Most budget "Overland" / camping trailer

[aelarson]

I really like the idea of being able to use the trailer to move furniture, haul stuff to the dump, etc. So multi use is a really nice feature for me.

I was thinking about getting some high, removable, cross bars fabbed and mounted (tubular or square tubular steel) to the trailer for tent mounting that I could remove for hauling activities.

I considered doing something similar to this. The great thing about a normal trailer is that if you make the tent rack high enough, you can still haul toys (ATV, dirt bikes, snowmobile, etc, etc). If you are not doing heavy offroading, definitely build your own for much less than the typical adventure trailer!

 

[aelarson]

... I utilized a 5x8 utility trailer, and mounted my RTT to it. The trailer was around $2K, and it only weighs 400# unloaded. I was able to mount my RTT to it with a Yakima rack I already owned. OK, it's not a rugged "off-road" trailer, but it works perfectly fine for weekend and extended stay camping, and pulls well on gravel and not-well-maintained NFS forest roads here in the upper Midwest, etc. I'm building a removable slide out tray so that I have a separate platform for cooking, strapping stuff down, etc.

And, I still have a decent 5x8 trailer for trips to Menard's and The Home Depot.

Hope you find what you're looking for.

That looks great! The cool thing is that you can keep building off of that too!

 

[Brookey_813]

My husband and I are planning on finding a utility trailer aound $3k and turning it into a sleeping trailer only, no sink or cooking area. We want to utilize it to tow our ATV and then have like murphey beds to use for sleeping. We plan on adding horse trailer like windows and one of those top air conditioner units like on the smaller trailers. In CA we have warehouse utility trailer places, they have the best prices, and we plan on checking out Craigslist.

 

[SS_Syndicate]

I built my own... here is the build on my our (wife and I) blog.

Project ? EHU ? Seven Slot Syndicate

We did this more to get exactly what we wanted VS a budget, but even with using a lot of fancy parts were out the door for about a third of what one costs.

Note: It's in reverse order (newest to latest) so if you want to start from the beginning go to the bottom of the page.

 

[jayhat]

I built my own... here is the build on my our (wife and I) blog.

Project ? EHU ? Seven Slot Syndicate

We did this more to get exactly what we wanted VS a budget, but even with using a lot of fancy parts were out the door for about a third of what one costs.

Note: It's in reverse order (newest to latest) so if you want to start from the beginning go to the bottom of the page.

Looks great! I lack the metal working skills or tools to do something like this.

 

[Titanpat57]

If wheels don't match...it's not an Overlanding trailer...:hatsoff:

 

[jayhat]

If wheels don't match...it's not an Overlanding trailer...:hatsoff:

I would actually like to find one that I can put toyota hubs on and use my same wheel / tire combo. Not sure how realistic that will be for my first trailer.

 

[SS_Syndicate]

Looks great! I lack the metal working skills or tools to do something like this.

Thank you for the compliment... It was a fun project.

These types of projects are always good to stretch your comfort zone and learn new things. With this project, it was the axles for me...

 

[Titanpat57]

I would actually like to find one that I can put toyota hubs on and use my same wheel / tire combo. Not sure how realistic that will be for my first trailer.

That was actually a little tongue in cheek...but it's not that bad to do...I just did my military utility trailer. What really helped was the neighbor flipped it with his backhoe.

 

[Herzl]

I was looking to buy a cheap trailer from lowes and build a rack for my tent and use a truck drop in tool box to keep stuff dry. You can flip the axle for lift and buy 15" tires for height. I opted against it in the end because those trailers are very cheaply made.

For now im looking to buy a hiker trailer, they start at a little over 4k and go up to over 9k fully loaded. The base sounds perfect for your needs and it can be built up more if you need and offers a lot for the money.

 

[Sundog7121]

I would actually like to find one that I can put toyota hubs on and use my same wheel / tire combo. Not sure how realistic that will be for my first trailer.

I would try to get Titan Pat to give me HIS!

