Need to lift my Cargo trailer

[Al Swope]

Hi all. First post. I'm Al. I bought this 6x10 to covert to a off-road camper. When I go off-road near home, 30 miles, I'd like to haul it with my jeep. The jeep is on 35" tires, with 4.88 gears and dana 44 axles. I know I have the power and drive train strength to pull this trailer, but 2 potential problems I see:

1. I need to lift it. The trailer is on 205/75/15 tires and spring under. If I switch to 31" (3") tires, go spring over (3") and get a 4" drop hitch it should line up pretty close. Am I missing anything? If I lift it that much, will the wind carry it away to Oz?

2. Is this a pipe dream? I don't plan on driving 70 down an intrastate hi-way in the jeep, but is this set up feasible? Adding a new axle with e-brake is possible. Has anyone towed a lifted cargo trailer with a lifted wrangler before? For serious road trips I'll be towing with an F250 pickup.

[jss06]

That should not be a problem. Just make sure you weld on new axle pads and don't just rotate the axle to do the spring over. The axle probably has a built in bow to it and that will be the wrong way if you just rotate the axle.

[Al Swope]

That should not be a problem. Just make sure you weld on new axle pads and don't just rotate the axle to do the spring over. The axle probably has a built in bow to it and that will be the wrong way if you just rotate the axle.

10-4, welding is no problem. I'll need to replace the fenders also. I guess once I lift it, if it doesn't work out, it would be easy to put it back to stock.

[Quadriderdad]

If you do this you prolly wanna make sure your tongue weight is a 'lil on the heavy side maybe 15%. Also I would consider wheel spacers to give it a bit wider stance. Good luck mate.

[Sonoma ZR2]

I just did the spring over conversion on my pop up. I towed it to the east coast and back to Iowa. As long as your springs are good it will ride good. Check into what size your axle is above the spring and make sure to not ruin the springs by over flexing them by not having the axle to act as a bump stop. For me we discovered that the springs were to weak and one side was a little low and occasionally rubbed the frame a few times.

[TucsonWJ]

Just a quick question as far as the bow that is incorporated to the axel. From what I've read it is to put camber in the tires so they ride on the crown of the road and you get better tire life. I've also read that it is put there so that when the trailer is loaded the tires sit more flat. Are those the only issues as far as flipping the axle is concerned and not relocating the perches?

[AZ_Desert_Rat]

Axles generally have a camber, meaning you shouldn't just "flip" the axle and axles also come straight or with a drop. During my 6x10 build, I swapped out the drop axle for a straight axle (gaining about 4") and when purchasing the new axle, I opted for an under spring mount (gaining both from axle radius and spring thickness ... about 8"), for a total of close to 12 inches of lift. I changed the tires from stock 205's to 225's giving me a little, but nothing to brag about here. Take a look at the build in my gallery ... total frame to ground clearance is almost 24" the original was just about 12"

One needs to remember that an "Offroad TT" is subject to where one really goes ..

Mild might be - 2-wheel drive, and high clearance is helpful, but not absolutely necessary.
Medium might be ... High clearance 4x4 is required for at least part of the trail.
Rough Goes up from here ... 4x4 and high clearance is necessary for most of the trail and you might better have a winch and hi-lift jack on-board.

I grew up in a Jeep and did a lot of offroad travel in southern AZ and even pushed the offroad to walking out ... more than once (Young and foolish). I still go offroad and love to lock them in where 4x4 & high clearance is necessary. I built a CT that will take me where I want to go prospecting without tearing up my TV (A K-5 Blazer with 12.5 x 33" Tires and stock height) and/or CT ... giving me 24" of ground to frame clearance all the way back. Not an expedition combo, but in my world it is offroad and I have seen jeeps turn around before they get to my camp.

I guess the point I am making is that some folks think of offroad as the need for a bit more clearance off the pavement and others require a serious articulating, short wheelbase, 4x4 with oversize tires, and a TT to allow traversing whatever terrain the expeditions requires. Most of the country is making it illegal to blaze your own roads, meaning we have to stick to what's already blazed. Anyway, with this in mind, one needs to decide where they are going to go and what they really expect from their offroad rig and TT. As I get older, sleeping in a stand up trailer is an option I do not want to give up. As they teach in school, jot down all your wants with all the pro's and con's ... Then take it from there.

There are some great rigs pictured throughout this site and I agree that serious offroading requires a serious TV and TT to match, but what is serious to one, may not be serious to another.

Have fun and be careful...