Nd4SpdSe
Adventurer, eh?
Long time lurker, and registered only a short time ago. I'm finally starting my trailer project. This has been in my head for quite a few years, it was just hard to find an affordable truck to start on.
https://www.facebook.com/Frontrailer/
It kinda jumped up as a priority cause with the girlfriend, we both love camping, but it's a more complicated camping with an RTT on the truck as opposed to being single. I want to keep camping the way I/we do, but make it easier, more comfortable, and have a "base camp" setup so we don't need to tear it down to use the truck.
The irony is that my buddy's truck that I kind of based my idea off of ended up for sale for a good price. 350'000kms on it and she would no longer start. Here's our trucks together 6 years ago. My X up front, his Frontier in the back.
And I got it towed to my grandmothers to get it rolling (as a trailer) so I can bring it back to Quebec, which should be at the end of the month. From there I'll start working on getting the details and accessories done. FYI, I've never welded, so this will be my chance to finally buy a welder and learn.
And the rough concept would be this:
And as for the plans for the build:
Rack + Top
A bit complex, but it’s for both style, form, security and function. I plan to keep the tonneau cover on the box, but remove the hinge and have the cover lift up with either pressurised hydraulic cylinders and/or electric actuators, inspired by “Luke111”, “bikemanx2” and “Box Rocket” trailer builds on here. Under the tonneau cover, a frame will be made for the lifting mechanisms and to support weight for on top, where the OEM roof rack from the Frontier will be used and bolted through the cover and into the frame. The roof top tent will get mounted to this of course. There will be locking pins used to secure it in its up position. One thing I want to do is to have the point of the rack joining to the posts, so have it attached with ball joints do that even if each post goes up at a slightly different rate, which more likely will, it don’t cause binding in the tubing.
Suspension:
One of my big issues with expedition trailers is the suspension; there’s little to no flex. I don’t think that this helps that they’re unsteady on the trails and have a higher chance to topple over than the tow vehicle. The truck suspension has plenty of travel compared to a standard trailer, and a good availability of aftermarket upgrades and support. I’ll leave the suspension as-is for the moment then down the road switch to some revolver shackles for some extra flex get the inboard shocks done, same as my Xterra. It’s not a high priority since she already comes with an upgraded suspension will be sufficient for a while, while I concentrate on its functionality as a trailer, or unless I feel otherwise as I use it.
Brakes
The stock drive axle will be kept, and with this, the brakes. The hydraulic drum brakes will be kept and used, eventually, for braking the trailer with a brake controller. There are electric/hydraulic brake actuators available to control them. So I’ll get some nice strong hydraulic brakes to keep the trailer under control, but not the inconvenience of surge brakes. I would especially love this for downhill descents. Also the advantage of getting replacement parts for the braking system at your local parts store and Nissan dealerships.
Also, the parking brake will be used. I haven’t figured out what to do for the manual system, but this would be perfect when parking the trailer
Wheels & Tires
I do plan to keep using stock OEM-offset wheels, hopefully a matching set of Desert Runners all around. At first I’ll keep the current wheel and tire combo until I get some dessert runners rims to match, then they may get my old MTR 32’s while the truck upgrades to 33’s, but in the long run I would love to see 33” MTR Kevlar tires all the way around, truck and trailer. I haven’t decided if the trailer will get wheel spacers.
Lights
A 2-wire to 3-wire converter will be used to use the stock Frontier tail lights with the separate signal light and brake bulbs; they’re inexpensive. With the 7-pin harness, I might use the 7th wire for the reverse lights.
Side markers will be added for legality.
Fuel Tank
Part of this platform is that I plan to keep the stock fuel tank. Although I’m undecided if I’m adding some jerry cans for ease of use and fill up, I have an easy 75L of fuel as my disposal and doesn’t take up any storage space. This also would be handy for use with a generator. And having the fuel tank means I’m keeping the fuel pump, for transferring but also it would come as a spare in the odd chance that the trucks fuel pump fails. It does have the OEM skid, but I'll get an upgraded skid at the same time I order one for my Xterra since that's the last one she needs.
Tongue + Storage
Although the dimensions aren’t measured or decided, depending on what I need for the fuel tank, I plan to have a storage box on the tongue of the trailer. I would like to include a small generator, and I don’t know where to put a bottle of propane. I know I put in the concept pic some jerry cans, which would be used for fuel, but could be swapped out for water or extra storage as per the trip.
The tongue, however, needs to have enough length for me to be able to jack knife the trailer to 90 degrees without hitting the truck. This means a single beam tongue with a length of 38 inches from the pivot point.
Water
With no exhaust (or drive shaft) to be in the way, I plan to put a water tank on the underside opposite of the fuel tank. How and what dimensions will remain to be seen with the space available. I'll get a skid plate made up to protect that as well of course.
Power
With the truck does well on just 2 batteries when being parked on camping trips, but because it is a vehicle, it will of course charge on the go and when used as a vehicle, but it’s done a 4-day stint with only a single fire mid-way through the long weekend to top off the batteries just in case. But batteries in the truck do have the benefit of being charged by starting the truck if need be. I don’t want to have to connect the truck often to the trailer and let it idle to recharge the batteries. I would like to have a battery bank of at least 4 deep cycle batteries onboard. A true isolator will definitely be used.
