I'll start with a description of what I'm planning, and hopefully you all can chime in and tell me where my bad ideas are before I turn them into reality.
So... as mentioned in the title, it will be a 12' long build. The "5-8" portion of the description is because the front will be 5' (wide enough for a queen mattress) as will the entire interior. At the wheels, I'll be building the frame out to expand around the wheels. Above the wheels will be compartments to hold gear and utilities on the one side, and an outdoor kitchen on the other. I'll have a cargo style door on the back to allow for loading bikes and/or animals when hunting. And, since i recently sold my F150, I'll need to be able to use the trailer for hardware store runs as well. The interior height will need to be 6'3" in order to eliminate eff bombs when smashing my head. (I'm 6'1")
I'll be building it so that the tongue height will be at right around 24". As I'll be aiming for a total dry weight of less than 2000lbs and a max GVWR of 3500lbs (although I plan to only use that in the extreme circumstances), I've got 2 Timbren 1THD axle-less suspension systems coming. The hubs match my tow vehicle in order to have multi purpose spare tires. (5x114.3)
On that note, the tow vehicle is a '21 Rav4 TRD off-road (rated to pull 3500lbs). I've lifted it 2", and she'll be getting new boots once they arrive. I initially ordered Falken Wildpeak A/T3W, but am currently trying (and struggling) to change my order to Duratracs. The tires that I took off of the car (Falken Wildpeak AT Trail 225-60-18 @ 28.6") will be used as the trailer tires.
Now... because I'm crazy and live in Canada (2 separate statements there for the record... haha) I'm hoping to be able to integrate a small removable hatch in the trailer floor/deck in order to be able to use this as an ice fishing shack in the winter as well. Should be able to throw a skirt around the base of the trailer, pop open the hatch, drill a hole or 2 and catch some fish in a nice warm spot.
Here are a few pics of the sketch up drawings I've got so far. I got a little lazy with the drawings of the metal around the wheels, but I'll actually be building frame on either side of each set of wheels, and adding in braces between. There will also likely be a few gussets on the box of the trailer frame.... but you get the idea. Tongue will be designed once I see exactly how high she sits in relation to my little ute.
- TNTTT1.png (56.73 KiB) Viewed 831 times
- TNTTT2.png (38.38 KiB) Viewed 831 times
- TNTTT3.png (22.69 KiB) Viewed 831 times
For the frame and shell, I'm leaning heavily towards a frame of 2x3's oriented the way that you wouldn't orient them normally with 1.5" foam insulation (because... well... Canada). 2' of insulation, 1 2x3, repeat. On the outside will be either Lauan or OSB screwed and glued to the 2x3's and likely just glued to the foam. I really want to be able to use a spray on box liner to coat the whole thing. I'm getting slightly mixed opinions in my resaerch, but I feel like it's doable. This way, I would not need any trim, and would have no seams to worry about leakage.
Soon enough I'll design the outside walls and add in doors, windows, hatches, etc. I'll update that once I get there.
Anywho.... wish me luck!! And feel free to chime in with a "Hey stupid!! Don't do that because it will explode." I'm here to learn, and try to do this right. Any and all ideas and experience sharing is more than happily accepted.
I looked and they will for a small fee.
