- Location
- West Haven, UT
Lookin' great Nate. At least it looks like the weather held out for ya yesterday.
Mike.
Mike.
"Wingin' it" 4x6-ish Trailer Thread
- Thread starter nnnnnate
- Start date
- Location
- West Jordan
The Raptor liner I have cleans up real easy - no dirt or anything gets embedded into it. I just use the soft brushes at the car wash and it cleans up great. Mine was sprayed from a Shutz gun as well, but I don't have any advice to offer (I didn't spray it...)
Well, I got the rest of the trailer cleaned and etched tonight and back under its own wheels. Plan for tomorrow is to do a first coat right when I get home on the rest of the outside and then a few hours later do a second. Hopefully it'll work out and look decent, if it doesn't look good I'll just have to plaster it with stickers.
- Location
- West Jordan
Yessir.
I got some painting done over the weekend. I almost bought baby blue paint but for some reason I couldn't get myself to commit to it. Its hard to see but the side of the tub is navy blue and the lower platform area is black. I've got it all taped off and ready to go and will hit it with the raptor liner after work tomorrow. I'm going to make a mini paint booth using the garage door tracks.
I still need to do a couple things to the tailgate so I haven't done any work on it but at least after tomorrow I'll feel good about parking it outside and not worrying that it'll rust on me. Its been a slow process getting the last 15% done but thats usually how I do my projects.
I still need to do a couple things to the tailgate so I haven't done any work on it but at least after tomorrow I'll feel good about parking it outside and not worrying that it'll rust on me. Its been a slow process getting the last 15% done but thats usually how I do my projects.
Tonkaman
Well-Known Member
- Location
- West Jordan
Baby blue would have been super cool! You've done a great job on this project I'm really impressed
I got the tub sprayed last night. The overspray wasn't as bad as I thought it would be after reading other peoples reports but the fumes sure were. I did get some black speckles on the garage floor but when I was doing the prep the rust converter etched my concrete and its now blueish/green so some black specs aren't a big deal.
I got three of the four bottles sprayed and was on the fence about doing the fourth when I tried to unscrew the 3rd bottle from the gun and found that it was totally stuck and wasn't coming off. I felt I already had decent coverage so it wasn't that big of a deal and it would allow me to order another gun ($15) for the tailgate and I could spray a whatever was left after that on the floor.
I'm pretty happy with how it turned out. The dark blue and black doesn't look as good as it did in my head but its fine. We'll see how the paint holds up and I may do the blue a different shade or color all together. This is a tool not a trophy.
I'll let it cure until I get back from Moab this weekend then bolt the fenders on and move it to the rv pad. I still need to build the hitch and I have all the parts accept the drop hitch. I think about a 2" drop flipped upside down will about level things out. With the pending rig changes I may even just buy the hitch and throw a ball on it and use it like that until I sell the JK and pick up whatever I end up with.
I really appreciate all the help and guidance you guys gave. I didn't get into too many major log jams but it was reassuring to know that I could ask things here and that I'd get good tips on which direction to go.
I got three of the four bottles sprayed and was on the fence about doing the fourth when I tried to unscrew the 3rd bottle from the gun and found that it was totally stuck and wasn't coming off. I felt I already had decent coverage so it wasn't that big of a deal and it would allow me to order another gun ($15) for the tailgate and I could spray a whatever was left after that on the floor.
I'm pretty happy with how it turned out. The dark blue and black doesn't look as good as it did in my head but its fine. We'll see how the paint holds up and I may do the blue a different shade or color all together. This is a tool not a trophy.
I'll let it cure until I get back from Moab this weekend then bolt the fenders on and move it to the rv pad. I still need to build the hitch and I have all the parts accept the drop hitch. I think about a 2" drop flipped upside down will about level things out. With the pending rig changes I may even just buy the hitch and throw a ball on it and use it like that until I sell the JK and pick up whatever I end up with.
I really appreciate all the help and guidance you guys gave. I didn't get into too many major log jams but it was reassuring to know that I could ask things here and that I'd get good tips on which direction to go.
- Location
- Vehicular limbo
It's light enough that I wouldn't stress any slight variance in hitch angle, especially since it's temporary and you'll dial it in once you get your vehicle situation squared away.
- Location
- West Haven, UT
Trailer has turned out great Nate.
Mike.
Mike.
Alright, so after the shakedown run in March I knew I wanted to cover it somehow. I started a bunch of house projects so I hadn't worked on it but in a couple days I'm taking group of scouts down to Beef Basin. I needed to finish up some little things on the trailer to get it where I wanted it to be.