I’d like to mount a solar panel somewhere, maybe on top of the storage box, as a supplement to light-duty power consumption, or at least keep a trickle always on the batteries.
Spare Tire
Same as the truck, the under body spare will be kept in use. I may do something like have the crossmember for the spare tires/winch move upwards to take advantage of all and any available space underneath (with the added “body lift”) to get it tucked up in there further.
I do have my hitch-mounted spare tire carrier planned to be built (eventually, they’re supposed to start it in the off-season). Since the trailer is also to use that same 2” receiver on the bumper, that carrier will be relocated to the trailer in what would I would like to eventually get is a nice steel bumper with also a 2” receiver.
Yep, this would amount to 3 spare tires.
Electronic & Wireless Monitoring and Controller
Arduino. It’s an easy to use programmable controller that’s totally flexible and open sourced. I got my first exposure to it when a friend showed me it to make sensing and trigger to automatically activate an aquarium pump to empty an air conditioner, and stop when it’s empty. It’s very flexible and really opens limitless possibilities with outputs for controls and analog inputs to monitor data. The plan it to have it interface with the OEM fuel level gauge to give me the fuel level in the Frontier’s tank. Secondly, I’ll do the same thing with the water tank, get it to be my voltmeter to make sure that’s working ok. I will also as a trigger to turn on and off the Frontier’s fuel pump for fuel transfers. I’d also like to get it to control stuff like lights. And all this can be done remotely using Wi-Fi. It gets accesses using a web page it hosts itself. This could be accessed with my cell phone, but also it’ll help breathe new life into the CarPC which has been broken for a few years now (needs new motherboard and monitor). I’ll add a wireless router to the truck to create a Xan or NAN (Xterra or Nissan Area Network, I find myself funny, especially since I’m currently on a networking course) and have the Arduino wirelessly connect to that network, and its webpage would display as a gauge and controls on the CarPC’s touchscreen display in the truck. I’m kind of really excited for this part of the project to be honest.
The truck has recently been torn down last weekend to get the parts that I need. I've got a trailer guy building the frame and it should be rolling for the end of December to take it back to Quebec at the end of my Christmas break.
And the box is in need of a decent amount of TLC, just the rear panel and the floor, so nothing crazy in terms of the outer panels with curves and stuff, so easy-ish stuff to repair, but I will be learning to weld on this, which is a good thing, I think it's the perfect thing to learn on. I
(Note: Edited to update dead image links, but the 10'000 character limit forced some changes to the text to accommodate the limit)
https://www.facebook.com/Frontrailer/
It kinda jumped up as a priority cause with the girlfriend, we both love camping, but it's a more complicated camping with an RTT on the truck as opposed to being single. I want to keep camping the way I/we do, but make it easier, more comfortable, and have a "base camp" setup so we don't need to tear it down to use the truck.
The irony is that my buddy's truck that I kind of based my idea off of ended up for sale for a good price. 350'000kms on it and she would no longer start. Here's our trucks together 6 years ago. My X up front, his Frontier in the back.
And I got it towed to my grandmothers to get it rolling (as a trailer) so I can bring it back to Quebec, which should be at the end of the month. From there I'll start working on getting the details and accessories done. FYI, I've never welded, so this will be my chance to finally buy a welder and learn.
And the rough concept would be this:
And as for the plans for the build:
Rack + Top
A bit complex, but it’s for both style, form, security and function. I plan to keep the tonneau cover on the box, but remove the hinge and have the cover lift up with either pressurised hydraulic cylinders and/or electric actuators, inspired by “Luke111”, “bikemanx2” and “Box Rocket” trailer builds on here. Under the tonneau cover, a frame will be made for the lifting mechanisms and to support weight for on top, where the OEM roof rack from the Frontier will be used and bolted through the cover and into the frame. The roof top tent will get mounted to this of course. There will be locking pins used to secure it in its up position. One thing I want to do is to have the point of the rack joining to the posts, so have it attached with ball joints do that even if each post goes up at a slightly different rate, which more likely will, it don’t cause binding in the tubing.
Suspension:
One of my big issues with expedition trailers is the suspension; there’s little to no flex. I don’t think that this helps that they’re unsteady on the trails and have a higher chance to topple over than the tow vehicle. The truck suspension has plenty of travel compared to a standard trailer, and a good availability of aftermarket upgrades and support. I’ll leave the suspension as-is for the moment then down the road switch to some revolver shackles for some extra flex get the inboard shocks done, same as my Xterra. It’s not a high priority since she already comes with an upgraded suspension will be sufficient for a while, while I concentrate on its functionality as a trailer, or unless I feel otherwise as I use it.
Brakes
The stock drive axle will be kept, and with this, the brakes. The hydraulic drum brakes will be kept and used, eventually, for braking the trailer with a brake controller. There are electric/hydraulic brake actuators available to control them. So I’ll get some nice strong hydraulic brakes to keep the trailer under control, but not the inconvenience of surge brakes. I would especially love this for downhill descents. Also the advantage of getting replacement parts for the braking system at your local parts store and Nissan dealerships.
