Grim Reaper
Expedition Leader
I'm all about the cheap. I am shooting to build a trailer for around $1500 complete. It should have a dry weight around 600lb. Main box about 40-44 x 60x 30. It will have 4 storage compartments 30x20x32 on the front.
I have been collecting items for a Expedition style trailer to pull with my 4Runner for about 10 months. I collected some decommissioned equipment cabinets that I bought from the Scrap company we use.
The boxes are made out of 5053 1/8 inch thick aluminum and powder coated white. Need to do some modifications including stripping some ventilation fans and hoods but otherwise pretty well ideal for my needs. The rear boxes I was going to seal but I may have found something better. I had two boxes may have showed up last week. They are 44x32x30 and have a bulb style gasket. Need to see if I can buy these boxes Monday and I will be ready to build.
The over all size will be about the same as the Chaser including the area the water tank sits on. Just a bit taller. I will use an off the shelf 20lb backyard grill LP tank instead of the small LP tank on the chaser. You can pick those up just about every other gas station so they will ease finding propane. Brackets are readily available as well. I will have a line plumbed up to where I will have my camp stove and a second line routed to the rear for a lantern.
The frame will be 2x3 box, Its just a good easy to deal with size that makes gasket mount tail lights easy to do. It has good rigidity to handle the rigors of off road. Easy to fish wiring through for lighting. Grab handle integrated at all 4 corner as well as clevis mounts for extraction if it gets stuck. I have a spare M8000 warn I had originally intended to mount permanently to the rear of the 4Runner. I think I will put on a receiver mount now. That will allow for it to be attached to the trailer as well as the rear of the truck. It can power off the trailer battery if needed to be separated from the truck.
Axle will be a 6 lug set up to match the Toyota it will be pulled with. For the short term it will run a 235x75x15 (that are currently on my 4Runner. Rims in the picture with new tires will replace them) but eventually run the same size 32-33's the truck will be on. That will allow the spares from truck and trailer to be interchangeable. I have thought about using a spare rear Toyota axle and run an alternator off the pinion to charge the on-board battery. Problem is to make it have trailer brakes. Yeah I could go surge but that has issues as well when backing in trail situations. Lot of extra weight as well. So sporting for a 3500lb loaded trailer axle is starting to make more sense.
Shooting for a 20 gallon water tank and use a portable show unit like a Zodi and plumb it to make hot water out of the main tank. Possibly a small pull out basin in one of the cabinets.
I will build a frame to support a roof top style tent that I plan to make. The idea is to have enough room to get the top hatches on the main box open. The frame should also serve as a exocage to help protect the trailer in the event it is layed over. It will have out rigors to support one end of a inexpensive 11x11 canopy. There will be a shelf built off the exo frame for prep areas and serve as the top of the fender. It will end up about 13 inches deep.
I am torn on fuel tanks. I have a 15 gallon tank with a 12v fuel pump and digital fuel level gage off a jet ski available. A NATO can may make more sense since the truck will already have a rack mounted.
It would be nice to have a pump out reserve tank but I also may be coming into possession of a 4500 Onan. Too much weight (it makes a full size van its presently on list badly) to go on this trailer but it may get mounted to the trailer I pull with my Suburban or it might get sold in favor of something like a EU3000 Honda that should fit in one of the forward storage boxes. Not sure if I will come up with a better tank for the Onan generator then the Jet ski tank if I do keep the Onan.
Here is a couple mock up pictures of the trailer including my stellar Paint skills!
Hopefully I can started on this soon. Just have to see how time goes.
I have been collecting items for a Expedition style trailer to pull with my 4Runner for about 10 months. I collected some decommissioned equipment cabinets that I bought from the Scrap company we use.
The boxes are made out of 5053 1/8 inch thick aluminum and powder coated white. Need to do some modifications including stripping some ventilation fans and hoods but otherwise pretty well ideal for my needs. The rear boxes I was going to seal but I may have found something better. I had two boxes may have showed up last week. They are 44x32x30 and have a bulb style gasket. Need to see if I can buy these boxes Monday and I will be ready to build.
The over all size will be about the same as the Chaser including the area the water tank sits on. Just a bit taller. I will use an off the shelf 20lb backyard grill LP tank instead of the small LP tank on the chaser. You can pick those up just about every other gas station so they will ease finding propane. Brackets are readily available as well. I will have a line plumbed up to where I will have my camp stove and a second line routed to the rear for a lantern.
The frame will be 2x3 box, Its just a good easy to deal with size that makes gasket mount tail lights easy to do. It has good rigidity to handle the rigors of off road. Easy to fish wiring through for lighting. Grab handle integrated at all 4 corner as well as clevis mounts for extraction if it gets stuck. I have a spare M8000 warn I had originally intended to mount permanently to the rear of the 4Runner. I think I will put on a receiver mount now. That will allow for it to be attached to the trailer as well as the rear of the truck. It can power off the trailer battery if needed to be separated from the truck.
Axle will be a 6 lug set up to match the Toyota it will be pulled with. For the short term it will run a 235x75x15 (that are currently on my 4Runner. Rims in the picture with new tires will replace them) but eventually run the same size 32-33's the truck will be on. That will allow the spares from truck and trailer to be interchangeable. I have thought about using a spare rear Toyota axle and run an alternator off the pinion to charge the on-board battery. Problem is to make it have trailer brakes. Yeah I could go surge but that has issues as well when backing in trail situations. Lot of extra weight as well. So sporting for a 3500lb loaded trailer axle is starting to make more sense.
Shooting for a 20 gallon water tank and use a portable show unit like a Zodi and plumb it to make hot water out of the main tank. Possibly a small pull out basin in one of the cabinets.
I will build a frame to support a roof top style tent that I plan to make. The idea is to have enough room to get the top hatches on the main box open. The frame should also serve as a exocage to help protect the trailer in the event it is layed over. It will have out rigors to support one end of a inexpensive 11x11 canopy. There will be a shelf built off the exo frame for prep areas and serve as the top of the fender. It will end up about 13 inches deep.
I am torn on fuel tanks. I have a 15 gallon tank with a 12v fuel pump and digital fuel level gage off a jet ski available. A NATO can may make more sense since the truck will already have a rack mounted.
It would be nice to have a pump out reserve tank but I also may be coming into possession of a 4500 Onan. Too much weight (it makes a full size van its presently on list badly) to go on this trailer but it may get mounted to the trailer I pull with my Suburban or it might get sold in favor of something like a EU3000 Honda that should fit in one of the forward storage boxes. Not sure if I will come up with a better tank for the Onan generator then the Jet ski tank if I do keep the Onan.
Here is a couple mock up pictures of the trailer including my stellar Paint skills!
Hopefully I can started on this soon. Just have to see how time goes.
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