Because of the lack of room in my YJ, I'm thinking about building a small, light duty trailer to haul my camping equiptment ect. Need some advice....would a trailer axle that usually holds small tires hold up to 33" tires since there won't be any power applied to them? I need the clearance of at least 31's but preferably 33's for where we go camping. Also, is there some kind of special hitch that I can get that will handle extreme angles without coming off? The main body of the trailer will most likely be made of wood but I'm also considering sheetmetal.
Building a trailer for the YJ
- Thread starter Craig
- Start date
I was going to get the roof rack but my snorkel is in the way of the frame that holds the rack up. It's also a pain for taking down and putting up the top with the rack there especially when it's fully loaded. A trailer would be much easier to load and unload, I can haul a lot more and it would come in handy for other things such as landscaping ect.mud4feet said:
mud4feet
New member
I hear that! I have both a roof rack (Top5 - to haul my Kayaks - you can raise and lower the top with the rack in place) and a little 4x8 landscaping trailer. The trailer has been a Godsend for the piddly stuff around the house that I can't fit in the Jeep. I've been dreaming of buying an old 50's-60's Willy truck, but for $495 and very little maintenance, you can't beat the little trailer. Unfortunately, it can't go everywhere the Jeep goes (camping, fishing, kayaking, etc.). Have you looked into the little cargo racks that fit in the receiver hitch? I believe they even make one specifically for off-road (better angles). Just a thought - and a little easier and cheaper solution.
88Wrangles
New member
Look What I did today
Use the Pintle style hitch that Snitty mentioned. I've never personally used one, but hear they are the thing to get when articulation is being considered.
Use the Pintle style hitch that Snitty mentioned. I've never personally used one, but hear they are the thing to get when articulation is being considered.
I have built a couple trailors in my time. I found that the rear axle out of late 80's dodge caravns make great donor axles!
modify some squar tubing and then you got yourself some spring perches! but if you want to go a little more custom, put air ride in the trailor!! ya thats the ticket!
modify some squar tubing and then you got yourself some spring perches! but if you want to go a little more custom, put air ride in the trailor!! ya thats the ticket!
redrooster
New member
You can buy trailer axles from suppliers or manufacturers pretty cheap. I saw a guy that had a stack of them at a local Trade Day for $150 for a brand new 3500lb axle.
You could do like mentioned above and get one of those $500 utility trailers. I have one that I use all the time around the yard but have never pulled it behind the Jeep.
For camping, I have a modified Hitch Haul rack that goes into the reciever on my bumper. I removed the main beam that goes into the rack and made one that has two 90 degree bends in it so that the rack sits 11" higher than stock. It works well off road and can handle up to 500 lbs or so. It's perfect for the cooler, tent and lawn chairs and doubles as a table to prepare food on.
With the higher steel prices, I would suggest shopping around for a used trailer at this point. If you want the Hitch Haul, you can get them at Wal-Mart or they have some really fnacy ones that fold up in Cabela's magazine.
You could do like mentioned above and get one of those $500 utility trailers. I have one that I use all the time around the yard but have never pulled it behind the Jeep.
For camping, I have a modified Hitch Haul rack that goes into the reciever on my bumper. I removed the main beam that goes into the rack and made one that has two 90 degree bends in it so that the rack sits 11" higher than stock. It works well off road and can handle up to 500 lbs or so. It's perfect for the cooler, tent and lawn chairs and doubles as a table to prepare food on.
With the higher steel prices, I would suggest shopping around for a used trailer at this point. If you want the Hitch Haul, you can get them at Wal-Mart or they have some really fnacy ones that fold up in Cabela's magazine.
What exactly does a pintle style hitch look like? I don't know if I've ever seen one before. Will it fit or can I adapt it to fit the receiver on my bumper? I have looked into the rear racks that fit the receiver and the problem with these is that I can no longer open my rear tailgate without first removing the rack, which is a pain in the butt. I've also looked into the kind that attach to the body and sit just above the spare tire and they have a very limited load capacity (something like 150 pounds). For a rack, the ultimate solution would be one that will be able to hold a couple of fully loaded coolers, fit around at least a 35" spare tire and still allow me access to the rear of the jeep without having to unload the rack. I have seen one manufacturer's rack that swings out with swing out tire carrier but I don't think my swing out carrier will hold up to that kind of weight. I'm still thinking a trailer will be my best option but mabye I'll look into fabbing up some kind of reinforced frame that I can attach a rack above the spare tire and still give me access to the tailgate.