I started off finishing up the tailgate. Previously I had welded a nut to it and screwed an eye bolt into it and attached a crimped cable from there to the top of the tub. When shut the two eye bolts would hit each other which was kind of a hassle. I didn't think that one through very well. I ground off the nut and found a couple tabs that I then welded to the top of the tailgate. Its not the most elegant solution but it'll do.
After getting that squared away I rattle canned the tailgate with two coats of primer then three coats of Rustoleum Acrylic Enamel. (I shouldn't be allowed to rattle can ANYTHING. Runs everywhere...)
Last week I stopped at Kirkhams and was able to pick up a canvas tarp that was about 7'x8' for a pretty decent price. My parents had bought a Springbar years ago and it came with a canvas tarp that they used forever, it was pretty awesome but my dad left it at the dump a few years back. I remember how that thing got abused by me, scouts, and anything else and held up like a champ. I hope this one will do the same.
It didn't have any grommets so I bought a few packages of them at Lowes for like $6.50 each. It came with 15 per pack and a punch to make the hole then the pieces that you hammer to get the two side of the grommet to seal together. I didn't get any pics of this but it was pretty easy and I'm happy with how it turned out. After getting that done I put the tarp on the trailer to see where I thought I should add extra tie down points. Finally, I only needed to grab some bungees to tighten it all down.
I'm hoping that with the fuel/water cans in front it will help from air getting under the tarp and whatnot.
The only thing I'd like to finish up is to get a rubber mat for the floor of the tub and something to seal up the gaps in the tailgate. If I'm not able to get those sorted out though its not a huge deal.
I started off finishing up the tailgate. Previously I had welded a nut to it and screwed an eye bolt into it and attached a crimped cable from there to the top of the tub. When shut the two eye bolts would hit each other which was kind of a hassle. I didn't think that one through very well. I ground off the nut and found a couple tabs that I then welded to the top of the tailgate. Its not the most elegant solution but it'll do.
After getting that squared away I rattle canned the tailgate with two coats of primer then three coats of Rustoleum Acrylic Enamel. (I shouldn't be allowed to rattle can ANYTHING. Runs everywhere...)
Last week I stopped at Kirkhams and was able to pick up a canvas tarp that was about 7'x8' for a pretty decent price. My parents had bought a Springbar years ago and it came with a canvas tarp that they used forever, it was pretty awesome but my dad left it at the dump a few years back. I remember how that thing got abused by me, scouts, and anything else and held up like a champ. I hope this one will do the same.
It didn't have any grommets so I bought a few packages of them at Lowes for like $6.50 each. It came with 15 per pack and a punch to make the hole then the pieces that you hammer to get the two side of the grommet to seal together. I didn't get any pics of this but it was pretty easy and I'm happy with how it turned out. After getting that done I put the tarp on the trailer to see where I thought I should add extra tie down points. Finally, I only needed to grab some bungees to tighten it all down.
I'm hoping that with the fuel/water cans in front it will help from air getting under the tarp and whatnot.
The only thing I'd like to finish up is to get a rubber mat for the floor of the tub and something to seal up the gaps in the tailgate. If I'm not able to get those sorted out though its not a huge deal.
I guess a little over a year out from wrapping up the build the trailer has done well. I haven't taken it camping much but its been a good home and garden trailer. I did get assigned to bring a load of firewood to Cruise Moab in May and ended up doing that. On the way from the Swell to Moab we ran Black Dragon Canyon and I pulled it empty through that. The trailer pulled totally fine up and over everything there even with a normal 2" ball hitch since I never got around to finish up the triple axis hitch I started. I bought an RTT in July and have had it on the LX470 roof and have liked it there but this weekend am going to Moab with Wasatch Cruisers for a few days with my 1 year old and thought it might be nice to have the option to mount the tent on the trailer and leave it up during the day. I had a couple things in mind for cross bars and asked Carl what he thought. We chatted a bit and he ended up burning me some brackets that I starting working on yesterday.
The brackets are pretty basic, cut from 3/16" steel. My cross bars are 1"x2"x0.120" so the top of the bracket tapers to a wider base that rests on the top trailer rail with some index cutouts for the 90* piece.
Welded together square.
I mounted the bars 48" apart and slightly biased towards the rear of the trailer to have the tent ride over the wheels. The rails on the RTT are 56" long so I wanted the trailer crossbars spread apart enough to support the tent well. I intended to drill into the trailer top tube and weld in nuts that I would attach the brackets to and did that on the front but it was kind of a pain and took a long time to get things flush. I screwed up on one of the two welded nuts on each side of the trailer and couldn't get the bolt to thread back in. After fiddling with the front brackets for too long I got the rears in place and just welded them to the tub. I was finishing up welding the crossbar to the brackets on the rear when I ran out of wire so I'll need to finish up tonight after getting more.
