A Little Different M416 Trailer Build

[PacificNorthWestJeeper]

I figured out the weight of the rack, bat wing, and tent. I also took into account the drag affect of the friction of the rack sliding in and out.
I ordered part # 018318W from:
https://www.liftsupportsdepot.com/lift- ... t-support/
They have 120# lift each with a 19 ¾ stroke which were the two most important characteristics I needed.
The stroke will get the bottom of the rack to 81 inches so that I have room to walk under it with a couple of inches to spare. I also purchased the extension for the annex under the tent to make up for the height.
I wanted 115# of lift but the only options were the 120# and a 100# in the stroke that I needed.
Keeping fingers crossed but I may have to play the UPS shipping game a few times to get it dialed in.
Struts should be here by next Friday...

 

[cemeb4dk]

Nice build. I'm currently building a telescoping rack for mine also. Are the struts just going to be lifting the rack, tent and batwing? If so isn't that a lot of lifting force, your talking 480 pounds, how will you get it to close back down? Im no expert by any means, I have a tepui autuana 4 and a foxwing awning and I am worried my 4 60 pound struts will be to hard for me to close when I get to the point of finally installing everything.

 

[PacificNorthWestJeeper]

Nice build. I'm currently building a telescoping rack for mine also. Are the struts just going to be lifting the rack, tent and batwing? If so isn't that a lot of lifting force, your talking 480 pounds, how will you get it to close back down? Im no expert by any means, I have a tepui autuana 4 and a foxwing awning and I am worried my 4 60 pound struts will be to hard for me to close when I get to the point of finally installing everything.

Yes, for lifting.
After weighing each item:
The rack is 108 #
Batwing is 47 # (Right where manufacture states it is)
Tent is 286 # (Minus annex)
That's 441 #
Add friction in the equation, which is the 'X' factor, some sleeping bags and Doritos and it should be a pretty close show..
As for lowering stay tuned, same bat channel, same bat time......

 

[Alloy]

Gotcha, link below. I did modify it a bit...

https://www.masterlock.com/personal-use/product/M736XKAD

I have 3 of these. Very secure but it doesn't take much to twist the keys off in the lock.

I've been seeing more pin locks being used on services vans but I don't know if the keys are better.

 

[PacificNorthWestJeeper]

To get the trailer licensed I needed to get it weighed so I ran down to the nearest scale and had it weighed.
Empty, meaning no tent, awning, etc it came up to 1,460. I booked an appointment to get the trailer inspected for licensing mid January, I was surprised how far booked out they are.
In the meantime I started on the tongue box with wiring, switches, solar and battery setup...
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[PacificNorthWestJeeper]

Since my last update I was able to get an appointment at the state patrol office for an inspection and it passed.
They stamped the Vin # into the frame and then used pop rivets to attach a vin tag right below where they stamped the Vin into the frame.
I took their paperwork back to the licensing office and now have a plate, tags and another 'so to speak' vehicle to buy tags for each year...

As for headway I made mounts for the struts out of C Channel cold rolled and welded them to each base tube on all 4 corners. Then I bolted the ball stud mounts to each of the mounts I welded on.
I also was able to weld/mount each pop pin on all four corners which lock the rack in either the down or up position.
A new coat of fresh black on the rack with a couple coats of clear and the rack is done...

Next step is putting the rack in the down position and then putting the struts back on, the only trick is compressing each of the struts. I think I can use a ratchet strap for that.
Once all 4 struts are on then I will mount the Batwing and Tent. I will then know if I chose the right poundage for the struts. If that works out then from that point I will work on the tongue box, electrical, ie lights, solar panel, inverter, switch panel, etc...
I thought I would have had this done by Xmas, bummer..... Still keeping fingers crossed that I can get the maiden voyage in before the snow melts....
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[PacificNorthWestJeeper]

Started out the weekend using a floor jack and ratchet strap to install each of the 120# gas struts, not fun but done, all 4 installed.
This got me over the hump so I mounted the Batwing and rooftop tent.
Cascadia Tents puts out a very nice product, the tent was easy to install. All the nuts, bolts, tools, etc for installing the tent are all in a nice organized bag.
I did spring for the theft proof nuts to secure the tent. I think once I am completely done I will hit a couple bolts on the Batwing and tent with the welder as insurance.
I ran out of daylight so I did not get the chance to set up the Batwing or tent.
Next up is to release the struts (outside) to ensure there is enough upward force as well as to ensure I can still bring it back down. I didn't feel like messing with this one tonight if I could not get the tent back down. When I do test it and if I can not get the tent back down I will just take off a strut or two to get it to lower then order the 100#'er. All else fails I still have the hand winch idea to fall back on to lower the tent...
Then install the tongue box and wire up the battery, lights, inverter, outlets, and switch panel.
Sooo close......
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[PacificNorthWestJeeper]

