Small Pop-up camper

I've been bored and thinking.

Now that I'm pushing away from the Pop-up idea I think I'd be ok with having a small trailer for just the camping gear and I'll get a RTT for it when I come across a good deal on one. The main thing is getting all the camping gear out of the Jeep and having it packed and ready to go anytime.

I like the hinged lid idea but not so much when I install a RTT... I suppose I could add a rack to raise the tent some so I'd still have access to the tub...

I like this scale but this one seems to be working out to be too big.

At the moment it measures 48" x 72" inside the box and 68" wide (face of one rim to the other) with 31" tires.

I guess I need to model it closer to the size of a Military trailer.

TrailerRearTG.jpg


TrailerISO.jpg


TrailerBottom.jpg


Based off of this guys design:
http://www.expeditionportal.com/forum/threads/23624-Box-Rocket-Homemade-trailer-build

Looking back at his build it seems that he used 2x2 for the frame where I used 2x4 in my model. I'm thinking I'd go back with 2x2...

_MG_6190.jpg
 
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Some good point made about the construction of popups, but for what your describing might be a non issue.

You need to decide if you need a live in, or a live around arrangement. Down south you might find the later to work out for you. Search for posts here by Swampman.. he has a nice RTT called a Serengetti. Might be what you need for family use.

Take a look a www.ih8mud.com and the trailer section, theres a few popup builds there to give an idea what you'd need to address.

Also, look at www.abctrailerparts for you axle etc.
 
Cool, thanks.

Yeah, a "Live around" set-up would work just fine. I'm just attempting to make it easier to take off camping. The things I like taking camping won't all fit in the cargo space of my Cherokee with the kids sitting in the back. I need more room.

I've spent the last 6 months on Ih8mud and ExpoPortal searching trailer builds... The simplest one is my favorite. I can build it slowly and in the end it'll be something worth having.

Thanks the trailer parts link. Good stuff.
 
Dude, ive been on both ends of the spectrum, and I can tell you that you will be happier with a pop-up. Mainly, because of your kids/family.

I built a pretty badass offroad trailer, and did it all myself. I ended up putting about $2,600.00 into and CRAP ton of labor. It was sweet....for a single guy, or married with no kids/dogs.

Sold that trailer for $4500.00 and bought my current pop-up for $3700.00, fully loaded from an older couple who babied it. Its not built near as sturdy as my offroad trailer, but I havent needed it to be. It has done quite well on the FS roads, and light trails getting to the campsite, and is LIGHTYEARS better for my family, which is who I want to go camping with.

You can buy a nice pop-up for around $3K. or you can put a little work and money into an older one for a little less. Canvas is expensive though, so I would make sure that part is good. You can also beef them up, and modify them to suit your needs.

I miss my old trailer, but its because I put so much effort into it. Not because of its functionality with my family.

Pictures, because I like em.

DSCN1824.jpg


DSCN1823.jpg


DSCN2037.jpg


DSCN2039.jpg


The new pop-up (its a 2002 model)

IMG_20120210_145624.jpg


IMG_20120120_121042.jpg
 
See, I still like the pop-up route but I'm just not seeing one that I like. I want a smaller one. There's a guy right down the road from me that has one I think I'd like. I think he's high on it tho. He's asking 3500... It's a small 98 Coleman in good shape with new canvas.

But with my current "financial situation" (Broke) I can't really afford to slap 3k on the table. I could afford 400 bucks worth of steel to make a trailer.

I'd love a pop-up but my main motivation for this is more storage. I'm not as much concerned with sleeping arrangements (tho, it'd be nice)
 
It has a lid now...

I'm trying to figure out the best way to keep it "rain resistant". I realize that with a tailgate I won't be able to really get it water tight but I'd like to have it as water tight as possible and still be able to open the tailgate with the lid on it... Weather striping would get messed up if I opened and closed the tailgate with the lid down...

Trailerwithtopopen.jpg


Trailerwithtopclosed.jpg


Holy crap I'm worse than a woman. I can't make up my damn mind.
 
Gee, kinda looks like this one.

001-3.jpg


It's an M416 that was modified before I bought it, the bed was widened. Foolishly, I decided that I wanted to share wheels and tires with the jeep. First I tried adapters on the M416 axle, same pattern as a CJ. Two problems, one the M416 studs are 2" long and the adapter is only 1.5" thick. Even if the adapter would have worked, the 33x12.5" tires would have rubbed on the body. They wouldn't make a thicker adapter for me, so I bought a new axle from Southwestern wheel. It's 63" from face to face, so the tires should just fit. I bought U-bolts from the same place, but the M416 leaf pack is too thick, so I'm waiting on custom u-bolts. Another problem I didn't consider, being an XJ owner, was that of hubs. Trailer axles have hubs. XJ wheels don't have holes for hubs, at least the aluminum wheels don't. I do have a couple of stock steel rims around that will clear the hub.

