New here! Aspiring to start a trailer build this Summer..

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New here! Aspiring to start a trailer build this Summer..

Postby Spvrtan » Wed May 16, 2018 1:15 am

Image

Hello, TnTTT. The name's Kris and reside in San Diego; I'm stoked to be a part of this community to both learn from all the experienced builders and share the progress of my build once it starts. The goal is to build an adventure trailer that puts function over form first, can be beat on offroad through some harsh trails, and can fit me, my girlfriend, and our two dogs. I drive the 2014 Toyota Tundra in the above photo, which has been one wild of a ride on its own building it. The same rig will be what tows our trailer around. Even though it is on 40" tires, it has more than enough power to pull since it's supercharged (500hp/550ft-lbs) and has 4.88 gears. Still, the plan is to have the trailer be as light as possible (eg. using a channel-based frame instead of tube).

Here's the build info on my Tundra:
http://buildprint.io/builds/3.pluto?v=m

We're turn between having the trailer be either a 5x8 or 6x10 box and on the same 40" tires ..hell, maybe we'll build both at the same time and try different building techniques or designs on each.

I plan on documenting my trailer build here on TnTTT and also on Buildprint:
http://buildprint.io/builds/12582.reacher-gamma-1?v=m

Some of the general ideas for the trailer are..
- Pop-up trailer
- Hybrid aluminum/plastic walls
- Sleeping bed length of 6'
- Interior shower
- Minimal (ie. other than the important sleeping and cleaning features, don't need any built-in electronics or a baked-in kitchen)
- Seating area
- Tables
- Roof rack
- Independent arm suspension
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Re: New here! Aspiring to start a trailer build this Summer

Postby Bill n Robi » Wed May 16, 2018 4:10 am

Welcome, you'll have fun building and using it.
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2015 Toyota Tacoma TRD Sport 4 Door Short Bed
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Re: New here! Aspiring to start a trailer build this Summer

Postby KTM_Guy » Thu May 17, 2018 12:13 pm

Overland Expo is this weekend in Flagstaff. You can get some good ideas.

A few things that jump out at me are.

Harsh trails and trailers generally don’t go together. A lot of people that do hard core wheeling with a trailer usually go with a small Expo trailer with a roof top tent. Or put the tent on the truck and the trailer just carries the kitchen, water, fuel things like that.

You want a shower in side and your 6 foot tall, then you want 40” tires? You’re going to be over 8’ high. Oops I missed the pop up part.

40” tire are what 10”-11” wide? A few inches clearance each side on a 6’ wide, your pushing 8’ wide. That alone will illuminate a lot of fun trails. A lot of people say you want the trailer tires to track the TV’s tires. That seem tough to do without building into cabin.

One of the things that concerns me is a lot of people are getting trailers to go off-road. And I am one of them building an off-road teardrop. I saw a video on Overland Portal of some guys showing how though their trailer is and dragged it on trails it had no business on. If it was on private property, no problem. But that is what will get trails shut down.

When I started my build I wanted a hard core off-road teardrop. But when I really looked at how we’ll use it I made some changes. We are not hard core wheelers, more just like to get off the beaten path. So I really changed the the build and added more comfort stuff.

Looking forward to the build.

Todd
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Re: New here! Aspiring to start a trailer build this Summer

Postby Spvrtan » Tue May 22, 2018 7:51 pm

KTM_Guy wrote:Overland Expo is this weekend in Flagstaff. You can get some good ideas.

A few things that jump out at me are.

Harsh trails and trailers generally don’t go together. A lot of people that do hard core wheeling with a trailer usually go with a small Expo trailer with a roof top tent. Or put the tent on the truck and the trailer just carries the kitchen, water, fuel things like that.

You want a shower in side and your 6 foot tall, then you want 40” tires? You’re going to be over 8’ high. Oops I missed the pop up part.

40” tire are what 10”-11” wide? A few inches clearance each side on a 6’ wide, your pushing 8’ wide. That alone will illuminate a lot of fun trails. A lot of people say you want the trailer tires to track the TV’s tires. That seem tough to do without building into cabin.

One of the things that concerns me is a lot of people are getting trailers to go off-road. And I am one of them building an off-road teardrop. I saw a video on Overland Portal of some guys showing how though their trailer is and dragged it on trails it had no business on. If it was on private property, no problem. But that is what will get trails shut down.

When I started my build I wanted a hard core off-road teardrop. But when I really looked at how we’ll use it I made some changes. We are not hard core wheelers, more just like to get off the beaten path. So I really changed the the build and added more comfort stuff.

Looking forward to the build.

Todd

Yup! I was at Expo on Saturday. I geeked out on the Kimberley Kampers trailer. There was also a sweet F-550 camper build just outside the main event area.

I was thinking the tires would be partially (ie. half) built into the cab so they'd stick out about 6". A 6' wide cab and ~12" of exposed tire would make a track width of about 7', which isn't abnormal as far as general offroad vehicle track widths go.

I agree with what you're getting at about trailers offroad but I'd argue that vehicles do more damage due to weight and torque force of tires digging into the terrain.

Anyhow, this trailer is mostly for comfort but I aim for the "offroad durable" aspect of it mainly because I want it to last and not be extremely delicate like most trailers on the market.
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Re: New here! Aspiring to start a trailer build this Summer

Postby Ottsville » Thu Jul 05, 2018 10:09 am

Did you start this yet? Any finalized plans?
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