I Had the chance to cycle the struts today and I lucked out, the tent went up with a couple of light pushes. When it was time to put the tent down I was able to use 1 ratchet strap and rocked it back down into locked/travel position.
I like the Cascadia Design Denali Summit Series tent, lots of room plus sky lights. It also came with a rain fly. The vestibule is really nice and will provide a great place for the dogs to sleep. The batwing awning is perfect, it covers a lot of area. I purchased two walls for the Batwing that zip in and stake down, thinking that if it gets windy or rains the walls will be nice. I may end up purchasing more walls at some point but I want to get a trip in first to shake everything down and go from there. I still need to mount the tongue box and wire up all the lights, solar panel and inverter... Feeling like I am getting a lot closer to being ready for a trip.
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[PacificNorthWestJeeper]

Went to work on the tongue box and lights and have run into a slight snag.
I need to run 5 wires through the side of the tongue box and two wires through the side of the trailer wall to the tongue box.
I was going to drill a hole and use rubber grommets like on the firewall of cars but the ones I have are not water tight.
I started looking at the 5-7 pin aviation/marine female & male connectors but haven't seen anything that has struck me as clean looking and watertight.
Any ideas on male/female watertight connector ideas would be great. Or any water tight ways to get wires through the sides of the trailer tub and tongue box.
I was thinking of something like in the pic..
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[Flyfishjeep]

Unless you are looking at constant submerging or the trailer, I don't think you will need to get that crazy with it. Rubber grommets that insulate the wire from the metal of the nose box and then place a good sized bead of silicone in there would be more than enough. I have several holes in my nose box with this setup and have never had water incursion from fording streams nor rain from driving in storms.

 

[PacificNorthWestJeeper]

Unless you are looking at constant submerging or the trailer, I don't think you will need to get that crazy with it. Rubber grommets that insulate the wire from the metal of the nose box and then place a good sized bead of silicone in there would be more than enough. I have several holes in my nose box with this setup and have never had water incursion from fording streams nor rain from driving in storms.

The other part about that is the grommet would pull out of the tongue box when I extend the rack, the pigtail would create enough force to rip it right out. I need something with clamping force..

 

[Flyfishjeep]

I am assum ing the 5 wires are for the trailer lights/brakes? And the two wires are for the electrical to the tent. Look towards the solar industry as they have a ton of different connectors for solar applications. I have used these (you can find them all over, I just remembered that Adventure trailers sells them for the example). You could use these and have a coiled wire plug into this on the nose box to extend with the rack.

http://store.adventuretrailers.com/products/Solar-Plug.html

 

[PacificNorthWestJeeper]

I am assum ing the 5 wires are for the trailer lights/brakes? And the two wires are for the electrical to the tent. Look towards the solar industry as they have a ton of different connectors for solar applications. I have used these (you can find them all over, I just remembered that Adventure trailers sells them for the example). You could use these and have a coiled wire plug into this on the nose box to extend with the rack.

http://store.adventuretrailers.com/products/Solar-Plug.html

I actually have that one installed in my tongue box for my solar panel. I used rivets, came out clean.
The wires I am connecting are for the lights on the rack and inside the trailer. I found these guys locally:
https://jkconnectors.com
I have sent an email with some part #'s that may work to their sales dept, we'll see what happens.
I am still not entirely sold on the right way to go yet..
Still looking for ideas... thank you for yours...

 

[PacificNorthWestJeeper]

I pulled the trigger on these today at Pratt: https://platt.com/platt-electric-su...aight/Appleton/CG-3750/product.aspx?zpid=2492
They are aluminum, cinch up very tight on the wires and I was able to get them today. I put one on the main light wire and cinched it up. I then tried my hardest to pull it through and it would not budge, PERFECT!
Hopefully the wiring will speed up from here and be done with it this weekend...
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[Bloomer]

@PacificNorthWestJeeper
Very nice work there!!