Pritchnakoff's Trailer (re)Build

[Pritchnakoff]

Well after months and months of debating which Mig/Stick/Tig welder was right for a beginner trailer build, I decided my skills; and more importantly my time, were just not up to the task of starting a trailer build from scratch.

Lofty visions were in my head of creating a sweet a$$ trailer like AlexJet (props Alex still one of the best home grown trailers I've ever seen), but in the end I figured a good old utility trailer would suite my needs just fine; so on to the build...

I surfed Craigslist for weeks on end, every night filtering the 'trailer' key word for utility trailers for <$500 and a picture. Finally last Friday (6-Aug) I found what looked to be a good deal. The picture on the ad looked decent enough and the description advised that new wood would be required. They wanted $200 OBO, so I drove out to take a look. Well the owner definitely wasn't kidding; new wood was definitely required and in addition to that the lug nuts on the driver side wheel had completely ripped through the wheel itself and it was just being held on by one "good" lug. The tires were old and cracked, but the fame seemed in decent condition.

After some idle chat, I offered the guy $120 cash on the spot - he gladly accepted and I was the (soon to be proud) new owner of an old trailer.

The Specs
Size: 4x6x2
Hitch: 2" ball type
Axle: 1,000 lb
Hub: 4 @ 4.5" center


Just in time for a new weekend project, I stripped off all the original wood panels, sanded the entire frame down to bare steel, cut all new panels using .75" marine grade plywood (instead of the original .50" standard ply), and put 4 coats of primer on the frame. OK enough typing already, on to the pics...

ORIGINAL STATE

STRIPPED & PRIMED

Up next will be painting out the new panels that were cut and fit into place today, then lights, and a new axle / springs / hubs in order to match the paint, height, and wheels of my rig.

Then I will build two swing out rear doors, a sliding rear cargo floor (like the 5th Gens), a top that opens from one side, and finally fit the entire thing with a Roof Top Tent. It will be a long Fall...

:hungry:

 

[A10MileHusker]

NIIICE!! If you need some help, give me a shout and hopefully I'll have some free time to come help you out! :hungry:

Good luck with the build!

 

[Hyde802]

Looks cool. Interested to see how it comes out

 

[Pritchnakoff]

@ Doug - good to hear from you, we should try to get some wheel time in soon. Trailer is coming along, I'll be sure to give you a shout soon.

@ Hyde - thanks; nothing like watching paint dry :beer:


Well Phase I: Get the trailer back in working condition - COMPLETE. Finally got everything painted up and bolted back to the frame with new hardware. I also got a tounge jack as well. I went with a textured metallic black paint for the exterior frame, "pewter mug" for the exterior sidewalls, and a black suede for the interior. Both int/ext walls I used a heavy matted roller for a rough finish. I think it turned out pretty good thus far:

Tounge Jack

Exterior Walls & Bed

Textured Frame

Ordered up a new axel kit today and will pick-up next week: 3500lb straight axel; 4 leaf springs; and 6 on 5.5 center hubs! Now who's gonna sell me their stock 17" Sport Wheels?!?!?!

Updates to follow as the build continues!
:bigok:

 

[Beach Runner]

Nice work so far! :bravo: I'll be following this one!

 

[Colemanfu]

Looks like a fun project. Good job.

 

[Parrotheadrob]

Looks real nice, doing some nice work.

 

[Pritchnakoff]

Thanks guys for the good words, been fun so far and can't wait to start getting into the real fun stuff - using the damn thing!!!

:bravo:

Headed down to Newport, OR, this weekend with the family so didn't get a lot done, but managed to frame up the lid. Will cut a remaining sheet of marine grade ply and mount to the lid frame, then will find some nice exterior hinges to attach to the trailer. There are a couple Line-X shops around, so once I get everything as I like it, I'll have the entire lid sprayed, that should give it plenty of durability through the weather.

Here's a quick shot of the working frame:

Cheers!

 

[Pritchnakoff]

Hey all,

Been traveling like crazy for work these days; 'tis the season...

