8" truck cap on HF 4x8 trailer ideas... got any?

[munchmeister]

Long time lurker, just found an decent truck cap/topper for free. Being the cheap skate that I am, I immediately agreed to pick it up, hoping to craft some walls for the HF trailer and use the topper for a roof, nice and waterproof (I hope), with windows and strength. And, of course, save money on materials. Total n00b to this although I have old carpentry skills and a DIY attitude. Just looking for ideas or places you pros can send me to, to get some ideas. I have, of course, scoured this site and others but this kind of build seems somewhat elusive. I am going to use it to transport dirt bikes (Yamaha TW200 and Suzuki DR350) to rallies and places to ride (summer only, too old for cold) with buddies and maybe do some built ins or built "ons" so that I can cook on a Coleman. And of course throw down a sleeping bag. Thinking about making the topper a lift up version so I could stand up (6' and getting shorter all the time). Gotta keep it light enough to tow with a 2009 Subaru Forester (~1000 lbs, without trailer brakes).

Posting shots of the inspiration, from a fellow http://www.tw200forum.com member,who directed me here, and another I can't remember where I found (here?). His is probably all I need for design inspiration but, this is such a fun and informative forum, I thought I'd join in and ask around.



My recent find. 72-1/4" x 99-1/4" so it's a bit bigger than the HF trailer:

[Padilen]

ImageUploadedByTapatalk1448672506.037002.jpg (28.12 KiB) Viewed 2953 times

[M C Toyer]

A couple of nice details on the example you posted:

The attached fold-up loading ramp and the barn doors which I assume are overlapped by the rear hatch when closed to provide weather protection.

The x crease on the diamond plate side panels is a nice alternative to just a plain flat wall.

A poster here a couple of years back used a cap similar to yours and built a 24 inch high box base which was extended over the wheels on a HF trailer. His overall height was fairly low and the trailer used primarily for a sleeper / day lounge.

http://www.tnttt.com/viewtopic.php?f=50&t=45827

I would think about a less boxy shape and perhaps use part of the difference between the HF width and the shell width to mount gas/water cans, tool boxes, pioneer tools etc. externally ahead of and behind the fenders.

The 48’ inch interior width on the lower part would easily accommodate a motorcycle and the 72 inch upper width lots of room for gear and a sleep platform.

[M C Toyer]

Here's some examples of the lower part:

[munchmeister]

Doing some measurements, the cap at the base is 72-3/4" wide. The trailer deck is 48" wide so the walls would have to be extended out by 1 foot on each side, which seems like a lot and I wonder about stability of something like that when traveling. I'm going to try and sketch it out to scale using SketchUp but I'm kind of a klutz with SketchUp. But I really think I need a sketch to visualize this idea and to be able to play around with different wall heights, etc.

Found another truck cap in the area and it was a much better size, would only need an extension of about 6" on either side. It had straight side walls, whereas my freebie has angled walls. Not that it would matter much. The newer find was already painted RED, a match for my little HF trailer. But the guy wants $200. Maybe I'll contact him and offer $100. Then I would be committed to this project.