The wife and I have been building out our JL Wrangler over the past several months and thought we had it setup at a level that would serve our needs, but after a number of trips this summer we have concluded that the tent on the rig has many drawbacks. Some we expected like the weight above your vehicle but that proved to be less an obstacle that we thought. We quickly adapted to climbing in and out of it and love the mattress and comfort it offers vs ground tents and air mattresses we had used for years. Setup/breakdown proved to be easy with practice although it did create marital challenges the first time or two. The real problem was breaking down the tent/camp everyday to ride trails or go anywhere. Many of those days have been wet! Alas we decided a trailer may be best for us and it should be somthing we can mount the roof top tent to and leave parked at a base camp. This has been typical for us vs daily overland style travel. After looking at many manufactures options for both Tear Drop and RTT trailers we always walked away concerned how much they cost. I started looking at utility trailers for sale locally and ran across a deal on a trailer that was built using a truck box. The gentleman that owned it had it built in SoCal in 1978 and used it to move to the NW. He was told the box was off a Willy’s Truck (minus the fenders) but after a few hours of research my wife and I think it’s probably off a 1936/1949 (I need to research the span of years better) International Pickup. The box is in great shape considering it’s age with little rust showing, the worst of it is along the bottom edge of the tail gate. It’ll need a little metal work and paint to restore to a nice level but it’s all within my capabilities. After purchasing the tools needed to do this they way we want it I may not save money but I will have it done my way.
The primary goal now will be to disassemble the box and level the frame and check square. I suspect it has some twist to it based on looking at it. The otherwise straight tailgate doesn’t close properly.
The long range goal is a fully built off road trailer with box insert to accommodate the RTT, a slide out camp kitchen, gear drawers and a track system to attach our other outdoor gear as seasons and whim requires. We’ll see how my fab skills are shaping up on this one. Oh and to maintain the integrity of this truck box so it could be returned for use on an IH truck some day.
Timbren style off-road axles and Lock and Roll hitch system are on the way. Tube bender will arrive soon as well!
The primary goal now will be to disassemble the box and level the frame and check square. I suspect it has some twist to it based on looking at it. The otherwise straight tailgate doesn’t close properly.
The long range goal is a fully built off road trailer with box insert to accommodate the RTT, a slide out camp kitchen, gear drawers and a track system to attach our other outdoor gear as seasons and whim requires. We’ll see how my fab skills are shaping up on this one. Oh and to maintain the integrity of this truck box so it could be returned for use on an IH truck some day.
Timbren style off-road axles and Lock and Roll hitch system are on the way. Tube bender will arrive soon as well!
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