Overland Offroad So Cal 2013 - 2014

[crashkillian]

[imghttp://www.tnttt.com/gallery/image.php?album_id=3315&image_id=121977][/img]I figure if I can build a boat, I can build a teardrop.

I once rebuilt a Jeep, a 20foot boat and from scratch, a small sailboat for my boys to race. Then I decided to build a 23foot sailboat and purchased the plans, the marine grade plywood, epoxy and fiberglass, but then the economy crashed and I realized I could buy twice the boat (used) for what I could build one for. Last year when I was offroad deep in Death Valley I saw a guy with a Jeep style offroad trailer and started doing some research. When I discovered a picture of an offroad teardrop, I knew exactly what to do with my left over materials.

I ordered a couple of teardrop plans, searched all over the internet and then drew my own plans. I have just ordered a 58 x 108 frame with 3500# axle and will be mounting 35" wheels that match my Jeep. Yes, I ordered spacers to clear the dust caps and to line up the center of the wheel so there is no offset. The way I see it, when I go offroad, I will have 3 spare tires. One on the back of the Jeep, and if I had multiple flats, I could always leave the trailer temporarily on rocks and borrow the wheels to get out. My goal is to make a strong frame with lots of clearance (17.5" on the axle & 23.25" on the frame) and keep the rest of the trailer as lite as possible. This means drawing my own plans as the counter height will be different then most plans. With all the LED technology and small tablets that can play movies and music, I figured to keep it simple and not put an electrical system in.

However, I was just part of an offroad group in MOAB and watched a fellow Jeeper break his suspension. With welding it back together the only option to get him off the mountain, one of the other guys borrowed two Jeep batteries, hooked them together with jumper cables and using a welding stick handle, put him back together. I believe it is called 24 volt welding. So, I guess I will be putting in a simple electrical system with a battery and learning how to weld.

Crash
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[Vedette]

Welcome Crash
Everyone has their own vision!
Good Luck with yours!
We do hope you stay with us and honor us with pictures of your build as you go along.
Please start an Album for member here on the Forum to look at.
That little icon to the left just under your signature.
Please feel free to take a look at mine(it is in reverse order).
Good OFF Roads
Brian & Sandi

[AlgoDan]

Hello and welcome aboard Crash.
Glad you have a plan and wish you luck in your build, also as said above pictures would be great as you progress with your build. Keep us posted as we here love new builds. Also i would like to get to MOAB on day too.

[Shadow Catcher]

Before you get too far along you might want to see what others have done for serious off road trailers. In the US http://www.adventuretrailers.com check out their suspension discussion In Australia http://www.kimberleykaravans.com/off-road-caravans http://www.bushtracker.com/ http://www.conqueror.co.za

Ours is set up for mild off/bad road but is setup for very serious boondocking, solar, water filters so we can pull from lakes and streams and make it potable, 12v (Powered by the solar system) Refrigerator so we are not dependent on ice. Do not eschew things like lights and a radio (in our case XM satellite) as they add to the experience. There are many cases where other than shortwave or limited AM we do not have conventional radio. I used computer case fans and all LED lights for conservation.

[Junkboy999]

Here some offroad builds

Broken Bow Offroad build
viewtopic.php?f=50&t=57167&p=1039365&hilit=offroad#p1034385


I love the frame work on this one.
The Bummer offroad build
viewtopic.php?f=50&t=51547&hilit=offroad


And you can’t forget Cold Ethel ( alice cooper reference )
I believe he just finished this beauty up a month ago.
Ethel has began
viewtopic.php?f=50&t=52982&hilit=offroad


Gordinho80's Offroad / Camping Trailer Build
viewtopic.php?f=50&t=55455&p=1009371&hilit=offroad#p1009371


These are just a few examples.
welcome to the forums

[Socal Tom]

Hey Crash,
Sounds like you have Alan pretty well figured out. I have been dreaming about an off-road TD myself. Here are a few of my thoughts.
1) I would add " basement storage" like the crossing. Especially with a TD you need to make sure everything has a place, because things bouncing around inside is bad.
2) I would cut the rear at and angle ____/ So that I had more clearance for drop offs.
3) make sure you include trailer brakes in your plan so you don't get pushed around on steep downhills.
4) make sure the tongue is long to give easier turning,. This would also make backing easier ( you might even consider an adjustable length tongue.)
5) many people take " off road" to mean add a lot of metal. I say keep it light, with a good frame, and good build techniques, it doesn't have to be super heavy, but anything that flexes will break eventually so uses glue and screws, not nails.
Tom

[bc toys]

Crash where might you be from
I like how you think with all the off road and camping

[Roly Nelson]

If you want real off-road TD info, you gotta go to Larry Sorranson's website. He has the killer off-road teardrop trailer which he built. Here is his website: http://www.outbackteardrop.com
Good luck on your build.
Roly, the li'l ol' octogenarian woody teardrop builder in So Calif.

[crashkillian]

Crash where might you be from
I like how you think with all the off road and camping

I am from Newport Beach, CA. Death Valley , Arizona and Anza Borrego are some the places I offroad and camp. An off road teardrop will "Make something bad, less worse" as my wife likes to say, so the teardrop is more for her. While I do aggressive 4 wheeling, the plan for the teardrop is as a base camp (intermediate trails). I have recently 4wheeled the Rubicon trail and Moab and plan to go back to Utah and Colorado with the trailer.

