Throwing around some new build Ideas

[steven_cochran]

This trailer will be more of a base camp set up.
I want to have the posts raise and lower for travel, it will have dual awning and plenty of storage. I want it on 37’s but may have to go with 35’s to keep it easier to pull around lol.
Let me know what ya think and toss some ideas in comments to perfect it [emoji16]
Also if anyone has a idea on how to lower and raise the posts id love to hear it [emoji1303]

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[Road]

This trailer will be more of a base camp set up.
I want to have the posts raise and lower for travel, it will have dual awning and plenty of storage. I want it on 37’s but may have to go with 35’s to keep it easier to pull around lol.
Let me know what ya think and toss some ideas in comments to perfect it [emoji16]
Also if anyone has a idea on how to lower and raise the posts id love to hear it [emoji1303]

Very cool - great scale drawing. If you haven't tried Sketchup Make (the free version) you can do this in 3d and rotate it, flip it, do it as line drawing or solid, etc. Very helpful in figuring dimensions, features, problem areas, etc.

My main reason for replying, though, is about your uprights and raising/lowering the rack.

I have a large Pioneer Platform Tray for rack, supported by four uprights that adjust to any of three positions, aided by gas assisted struts. The gas struts are designed to support, I think, around 300-350 lbs, maybe more. Which means that one person, with a little gumption, can raise and lower the rack with RTT, awning, and a bit of cargo by themselves. I do it all the time.

Here are three pics that best show the struts and the uprights. All struts and uprights are mounted to the top edge of the trailer walls. As mentioned in other posts about caps and RTTs on pickup beds, your trailer walls will need to be either strong enough to support the weight and withstand the 'spread' pressure, or be able to directly transfer the weight to the trailer frame.

Each upright has an outer sleeve and a sliding inner bar that rises. All four inner bars have three holes at identical intervals. Each strut has a push-button indent pin (on a cable so you don't lose it) that goes through the sleeve into whichever hole in the inner bar you desire.

You travel with the rack low as possible, of course, to keep the center of gravity as low as possible. When you want to raise the rack, you remove all four pins in turn then push the rack up, assisted by the four gas struts. It should go up easily. I'm short, old, and nowhere near as strong as I used to be, but do it by myself. The gas struts should do the bulk of the work.

It's a bit more of a struggle to pull the rack back down, because the gas struts want to stay up and extended, but I can do that every time, too. Trick is to get your load balanced to help the struts compress. It's a bitch to compress those suckers when the rack is completely empty, because they're set to expect weight of a few hundred pounds or more, but it can still be done by yourself.

Empty rack, lowest position:
View attachment 52238

Typically loaded rack, lowest position:
View attachment 52239

Loaded rack, awning side, almost no cargo on trailer cover, lowest position:
View attachment 52236

Typically loaded rack, raised, second position:
View attachment 52240

Let me know if you want more details or closer images and I'll try to get that together in the next few days.


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[steven_cochran]

Very cool - great scale drawing. If you haven't tried Sketchup Make (the free version) you can do this in 3d and rotate it, flip it, do it as line drawing or solid, etc. Very helpful in figuring dimensions, features, problem areas, etc.

My main reason for replying, though, is about your uprights and raising/lowering the rack.

I have a large Pioneer Platform Tray for rack, supported by four uprights that adjust to three positions, supported by gas assisted struts. The struts are designed to support, I think, around 300-350 lbs, maybe more. Which means that one person with a little gumption, can raise and lower the rack with RTT, awning, and a bit of cargo by themselves. I do it all the time.

Here are three pics that best show the struts and the uprights. All struts and uprights are mounted to the top edge of the trailer wall. As mentioned in other posts about caps and RTTs on pickup beds, your trailer walls will need to be either strong enough to support the weight, or be able to directly transfer the weight to the trailer frame.

Each upright has an outer sleeve and a sliding inner bar that rises. All four inner bars have three holes at identical intervals. Each strut has an push-button indent pin (on a cable so you don't lose it) that goes through the sleeve into whichever hole in the bar you desire. Travel with the rack low as possible, of course, to keep the center of gravity low as possible. Remove all four pins then push the rack up assisted by the four gas struts. I'm short, old, and nowhere near as strong as I used to be, but do it by myself all the time.

It's a bit more of a struggle to pull the rack back down, because the gas struts want to stay up and extended, but I can do that every time, too. Trick is to get your load balanced to help the struts compress. It's a bitch to compress those suckers when the rack is completely empty, but it can still be done by yourself.

Empty rack, lowest position:
View attachment 52238

Typically loaded rack, lowest position:
View attachment 52239

Loaded rack, awning side, almost no cargo on trailer cover, lowest position:
View attachment 52236

Typically loaded rack, raised, second position:
View attachment 52240

Let me know if you want more details or closer images and I'll try to get that together in the next few days.


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Now that is some great information!!! Exactly what I was looking for. Your build looks amazing and now I am gonna check out that program you talked about


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[Road]

Now that is some great information!!! Exactly what I was looking for. Your build looks amazing and now I am gonna check out that program you talked about


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Awesome, @steven_cochran, I'm glad you found it helpful. If there are any other pics or info I can provide from my own experience to help with the build on your trailer, let me know. I love figuring out this kind of thing and seeing how we can make trailer-camping and traveling with trailers easier.

Then it's up to you to be responsible out there and pack it in, pack it out, tread lightly, and leave no trace.

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[Phil Preston]

If you need any help with plugins or sketchup hit me up, I'm more than happy to help you. It's a great program for quickly drawing up ideas for builds. Here are a few pics I drew up of my next build to give you an idea of what you can do with it.