:hungry:

:usa2:

 

[Titanpat57]

There's actually lots of great trailers out there that can be fixed up . One's I wouldn't bother with are Harbor Freight, Lowes, etc. You'll find that by the time you put your hard money, and even more valuable time, into something that in the end won't give you the service(especially the younger guys) you want.

It's no fun going out and having problems.

 

[jayhat]

There's actually lots of great trailers out there that can be fixed up . One's I wouldn't bother with are Harbor Freight, Lowes, etc. You'll find that by the time you put your hard money, and even more valuable time, into something that in the end won't give you the service(especially the younger guys) you want.

It's no fun going out and having problems.

Any recommendations on certain common models to look for?
I think the M101 is the mil trailer a lot of guys look for right?

 

[Coler2002]

The Morris mule trailers looks like a nice option the trail grade is just under 4k. Check them out

MORRIS MULE TRAILER COMPANY - Home

 

[jayhat]

The Morris mule trailers looks like a nice option the trail grade is just under 4k. Check them out

MORRIS MULE TRAILER COMPANY - Home

I like those a lot. Very simple and seem pretty rugged. I wish there was a dealer closer to me. Thanks!

 

[STX4Runner]

If wheels don't match...it's not an Overlanding trailer...:hatsoff:

So true. Attach the word "overland" to anything and the price shoots up 50%. Just like "wedding."

 

[Jetboy]

I would actually like to find one that I can put toyota hubs on and use my same wheel / tire combo. Not sure how realistic that will be for my first trailer.

It's super easy. 3500lb axles are very common and any axle supply shop will have a 6x5.5 hub set for them. Should cost about $50 for hubs and bearings. Then you'll also want to buy wheel spacers. The studs are not the correct pitch on a std trailer hub. Its easier IMO to use wheel spacers. Just buy some cheap ones. You don't need them to be hubcentric on a trailer. AND - you also need the offset to adjust for OEM wheels having a positive offset. The 1.5ish wheel spacer matched with an OEM toyota wheel will locate the tire about right where it should be.

Good luck!

If you want to come to Utah and get it I'll sell you mine for $1500. For $2000 I'll build a roof rack any height you want and swap to sr5 wheels/tires.

 

[Trixx]

Any recommendations on certain common models to look for?
I think the M101 is the mil trailer a lot of guys look for right?

M1101 are a bit heavy for the 4Runner for sure.

People wanting a good base should really go with an M416 if they plan to build a true "offroad trailer" one that is heavy duty enough to hit some solid trails on.

M416's can often be found for $500-$1000 needing a bit of work. That is my planned route. I'm amazed how expensive some of these basic trailer/tubs are going for.. Basically identical to a rebuilt M416 for $7k plus...

As for the matching wheels/tires, I like the idea for a purely practical sense. If you carry a full sized spare it could be used on either the trailer or the 4runner..

 

[Titanpat57]

Any recommendations on certain common models to look for?
I think the M101 is the mil trailer a lot of guys look for right?

The only reason I'm so hot on the M116A2 is it's a flatbed(most times).....which to me equates to clean slate to start with. The military frames are tough to beat. I ordered a 3" dia. axle that was a direct bolt up.....cut off the the old perches, weld them back on, add some new shocks..and you have a great platform. There's also tons of awesome 101a1 or 101a2 builds on ExPo. I always say don't cut yourself short on some of these military trailers....way over built, fraught with with tons of possibilities.

 

[Titanpat57]

M1101 are a bit heavy for the 4Runner for sure.

People wanting a good base should really go with an M416 if they plan to build a true "offroad trailer" one that is heavy duty enough to hit some solid trails on.

M416's can often be found for $500-$1000 needing a bit of work. That is my planned route. I'm amazed how expensive some of these basic trailer/tubs are going for.. Basically identical to a rebuilt M416 for $7k plus...

As for the matching wheels/tires, I like the idea for a purely practical sense. If you carry a full sized spare it could be used on either the trailer or the 4runner..

Your totally wrong...M416 are to the same price or more then an M101A2 are up to...and besides, why pay more to short yourself on room?