After I finish welding the crossbar I'm going to just spray some primer on to try and keep any rust from forming this weekend and when I get back I'll decide whether to cut off the rear crossbar and figure out how to do a better job welding those nuts on or just leave the bars attached.
I'd like to get the triple axis hitch put together before I leave Thursday too but I need to drill a couple real big holes in the hitch tube and don't know that I have the equipment to tackle it. I have all the pieces but just need to find the time to get them together. I always end up doing projects last minute before a trip and I guess this one is no different. I have plenty of other things that need to be dealt with too so the hitch probably won't get finished in time.
The brackets are pretty basic, cut from 3/16" steel. My cross bars are 1"x2"x0.120" so the top of the bracket tapers to a wider base that rests on the top trailer rail with some index cutouts for the 90* piece.
Welded together square.
I mounted the bars 48" apart and slightly biased towards the rear of the trailer to have the tent ride over the wheels. The rails on the RTT are 56" long so I wanted the trailer crossbars spread apart enough to support the tent well. I intended to drill into the trailer top tube and weld in nuts that I would attach the brackets to and did that on the front but it was kind of a pain and took a long time to get things flush. I screwed up on one of the two welded nuts on each side of the trailer and couldn't get the bolt to thread back in. After fiddling with the front brackets for too long I got the rears in place and just welded them to the tub. I was finishing up welding the crossbar to the brackets on the rear when I ran out of wire so I'll need to finish up tonight after getting more.
After I finish welding the crossbar I'm going to just spray some primer on to try and keep any rust from forming this weekend and when I get back I'll decide whether to cut off the rear crossbar and figure out how to do a better job welding those nuts on or just leave the bars attached.
I'd like to get the triple axis hitch put together before I leave Thursday too but I need to drill a couple real big holes in the hitch tube and don't know that I have the equipment to tackle it. I have all the pieces but just need to find the time to get them together. I always end up doing projects last minute before a trip and I guess this one is no different. I have plenty of other things that need to be dealt with too so the hitch probably won't get finished in time.
- Location
- Grantsville, Utah
We may see each other in Moab. Trailer looks great.
Sweet. We're going to camp at Area BFE starting Thursday night. The plan is to run Onion Creek and Top of the World Friday and Jax Trax on Saturday. I'll probably have a leisure morning Sunday then start the drive home rather than do another trail. I'll keep my eyes on the lookout though for you but all you Jeep guys blend together. lol.
- Location
- West Jordan
I like it. Nice and simple.
Any concern with lateral stability of the 3/16" brackets when you're up in the tent?
Maybe a simple triangle gusset?
Any concern with lateral stability of the 3/16" brackets when you're up in the tent?
Maybe a simple triangle gusset?
My thought was, it will probably be OK...and if it's a little wobbly, either a triangle gusset or even simpler back brace thing would fix it for good. (by back brace, I mean something a constant width running between the rectangle tube and the base part)
I deferred to Carls expertice on that one. It feels pretty study though pushing on it. I just primed it tonight and will mount the RTT tomorrow afternoon and check for movement. If it wiggles much I'll hit up Carl for more metal and will do this trip without the trailer which would be no big deal. The only thing other than the tent I plan to haul in the trailer is firewood and since I have a new chainsaw there is plenty.
I've been using magnet mount tail lights on this since I built it and am ready to install "real" lights. I've bought LED trailer lights and am trying to figure out the best way and place to mount them and could use some help.
This is basically what I've got.
I was thinking that I'd mount them on that little shelf set back at least a little from the rear to try and protect them but didn't know whether I should try and box them in or not. One pic I saw in a search made metal cages and mounted them about halfway up the side of the trailer. I don't really use that shelf other than as a step for the RTT and it would still be usable if I mounted the lights on it. What do you guys think, should I box them in or just do something like a simple "L" bracket and be done?
This is basically what I've got.
I was thinking that I'd mount them on that little shelf set back at least a little from the rear to try and protect them but didn't know whether I should try and box them in or not. One pic I saw in a search made metal cages and mounted them about halfway up the side of the trailer. I don't really use that shelf other than as a step for the RTT and it would still be usable if I mounted the lights on it. What do you guys think, should I box them in or just do something like a simple "L" bracket and be done?
My vote goes to a simple bracket welded to the side of the trailer, up above your step. That leaves the step "clear" for your feet still, and gets the lights a little higher for protection and visibility. I've seen some of the designs you mention, that encapsulate the lights completely...and they're neat, but a lot more work. These lights are not terribly expensive to replace if you break one.