The "SJ Cruiser" , a 5x10 benroy in the PNW

[KCStudly]

[yrock87]

Mounted!

[yrock87]

Fenders mocked up.

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[yrock87]

So I planned for my 10ft long cabin to rest on a 9.5 foot long trailer frame. The intent was to place the axle where I would have 3 inches front and back overhang. The thought process was that I could always adjust forward or back up to 3 inches either way to create the perfect tongue weight.

I ended up sliding the cabin forward 2 inches from centered. Adding to the tongue weight. With some weight loaded in the galley and the mattress in the front I have 125 lbs on the tongue. That will go down a bit as i add about another 50-100 lbs in the galley. I should be right at about 100-110 on the tongue when loaded for camp.

Also, 6x 3/8 inch carrier bolts with 2 inch washers are holding everything together. Just about ready for the road!

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[yrock87]

I sealed all the trim with a light bead of silicone. I did the soapy water trick and left just a tiny bit as an extra precaution against leaking.

Next on the agenda is working up the trailer lights so toucan take it to a tire shop this weekend and get new rubber. The tires I currently have from my old used home built cargo trailer are from 2001! They are 215/70x15 on 6.5 inch wide Lincoln alloy wheels. I plan to out on narrower tires at 195 but am not sure on the sidewall height. If I go 195/65 the tires will be nearly two inches shorter in total, lowering my trailer almost an inch. I like this idea because the trailer is just a touch high right now. However the downside is that I will loose an inch of ground clearance and I don't want the tires to get so small that they look funny inside my Fenders or on the trailer.

Thoughts? Current tires are 26.9 inches tall, these smaller ones are 25 inches tall. Seems big enough for a tear still?

[bbrider]

They are 215/70x15

I have the same size tires on my Wee-Go. I have General A/T tires on 15" aluminum wheels from an 80 Buick wagon. I plan to go off road with mine and wanted the extra height. Since I will be towing with my Jeep I wanted it to somewhat match in looks so I used jeep style fenders as well. The extra sidewall of the taller tires will help absorb some of the bumps from the road IMHO which may help the trailer to not brake....

[yrock87]

They are 215/70x15

I have the same size tires on my Wee-Go. I have General A/T tires on 15" aluminum wheels from an 80 Buick wagon. I plan to go off road with mine and wanted the extra height. Since I will be towing with my Jeep I wanted it to somewhat match in looks so I used jeep style fenders as well. The extra sidewall of the taller tires will help absorb some of the bumps from the road IMHO which may help the trailer to not brake....

yeah, I do understand that I will loose some cushioning with the reduced sidewall. and loosing an inch of ground clearance is worth considering too.. hm... I am leaning toward the 195-65 still. My Subaru can go offroad a bit, but It will never be more than forest service roads. so I don't think I need a ton of ground clearance. really my biggest concern going smaller is that my big 'ol fenders will make the tires look too small

[yrock87]

New tires are on. 195/65x15. They are the perfect width for the wheels and look good. They lowered the trailer just shy if an inch. Making the door entry easier to sit at.

Spent this last weekend working up 12v and 120v. 12v is complete. Well campable anyways . One more 12v plug to add I galley later. 4 circuits total. And a noco genius to keep the grp 24 battery topped off.

I am one gfci away from having 120v wired up in the galley and cabin. 15amp breaker in from a shore power.
input.

Fenders are painted and installed. I used some rust conversion primer because the original paint job allowed some rust to form on the root edges of the Fenders when the trailer was driven across the state. I sanded as much off as possible the used the conversion primer before a few coats of glossy black to match all the trim.

I snapped two lag screws trying to mount the fenders. Ended up missing with 5x 2.5in kreg screws. I will predrill and add two lag screws to the mix once I get some new ones. The Fenders are solid in the meantime.


Exterior is completely sealed. I need to put some vinyl insert on the driver side trim still.

Oh, I also need to install the tongue jack. I ahve a weld one one that I can't do myself. I have a clamp on style one that is on my cargo trailer. I plan to do a shakedown cruise this weekend so I will toss on the clamp style tongue jack for now...

That's all for now. Camping soon!

[ELM]

NO PICTURES. Sounds like you got a lot done. The stain on the side looks great. Keep plugging away.

[yrock87]

camping!

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[pchast]

Verrrry Nice.

[ELM]

Awesome I wish I was camping this weekend.

[yrock87]

Thanks. It's good to get out finally. We just did an overnight shakedown. Learned a few things. Some small thing I need to tweek/add. But the biggest was how we need to make adjustments for our 14 month old. If it was just two of us it would have been perfect. Making a space work for 2.5 people takes a little more work.

Shot of us waiting to board a ferry to whidbey Island

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[KCStudly]

Nice. I wish I lived that close to Poet Creek. Just saying.

Your wife looks happy, and that is 90/ct of the battle, so you must be doing well!

[yrock87]

So the number one issue we had this weekend was needing a bunk for my daughter. I doubt she will stay in it all night, but we really need for her to have her own horizontal space to lay during those brief ideal conditions. Plus a little space from mom and dad is good so she doesn't feel one of us then decide it is time to wake up and play.

To that end I threw together a quick and dirty temporary bunk for her. It is 24 inches wide by the 57.5 in we have on the interior. It is made of 3/4 a/c ply. Decent stuff, but not finish quality at all. And boy is this stuff heavy! I cannot imagine building the whole trailer with that heavy of stuff! The bunk alone must weigh 25-30 lbs. Plus it still needed some support to not bow when weight was placed on it. In any case, I used cleats to support the weight of the bunk, plus the ac ply and a 1x1 oak spar I had left over from the build. When I cut down the king size memory foam mattress topper I had enough 22in wide foam left over to use as a pad for the little one. At 4 inch memory foam it is more than she needs, but it was free!

Finally to keep her from rolling out I am using the two oak closet rods as crib bars running horizontal across the width of the trailer. I bought them to use as a cot style collapsible bunk for her. But that would involve sewing and fitting and we just don't have time since we are hitting the road in a week for a Thanksgiving trip to California.

The added bonus is that we now also have interior cabinet type space to toss our bags. The baby girl will get 3ft of the bunk and the other 2ft goes to our bags. Turns out you can make a space bigger once it's built. Yay!

Photos tomorrow, if my phone cooperates...