Jeep Camp Trailer

[Cook5]

I've had a couple of people asking about cost on the project so I'll post this information I sent to them. I spent a lot of time over several months researching and planning so if anybody is interested, you're welcome to any information I have regarding a trailer/camper project.  I'm sure some of you have checked on the trailers and know they are expensive so here's what I used to analyze which way I was going to go.  Just what I decided, it won't be right for everyone.

I don't mind sharing information at all.  That's why I'm posting everything on the forums.  I started out with the premise that I wanted to have a camping trailer I could pull behind my Jeep.  We do a lot of camping, always have, I have a son that's been in scouts since he was 7 and now is in Venture Scouts along with his older sister so we're always out somewhere.  After deciding that I wanted a trailer, I started looking at the different brands, AT, Tentrax, Livinlite, etc.  There are dozens of them.  I liked different features of all of them. I didn't like the prices of any of them.  The Jeep branded trailer made by livinlite is what I decided to base my trailer on since that would allow me to actually have a trailer I could stand up in, have a meal in if the weather is bad and will also allow for heating & A/C.  Most of the rest of the offroad campers use a rooftop tent of some sort.  That being settled, with the base price of these trailers starting at around $11,000, I figured if I could build one for half that, it was worth my time.  So here's the budget I put together.  I figure to have about $4,000 in the base trailer and then we'll see how much we add on in amenities.
Aluminum for frame, skin, etc.     $1,800  (My brother has a trailer fab shop so we ordered it wholesale)
Axle & trailer jack                $200  (I ordered this through Redneck with a commercial account)
Tires/Wheels                       $300 (I had the tires already so they're not included)
Tent upper section                 $450  (I bought this directly from the tent manufacturer)
Offroad hitch                      $250  (I ordered a max coupler from AT)
Catalytic heater                   $250  (I haven't actually bought this yet)
Partner cook stove                 $220  (Ordered online)
A/C unit                           $700  (Yet to acquire but will have to get it soon)
                        Total      $4,170
Most of these are actual numbers as I've already bought most of it. I'll also spend a hundred bucks or so in welder wire and tips plus I'm going to have the trailer sides powder-coated which will probably add a couple hundred bucks.  Again, if I get in for half the retail considering I'm going to have much more amenities, I'll be happy.  Bear in mind that I've got a good shop to do this in and already have the welder and tools necessary.
Let me know if this helps or if you have any more questions.

[mrfast]

What kind of AC unit are you going with? Regular RV AC? Do you have a link to the tent you bought?

[Cook5]

I haven't decided on the A/C yet except that it will have to be a through the wall unit instead of the typical RV rooftop unit.  I've got it sized at 6000BtuH.  The tent is made by a company called Veada, they make tents, bimini tops & seats for boats.  When I checked though I actually ordered it through Livinlite.  Just called them up and asked for the parts department.  livinlite.com
If you go to the Livinlite web-site and look at the warranty information, they list all of the manufacturers for their products with contact information.

[Cook5]

I did get some time this weekend to work on the trailer.  Fabbed up a rear receiver hitch so I can plug in a carry-all or a bike rack.  Also spent quite a bit of time working up the hitch (I got the max coupler hitch in).  That involved quite a bit of cutting, welding, grinding and painting.  Basically the 2X3 tubing we made the frame out of didn't work well with the hitch.  So I got a receiver tube and cut out some plates from carbon steel to weld to the receiver that would allow me to bolt them to the tongue.  Since the tongue is aluminum and the receiver is carbon, I would have to build brackets and bolt them together.  We also put some 1/4" aluminum plates along the tongue to help gusset it since this is where all of the stress will be exerted.  At the same time I mounted a jack with a dolly wheel and installed the safety chains. The jack had to have a bracket built for it so it could be bolted on that way I can change it later if it gets damaged. I also cut all of the wall studs to length so that portion will go faster and we installed half of the flooring (1/8" aluminum plate) stitch-welding it to the frame.  The flooring is smooth aluminum sheeting but will be covered with a rubber mat. It took more time to make the hitch brackets than it did to build the entire frame. By Sunday afternoon I was able to actually pull the trailer down the road a bit to see how it tracks and to check the hitch height to make sure it would all be level.  


Here is the rear receiver mounted under the trailer.


We made these 2 crossmembers to bolt the receiver hitch to.  The hitch is an old one from a truck I had.  We welded the crossmembers in flat to allow room for the bolt-heads to miss the floor decking.





Here is the hitch I purchased.



Here's the coupler against the aluminum tongue showing the size difference necessitating the brackets.




My receiver tube & aluminum spacers/gussets.  The gussets will be welded to the tongue and will space the tongue properly for the hitch and also gusset the high-stress area.


Sketch of the brackets to be built.


Brackets tack-welded to the receiver tube.


We welded the new brackets to the receiver tube, then ground all of the welds down for aesthetic reasons.  It also helps get a smooth paint job to hopefully help prevent rust.


After welding & grinding, we used an upright mill to bore 4 holes through the brackets & spacers so everything would match up exactly.  After it's complete, we'll clamp it to the tongue & drill through the tongue.


The receiver & brackets received multiple coats of primer & paint & clear-coat.  Hopefully it will keep it from rusting.


While waiting for the paint to dry, we used the time to cut the floor plates out & stitch weld one of the sheets to the trailer.





One sheet of flooring installed.





Jack & hitch attached to trailer.







First trip down the road, it sits very level and pulls straight.  Whew!!

[Cook5]

Spent a few more hours working on the trailer this weekend.  The goal was to get all of the walls framed up so I could start wiring/plumbing this coming weekend. The framing portion goes much quicker than the small fab projects.  The walls did get finished and I started to work on the fold-up stairs to get in the thing.  I had picked up the appliances and a fresh water tank prior to this so I would know how much room to leave open in the walls.  I also stretched the tent over the frame to mark out exactly where the door opening in the tent is.


