking lot, actually).
After wheels/tires, fab work, and miscellaneous stuff, maybe 800 total now?
I'm ordering a custom bed rack next and the guy is charging me 300 for that.

 

[Silverback_WK2]

Well, today was a few more hours of work on it. Wife and kids left for a week or two for spring break. So.....I get the garage!
These little trailers have a little removeable tailgate. At the bottom, there's a tab that matches to a tab on the trailer so you can put a padlock on it. What I noticed is, the back of the trailer had flex at the walls. So it was easily 3 or so inches wider at the rear than at the front. I took the big grinder and off went the tabs. Then I took a ratchet strap and from the left to right I tightened it up to the tailgate. Now, the trailer was the same width from front to back.

Next, I went to Lowe's and got four Grade 8 bolts at 7/16 inch by inch and a half and some washers and lock nuts. I went back to the house (with a pit stop at Panera for a sandwich and a Mtn Dew) and drilled out two holes on each side. Then put the bolts through and cinched them down good and tight. Trailer doesn't rattle any more going down the road, either.

I loaded up several totes with my camp gear, 5 gallon jerry can and 5 gallon water tank (both full), some accessories, a spare tire and a few other random things and took off for an hour drive around the country. Trailer pulls flawlessly. Even took it down a trail and it did perfect.

Next up is the final phase and arguably the most expensive. I have a guy that can fabricate some roll cage tubing into a rack that will set 16 inches off the top rails. I'll add a piece of 2 inch or 3 inch channel length wise to mount a few things. Then it'll be time to shop for a Roof Top Tent. My research i s telling me to look hard at the CVT Mt Rainier, Tepui Kukenam 3 and the Tuff Stuff Ranger. I've talked a bit with a guy online on social media that is starting his own company and has a RTT coming out and around 1,200 dollars. I may wait until a few people get those and shake them down with reviews before going there, too.

Anyway, good night. I'll be back with an update soon.

 

[Silverback_WK2]

Quick update -
I dropped off my trailer last night with the same fab guy that did the original work for me before.
He's going to custom fab a rack for me to eventually mount a tent on.
I'm excited now.

 

[SubeeBen]

Nice looking trailer