Because the tub was cut, I had to brace the rear corners. The uprights will be framed, and I'm going to put a roof top tent on it. My kid is about to leave the house, so all I have to accomodate is myself and the wife. The kid can sleep on the ground if he's along. :)

I'm not going to hinge the tailgate, just use pins to hold it in place. I previously had a wooden tailgate on it, and found it to just get in the way. Something to consider.
 
So here it is on 31's with a 33" for comparison. By the time I have it on 33's with the top framed in and with roof rack mounts, the bottom of the roof top tent should be just over my 6'2" head. Perfect.

100_4247.jpg


If you have steelies with a 3.5" backspace, an adapter should work fine, instead of a new axle.

100_4249.jpg


The finished tailgate.

100_4250.jpg


Spring over modification. I'm still using the original plate with shock mount.
 
I see little reason for a lid to the trailer. If everything is packed in plastic tubs, what is the use? While it would be nice to have some of the fancy pullouts for storage that the really nice trailers have, I don't see that they are totally necessary.

I'm building mine just to make camping off of forest service roads comfortable. The developed National Forest campsites are too crowded, and the campsite hosts tend to be environazi's(I had a tire on a rock in the parking area, and the host made me take it off so I wouldn't hurt the rock.)

Once I have the 33's mounted, I'll build new fenders and places for propane tanks, batteries, etc. to be attached.
 
I see your point, but my experience says I have enough space, and the tubs make it easy to rearrange cargo. If I had the money, time, skillz, I make it all a pullout. You spend a lot of time on dusty roads in Utah, I want to spend time on high altitude roads in CO, which are less frequently dusty. To me the effort involved in a water tight lid seems wasted, but I may change my mind after use.
 
If I keep mine and don't upgrade to a teardrop my plans are to have a custom aluminum box built on top of the tub that is about the same dimensions as the wood that's on top of yours. It will have two fold down doors. The starboard side will be for clothing and such. The passenger side will be the kitchen. My biggest issue is that I have zero room in my jeep for anything. Right now I have an arb fridge on one side and on the other I have a cargo box which I keep tools in and the dog rides on that. Bedding, sleeping bags and clothes all have to go in the trailer. So far I haven't found any container that will both keep water out and fit into the small box of a 416.
 
The main reason I'm wanting this thing is to have all of my camping gear packed and ready to go whenever I want to go camping. I HATE gathering gear and packing it into the Jeep. When I do pack it into the Jeep I always run out of room in the cargo area and it forces me to put a lot of the stuff in the back seat (Where my kids would be sitting.) I want to be able to pack the trailer and close the lid and be able to store it in my carport. (It's not a garage so it wouldn't be completely shielded from the elements in storage)

I won't be able to use the plastic containers for everything...
I want to be able to use the containers for sleeping bags, toiletries and kitchen supplies. Things that can't get wet but I can leave in the trailer. My EZ-up, tent, and chairs won't hardly fit in a plastic tote.
 
Don't be scared of an older popup with questionable canvas. Use that as a bargaining chip and get a new canvas from bearcreekcanvas.com for $8-900. Sounds expensive, but usually older popups with bad canvas are cheap.

We camped in 3 different popups over the years, from a 8' Coleman to a 22' Jayco. They were great, but I always hated putting them up and down, especially in the rain. We have since upgraded to a 26' travel trailer (which I obviously can't tow with the Jeep), but there aren't hardly any places in Indiana you can take a camper off of the beaten path. That and my wife has been spoiled by A/C in the trailer :D

Like Stump said, a military style offroad trailer is perfect when you are single or don't have a litter of kids to bring along. I had a M416 back in the day and it was great for spur of the moment trips to Turkey Bay or Daniel Boone Nat'l Forest (when you could wheel there). Now that I'm married and have 3 kids, it wouldn't work out so well.

Old pic from 2003ish with my 91XJ:

M416.jpg
 
Lowrange2, I'm pretty much in the same boat you are. Too many passengers, too much gear and not enough money.

I'm going to go the route of buying a regular trailer until I can find a pop-up in the future when, hopefully, I have more money.

At least if you go with a regular trailer first they seem to hold their value better. And if you're going to build it you can probably end up making money when you sell it, like stumpXJ did.
 
CASEY-R said:
Lowrange2, I'm pretty much in the same boat you are. Too many passengers, too much gear and not enough money.

I'm going to go the route of buying a regular trailer until I can find a pop-up in the future when, hopefully, I have more money.

At least if you go with a regular trailer first they seem to hold their value better. And if you're going to build it you can probably end up making money when you sell it, like stumpXJ did.
Click to expand...

That's what I'm thinking. The only thing I worry about is the fact that the demand for an "offroad trailer" here is quite low, to say the least. I could probably sell it on ExPo or something.

IllianaXJ said:
This would be a good base, certainly cheap enough. Looks like a Bantam or similar. If I had $550 I would already own it.

http://indianapolis.craigslist.org/grd/2887019612.html

If I make the Crawl I may be talked into bringing it down for you :D
Click to expand...

That's WAY cheaper than I've been seeing them but honestly, if I'm going to spend 500 bucks I might as well buy the steel and build it.

Is it just me or is the trailer Chrome!? :)
 
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