Also, the parking brake will be used. I haven’t figured out what to do for the manual system, but this would be perfect when parking the trailer
Wheels & Tires
I do plan to keep using stock OEM-offset wheels, hopefully a matching set of Desert Runners all around. At first I’ll keep the current wheel and tire combo until I get some dessert runners rims to match, then they may get my old MTR 32’s while the truck upgrades to 33’s, but in the long run I would love to see 33” MTR Kevlar tires all the way around, truck and trailer. I haven’t decided if the trailer will get wheel spacers.
Lights
A 2-wire to 3-wire converter will be used to use the stock Frontier tail lights with the separate signal light and brake bulbs; they’re inexpensive. With the 7-pin harness, I might use the 7th wire for the reverse lights.
Side markers will be added for legality.
Fuel Tank
Part of this platform is that I plan to keep the stock fuel tank. Although I’m undecided if I’m adding some jerry cans for ease of use and fill up, I have an easy 75L of fuel as my disposal and doesn’t take up any storage space. This also would be handy for use with a generator. And having the fuel tank means I’m keeping the fuel pump, for transferring but also it would come as a spare in the odd chance that the trucks fuel pump fails. It does have the OEM skid, but I'll get an upgraded skid at the same time I order one for my Xterra since that's the last one she needs.
Tongue + Storage
Although the dimensions aren’t measured or decided, depending on what I need for the fuel tank, I plan to have a storage box on the tongue of the trailer. I would like to include a small generator, and I don’t know where to put a bottle of propane. I know I put in the concept pic some jerry cans, which would be used for fuel, but could be swapped out for water or extra storage as per the trip.
The tongue, however, needs to have enough length for me to be able to jack knife the trailer to 90 degrees without hitting the truck. This means a single beam tongue with a length of 38 inches from the pivot point.
Water
With no exhaust (or drive shaft) to be in the way, I plan to put a water tank on the underside opposite of the fuel tank. How and what dimensions will remain to be seen with the space available. I'll get a skid plate made up to protect that as well of course.
Power
With the truck does well on just 2 batteries when being parked on camping trips, but because it is a vehicle, it will of course charge on the go and when used as a vehicle, but it’s done a 4-day stint with only a single fire mid-way through the long weekend to top off the batteries just in case. But batteries in the truck do have the benefit of being charged by starting the truck if need be. I don’t want to have to connect the truck often to the trailer and let it idle to recharge the batteries. I would like to have a battery bank of at least 4 deep cycle batteries onboard. A true isolator will definitely be used.
I’d like to mount a solar panel somewhere, maybe on top of the storage box, as a supplement to light-duty power consumption, or at least keep a trickle always on the batteries.
Spare Tire
Same as the truck, the under body spare will be kept in use. I may do something like have the crossmember for the spare tires/winch move upwards to take advantage of all and any available space underneath (with the added “body lift”) to get it tucked up in there further.
I do have my hitch-mounted spare tire carrier planned to be built (eventually, they’re supposed to start it in the off-season). Since the trailer is also to use that same 2” receiver on the bumper, that carrier will be relocated to the trailer in what would I would like to eventually get is a nice steel bumper with also a 2” receiver.
Yep, this would amount to 3 spare tires.
Electronic & Wireless Monitoring and Controller
Arduino. It’s an easy to use programmable controller that’s totally flexible and open sourced. I got my first exposure to it when a friend showed me it to make sensing and trigger to automatically activate an aquarium pump to empty an air conditioner, and stop when it’s empty. It’s very flexible and really opens limitless possibilities with outputs for controls and analog inputs to monitor data. The plan it to have it interface with the OEM fuel level gauge to give me the fuel level in the Frontier’s tank. Secondly, I’ll do the same thing with the water tank, get it to be my voltmeter to make sure that’s working ok. I will also as a trigger to turn on and off the Frontier’s fuel pump for fuel transfers. I’d also like to get it to control stuff like lights. And all this can be done remotely using Wi-Fi. It gets accesses using a web page it hosts itself. This could be accessed with my cell phone, but also it’ll help breathe new life into the CarPC which has been broken for a few years now (needs new motherboard and monitor). I’ll add a wireless router to the truck to create a Xan or NAN (Xterra or Nissan Area Network, I find myself funny, especially since I’m currently on a networking course) and have the Arduino wirelessly connect to that network, and its webpage would display as a gauge and controls on the CarPC’s touchscreen display in the truck. I’m kind of really excited for this part of the project to be honest.
The truck has recently been torn down last weekend to get the parts that I need. I've got a trailer guy building the frame and it should be rolling for the end of December to take it back to Quebec at the end of my Christmas break.
And the box is in need of a decent amount of TLC, just the rear panel and the floor, so nothing crazy in terms of the outer panels with curves and stuff, so easy-ish stuff to repair, but I will be learning to weld on this, which is a good thing, I think it's the perfect thing to learn on. I
(Note: Edited to update dead image links, but the 10'000 character limit forced some changes to the text to accommodate the limit)
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