View attachment 52288 View attachment 52289 View attachment 52290

 

[steven_cochran]

If you need any help with plugins or sketchup hit me up, I'm more than happy to help you. It's a great program for quickly drawing up ideas for builds. Here are a few pics I drew up of my next build to give you an idea of what you can do with it.

View attachment 52288 View attachment 52289 View attachment 52290

Wow that is insane, i would love to learn more about this


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[adventure_is_necessary]

Just my 2 cents. I would plan around having the same bolt pattern and tire size as your rig for the trailer. Just in case something happens and you need more than one spare to get back on the road.

 

[steven_cochran]

Just my 2 cents. I would plan around having the same bolt pattern and tire size as your rig for the trailer. Just in case something happens and you need more than one spare to get back on the road.

Yeah I thought the same thing , you never know [emoji16]


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[Road]

Now that is some great information!!! Exactly what I was looking for. Your build looks amazing and now I am gonna check out that program you talked about

Meant to say, too, that if you're planning a rack that will raise and lower, and not motorized, you'll want it to be able to go up one end at a time, which means flexible, sliding, or hinged tops on your uprights. I can get pics if you need 'em/

 

[steven_cochran]

Meant to say, too, that if you're planning a rack that will raise and lower, and not motorized, you'll want it to be able to go up one end at a time, which means flexible, sliding, or hinged tops on your uprights. I can get pics if you need 'em/

I would like to have it motorized but I have zero idea where to look for that [emoji37]


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[Road]

I would like to have it motorized but I have zero idea where to look for that [emoji37]

XVenture has this, though I don't think they are commercially available yet, not sure. Appealing, but expensive I bet, and too much that could go wrong when out and about. You have one mechanized strut go out, you're potentially stuck with a rack in the up or down position.


I saw an interesting vid one time of a cool system a guy designed powered by a cordless drill. He had a chain drive going around the inside bottom of the tub (protected) that engaged with a sprocket at the base of uprights in each corner. Very clever DIY.

 

[Phil Preston]

Wow that is insane, i would love to learn more about this


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You can download sketchup from here: https://www.sketchup.com/download and if you have any question just shoot me a pm and i'll help anyway I can.

 

[Overland A Far]

Looks like a cool project. One recommendation - note the 60% rule when it comes to axle location under your deck - the center of the wheel/axle should be back 60% of the length of the deck. Too far and your tongue weight will be too high. Consider calculating the weights forward and rearward of your axle. Draft that out and for every pound in front of the axle you should have a pound to the rear. The tongue weight will come from the frame. And check the hitch weight acceptable for your vehicle and hitch - maybe 150 - 300 lbs maximum. Good luck.

 

[steven_cochran]

Looks like a cool project. One recommendation - note the 60% rule when it comes to axle location under your deck - the center of the wheel/axle should be back 60% of the length of the deck. Too far and your tongue weight will be too high. Consider calculating the weights forward and rearward of your axle. Draft that out and for every pound in front of the axle you should have a pound to the rear. The tongue weight will come from the frame. And check the hitch weight acceptable for your vehicle and hitch - maybe 150 - 300 lbs maximum. Good luck.

Great advice !!!!! Thanks man [emoji4]


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[smritte]

Heres a couple shots of my trailer. Its not the same design as yours but maybe you can get some ideas. When I built mine seven or eight years ago, I never saw one in person, only a picture. I have torn down and reworked it over the years to work out bugs and add things I see from others. Mine is based on a 1951 military trailer. Now that I know what I want and more importantly what is not needed. I will be building a new one this year.
One item that I can add into this is a multi axis hitch. I don't like how much ball hitches articulate and i cant stand how pintels bang around. There's a couple of them out there but I built my own. I don't have a picture of it but could probably get something if you wanted.
Measure your over all hitch length and get the turning radius to match your vehicle. Its nice to know your trailer is following in your tracks. I built mine to go behind my TJ but now I have to change it for my cruiser.
I have also now added small airbags to my Toyota when I pull it. I just add some air to level it when I need.

I kept the weight down to 1520 with 15 gals of water, 12 gals of fuel and all the gear. I have taken it on various 4wd trails but now its only going on dirt roads and dry wash's

I dont have any real good pic's of it other than these. It rained every day on this trip so im covered in mud which is covering the fuel cans in front.

View attachment 53860
View attachment 53861

Scott

 

[steven_cochran]

Heres a couple shots of my trailer. Its not the same design as yours but maybe you can get some ideas. When I built mine seven or eight years ago, I never saw one in person, only a picture. I have torn down and reworked it over the years to work out bugs and add things I see from others. Mine is based on a 1951 military trailer. Now that I know what I want and more importantly what is not needed. I will be building a new one this year.
One item that I can add into this is a multi axis hitch. I don't like how much ball hitches articulate and i cant stand how pintels bang around. There's a couple of them out there but I built my own. I don't have a picture of it but could probably get something if you wanted.
Measure your over all hitch length and get the turning radius to match your vehicle. Its nice to know your trailer is following in your tracks. I built mine to go behind my TJ but now I have to change it for my cruiser.
I have also now added small airbags to my Toyota when I pull it. I just add some air to level it when I need.

I kept the weight down to 1520 with 15 gals of water, 12 gals of fuel and all the gear. I have taken it on various 4wd trails but now its only going on dirt roads and dry wash's

I dont have any real good pic's of it other than these. It rained every day on this trip so im covered in mud which is covering the fuel cans in front.

View attachment 53860
View attachment 53861

Scott

That is a great set up. I really appreciate everyone’s help and knowledge , man I love this community [emoji1303][emoji1303][emoji1303][emoji1303][emoji1303]


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