We were originally looking at a 4x8 nano weekender-inspired type on a Harbor Freight trailer, but decided to go a bit different route. First off, I have a HF trailer that I haul my 4-wheeler on and while it is a good value in a lot of ways, it didn’t seem quite right for our build. One of the HF trailer’s big benefits is that it doesn’t require welding. But since I’m a welding engineer and have more metal working tools than wood working tools (not to mention more skill in metal than wood…), that really wasn’t a huge advantage and a custom chassis seemed more appropriate, especially since I remember paying about $230 for my HF trailer a number of years back and they seem to have gone up to $400 (minus the 20% coupons that come around every so often, of course). In any case, I figured I could build a trailer for a bit more than the HF kit, but get some nice upgrades like larger tires and maybe even a torsion axle in the process.
But…that’s not what we ended up doing. We found an older homebuilt trailer with a 2x2x1/4” angle frame on Craigslist. It has 31” tires on 15” rims, which was a selling point seeing as how this trailer will be towed on sort of rough Forrest Service roads. Hopefully the larger tires will roll over rocks and such easier than the smaller Harbor Freight tires. It cost significantly less than what I could have built it for and came with a spare tire on a rim. It was advertised as a 4x8, but it’s actually almost 58” wide between the fenders by 8’ long, which will let us easily put a full size bed in it with a bit of play on either side. We also like the design. In some ways, it’s a bit plain and almost crude, but it sort of has that old Popular Mechanics DIY project (you know, the “I built a small tractor with a transmission from a ’47 Ford, an axle from a ’51 Buick, a…” projects) look to it, which appeals to us. So that’s the good news.
There is bad news about it too, but nothing tremendously bad. The first bad news is that it needs some modification and work. The trailer had a rotten floor and sides that needed to be removed, along with a number of mouse nests. The cutting torch took care of the rusted bolts that held the sides on and the floor and mouse nests lifted right out. The side frames were torched off too. There’s also some rusted out sheet metal that needs to be cut off and replaced. I have half of that cut off and will probably cut the other half off tonight. I have some 10ga sheet metal leftover from another project that I’ll replace it with. There’s also a couple sections of the frame that are bent, but I think that I’ll just cut those pieces out and weld in a new piece.
Probably the worst part about this trailer is that the axle is too far forward and moving it would be a pain, especially since the fenders and side shelves are welded along their entire length. Right now the trailer can be balanced on the axle with the spare in its carrier on the back end, so we’re looking at zero tongue weight at the moment. But I did some calculations and I think that this will work fine if we add a tongue box and put the battery in it. We’re planning for a simple galley and the cooler will ride in the tow vehicle rather than the galley (which is our preference with bears anyway), so the tongue weight should come out alright in the end. If it’s too light, we’ll add large lead weights to the bottom of the tongue box to bring up the tongue weight. Of course we’d rather avoid adding nonfunctional weight, but adding 50lbs or so of lead won’t be the end of the world. If it’s required, the lead will be custom cast to fit the bottom of the tongue box and then covered and sealed to avoid contact with the lead. I could move the spare tire up front too, but I like the easy access of where it is now…we’ll see.
We’re now thinking about doing a Benroy-type profile that’s 8’ long. Instead of a normal full size mattress, we’re thinking that full extra-long, which is 54x80”, would be nice, even though neither one of us is particularly tall. Of course this means that the under counter galley storage will be reduced as compared to a normal length full bed, but we’re viewing this as a sleeper first, so the main cabin is the priority. The galley will probably have a sink and stove, plus storage and a bit of counter space. The stove may be on a swing out or pull out to make this happen.
Anyway, on to pictures of the trailer so far.
- Here's the starting point.
- 1.jpg (188.64 KiB) Viewed 1002 times
- Sideboards removed. Isn't that a nice floor?
- 2.jpg (160.95 KiB) Viewed 1002 times
- Side frame gone.
- 3.jpg (210.26 KiB) Viewed 1002 times
you could just add a piece of 2"x2" or 2"x3" from the second cross member up through the vee where your hitch is now. It would make a much stronger and stable tongue. Just my 2 cents.