A trailer for the short bus

[jays0n]

Hi there, been lurking for a bit and figured it was time to post about my trailer project. We have done a few back country adventures with the just the FJ and the RTT on top but decided that a trailer with the RTT on top and other "comforts" would really be a better fit for us. After some research I found Jeff/Scott's Dinoot trailers and really felt that building one of those was more fit with my abilities than going with something from scratch. After speaking with him numerous times we came up with a plan. The short version is it will be a Dinoot compact tub on a welded steel frame with a 3500lb axle and a steel overhead rack for the RTT and awning. The long version is below. You can track the full build at this link if you're interested. So far all of the parts needed are sitting in bins in the garage, once this thing is painted and powder coated it's gonna be go time!

Dinoot Compact tub
Steel Jeep tailgate with cables
marine plywood floor
Dinoot welded frame
3500 lb axle with 5.5 x 6 hubs
Lock'N'Roll 3-axis coupler
custom built overhead rack for RTT
soft tonneau cover
all stainless steel hardware
rear stabilizers
Nitto Trail Grappler 285/75-16 tires
Fuel Boost 16x8 wheels
LED brake/turn/marker lights
Tub painted to match tow vehicle (Toyota Sun Fusion Yellow)
Awning with screen room kit mounted with 80/20
Tepui Autana RTT
aluminum tongue storage box for electronics
2 group 24 marine batteries
100A circuit breaker
marine style battery cutoff
marine style switch/fuse panel for 12volt accessories
marine bus bars for power distribution
USB charge port
12v outlet
Digital voltmeter
LED flood lighting via wireless key fob switches
LED interior lighting
12 gallon under-floor water tank
12 volt RV pressure style water pump
stainless steel screen style water filter
exterior RV water tank filler with vent
exterior mounted faucet
100W solar panel mounted on 80/20 built slide out under RTT
horizontal E-track tie downs
ARB 37 quart refrigerator

Here is the FJ (lovingly referred to as the "short bus") with the Tepui RTT on top, it will be nice to have it on the trailer instead.


So far the trailer is mocked up to the point that I'll be working on roughing in the water, solar and other electrical components before it gets broken down for paint and powder coating. The 80/20 parts to mount the solar panel arrive early next week and that should take a few days to get installed (at this point it's just a vision, hopefully it works out as planned). I'm working on the brackets for the water tanks this weekend and after that just a few more details and off to paint it goes!

Here it is as a roller with the rear stabilizers and the front jack, both things that I had to tweak a bit for the additional height of the 33" tires.


Here it is with most of the fiberglass panels trimmed and fit, only thing I've done since this shot is get the tailgate installed. In case it's not clear, the dinoot stuff comes as solid panels, trimming the wheel arches, glassing on the inner fenders, drilling holes to fit them together, building the floor, etc are all DIY parts of it. The cool thing is that you know it's gonna work out because it's been designed to


We have a trip to Yellowstone planned for early Summer so I need to get this thing moving, the rough in has been fairly easy but the devil will be in the details, as he always is

 

[Mark Harley]

Yellow body with white top for the trailer too?

 

[jays0n]

Thought about it but the correctly sized tonneau cover that Scott carries is black, plus living in the northwest the top of my FJ is actually green in the middle from moss, algae or whatever it is that grows on everything out here. Nice thing is it's high enough that I don't see it, a white trailer top would be right in my face

 

[jays0n]

100W solar panel

I'm not planning to keep both this thread and the one at Tventuring.com completely in sync but my solar panel installation seems unique from my searching so I thought people here might appreciate it or even better improve on it

Hopefully these are pretty straightforward, it slides in/out very easily and the brakes work great to keep it in. There are stops on each end to keep it from sliding in or out too far but I'll probably put a leash on it just in case. Enjoy.

First I put up the top stationary rails then mounted the lower sliding rail using the 4 linear bearings.


The rear bearing is fixed to the lower rails, moves with the panel, and has a brake to lock it down.


The front bearing is fixed to the upper rails and is stationary.


The wider panel brackets allow the holes to reach the channel in the bottom of the rail.


I had to slide it in and out a few times with everything loose to get the alignment right.


The whole system fit between the rack gussets with no extra space, like it was made for it!


Extended it doesn't sag at all, it would be nice to be able to tilt it but perhaps that can be a future mod.


Stowed it will be under the RTT and mostly out of sight.

