My Offroad trailer build.

[stumpXJ]

Got a few more things done on the trailer, and managed to hook it up to my Jeep and drag it outside so I could clean up the shop.

Looks great to me!!!!!! Nice to see all of the hard work and effort turn into something I will hopefully use for years.

Still have quite a long checklist of things to do before its 'finished', but its getting there.

[stumpXJ]

Got the awning system mounted, and it actually works really well so far. Pretty simple but sturdy.

Also found a place to mount my extra shovel and Hi-lift





Rises up to a normal height of 6'3", but has one more notch to take it up to 6'6" for when Bill is around.

[stumpXJ]

Just a little picture show of my first shakedown run with the trailer this past weekend.

everything worked very well, and I am very happy with how it pulls. no swaying, bouncing or anything crazy. Handles the big bumps better than my Jeep!

I have a few things to change, but its all minor stuff like tie down placement, and a few things with the tounge, and rear jack/stabilizer system. Overall, I was VERY happy to have this thing. SOOOO nice not to have to break down camp to go trail riding and exploring, and even nicer to be able to throw EVERYTHING into the back of the trailer when it was time to go home. Plenty of room and then some!


















Chips95's conqueror



Hilldwellers conqueror:

[stumpXJ]

Forgot to post these pics here... I finally got around to putting some paint on this thing about a month ago. Used Dupont epoxy primer, single stage dupont Acrylic Enamel for the white, and Herculiner on all the black stuff including the fenders, tongue/box, and inside the tub. I think it turned out pretty sweet for a 'driveway' paint job over a couple days...

Still finishing up the wiring between trips, but its almost 100%. I have camped in it 4 times now, and everything works like a dream. One of the best things I have ever built for sure.

[stumpXJ]

Just wanted to update my build thread, got the trailer 98% wired up over the past 3 days. Took longer than I anticipated, but everything turned out nice and neat, and I am happy with it.

Ultimately, I had to wire in my 12volt DC aux circuits, 110 volt AC circuits, finish the trailer lights, and everything involved with doing that.

I have (5) 110volts duplex outlets, two on the front tongue box, two on the rear of the trailer, and one inside the RTT, all powered by an 800 watt inverter located in the tongue box.

I have (3) 12 volt cigarette lighter type outlets, one on the tongue box (full time hot, 15 amp) one in the rear of the trailer, and one in the RTT.

I am using a Schumacher Smart Charger for the shore power duties.

On to the pics:

These are just a few poser shots in the driveway, figured I would take a few since the jeep was clean.







The weather proof box on the rear of the trailer, housing two duplex outlets, and a 12 volt socket (you cant see the 12v socket, but its below the box.



This is the business side of the tongue box.

Upper left: Just fabbed up a little toggle switch/fuse holder/12 volt socket plate, and screwed it to the box using stainless self tapping screws. I also put a bead of silicone around the plate to ensure no water can get in behind it. I am in the process of making labels for the switches. From left to right the switches are for, tongue box lights (LED's), RTT power (LED lights, and 12 volt socket), 12 volt aux plug/kitchen lights, and finally, main power to the shurflo pump.

Bottom left: Another weather proof box that houses two duplex outlets for 110volt power.

Right: Shore power power-cord housing, weather proof box.



Inside the box.

Pretty self explanatory, junction blocks, wires, battery, inverter, and charger. The battery is a Optima Yellow Top, and when the trailer is hooked to the jeep with the 7 pin plug, I have two batteries to use for the trailer accessories since I have a dual battery set-up on the jeep, all while keeping my starter battery separate from the whole system.

Everything is sealed with silicone, or uses a water proof type rubber fitting. Its fairly water tight, but probably not 100%. Long-term submersion is all I would have to worry about.







This is my water station, the blue thing is the fill hole for the 16 gallon water tank located underneath, right in front of the axle. I have a quick disconnect coily water hose that I put together from parts from Home Depot, and another power switch for the pump. Its kind of redundant with two switches, but I figure its a little bit of a safety factor, so I went with it.



Here it is in action, I decided to scrap my old recirculation pump idea, and just buy a new ShurFlo pump. It is SOOO much easier, and seems to be a great little set-up. Puts out a surprising amount of pressure also.



Here is the Kitchen lights/auxilliary plug I wired in. It uses a Deans style plug, rated at 40 amps (although the circuit is wired for 10amps), and I use it primarily for my LED strip that I incorporated into my kitchen set-up. makes cooking a breeze in the dark! I can also use this plug for virtually any other 12 volt accessory I choose, fans, lights, etc etc.

You can also see where the wiring for everything else goes into the RTT.




I say 98% wired because I still have to wire up the electric brakes in the jeep, and on the trailer.

the trailer is pretty much done with major work, except for re-doing the tongue area to accept a receiver style MAX coupler, and moving the jack back a little to allow a proper angle on the RTT ladder. Few little things here and there, but she is basically finished!

~ Stump

[The Hard Struggler]

Wow! James you build cool stuff!

Enjoyed the build pics as well as seeing it in person at the Crawl.

[PacificEd]

Awesome job James!

[DM_MKV]

Originally Posted by PacificEd

Awesome job James!

This is by far the coolest thing. I wish I had some know how like this.

[Sillyputty]

That is the perfect "Swiss Army Trailer" Great work, thanks for posting the write up...

[mmastran]

You sir, are a genius!

[DoctorPhate]

Looks really good. The one thing that makes me wonder is about the weight distribution. It looks like with alot of stuff mounted forward of the axle its going to have quite a bit of tongue weight. Did you offset it somewhere?

[stumpXJ]

Its actually a little light on the tongue.

The tailgate weighs a friggin ton (double sided), and the two jerry cans of fuel are always full incase the zombie/apocalypse should break out here in ATL, all I have to do is hook up and head for the hills. I usually have to position even more stuff up front in the basket area to get enough tongue weight. It sits ready to ride with 75lbs of tongue weight. Depending on how/what I load it, I adjust accordingly. Anything less than 50 pounds of tongue weight and it can get squirrelly at speed. The more the better for highway pulling, of course too much is too much.

The tent only weighs 90 pounds total, and the propane tank is about 20lbs. Honestly I think it will be perfect once I get the spare tire on there, then I wont have to add weight to the front as much. With the trailer completely empty, no tent/battery/fuel/water etc etc it only has about 30 pounds of tongue weight, which worried me a little.

The water tank (16 gallons) is right in front of the axle, so it doesnt have much effect on balance, the battery up front is about the only real weight I have.

I have about 3000 miles on it so far, and it pulls like a dream on just about every terrain you could imagine. The airbags are nice for adjusting for different loads. Definitely one of my favorite projects!

Thanks, Stump

[DoctorPhate]

wow thats pretty good balance. I was thinking it would be super heavy on the front because of how far back the axle is. Really nice trailer man.

I'll have to build one of these too, Zombie/apocalypse is always something to keep in mind. lol

[filterbiz]

what tent is that? where did you get it? i thought i read this whole build but i didnt see anything on the tent?
thanks

[XJEEPER]

Nice build and writeup, James!