Dedicated enclosed rtt trailer for the JK

[wparkinson97]

I've been slowly working on my little trailer over the last few months, though I'd finally get a thread going to track progress and maybe bounce ideas off people.

The main things I want out of t he trailer are:
Make more room in the JK
Quick set up and take down
Be able to store gear between trips for quick packing and unpacking
Still be able to take it to down small technical trails to get away from other campers.

After lots of back and forth, I decided a 72" x 50" frame would be a good balance on hopefully keeping it light and still have room for everything we need

 

[wparkinson97]

Few more pics with details on the rear stabilizing jacks, lock n roll mounting, and Timbren mounting.

I didn't want to use a a cross member with the timbren, and it wouldn't have worked anyways as the tongue being under the trailer gets in the way. I instead added some 4" wide 1/4 plate to match the length of the timbren, and drilled holes for the bolts. I also added some gussets to help prevent the plate bending.

For the trailer side hitch, I welded on a height adjustable chanel that the lock n roll bolts into. I plan on adding some gussets to this as well.

 

[wparkinson97]

Today I got the box frame welded on, and cut out some spots for the tent rack to run flat with.

From here, I plan on adding some supports to the box, add a swing out rear gate, and a door on the driver side in front of the tire that hopefully give access to a slide out fridge / sink, and get the tent rack welded in.

Still trying to decide on how I'll do fenders. I was going to weld some on, but I want to skin with ACM panels, and am not sure how that would work while leaving room to stick the panel with VHB.

 

[Ozarker]

Flat top fenders make a shelf and outside boxes fore and aft of the wheel with a flat top can turn into many things, like a kitchen, outdoor shower, or landing port for your drone.

 

[Kingsize24]

VERY nice beginning to your build. The Timbrens and factory wheels are a perfect start IMO to match your Jeep.

 

[wparkinson97]

Got the sides / fender supports welded on today. Took longer than it should have to get everything aligned and welds weren' going so great.

 

[wparkinson97]

Flat top fenders make a shelf and outside boxes fore and aft of the wheel with a flat top can turn into many things, like a kitchen, outdoor shower, or landing port for your drone.

I like the idea of flat fenders, and I think they look nice. I would also like to be able to use them as step if needed

 

[wparkinson97]

VERY nice beginning to your build. The Timbrens and factory wheels are a perfect start IMO to match your Jeep.

Thanks! I worry a bit about the large street tires on the trailer, but really like the look of matching wheels / tires, plus not needing a extra spare is nice.

 

[wparkinson97]

Top of my list too.

I went Square Drop to eliminate the setup/takedown.
Dark night, late stop, park, roll into bed. Wake to rain, roll out of bed and drive. Next night everything is still dry. Zero set up.... Zero take down.

Next trip, hookup and drive. Get home late in a rain storm, drop the trailer, go to work. Next weekend if you have solar refrigeration, couple up and go.

Never have anything beyond laundry to clean. With either solar refrigeration or a 12V/120V cooler once you plug into a land line all the food will keep for a week.

I love this way of camping. It is effortless. Forget quick.... eliminate setup/packup.

View attachment 771108

I gave building a teardrop style trailer a lot of consideration, but wanting to keep it smaller (my trailer is a 6 foot box, and I'm 6 foot tall), and didn't like that many end up using the sleeping area as storage where you have to unload to sleep. As of now I'm planning on getting the Tuff stuff alpha which looks to have real quick setup and tear down, and has space for bedding inside. The box will hopefully be used for a slide out fridge, sink, and stove plus some additional storage.

 

[Kingsize24]

Thanks! I worry a bit about the large street tires on the trailer, but really like the look of matching wheels / tires, plus not needing a extra spare is nice.

No worries IMO. I see zero issues with it.

 

[unibrowlad]

Following this one! Going to start a trailer build of my own to pull behind my JK as well.
Been looking at different axle options for mine, do you think the Timbren is worth the price?

 

[Ozarker]

Following this one! Going to start a trailer build of my own to pull behind my JK as well.
Been looking at different axle options for mine, do you think the Timbren is worth the price?

Depends, are you a rock crawler or a fire road demon? To begin with, I would think your wheel and tire size would be more important. Will you air down for washboard roads? How big is the trailer, what's the weight capacity? Behind a JK probably not a big deal, behind an F 350 it might matter.

My suggestion, go with springs, it's cheaper, be careful, then if that really doesn't work for you most of the time, it's not that hard to change over.

A friend used the front end of a car frame, cut down, with A frames, coil springs and shocks, for a trailer, worked just fine. It's not rocket science!

 

[wparkinson97]

that would be a design flaw..... no reason to compromise the bed box.

In mine sleeping is in the middle...
View attachment 772323

Kitchen is in the back....
View attachment 772324

And the Wrangler doors store in the front... the reason I built my own...
View attachment 772325

That's a real nice setup

that would be a design flaw..... no reason to compromise the bed box.

In mine sleeping is in the middle...
View attachment 772323

Kitchen is in the back....
View attachment 772324

And the Wrangler doors store in the front... the reason I built my own...
View attachment 772325

That's a real nice setup. Love the door storage. Maybe after ic I get a little more comfortable with where I can tow I'll consider another build more similar to this. Do you know the weight of the trailer?

 

[GATORB8]

If you love technology, engineering the Timbren etc are a great option but on a single axle trailer a straight axle on leaf springs... is a best buy. Me, no, not worth the price. Beyond the suspension cost is the added structure, cost, weight of the frame. Add it all up before deciding.

I thought long and hard before going Timbren. Really a torsion axle was appealing, combining the low cost of a solid axle with the independent operation and increased clearance of the Timbrens. In the end, the fact that the timbrens don't have a fixed track width pushed me over the edge.

Just did the maiden voyage of about 4k miles, and I have a pretty extreme setup, but I much preferred the Timbrens on road to my straight axle/leaf sprung boat trailer.

@unibrowlad although most choose either the 2k or 3.5k setup, Timbren has a pretty sweet setup hidden in between the two. The "tonne" (2,200 lb) is a long arm version with about twice the travel. Basically it's the 2k with longer arms and 3.5k "springs".

 

[wparkinson97]

Haven't made much progress lately, spring is just too busy. Finally got some time to do a little work and got the fenders framed. The 2200lb timbren specs say they have about 6" of travel, and with the current weight the suspension is only squatting by about a 1/2". I still need to figure out how the fender will actually bolt to the trailer frame, then I will work on skinning the fenders and steps.