Off-Road Ranger I
PCO6's Off Road Trailer Build
- Thread starter PCO6
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Member III
Thanks. A lot of what I do is done in my 2 car garage/workshop. The trailer is an "outside" job and has never been inside the garage. It slows me down in the winter but it's good to take a break from time to time and get on with other projects.
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Member III
Thanks. Like with yours, I'm sure when something goes wrong or isn't quite right you know exactly what it is … because you built it!
Member III
Thanks. I've "created" a few things on this that I've had to abandon and recreate but it's all fun. A few times I've mumbled to myself … "if I ever find the guy that designed this thing … I'm going to wring his neck". lol
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Thanks John. Unfortunately this trailer won't be finished for the use that I originally intended. The quick story is that my wife decided to take up camping and after a year of tenting it was clear that she'd never be happy with this trailer. We bought a tear drop of sorts and have used it for our trips this year. My plan was to use it for a year and then start to modify it to my liking. It wasn't long before I said to heck with the warranty and started the modifications any way. I haven't done half of what I plan to do to it so there's lots more to come yet.
Here's what we bought … it's a Coachmen Clipper Express 9.0td. It's NOT an off road trailer but it suits a lot of what we do which is to get to a camp site, stay for 5 or 6 days and head out daily to kayak, bike, hike, etc. plus hit some trails in the Jeep. It's nice to be off of the ground at night and it's really easy to carry the kayaks with the rack I built. Plus the bikes fit nicely inside.
As for the off road trailer, I've decided to repurpose it for use as a utility trailer and to haul various things for day trips … plus do a bit of camping on my own. The frame, axle, wheels, etc. will remain the same but I'm modifying the box and making it so I can carry kayaks, a canoe, bikes, an ATV, etc. as needed. It will have storage, power, water, a winch and other things that will make it a good hauler plus useful for chasing down used Jeep parts and even making trips to the dump.
I thought of selling this trailer but figured it would be hard to put a price on it and the market would be limited. It would likely become a matter of what the buyer wanted included and I didn't want to get into a situation of finishing it to someone else's specs. I don't have the time. I figured I could sell a utility trailer I made a few years ago much more easily PLUS have a lot more fun building this one the way I want to. Here's the utility trailer I built and will now be selling as soon as the modifications to my off road trailer are closer to being done.
As if I didn't have enough to do, I'm also working on another trailer. It's a 1986 Cadet fibreglass trailer. I haven't worked with fibreglass before and it's been fun to learn. I'm really only using the body, which I'm modifying, and will be putting it on a off road capable chassis that I'm building. I'll be able to easily convert the chassis that's currently under the Cadet into another utility trailer. I'll sell that to recoup the cost of the Cadet.
I tow mostly with my Jeep LJ or XJ. I also have a TJ and a MJ so I have no shortage of things to do!
Member I
That fiberglass trailer looks like it has excellent potential. The Clippers are a neat concept.Thanks John. Unfortunately this trailer won't be finished for the use that I originally intended. The quick story is that my wife decided to take up camping and after a year of tenting it was clear that she'd never be happy with this trailer. We bought a tear drop of sorts and have used it for our trips this year. My plan was to use it for a year and then start to modify it to my liking. It wasn't long before I said to heck with the warranty and started the modifications any way. I haven't done half of what I plan to do to it so there's lots more to come yet.
Here's what we bought … it's a Coachmen Clipper Express 9.0td. It's NOT an off road trailer but it suits a lot of what we do which is to get to a camp site, stay for 5 or 6 days and head out daily to kayak, bike, hike, etc. plus hit some trails in the Jeep. It's nice to be off of the ground at night and it's really easy to carry the kayaks with the rack I built. Plus the bikes fit nicely inside.
As for the off road trailer, I've decided to repurpose it for use as a utility trailer and to haul various things for day trips … plus do a bit of camping on my own. The frame, axle, wheels, etc. will remain the same but I'm modifying the box and making it so I can carry kayaks, a canoe, bikes, an ATV, etc. as needed. It will have storage, power, water, a winch and other things that will make it a good hauler plus useful for chasing down used Jeep parts and even making trips to the dump.
