New camper/trailer build

Jeepguy91

Jeepguy91

NAXJA Member
NAXJA Member
Location
Warsaw, IN
Well have had a couple people ask me to throw up a build thread on the trailer I'm building to haul the jeep on. Will also be a spot to keep track of everything on it as well.

Started off with searching craigslist and found a 23 1/2ft long trailer frame for cheap. I had looked at it before online and after a month of still looking it was still up on craigslist. Was basically just couple 2x5 runners down the side and tongue with some 1x1 angle tieing them together. Had 2 3500lb axles under it with 1 axle having brakes on it. Picking it up for a cheap $150 and they also thru in 11 pieces of 2x4 box tubing for the cross members as well.

The plan for this trailer is to be able to mount our old pop up sideways on the front of the trailer and be able to put the jeep on the back. Will be a lot easier than the tandem towing I had been doing the past couple years.

Here is the camper that is gonna be mounted on the front


And here is a couple pictures of the trailer from the other day when I was working on it. Will take a couple more tomorrow as I have gotten most of the cross members tacked in place. Just need to go thru and fully weld them all in.




The trailer will be getting some 4x8 pieces of heavy duty expanded metal in the middle right under the jeep and some 2x8 wood runners down the side that the jeep will sit on. This will hopefully keep some of the weight down on it. Throwing around the idea of making some drive over fenders for it since the trailer is only about 78" to the outside of the frame rails. Since the jeep will be getting new axles under it I want the trailer to be able to safely hold everything.

Will be slowly adding onto this thread as I get stuff done. I'm hoping to have the trailer part done by the spring clean up at Redbird but will see what happens. If anybody has any questions or suggestions feel free. Always open to suggestions.
 
I know those little pop-ups are pretty light, had a similar one I towed with a ranger, but those trailer axles seem pretty far back, will you be able to position things so you don't have too much tongue weight?
 
I knew that once I got the main trailer part done up that I may have to move the trailer axles a little bit to get everything right where it needs to be. Gonna be doing some measuring in the next couple days to try and get an idea of how things are gonna sit.
 
Do you have air bags on the Ex? That would let you fine-tune things a bit also
 
Yea I have been looking at adding air bags to the EX. Looking at going with the airlift 5000 springs for the back. Thinking I might set it up so that I can use the WDH from the camper for it as well. Hopefully I can use the same wdh for both of the trailers.
 
Jeepguy91 said:
Yea I have been looking at adding air bags to the EX. Looking at going with the airlift 5000 springs for the back. Thinking I might set it up so that I can use the WDH from the camper for it as well. Hopefully I can use the same wdh for both of the trailers.
Click to expand...

you should be able to, if it was me i'd buy a second set of brackets for the trailer side...i weld them to my trailers too.

mac 'you'll be shorter than the 34 footer i had' gyvr
 
Gonna be putting new brake parts on the front axle for now. Will eventually put brakes on back axle as well.
 
Whats wrong with the suspension thats on it? Majority of the time trailer is on the road it will have the jeep on it.
 
Jeepguy91 said:
Whats wrong with the suspension thats on it? Majority of the time trailer is on the road it will have the jeep on it.
Click to expand...

Nothing's wrong with it. There's just a reason they only put fronts on it from the dealer.

You can get them to hop like a gravel trailer with a lane change and quick stab of the brakes.
 
I'm gonna have to look into that then. Have found a trailer parts place on line that I will probably be buying the brake parts from so will just place one big order when I get to that point. Hopefully be able to get back out and finish welding frame up this week/weekend.
 
Not sure how good condition/adjustment was on my trailer brakes, on both axles, but when the vacuum pump went out on my van while towing the jeep home from Moab, I turned the brake controller all the way up. Still thought I might pull the steering wheel off with how hard I had to stand on the brakes to get it to stop.

So for a jeep plus camper, I would definitely want brakes on both axles.
 
Absolutely put the brakes front and rear. My eighteen footer has identical suspension and I put brakes front and rear, just Best to know what's going to happen when you change lanes and traffic slows quickly. preferably before you have something light weight on it and you're like "I'm just going down the street", and you something gets thrown through the windshield of the Honda behind you LOL.
 
C 9-19-3-3
Trailers and semitrailers of gross weight of 3,000 pounds or more
Sec. 3. Subject to section 4 of this chapter, a trailer or semitrailer
of a gross weight of at least three thousand (3,000) pounds, when
operated upon a highway, must be equipped with brakes adequate to
control the movement of and to stop and to hold the vehicle. The
brakes must be designed so that the driver of the towing motor
vehicle can apply the brakes from the cab, and must be designed and
connected so that the brakes will be automatically applied in an
accidental breakaway of the towed vehicle.

mac 'not sure that means brakes on both axles are required' gyvr
 
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