Service bed to overland trailer

[WJ Overland]

Hello, thought I would share a build I have been working on for about 10 months.
Started life as a 8' service bed . Currently includes RTT, 300 watts solar, 200 amp/hrs battery storage, 1000 watt inverter, 25 gallons water, on demand hot water heater, sink, shower, 20 lbs propane/manifold distribution system, under trailer LED lights, cabinet LED lights, leveling jacks, timbren axles with 35" tires. Rear receiver hitch.
I will post pics of the build up til now.
Thanks.

 

[WJ Overland]

Dismantled the service bed in order to make it narrower. Frame is 2x2 with spine all the way through for a receiver hitch in the rear.

 

[WJ Overland]

Frame/bed dimensions are 5x8x12'. Started on the front frame to hold everything together. Modified the bottoms rear compartments so the boxes would fit on the frame flat and square.

 

[trail_runn4r]

Hello, thought I would share a build I have been working on for about 10 months.
Started life as a 8' service bed . Currently includes RTT, 300 watts solar, 200 amp/hrs battery storage, 1000 watt inverter, 25 gallons water, on demand hot water heater, sink, shower, 20 lbs propane/manifold distribution system, under trailer LED lights, cabinet LED lights, leveling jacks, timbren axles with 35" tires. Rear receiver hitch.
I will post pics of the build up til now.
Thanks.

Such a great idea! thanks for sharing the process with us!

 

[WJ Overland]

Cut out the wheel wells, built fenders and installed tongue box for solar chargers and battery. Needed to figure out a double slide to get the Iceco refrigerator to mount all the way in the back and slide out far enough to be able to open the lids. Took a bit, but has handled the refrig and weight good.

 

[Sparksalot]

But, but, but, you didn't pay the overland tax this way.

Really cool trailer, BTW!

 

[WJ Overland]

. Exactly! Now I have more money to blow on other gear I can't build/make.

 

[lhoffm4]

. Exactly! Now I have more money to blow on other gear I can't build/make.

I see your vision. Nicely executed. I look forward to the finished product!

 

[WJ Overland]

. Exactly! Now I have more money to blow on other gear I can't build/make.

I see your vision. Nicely executed. I look forward to the finished product!

Thanks.

 

[Billiebob]

Nice build.
The cross box tray is impressive.
Now need some pics of the CJ3....

 

[WJ Overland]

Haven't played with it much for several years. Having to much fun with the WJ and JT. Hope to get back to it in another couple years. Nothing but time and money!

 

[WJ Overland]

Added rear bumper and 2"receiver. Receiver is the main spine of the frame that connects the tow vehicle to the rear receiver. Also time to start filling holes including the original rear turn/brake lights.

 

[WJ Overland]

Wiped down, prepped and primed the frame/deck for coating. Went with Raptor lining. Has worked great for me for a number of years and I like the price and diy aspect of it.

 

[North American Sojourner]

Hello, thought I would share a build I have been working on for about 10 months.
Started life as a 8' service bed . Currently includes RTT, 300 watts solar, 200 amp/hrs battery storage, 1000 watt inverter, 25 gallons water, on demand hot water heater, sink, shower, 20 lbs propane/manifold distribution system, under trailer LED lights, cabinet LED lights, leveling jacks, timbren axles with 35" tires. Rear receiver hitch.
I will post pics of the build up til now.
Thanks.

Epic build. I'm thinking of making a trailer for my Tacoma shell I made to sit on. I'll have to do some widening and other dance arounds but your's is a inspiration.
Thanks for sharing'
Zim

 

[WJ Overland]

Hello, thought I would share a build I have been working on for about 10 months.
Started life as a 8' service bed . Currently includes RTT, 300 watts solar, 200 amp/hrs battery storage, 1000 watt inverter, 25 gallons water, on demand hot water heater, sink, shower, 20 lbs propane/manifold distribution system, under trailer LED lights, cabinet LED lights, leveling jacks, timbren axles with 35" tires. Rear receiver hitch.
I will post pics of the build up til now.
Thanks.

Epic build. I'm thinking of making a trailer for my Tacoma shell I made to sit on. I'll have to do some widening and other dance arounds but your's is a inspiration.
Thanks for sharing'
Zim

Thank you. It has been a fun and fulfilling project.

 

[WJ Overland]

When I bought the service bed, the keys were lost and several of the door latch/locking mechanisms we're broke. Ordered them up and they were delivered very quickly. Knapheide was wonderful to purchase from. Great customer service. Side boxes are mounted, squared and plumb. They way I designed and built this was so I could completely assemble/disassemble everything by nuts and bolts down to the flatbed frame. There were a couple reasons for this. First, I don't have a car lift to pick up the assembled side boxes as one unit. Second, I wanted to completely Raptor line the frame/flatbed and cover all surfaces black and Raptor line the boxes gray. Third, if I ever just needed a small flatbed trailer, I could disassemble and take the boxes off and even build some side rails for just the trailer.

 

[WJ Overland]

Now on to the back door frame. Since this was a service bed. It was open in the back and on top, (not completely enclosed). So I had to make there rear frame for a door. I found a new door from Knapheide that would fit in the opening. Saved me the work of making a door as well. Sometimes it's easier to buy a few things for simplicity and time savings.
Started to lay out the inside for the water tank, on demand water heater, propane and leveling jack mounts.

 

[Arkantex]

Love your build man. We are gathering parts to do the same. How are you planning on venting the hot water heater?

 

[WJ Overland]

Love your build man. We are gathering parts to do the same. How are you planning on venting the hot water heater?

Thanks. It has been a lot of fun designing and building the trailer.
There is about 12-14" above the heater vent. I have tested it by running 20 gallons through it with no problem of heat. The rear door would of course be open when the heater is running. With it being a on demand heater, and with limited water storage, the heater should only be on for short times.
If it would become an issue, I have thought of installing a metal heat shield that would be angled towards the door to help evacuate any heat build up or even making a flue and venting it through that.

 

[WJ Overland]

Finally got it Raptor lined. So. Now on to the final assembly. Since everything has already been built, modified and pre-assembled, everything went together pretty easy. That was a good thing because we only had about two weeks to get it together before a trip to Moab via the Rimrocker trail.