Heating & AC Unit I bought. 



Checking the clearance in the back wall for the furnace.  It has a plate for the exhaust and the combustion air.


I decided to put a fresh water tank in and it will fit under the bench seat with the furnace. Should help it in cold weather too.


I'm planning to put the AC unit in the side wall on a pull-out shelf with a door to seal it when not in use.


We are starting to frame the rear wall first.  I cut all of the studs earlier so it went pretty quickly.  The slowest part is squaring every one as we tack it in place.



The walls go up pretty quickly after it is all squared up.


After tacking everything together & checking for square, we welded each stud at the bottom & top.



We mitered the corners of the top rail, then welded them and ground the welds down for a smooth joint.





This is the framed opening where the entry door will be.  I left the top rail in place to help keep everything square while we welded it up.  I'll cut it out later.



The walls are all framed up. 







Next up is plumbing the water line, propane line and wiring the trailer.  That will hopefully all happen this week/weekend.  Then I'm going to skin the inside of the box and have it spray-insulated. After that, skin the outside and bottom and powder-coating.  Everything takes longer than you want it to but that's the way it goes.

[Cook5]

I forgot to post the picture of the steps I started to mock up.  The plan is for them to fold up and I'll remove them when not in use. I didn't want them under the frame where they could get banged up. 

[Mo Printer]

Lookin' good!  I'm enjoying watching the build progress.  It all takes more time than you'd think, doesn't it?

[Cook5]

Steve, it does all take longer than you'd think.  I guess I'm not the most patient person there is but I can't work any faster so I'll just have to finish it when I finish it.  Work gets in the way a lot and my wife thinks I'm spending too much time in the shop as it is.  I bet that's never happened to anybody else though...

[Cook5]

Time to update the trailer project.  I have been working on it but haven't taken the time to update here.  Since my last post, I have finished the decking, run the trailer wiring for lights, routed the propane line for the furnace, wired the walls for receptacles & 12V devices.  I routed the gas line through the floor framing and all of the wiring & water line through the walls.  I didn't want to drill the floor framing any more than I had to.  I also tried to take care to make sure nothing would rub & chafe by wrapping the gas line with wiring loom & using armored cable for the 120V wiring and SO cord for the 12V wiring.  I also deburred all of the holes I drilled. 

Like any project, I started out with a written plan for what I wanted and a list for parts.


I protected all of the light wiring in plastic loom as well as the propane line.




I deburred all the holes for wiring & plumbing.



Wiring-Plumbing is all in.





The gas line is routed through the floor.  The floor will be insulated with foam and a skin will be put on the bottom to protect everything.








I plan to have a switch at the front of the trailer for the water pump control and light plugs on the entry side of the trailer so I can plug in outside lights.  There are also 120V outlets inside the trailer and outside that will run to a cord & plug.  I've been waiting 2 weeks for the sheet-metal for the sides and top and I'm getting anxious to get started putting the skin on.  Once the inside is skinned and the top is built, I will have it insulated.  I've got a friend who sells the spray-in house insulation and he's going to have one of his crews spray it with left-over product from a house.  Then the outside skin will be installed and attached, once everything I want to attach is installed, I'll remove the skin and have it painted or powder-coated.  That's where I'm at for now. 

I also put flat fender flares on my Jeep recently, I know some of you have them and I was needing extra clearance since my tires rubbed on some of the trails.  That's quite a project, more time than I anticipated.

Before with my old fender flares.



After with the flat flares. I did pick up several inches of clearance.

[CousinVinny]

The progress is looking great. Fabrication is so appealing to me, I could build anything out of wood but not to much experience with metal. Hope to get welder and tube bender sooner than later. Any you recommend that more entry to mid level? I will keep tuned in, good luck with the rest of your build.

[Cook5]

Time again to update the camp trailer project.  I've not been getting much time to work on it as this is the busy time of year for my line of work.  But I have lined the inside of the trailer with aluminum sheet metal, received the (sex bolts) for attaching the outside skin to the inside skin, mounted electrical boxes in the wall, broken the sheetmetal for the outside, and very recently, I finally got it spray foam insulated.  Bottom and sides anyway.  I'll have to get the top done when I have it fully fabricated.  Pics below.  Cousin Vinny, I don't really have any recommendations on equipment, I would say stalk CL or something to find something cheap to get started and then upgrade as you understand it more.  Sorry I don't have better advice.


Here are shots of the liner panels.  They have temporary bolts in them now, the sex bolts have to be driven in from the outside and I won't install them until the outer skin is ready to install or I'd have to drive them back out. The look is really clean though.







Here is the sex bolt I'm using, it has a counter-sunk head for the inside and the outside looks like a rivet but is really a rounded head with a splined shaft that gets driven in.




Here is a shot of the inside/outside of the bolts.  They will be flush on the inside.

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While waiting for insulation, I started mocking up with conduit, what shape I wanted for the fenders.  I plan to make them out of 1/4" aluminum treadplate but wanted a template to shape them to.  I like the last image best...Opinions?






Here's a shot of the trailer getting insulated.  We sprayed the walls and tipped it up on end to spray the bottom.

[Cook5]

No opinions on the fender angle or width, etc. 

[mrfast]

Your skill's are already way above any advise I could give you!, it's looking good!

[YJ_Aaron]

I agree I like the last mock up the best.  Trailer is looking good!

[Cook5]

Just wanted to post up that I haven't abandoned the trailer project, this summer has just been busy as hell at work so no time.  I have obtained the aluminum for the top, sides and fenders so I've just got to get time to break it and install it.  Hopefully soon!