my xj camping trailer

[XJ Eric]

no more pics? I really want to see how you built the front of it!

 

[kyro]

 

[derrickdrew17]

Please make a write up one how to make one of those.

 

[XJ Eric]

Have you done anything to your interior?

 

[kyro]

yeah have put all the interior back on with out the seats have box in there that make a bed as well will get some pics of it soon as i finish it

 

[AlabamaDan]

Awesome job! Thanks for sharing!

 

[GSequoia]

What about tongue weight? Do you have any plans to help move some weight balance rearward?

 

[XJ Eric]

looked ok to me. Aren't you supposed to have 60% of the weight at the front?

 

[kyro]

will be putting a water tank inplace of fuel tank soon so that will help with weight

 

[XJ Eric]

Any pics of it on the trail yet?

 

[derrickdrew17]

Im still waiting on a write up on how to make one.

 

[kyro]

no have not taken it on the trails as yet just black stuff and a few dirt roads..

and write up i have not done one yet

 

[Funrover]

On man I want to see the inside!

 

[kyro]

ok here is a short build of what i did with the body of the XXXPEDITION XJ

alot of people said why cut up the xj...well it came down to the damage that it had and it was way passed the point of beeing able to be repaired for a road worthy jeep so there was 2 options 1. scrap it 2. trailer.

so after watching and reading about this xj for along time i could not let the xj be turned into coke cans...

first thing we did was strip the good parts from the jeep and use the best bits for Ruperts XJ and sold the other parts that were still usable. then i started to strip the shell ready for cutting and also putting a blank axle under the xj so we could rool the body out to cut it as it would be a little load for the kids in the house.
so i stretched out on the floor to see how much room i wanted for the bed area and cut the carpet and marked it out ready for the cut.

so then i strapped it to the front of my xj and towed it onto the driveway for cutting.

first we cut the roof

as you can see from pics i did not get everything out in time for the cutting
then it was the bottom which needed cutting

once we made the first cut in the bottom it left the frame the only part that was still attached we had the front section and rear jacked up to stop it dropping on someone or bending the floor.
once the floor was cut all the way we dropped the front section to the ground.

then i rolled the rear section back into the garage

and left the front on the driveway for the scrap metal truck to collect.

 

[kyro]

here i was using 2 spare tyres to hold the draw bar in place till we could tack then into place, we made sure to make them long enough to reach all the way back to were the rear springs join the frame.

then it was just a case of lifting the front to make it easier to weld on both side of the draw bar.

next step we welded some small box steel along the front on the roof and then a support from the roof to the floor the front support was just made with a curve in it and the one closest to the door was made with some dog leg bends to match the shape of the rear doors.

once both side had been done i then started to weld the sheet metal to the box steel supports i found it easier to weld it in section do to not having anything to bend the sheets easily. i also made a inside skin which you will see in one of the next few pics, these are not yet installed but are only screwed in so can be done at anytime, i wont to wire the windows up before installing them. then i just did the same on the other side to match.

next step was to cut and shape the front sheet ready for welding on, i also cut some of the tranny tunnel out and made it flat for more storage area.

i tack welded the front sheet on first then checked to make sure it was a good fit and then slowly worked my way around the edge and welded it together, having the box steel in there made this alot easier then just the to sheets of metal to weld together.

now it was time to start grinding all the welds flat and getting read to paint, i was running out of time before Camp Coffs so i just used rattle cans for the paint job.
it a bit rough but it will do the job for now, once it was almost finished i install some TJ flares.

once i had it painted i then put the carpet back in and also the roof lining and the black boxes that made up the bed and storage spaces.
added a basic tow hitch (did not want to spend alot on a trek hitch in case it towed like a dog) wired up the tail lights put some reflectors on (needed for rego) then had to get it weighed came in at 440kg which was better then i was expecting.

once it was registered i slapped a few club stickers and the rego plate and hooked it up for a spin around the block and i must say it tows really well.

here it is ready for the camp coffs trip

traveled 6hrs down and 7.5 hours (traffic jam) back over the black stuff and some dirt roads and it went really well and did not make a big dent in the fuel usage.

some future mods:
water tank in fuel tank space
fridge and spare on draw bar
roof tent that fold out over the side of xj
side kitchen that mount over the wheel arch
rear bumper (does not have one just yet)
dvd player for the kids
working windows
front window
maybe rims to match the xj

...............................

Cheers Kyro

 

[kyro]

inside is still not finished yet it has fly screen on windows and storage boxes and thats about it so far...have not had much time to get back to it

 

[AlabamaDan]

I love what you've done. I've been thinking about it alot. Did you consider just cutting it off at the firewall and keeping the windshield and front doors? I know you probably did, but I was curious as to why you didn't.

 

[kyro]

yeah looked at that as well but thought it would be to much hanging over the front and to much weight on the tow ball. you could move the wheels forward more but thats a heap of work so i went with just enough room for a bed and some storage

 

[kndrewa]

thanks for sharing

 

[XJLafonda]

Wow, that looks really sweet! Makes me wanna see if I could make one XP.