Custom Aluminum Build

The_Squid

Member
My first post here. I’ve been lurking a while and have scooped some good ideas from all of you, so thank you for this great forum and the great members for all their input!

My spouse and I had this trailer built at a local custom trailer builder here on Vancouver Island. We did a drawing with the specs and they built it to our needs.

The box is a 4x6 foot interior with an interior wall separating it about 1/3 down from the front. We had them install slide outs in both compartments. There is a large box welded on the front to hold our very large Pelican cooler. 15” rims, solid axle with leaf springs. Ground clearance is quite good. We wanted something that could go on logging roads, but didn’t need it to be a hardcore off-road trailer.

We haven’t weighed it yet, but I think it’s about 600 lbs. It has electric brakes as it will be towed behind a Subaru Forester which has a weight limit of 1500 lbs. Full of camping equipment, including the boat, we think it will be about 1200 lbs.

One of the main things we wanted was a lockable cage on top of the box for secure outside storage for our 12 foot Stryker inflatable boat (it folds up), gas, firewood and other items we don’t want to be stored inside, with the iKamper sitting on top of that. There is also an outboard mount on the side. The outboard mount could stand to stick out slightly more. The 6 HP outboard will fit fine. The 15 HP will need the tiller handle removed, or a small hole cut in the cage to make room for the tiller handle. Or, it could be strapped to the inside of the cage. We need to think on this.

It cost us just under $10k Canadian after taxes. It is nicknamed the ‘hotdog stand’. We plan on camping with it soon. I will post more pics with the iKamper set up when we do.

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The_Squid

Member
That's pretty freaking cool!

Thank you!

It’s not the prettiest build... but we think it’s going to work for us very well. It will allow us more freedom once at the campsite to travel around and not have to break down camp to do so.

One thing we would do if we could have a do-over would be to make the cage not as tall. It’s higher than it needs to be by a foot or so. But that’s only one rung on the ladder to get into the tent, so not a huge issue.
 

The_Squid

Member
Finally got to test out the new trailer for a few days. Everything went great. No issues. The RTT was significantly more stable than having it on the Subaru. We have Jacks at the 4 corners, which held the trailer very steady.

The cooler up front in the box was accessible yet secure. While it makes it a little less attractive to look at, its utility outweighs the aesthetics in this case.

For a brake controller, we went with a Bluetooth unit; Curt Manufacturing Echo Wireless Brake Control. The unit worked well, despite a hiccup with the fuse where some moisture getting into the Subaru caused the fuse to short out. Good news is that this is how we discovered the leak and was covered by the Subaru’s warranty. This was no fault of the brake control unit.

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AeroNautiCal

Explorer
That's an extremely neat trailer, it looks really good with the additional room set up, with plenty of usable space and accessibility to the trailer mounted facilities.
 

The_Squid

Member
Some more pics of the setup, in case anyone is interested.

The first pic shows the vestibule on a bit of a downslope. Not ideal as this leaves a gap around the bottom of the vestibule. It worked out alright. Bugs and wind weren't too bad that trip. We are thinking about how to add on a bit of extra mesh material at the bottom in case of a gap like this.

The next pic is without the vestibule.

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billiebob

Well-known member
Not sure why but the pics are invisible for me.
The pics in post 4 are very good tho.

Very nice unit. Rare to see an overland trailer behind a Subaru.... well done.
 

The_Squid

Member
Not sure why but the pics are invisible for me.
The pics in post 4 are very good tho.

Very nice unit. Rare to see an overland trailer behind a Subaru.... well done.

Thanks for the comments.

Hmmm…. That’s strange you can’t see the pics. If someone else reading this wouldn’t mind letting me know if they can see my pics in the posts above, that would be appreciated
 

billiebob

Well-known member
Thanks for the comments.

Hmmm…. That’s strange you can’t see the pics. If someone else reading this wouldn’t mind letting me know if they can see my pics in the posts above, that would be appreciated
pics are there now, likely an apple thing.
 

The_Squid

Member
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Latest photo of the trailer. I have to say that the iKamper awning is a great product.

The awning in the front is an inexpensive purchase from Amazon to provide cover for the cooler box. Works pretty well, but I'm not sure how well will hold up. I need to tweak the setup a bit so that water stops pooling at the back of the cooler awning.
 

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