 

[skersfan]

Some very nice work, the rack looks great. Considerations. Doubtful it can be deployed attached to the FJ. That back door creates lots of problems for us. When deployed and detached, could be a real head knocker. Also with a permanent solar panel, you always have to park in the sun to use the solar system. Living in the northwest makes that a little easier I would guess. But being in 100 plus temperatures, parked in the sun, makes everything draw more. 100 watts should do the job though. Just things I have learned over the years. I had a like system on my first AT type trailers, slid out from under the roof top tent. Have a few marks on my forehead from it. I may just be to clumsy to miss it though.

 

[jays0n]

Trust me, I'm the king of clumsy and I'm 6' 3" so I hit my head on EVERYTHING The tent will deploy to the passenger side, the awning to the driver's side and the panel forward. I think it will still work when hitched to the FJ but it will be close. My thoughts were if it slid out over the tongue (something I would normally walk around anyway) that it would be less likely I'd hit my head on it, we'll see if that works out.

As for the power stuff, the math we did tells us that the most we would use during a night would be about 20Ah. The two batteries total 160Ah and the panel in full sun will produce about 5A/hour so on a normal day we would really only need 4 or so hours of direct full sunlight to get back to full charge. If 20Ah is really the nightly draw then we could be out most of a week without charging so anything we get off the panel is really gravy

 

[skersfan]

You have the battery power to make it work I think. I just hate camping in the sun if I can find some great shady area. Different strokes for different folks. Are you going to bring it to the FJ Summit in Ouray. Would love to see it finished!!!!!

 

[jays0n]

Don't think I'll be making it to the summit this year, maybe next year. We have a lot planned for the summer and I can't imagine squeezing in another trip I've been slowly converting the girlfriend to a mountain biker, I think in 1 more year she'll be ready for Moab so we can make it a 2 for 1 trip, bike rack fits on the back of the trailer!

 

[jays0n]

Just a quick update, progress progress progress. At this point I'm doing the final wiring and then it's off to get inspected by the state patrol so I can get tags for it. Summer is coming and I need to get this wrapped up! Plus there is a chance we may be selling our house and building something new on a big piece of land a little further out of the burbs so if all goes well with that the Summer will be too busy to have fun.... BUT I'll be including a 30x30 or so shop on the new property so there is THAT to look forward to

Painted and with the tonneau cover test fit, now we're talking!


E-track mounted to the floor and the ARB fridge tied down.


Got some electronics installed in the back, USB charger, Voltmeter and a 12v outlet, right where we'll need em!


Propane tank and the plug for the fridge's remote cable, trust me the outlet was smaller in the photos


Beginning of the electronics install in the tongue box

 

[skersfan]

Some beautiful work man!!!!!! Love the yellow!!!

Just picked up a new Trek Super Fly SL 9.7 FS with all XTR, Chris King hubs/wheels built by Mike Curiak. Have not looked at my trailer since I got it. Will be in Moab after the Summit I think, maybe you can drag that bad boy out there!!

Again, truly fine work, impressive. I seldom get impressed with this type of trailer, yours and Defconbrick are truly niccccccccccccccccccccccce!

 

[skersfan]

Too impressed with the pictures to read the post. Great news on the house, and the garage, I built mine two years ago. Heaven on earth to have all that room. Maybe next year, this will be my 8th Summit, have never missed one. Keep that young lady on the bike, good for you and her!!!

 

[jays0n]

Thanks! Means a lot to get compliments from people on this forum, you guys all do amazing work! Can't wait to see if the house thing is gonna happen, I have a great garage now but a big shop is a dream of mine! We'll get to the Summit one of these years, so much planned for this summer I'm not sure how we're gonna fit it all in!

Got the last of the "house wiring" completed and tested last night. Those black boxes on the left are the relays for the wireless key fobs I have to control the LED flood lights, they work so awesome! Last thing is to connect the batteries together and to the cutoff switches and bus bars then the electric is done. Oh and there is an on board charger to get in there as well, might work on that tonight but we'll see

 

[loren85022]

Just curious; I see two batteries, but the Nat'l Luna battery monitor is only for a single battery. Did you put a switch in?


Sent from my iToaster

 

[jays0n]

The batteries are connected in parallel, so seeing as it acts like 1 battery anyway, it was cheaper to buy the single version

 

[jays0n]

Maiden voyage was yesterday to get it weighed and it towed amazing, inspection with state patrol for VIN is tomorrow. Then the tent goes on and I'll get some shots of it all set up, sooo close now!