[crashkillian]

Hey Crash,
Sounds like you have Alan pretty well figured out. I have been dreaming about an off-road TD myself. Here are a few of my thoughts.
1) I would add " basement storage" like the crossing. Especially with a TD you need to make sure everything has a place, because things bouncing around inside is bad.
2) I would cut the rear at and angle ____/ So that I had more clearance for drop offs.
3) make sure you include trailer brakes in your plan so you don't get pushed around on steep downhills.
4) make sure the tongue is long to give easier turning,. This would also make backing easier ( you might even consider an adjustable length tongue.)
5) many people take " off road" to mean add a lot of metal. I say keep it light, with a good frame, and good build techniques, it doesn't have to be super heavy, but anything that flexes will break eventually so uses glue and screws, not nails.
Tom

Tom,
1) Basement storage is on my list. I plan on building below deck in the axle area making sure to clear the axle. I figure this will help with a lower center of gravity yet keep clearance for rocks.
2) I thought about cutting an angle on the back. FOr now I plan on pushing the axle a little farther back and will work on keeping weight out of the front of the trailer. If the tongue ends up slightly heavy I hope it will give better traction on the Jeep. With 35inch tires and a lift on the trailer the frame should be about 22inches off the ground.
3) I am starting without brakes, but if the trailer gets to heavy, I will add them. If I get in difficult spots I am hoping to winch the teardrop up down big stuff.
4) I am making the tongue long enough to access the back of the Jeep and give more clearance on steep hills. I figure I will also make an extension tongue only to be used in slow speed offroading. On road the tongue will only be 4 feet.
5) My goal is to keep things as light and simple as possible. I have a Big Tex Trailer location building me a strong 2 x 2 tube frame with the tongue made out of 2 x 3. Yes I cheated and went to an expert for that part of the build because I wanted to make sure it was built right. We talked about building the whole trailer out of 2 x 3 but felt it would be to heavy and that the 2 x 2 would be plenty strong. The rest of the td will basically be an upside down boat made out of marine plywood, fiberglass and epoxy. This should keep thing very light and strong and I have lots of experience using them. My goal is to use almost no screw in the building.

Thanks for your thoughts as they make me fill like I am on the right path.
Crash

[crashkillian]

Here some offroad builds

Broken Bow Offroad build
viewtopic.php?f=50&t=57167&p=1039365&hilit=offroad#p1034385


I love the frame work on this one.
The Bummer offroad build
viewtopic.php?f=50&t=51547&hilit=offroad


And you can’t forget Cold Ethel ( alice cooper reference )
I believe he just finished this beauty up a month ago.
Ethel has began
viewtopic.php?f=50&t=52982&hilit=offroad


Gordinho80's Offroad / Camping Trailer Build
viewtopic.php?f=50&t=55455&p=1009371&hilit=offroad#p1009371


These are just a few examples.
welcome to the forums

Thanks, these were good to look at.
Crash

[Socal Tom]

Crash where might you be from
I like how you think with all the off road and camping

I am from Newport Beach, CA. Death Valley , Arizona and Anza Borrego are some the places I offroad and camp. An off road teardrop will "Make something bad, less worse" as my wife likes to say, so the teardrop is more for her. While I do aggressive 4 wheeling, the plan for the teardrop is as a base camp (intermediate trails). I have recently 4wheeled the Rubicon trail and Moab and plan to go back to Utah and Colorado with the trailer.

Nice, before I got the tear drop I had a 67 Bronco that ran the rubicon, and all over the Anza Borrego desert. Lots of fun.
Tom

[KCStudly]

Brakes are far easier to include from the get go; just do it.

As far as tongue length goes, depending on the height at the front of your cabin, you do need some length so that it does not crash into the roof/back of your jeep top, and some guys want to be able to jack knife with a single member tongue, but I wanted the strength of an 'A' frame tongue. Most guys will extend the tongue for stable towing over the road, and shorten it for tight maneuverability on the trail, rather than the other way around.

I am building for forest service roads, not hardcore, but am including a few off road considerations (31 inch tires on 15 inch wheels, custom frame and custom swivel hitch). What hitch do you plan to use, lunette ring or swivel?

[eamarquardt]

My two sents:

Brakes are cheap insurance. A Jeep, with its short wheelbase, isn't a great tow vehicle in the first place. Why risk it. Go for brakes from the git go.

I wanted some instant gratification while working on my build so I bought a Little Guy that I'm planning on selling this spring (unless someone is interested now). One of the BIG learnings from using the LIttle Guy is that the curved bulkhead makes it impossible to sit upright comfortably on the bed with your back against the curved bulkhead. I can't fathom why so many teardrops are built this way as it was "instantly obvious to the most casual observer" (ME) that I hated that I couldn't sit comfortably in the cabin with my back against the wall.

I suggest that you make a mock of of your design and test out the length of the bed and sitting against the fwd bulkhead you have designed. Then adjust accordingly. I plan on reversing the bed and putting the head at the rear of the cabin with a bulkhead that it totally vertical. You may find you like your current design. You may, though, come to the same conclusion that I did.

Hope this helps.

Cheers,

Gus

[crashkillian]

Welding phase complete. I had Big Tex Trailers weld the main frame and had my brother in law help me weld the small details. 3,500lb axle, 35inch tires, 598lbs with just the tires and frame. 30gallon water tank just above the axle. The tabs sticking up are for mounting the wood frame. Yes the fender is close to the tires, but the experts tell me that it is all good.