Here is a pic of a Pintle hitch http://www.futurelogistics.ca/AftermarketSales.html as for the receiver, most of the farm stores around here have them that will fit a 2" receiver.
I actually bid on one of these trailers on ebay a year or so ago (didn't meet the reserve). I even called the guy at future to get a quote on a semi trailer load, (I live in KS so I would need a qty to buy to absorb the shipping) but I never could get the guy to call me back. If you live close to Canada these may be an option. There was a military surplus in CA selling these for a ridiculous amount. I have been where you are at; I searched and searched for an m416 or similar. I found some but none of them close to me then I found the Canadian trailers and that didn’t work out either. I even went to a fab shop to get a quote, he told me I was a year to late because the price of steel was so high and that in 2005 it was going to be worse. He gave me a quote it was somewhere around $1100. I finally came across a web site of a place in TX that said they had military trailers, call for availability. I gave them a call and He said the m416s in decent shape are getting hard to find due to collectors, but a local guy there made replicas. He sent me a Polaroid and this spring I spent 24 ½ hours straight in the jeep to make a non-stop round trip to TX and back. The trip was a killer but for a $500 trailer I guess it was worth it, my wife might disagree here.
He didn’t know if he would get any more or not due to the price of steel. The suspension on the trailer is independent and made out of surplus M151 suspension parts. It has 16†rims, ND tires and a spare. If interested I can see if I can find the url again and maybe posts some pics. Sorry for the long post, but I can relate to the search of an affordable off-road trailer.
I actually bid on one of these trailers on ebay a year or so ago (didn't meet the reserve). I even called the guy at future to get a quote on a semi trailer load, (I live in KS so I would need a qty to buy to absorb the shipping) but I never could get the guy to call me back. If you live close to Canada these may be an option. There was a military surplus in CA selling these for a ridiculous amount. I have been where you are at; I searched and searched for an m416 or similar. I found some but none of them close to me then I found the Canadian trailers and that didn’t work out either. I even went to a fab shop to get a quote, he told me I was a year to late because the price of steel was so high and that in 2005 it was going to be worse. He gave me a quote it was somewhere around $1100. I finally came across a web site of a place in TX that said they had military trailers, call for availability. I gave them a call and He said the m416s in decent shape are getting hard to find due to collectors, but a local guy there made replicas. He sent me a Polaroid and this spring I spent 24 ½ hours straight in the jeep to make a non-stop round trip to TX and back. The trip was a killer but for a $500 trailer I guess it was worth it, my wife might disagree here.
He didn’t know if he would get any more or not due to the price of steel. The suspension on the trailer is independent and made out of surplus M151 suspension parts. It has 16†rims, ND tires and a spare. If interested I can see if I can find the url again and maybe posts some pics. Sorry for the long post, but I can relate to the search of an affordable off-road trailer. For one that just goes into your receiver you can get one of these for about 150. I've seen 'em in action and it sounds like what you need.
http://www.etrailer.com/Merchant2/merchant.mv?Screen=CTGY&Store_Code=E&Category_Code=CABCP
http://www.etrailer.com/Merchant2/merchant.mv?Screen=CTGY&Store_Code=E&Category_Code=CABCP
I think what I'm gonna do is make the trailer. I can get some 2" square tubing for cheap which I'll weld into a square shaped frame with 4 posts sticking up for the sides. From there, I'll attach either wood or sheetmetal for the floor and sides. I can buy the whole hitch part of the trailer already assembled, I'll just have to attach it to the trailer. I'm gonna see if I can get the pintle style hitch but instead of a drop down hitch, I'll see if I can get one reversed for more clearance, if not I'll have to modify the hitch a little. I can't see the whole thing costing me any more than about $300 or $400.
I used to work for the university ag farm back in high school and the boss there was kind of a wuss. He didn't like "that beat up old trailer" outside of the building becuase it looked bad so he told me if I wanted it to haul it off. It was one of those military trailers except it's an older one with rounded fenders. Good heavy trailer and the price was right.