Haven't got a lot done, but here are some updates to the lid:

Underside painted with same textured metallic as frame

Top w/Handles and reinforced steel for hinges

Lastly, I finally secured 4 new Sport Edition wheels w/Center Hubs, TPMS, and stock Dunflops that only have 12K miles - only $395 for all 4!!!!

Once I can get the Line-X done to the top and axle assembled with the new wheels, we'll be in business. Hope to get some more work done between upcoming business trips so stay tuned...

:artist2:

 

[A10MileHusker]

Lets see an update with that awesome Rack you got!! :lol:

 

[Pritchnakoff]

5 months later (said in narrator voice from Spongebob)

Well damn it was a long Q4 with lots of business travel, property taxes, holidays & birthdays, cold (for Oregon) winter weather, and now income taxes, but I've finally gotten back to my project; so no more couch surfing; back to the build...

:hiding:

Finally got the roof Line-X covered; they did a great job and am very happy!

Also picked-up a 4th gen OEM rack from A10mileHusker (thanks Doug!!)

It's starting to look like a camp trailer now!
:artist:

 

[Pritchnakoff]

Rear Doors

The last couple of days in excitement of things I hastily threw together some rear doors with some scraps I had left over from sidewalls; note to self, don't do something half ass if you want it to come out! Needless to say I am none to thrilled, but at least now I have good prototype for the non-square measurement of the opening - which should make round two a little easier:

I guess I'll clean up the garage, put the tools away and clean-up; then reset my mind for the doors to be built properly now that the kinks are out.
:bash:

 

[binga]

Looks great! I have been wanting to start a trailer for a good little while now. When my friends and I go wheeling, camping and whatever else one needs to do to kill a weekend I end up being the pack mule. I guess a wrangler cant carry 5 people and their gear quite as well


Hope to see yours getting a workout soon.

 

[Titanpat57]

Looking good!

Are the new Sport wheels hub centric or lug centric?

Build is coming out great.

 

[Pritchnakoff]

Looking good!

Are the new Sport wheels hub centric or lug centric?

Build is coming out great.

They are the same wheels as my current stock wheels which I believe are hub centric; which means I'll probably have to find some Spidertrax spacers to throw on their to make it work; we'll see. I will need to find out if you can order hub-centric hubs for trailer axles?

 

[Pritchnakoff]

Not much happening the last week, but I did find a steal of a deal on eBay for 4 bump LED lights with batteries shipped to my door for $12.98!!!!

:fro:

Not really the ultimate route I wanna take for interior lighting, but hell I couldn't even by the batteries for that at my local super. I made some slight modification to the mounting and threw them up tonight:

It's hard to tell with the bad phone camera and flash, but that was taken in the garage with all lights out so you can see the LED output is pretty darn good for a couple cheap-o Chinese lights.

It has kept me energized at least...

 

[Titanpat57]

They are the same wheels as my current stock wheels which I believe are hub centric; which means I'll probably have to find some Spidertrax spacers to throw on their to make it work; we'll see. I will need to find out if you can order hub-centric hubs for trailer axles?

Not that I know of, but I havn't checked for a couple of years.

Seems to be a consistant issue.

 

[Pritchnakoff]

Alright guys, it's been another two months - damn where does the time go?! Well this was a very productive weekend:

I got my lights wired up and mounted

I finished up a faux spoiler so the roof rack did not look like it was oversized and got the rear caps installed - also picked up 2 more cross bars to help with the weight of the RTT to come

Next up was to install a 5th Gen sliding cargo tray I picked up from Bayou (Thanks Ryan this looks super clean after an easy install)

Lastly, new hardware where it counts! New 3500# axel, 4 leaf springs & hangers and the stock SE wheels (had to go with spidertrax on the trailer as well for the hub centric wheels, but it came out bang on with almost a perfectly level pitch!)

I found a fab shop and got quotes for custom weld on fender/steps, and a spare wheel mount on the tongue, hopefully in the next month or two I will save up some $$ for that, but for now she is ready to use and in fact we took her for a spin to see how it towed this weekend to cheesy RV park on the coast. She pulled nice, easy, and STRAIGHT!

:guitar3: