Utility bed trailer: another build thread

[lolzhax]

Nice work. How do you like the Dinoot rack towers?

So far they're good. I mounted them to 1/8" thick, 2" angle iron with grade 8 bolts so they're very stable.

I was concerned after watching a YouTube video of someone who used them and had a very wobbly rack but I think his base was the issue.

 

[lolzhax]

Today, I replaced the chains with vinyl coated 1/8" stainless steel cable.

 

[lolzhax]

First trip

 

[lolzhax]

Made it all the way to Colorado. We're out in dispersed camping outside Silverton off the Million Dollar Highway.

The JK 3.6 is a dog but the trailer is handling it. This winter I think I'm going to ditch the old Toyota truck axle and use a trailer axle.

 

[AggieOE]

Great pictures! I love this build. I will agree though that the Pentastar is not the engine I thought it could still be at altitude with a trailer. It was so weak. Did you spend all your time in 3rd gear on the way up?

Any idea what your trailer weighs in at?

 

[lolzhax]

Great pictures! I love this build. I will agree though that the Pentastar is not the engine I thought it could still be at altitude with a trailer. It was so weak. Did you spend all your time in 3rd gear on the way up?

Any idea what your trailer weighs in at?

Hey sorry I didn't see your reply sooner. I did a little under 3k miles in total on the trip and only used 3rd gear while climbing hills when it bogged below 60mph. 4th gear was good on most the flat highways. 5th was only used for coasting down hill.

The main thing that helped was just trying to keep momentum and keeping a very close eye on engine coolant temp, I hit 245° a few times and had to just slow down to 40mph or pull off the road completely to cool down.

I run 35" tires and 4.56 Yukon gears. I'm not sure the trailer weight, it felt like I was towing an anchor uphill though. Lol

 

[lolzhax]

Update, I'm back to working on the trailer with a few small changes. I've used and abused it, done water crossings and taken it up and down some mid level trails. I'm actually surprised how my ugly welds are holding up on the axle and shock mounts. lol

Things I've done:
- Used and abused it.
- I had some new leaf springs fabricated out of some leftover Toyota Tacoma springs. It now sits level with the jeep. (thank you Sacramento Spring)
- Poured some axle leak fix fluid into the diff to seal up a pinion seal leak, and keep it running til I can get rid of this axle entirely.
- Was able to test a lot of gear, remove things that I haven't used, add things, minimize footprint, etc.. I really like how dynamic the rig is, with basically just having an open storage space that can adapt to what I'm doing on each trip.


Coming soon:
- Adding power and solar
- Permanent mounted lighting
- Adding a tabletop on a slide.
- Swapping the truck axle to a trailer axle.

Distant future plans:
- Adding a small 15gal water tank and running water.
- Building a tunnel between the front 2 cabinets to expand storage, move batteries indoors and out of the box, and maybe a slide-out cooking station?
- Maybe a bed slide out to make loading/unloading easier?
- Maybe permanent mounted diesel heater?
- Square tube sliders and re-do the rear bumper


Power & Solar
At this moment, I'm building a "portable" solar generator that will live in the bed of the trailer... and I tossed the solar panels on the roof of the tent to get an idea of space. Pics below. Plans at the moment consist of...

In the box:
- 2* 12v 100Ah Mini LifePO4 batteries (This should come to around 2500Wh)
- Renogy Wanderer 30A Li Solar Charge Controller w/ Bluetooth module
- Victron SmartShunt IP65 Battery Monitor
- Victron IP67 12v 17a smart charger (AC/DC charger)

On the box:
- SAE QD plugs for output and solar input (USB charging, 12v, and switches will be in the trailer cabinet)
- LP-24 Waterproof Aviation QD plug for removable 12v wired remote that will reach the tent.

On the roof:
2* 100w compact BougeRV Yuma cigs flexible solar panels

There's no plans for an inverter at the moment because I think I can accomplish everything that I need with 12v. (I already have an EcoFlow Delta 2 Max (2000Wh) in my Jeep and their "alternator charger" that fast charges the EcoFlow at 800 watts.)

Sliding Table Top
I've had my eyes on a gap below the tongue box for a long time. Directly below the box is the frame rails and 2 C-channel rails that face each other.

I thought about storage for my batteries but I think that's putting a LOT of trust in some 500lbs rated drawer sliders to hold up to a lot of odd dynamic pitch/roll load.

So instead, I'm going to just build a table that pulls out and covers the entire tongue of the trailer. This will create food prep and dining space, and also keep my son from sticking his fingers in the greasy trailer hitch when we're camping. (lol he's now 3 years old and loves camping)

 

[lolzhax]

Here's a pic at our last camp for your time. Thanks for reading up to this point.

 

[MrWilsonWJ]

Off topic of your trailer, but what little table is that you have your fire pit sitting on? I built an ammo can pit a while back and want to get it off the ground without adding permanent legs, also nice trailer.

 

[lolzhax]

Off topic of your trailer, but what little table is that you have your fire pit sitting on? I built an ammo can pit a while back and want to get it off the ground without adding permanent legs, also nice trailer.

The one I have is from LavaBox. It came with the ammo can firepit when I ordered it many years ago on a super discount.

Over-Under Grill Thingy: Stand and Grill In One!

Threesome anyone? The Over/Under is a grill, a grate, and a hot pad all in one. Our design allows you to choose your position without fear of hurting anyone’s feelings. Raise it up high to pass forest service requirements or to elevate it closer to the group, drop it down low for a true trivet...

fireanytime.com

There's nothing all that special about it besides it being narrow, like the ammo can but it doesn't lock on so it's sort of unstable around children and can fall off if someone trips on the propane line.

You could easily do the same thing with a standard Walmart campfire grill. I have this one in my kit also:

Amazon.com

 

[MrWilsonWJ]

Thanks for the info, I'll measure my ammo can to see which one would fit best. Really though, for what it's doing the cheapy Amazon one will probably be what I end up with.

 

[lolzhax]

Thanks for the info, I'll measure my ammo can to see which one would fit best. Really though, for what it's doing the cheapy Amazon one will probably be what I end up with.

If I did it again, I would.. especially for how much LavaBox wants for their stuff now. DIY is the way, and their claim to fame (big flames) is simply achievable with a 20psi regulator.

My buddy started the FireCrate company which basically he's making the burners and DIY kits for people to assemble themselves. I've learned from him that, even on my discount, I severely overpaid.

 

[reaver]

If I did it again, I would.. especially for how much LavaBox wants for their stuff now. DIY is the way, and their claim to fame (big flames) is simply achievable with a 20psi regulator.

My buddy started the FireCrate company which basically he's making the burners and DIY kits for people to assemble themselves. I've learned from him that, even on my discount, I severely overpaid.

I bought one of your buddies kits, and it works awesome.

 

[lolzhax]

I bought one of your buddies kits, and it works awesome.

That's awesome, it's small world i guess. I've known him for about the last 15 years and he's a real stand-up guy. Very experienced in the custom automotive and distribution industry, and stays professional under stress. You couldn't pick a better, nor more reliable guy to do business with.

 

[reaver]

Yeah, a buddy of mine has a lava box, and honestly, mine is every bit as good as his setup, except he has a really nice bag.

 

[19mystic96]

Very cool build. It always surprises me that these aren't used more often as trailers. I mean they're perfect for it. Plenty of bed space, lockable storage on the sides, and fairly cheap as a unit when found used.

 

[lolzhax]

Yeah, a buddy of mine has a lava box, and honestly, mine is every bit as good as his setup, except he has a really nice bag.

Dang! Mine didn't come with a bag. Seems just a bit redundant since ammo boxes have a carry handle on top.

 

[lolzhax]

Found myself getting confused with which connections go where and how many connections I need to make so I threw this together. Likely to change, since I probably forgot stuff.



This isn't really what Lucid Chart was made for so it didn't support fine details. Good enough to get the point across though. I have a label maker to clarify things in the box. lol