Trailer Frame Plans?

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Trailer Frame Plans?

Postby paul.luna » Sat Jul 11, 2015 2:48 pm

I'm planning a 3rd Trailer and this one is more of an off road style TD I was wondering, if anyone has a Sketchup plan of the Trailer Frame they built? I have a 95 Toyota Tacoma 4x4 as my Tow Vehicle. It's only got a 3" lift. I'm not going crawling but we have a lot of cool desert style terrain i'm dying to go camping in.

Thanks Folks

Paul
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Re: Trailer Frame Plans?

Postby paul.luna » Tue Jul 14, 2015 3:49 pm

Well it's good that people are at least viewing posts. I'm searching thru a lot of builds I guess I'll just fake it. If I do come up with something I'll go ahead and post what I make. I did find a Sketch up plan for the Northern Tool 5x8 and I am modding it. Just as reference.

-Paul
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Re: Trailer Frame Plans?

Postby KCStudly » Tue Jul 14, 2015 9:06 pm

Well, I did see the post and I do have a CAD model of my frame, but your question is a bit vague and very specific at the same time.

A generic 4x4 trailer in Sketchup. No length or width indicated.

I would gladly share my trailer design, but I went 64 inches wide and would advise followers to build 60 or a little less. Tho I don't know of a way to convert to Sketchup. Is Sketchup a proprietary format or does it support any of the more common file formats?
KC
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Re: Trailer Frame Plans?

Postby paul.luna » Thu Jul 16, 2015 7:42 pm

Oh Yeah, I guess I could have been a little more clear on that. :-) I want to go 5 x 8 on the trailer, I think my walls might extend a little more. Both of my other builds have a radius at the front I am leaning more towards angles this time around. Something like these two:

http://www.tnttt.com/viewtopic.php?f=39&t=42096

Scroll down to the end of Post 33;
http://www.expeditionportal.com/forum/t ... uild/page4
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Re: Trailer Frame Plans?

Postby jss06 » Fri Jul 17, 2015 9:27 pm

I built mine for off-road use but don't have any electronic plans. I drew everything out on paper. The basic frame is 47"x8 ft. Overall width is 5ft x 8ft. I used wheel wells to keep the track width the same as my TJ. The build thread is in my sig.

I would start by measuring the track width of the tow vehicle and then build the frame to accommodate an axle that matches it. This is how I got the 47" frame rail width. Then built the trailer out to 5 ft. over all.
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Re: Trailer Frame Plans?

Postby paul.luna » Sat Jul 18, 2015 3:24 pm

KCStudly wrote:Well, I did see the post and I do have a CAD model of my frame, but your question is a bit vague and very specific at the same time.

A generic 4x4 trailer in Sketchup. No length or width indicated.

I would gladly share my trailer design, but I went 64 inches wide and would advise followers to build 60 or a little less. Tho I don't know of a way to convert to Sketchup. Is Sketchup a proprietary format or does it support any of the more common file formats?


Sketch up imports quite a few file types DWG, dxf, 3ds to name a few.
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Re: Trailer Frame Plans?

Postby mikeschn » Sat Jul 18, 2015 3:33 pm

For an off road trailer I would do a spring suspension with shock absorbers. Mount the axle under the springs to give yourself increased height.

How's that for a starting point?

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Re: Trailer Frame Plans?

Postby paul.luna » Sat Jul 18, 2015 5:45 pm

mikeschn wrote:For an off road trailer I would do a spring suspension with shock absorbers. Mount the axle under the springs to give yourself increased height.

How's that for a starting point?

Mike...

Hey Mike,

Thanks for the input.
I keep seeing people installing Axles on top of springs and it sort of drives me nuts. I'm not a low rider kind of guy. :-)

-Paul
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Re: Trailer Frame Plans?

Postby SilverJKU » Sat Jul 18, 2015 8:05 pm

I don't have any plans for mine either. I just put down how I wanted it on graph paper and then made it happen. I use graph paper because it doesn't take a whole lot of know how to use. :lol:
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Re: Trailer Frame Plans?

Postby KCStudly » Sat Jul 18, 2015 9:16 pm

Actually, I left my axle under the springs, but I'm running 31 inch tires on 15 inch wheels and wanted to keep the galley counter somewhat reasonable with the cooler on a slide underneath. I think I will still have something close to 18 inches of clearance, IIRC.

The floor could have been higher, if I didn't mind having my feet dangle when sitting in the doorway, or if I were to split the galley counter into a hi/lo configuration, but that would not have worked as nicely with my profile. And for moderate usage I don't think I will need that much ground clearance.

I guess everything is a compromise, trying to keep the height down for on road aero and low CG (for the cross winds), ease of egress, and reasonable galley ergonomics (low enough counter without squashing the under counter space into nothingness).
KC
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Re: Trailer Frame Plans?

Postby mikeschn » Sun Jul 19, 2015 1:17 am

Here's some info on mounting shocks to your trailer. This one has the axle above the springs, but use your imagination...

http://tnttt.com/viewtopic.php?f=21&t=11291

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