"TrailTop" modular trailer building components

[jscherb]

If it went to market, will you have generic spacer blocks available, too?

You're talking about the curved spacers for hinges and latches? It depends on what a company selling the TrailTop parts wanted to do. I made mine out of wood (well, actually TimberTech composite decking), they were very quick to cut out and spray white. But if a company wanted to offer molded urethane ones, for example, they wouldn't be too hard to make.

Yeah. Those just seem a bit trickier to make look *good*. Obviously whoever buys this stuff will likely have some woodworking skills, but "some woodworking skills" and making that outer spacer look *good* may not be the same thing. Also, I'd think it would be annoying to make something that could withstand the weather in that kind of piece of wood. Possible, but annoying. Some kind of molded piece would be better, anyway.


--Donnie

Ok, but for those who would rather DIY it, here's what I did.

Using a cutoff from trimming the TrailTop parts to fit the tub, I traced the curve on a block of "wood" that was just a little bit longer than the hinge. Wood is in quoted because I used a scrap from my deck construction - it's TimberTech composite decking board, which is mostly plastic but cuts and sands like wood.



Then I cut along the line; the portion I scribbled on is scrap. A long blade in a handheld jigsaw works fine for this; I used a bandsaw because I have one handy.



A little bit of sanding perfected fit, I also sanded off the "wood grain" texture on the flat side, and then I shot them with white primer.

[jscherb]

Got the plywood installed on the TrailTop cover, here are some photos. It's just screwed in place for now, before final finishing it would be installed also with adhesive/sealer.

[djb_rh]

It's probably off topic, but why the heck are there cinder blocks hanging off the spare tire of the black Jeep? Structural testing?


--Donnie

[KCStudly]

I had the same question but assumed that they were just gravity clamps being moved from one shop to the other. Either that or the tire rack is another proof of concept undergoing stress testing.

[jscherb]

It's probably off topic, but why the heck are there cinder blocks hanging off the spare tire of the black Jeep? Structural testing?


--Donnie

I'm doing some testing that's way off topic for this forum .

[jscherb]

Doing a little load testing... the 225-lb. gorilla test:



The cargo rack/basket installed, with a 32" tire/wheel and a hi-lift style jack:



Before anyone asks, no I did not raise the cover with this weight on top - I didn't build this particular cover to open with large weights on it, I built it to be a lightweight pop-up tent cover/roof-top clamshell tent cover, so I've used lighter weight struts and less reinforcement than I would have if I had built it to open with heavy weights. Building one for opening with heavy weights can be done fairly easily, I can describe the necessary changes in construction if anyone's interested.

And of course the gorilla had to get into the act with this load too:



The total weight on the cover in the photo above is somewhere between 325 and 350 pounds.

Next I'll try out the roof-top tent.

[jscherb]

The cover in motion:

[jscherb]

Roof-top tent installed.

[jscherb]

A few more...

[jscherb]

Here's what I'm planning for the pop-up tent panels. There are three panels - two sides and an end. At the top edge, all of the panels attach to the inside of the cover with snaps on the inside edge of the sill board. At the bottom, since I built this trailer with the standard Wrangler soft top retainer rails, the panels will have a plastic strip just like the Wrangler soft tops; this strip slips underneath the retainer rail just like the factory soft top panels do. The end panel zips to the side panels.



There will be windows in each side; these follow common tent practice and have a solid panel that zips/rolls up to keep out the elements, and an inner mesh panel that also zips/rolls up. The door on the back will also have the same solid and mesh panels. It will secure to the tailgate with snaps on the inside of the tailgate, and there will be a flap that hangs a bit over the outside to prevent leakage. The door panel can be zipped/snapped from the inside.

I'll be ordering the fabric in the next day or two, I'll post more on fabric choices soon, you guys can help me pick the color.

I'd like to hear any comments, suggestions and criticisms you might have of this design.

[Hardryder56]

Jeff,
Excellent work. As for your tent color maybe something on the lighter side to prevent heat absorption, White roof and tan or white side panels maybe?

Tom

[jscherb]

Here are the fabric choices I'm considering, shown against the trailer tub:



And close-ups of the camo samples from the website that sells the fabric:



There are other colors, like blue, red, black, and white winter camo, but I'm thinking it should be one of the ones above.

I'd like to pick a color that will look good in all of the applications I might prototype - the tilt-up on top of the trailer, the clamshell on top of the Jeep, maybe even the pop-top camper. The canvas image I've been using for the concept drawings below looks like the taupe above, and olive for the awning.







What color would guys go with?

[KCStudly]

For the yellow trailer I like the Spanish Yellow, and think the top should be yellow to match, JMO. (I realize that you probably don't want to make it yellow 'cuz it would not work with the other projects.)

Second choice is the taupe, again with yellow top, but would prefer to see the screen/flap in black instead of green (there are just too many colors going on there for my taste). For the black Jeep and trailer, the taupe/black top combo works, and the green screens might be less objectionable. (The green screens might stand out less in real life than they do in the representations, too, so that may be less of a factor on the yellow.)

The Flooded Timber camo looks to be a good match for the yellow, but I'm not crazy about camo and it is more of a fashion statement with the bright "look at me" yellow than a practical application... unless you are camping in a sunflower field.

I do like the yellow, always have. Milner's Coupe, early Corvette's; you know, hot rods.

[jscherb]

For the yellow trailer I like the Spanish Yellow, and think the top should be yellow to match, JMO. (I realize that you probably don't want to make it yellow 'cuz it would not work with the other projects.)

Second choice is the taupe, again with yellow top, but would prefer to see the screen/flap in black instead of green (there are just too many colors going on there for my taste). For the black Jeep and trailer, the taupe/black top combo works, and the green screens might be less objectionable. (The green screens might stand out less in real life than they do in the representations, too, so that may be less of a factor on the yellow.)

The Flooded Timber camo looks to be a good match for the yellow, but I'm not crazy about camo and it is more of a fashion statement with the bright "look at me" yellow than a practical application... unless you are camping in a sunflower field.

I do like the yellow, always have. Milner's Coupe, early Corvette's; you know, hot rods.

I'm with you on all of your points.

Screens will probably be black - black is the only color I can find right now. The concept drawings have greenish screening because that's the image I found when I was doing the concept drawings, not because I like green screens .

[pjo129]

I was driving past the Hercules truck body manufacturing facility today. They make boxes for big trucks (like Ryder type moving trucks) This is the exact same process they use in their construction. Just substitute aluminum for fiberglass.

Nice work.