I thought of selling this trailer but figured it would be hard to put a price on it and the market would be limited. It would likely become a matter of what the buyer wanted included and I didn't want to get into a situation of finishing it to someone else's specs. I don't have the time. I figured I could sell a utility trailer I made a few years ago much more easily PLUS have a lot more fun building this one the way I want to. Here's the utility trailer I built and will now be selling as soon as the modifications to my off road trailer are closer to being done.
As if I didn't have enough to do, I'm also working on another trailer. It's a 1986 Cadet fibreglass trailer. I haven't worked with fibreglass before and it's been fun to learn. I'm really only using the body, which I'm modifying, and will be putting it on a off road capable chassis that I'm building. I'll be able to easily convert the chassis that's currently under the Cadet into another utility trailer. I'll sell that to recoup the cost of the Cadet.
I tow mostly with my Jeep LJ or XJ. I also have a TJ and a MJ so I have no shortage of things to do!
I was up in Ontario a few months back at the Bruce Power Plant near Kincardin. My employer has an office in Mississauga.
Member III
I haven't seen anyone "toughen up" a Cadet but thought it would be an interesting project. I did see a video of one in stock form being pulled through a rough mountain area in Europe and was surprised by the beating it took.
Re the Clipper, I bought it mainly because of how easy it would be to carry kayaks on. I built a rack for it and can load or unload in about 10 minutes. When travelling, the bulk of the kayaks is down low and I guess it's about as aerodynamic as things can get. I can't tell when trailering whether they're on or off. I can't even see them in my rear view mirror. I can also store 2 bikes inside on top off the bed which saved me from having to make a rack for them.
Lastly, I grew up in Mississauga. I started my career as a Planner for the city back in the mid '70s. I'm retired now but I've seen it grow from a Township to one of Canada's largest cities. I knew long ago how large it was going to get … so I moved to a smaller town!
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Member I
You're not a Maple Leafs fan are you? Haha! I'm a Boston Bruins fan. Have fun with my Ontario friends that are diehard Leafs fans. Their son played for our minor league hocking team here in Knoxville, Tennessee and we became friends when they travelled down for his games. Good people and we've stayed in touch. The mother keeps threatening to buy me a Leafs hat. I told her I would wear it as long as they aren't playing the Bruins. :D
Member III
Ha Ha. I am but it's not the highest on my list. I'm much more of a Raptors fan along with the Rock (lacrosse) and Argonauts (football). I'm sure you're aware that the Leafs have one thing that no other team in the NHL will ever have. It's a black & white picture of their last Stanley Cup win!
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I follow the CFL closely until the Grey Cup (Nov 24 this year) and then switch to the NFL. The season is at least half over by then but I still enjoy it. Although I tend to lean toward the Bills, it's nice to not have a rooting interest in any team and kind of make up your mind as the games are played.
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Thanks! It's been a fun project for sure. As for it being a labour of love, it's going to be that for a while yet. I have some changes in mind to make it still useful for what it was originally intended for but also for my household and general automotive needs … basically a utility trailer. I'm actually excited that I'll be able to use it more often with its new added uses.
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That's a serious table!I finished off the kitchen table a few days ago. I started with 3 of these common small aluminum camp tables. I cut them up and reassembled them with some aluminum channel underneath as one 23” x 60” table. This thing is ridged and weighs next to nothing. It also stores straight up and down on its side in the trailer box so it takes up very little space. It also matches my Cabella’s sit down “dining” table.
I welded some angle brackets to the box frame to support the table. These brackets will also support the bike racks when I am traveling. The racks will come off to support the table when I’m camping.
Here's the table in place.
… and the removable struts underneath that support it. They’re also adjustable so I can level the table. This table can easily take the weight of anything I’ll be putting on it (stove, BBQ, cooler, etc.).
