Off-Road Worthy 5x8 Conversion

[hankaye]

jmanscotch, Howdy;

" Interesting, so they must be using a tow truck of sorts, otherwise you'd think it'd track like a wild trailer and small into their vehicle everytime they stopped...and that'd alert anyone who saw them going down the road. But yeah, this setup should make it painfully obvious they're driving away with a stolen trailer...tire locked up and smoking, screeching, etc. "

From my memory of the newscast, it was a "homemade' tow type rig. Best guess is they do like i did when doing repo work,
get around the corner then hook it up right then drive like ya stole it!

hank

[jmanscotch]

No real update lately. Took the trailer for it's first shake down cruise (to wash some bird poop and sap off of it before sealing it up). It towed great, the shocks and new leaf springs make it ride amazing!

[Joel.brian]

Looks fantastic!


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[aggie79]

[hankaye]

jmanscotch, Howdy;

Dang Hoss!!! , !!!

You do some kinda purdy work, that's for sure.

hank

[jmanscotch]

Appreciate the kind words, fellas. Eager to get it complete and see how it turns out once truly done. My new target for being 90% done is end of July. The last 10% will be tweaking things in the galley area after using it for a while.

[jmanscotch]

New 2" receiver tube tongue burnt on. It's essentially a 3 foot extension that houses the Lock-N-Roll hitch.



Why 3 feet, you ask...it's the magic number that gives me clearance between the A frame portion of the trailer tongue and my truck bumper. Now, I'll be able to turn the truck 90 degrees to the trailer, which will help in tight turns offroad, turning around and the extension will making backing the trailer a pleasant task. It'll also give me room to build a landing on the front of the trailer to place a tongue box, jack mounts, propane storage and whatever else.



Drawback is sheer length of the setup now, but that's not a huge concern for us and where we intend to take the trailer.









It's going to be a busy weekend, I'll see what updates I have next week.



Jake

[John61CT]

It'll also give me room to build a landing on the front of the trailer to place a tongue box, jack mounts, propane storage and whatever else.

But doing that may interfere with the 90° right?

[jmanscotch]

It'll also give me room to build a landing on the front of the trailer to place a tongue box, jack mounts, propane storage and whatever else.

But doing that may interfere with the 90° right?

I’m only making the landing about 20” deep, so it’ll fit within the footprint of the original A frame tongue. The jack being mounted in the tongue is what will free up the space for the landing. That said, the swivel jack will limit me from a full 90 degrees on one side of the tongue, but it’ll get me 8 inches closer to a full 90 than I had with the stock configuration, so I’m considering that good enough.

If I find I need full 90 and the jack is the problem, I’ll relocate it back on the landing base, but I think this way should work for most of situations I find myself in.

Jake

[jmanscotch]

Checked a few boxes on the to do list this weekend, not as many as planned though.



I finished installing the roof rack, came out very sturdy. It's the no weld base mounts with 1"x1" 16 gauge tubing, finished off with plastic end caps, painted in bed liner.









Also painted the new tongue so it wouldn't get crusty with the random thunder storms we've been having.







Then I fabricated a simple 2x3 16 gauge rear bumper. Once it was done, I coated it and the fenders I bought. I wanted to get the bumper welded on today, but errands took over and then took the lady out for a little date night as a thanks for her putting up with me being busy in the driveway for the last several weeks/weekends.









I also finished fabricating the front tongue landing. It's the width of the trailer, so a bit over 5' wide and about 18" deep.

















This week I plan to:



- Mount the rear bumper

- Finish the front landing and paint

- Figure out what I'm doing to mount the fenders and keep proper clearance from the tires

- Install the 3 jacks (front tongue and 2 on rear bumper for leveling)

- Finish wiring the 7 pin trailer hardness

- Install the bump stops for the axle

- Rebuild the back door

- Seal the roof and walls again



Jake

[McDave]

That is a ton of progress for one weekend. Tuff lil' burro you have created Señor. Looking forward to some photos in use.
Thanks for showing your work.

McDave

[Iconfabul8]

Very Nice, the fab work and the date night! Your ambition is commendable, that week's list is a good month or more for me Haha. Enjoying your build keep up the good work.

[Joel.brian]

Damn I wish I could weld, I love that area you have in front of the trailer


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[jmanscotch]

That is a ton of progress for one weekend. Tuff lil' burro you have created Señor. Looking forward to some photos in use.
Thanks for showing your work.

McDave

Gracias, McDave. Will hopefully have some in a few weeks if it's together enough to use for a few days when my father comes at the end of June.

[jmanscotch]

Very Nice, the fab work and the date night! Your ambition is commendable, that week's list is a good month or more for me Haha. Enjoying your build keep up the good work.

Thank you sir, she was happy to get out and spend some time together, can't forget to take care of our supportive spouses.

My to-do list might be a bit optimistic. My truck is due for some maintenance and I forgot I have the dentist this week so that'll rob atleast one evening from me. But hey, aim high...settle for what actually gets done.