BLT Offroad Trailer

Post by **HenryJ** » Fri May 01, 2009 7:52 pm

What is the bolt pattern and rear spacing for a Jeep Rubicon wheel?

I am going to check out an offroad trailer next weekend and it is running Jeep wheels. I hope to add adapters and a set of S-10 wheels so that the tires will serve as spares for the truck as well as only needing to carry one spare for both.

I am thinking that I could add wheel adapters. The width may be negligible if our s-series wheels have more rearspacing.
It is currently running 31x10.5 ,so my hope is that 33x9.50 can go on it without too much modification.

If it measures out correctly a RTT will be on its way. I will have some work sealing up the trailer and fabbing a hinge top to mount the tent. Maybe wire in the generator and a battery system? Hitches for bike carriers? Hard to say where it will go. I have lots of ideas.

My thought is a light base camp and toy hauler.

F9K9 · Post by **F9K9** » Fri May 01, 2009 8:40 pm

Rubis are 5x4.5" wheel pattern. Rubi's BS is 5" while most TJ, YJ and XJ's are 5.5" BS but, let me double check.

F9K9 · Post by **F9K9** » Fri May 01, 2009 8:44 pm

That was correct, Brule. I wanted to double check.

I do have four super nice N90s that I purchased as ammunition for my GM Z trim hgt fight with GM customer relations. The dealer placed the blame on my 30/9.50 tires as part of my problem. I wanted stock wheels and tires to be ready for a "show down".

Post by **HenryJ** » Fri May 01, 2009 9:09 pm

I think that adding 4.5 to 4.75 1.25" wheel adapters might just work out. The narrower 9.50 might line up just right.

I might end up with three Jeep wheels. He thought they were the same as his Rubicon wheels, but now that I think about it , I am sure he mentioned white spokes?
Those are usually the generic 3.75" rear spacing. That would really mess up the swap. The adapters would need to be thicker. I didn't see any 2" adapters. I didn't look very hard though. Might have to check out a hub swap or drilling the 4.75 pattern in these hubs.

There you sit with a spare set of N90s and I might be sitting with a three legged Jeep set. White spokes carry about the same price tag around here. All you can carry for $5

Probably all for naught as I haven't even seen this trailer yet.

F9K9 · Post by **F9K9** » Fri May 01, 2009 9:32 pm

HenryJ wrote:.................There you sit with a spare set of N90s and I might be sitting with a three legged Jeep set. White spokes carry about the same price tag around here. All you can carry for $5 ..............

Awwwwww.....you have to admit that it has been an adventure. Many have lived much more boring lives.

F9K9 · Post by **F9K9** » Fri May 01, 2009 9:42 pm

HenryJ wrote:...........I might end up with three Jeep wheels. He thought they were the same as his Rubicon wheels, but now that I think about it , I am sure he mentioned white spokes?...........

"MOAB" wheels are all that came on Rubis. '03-'06 were 16". I have to guess that the '07-'09s are 17" but, the same style aluminum wheels but are 5x5.5" bolt pattern.

Post by **HenryJ** » Sat May 02, 2009 5:52 am

Those are what he has on his YJ, or TJ (I can never remember all the J stuff). He kept them off his old Rubi. Not a bad looking wheel. I was half hoping that is what he has on there, but pretty sure they are just the steel white "Mojocks" or spoke wheels we always made fun of.

You never know I might be able to swap them at my favorite salvage yard.

If I redrill the bolt pattern , I would probably need wheels with lots less rearspacing. I don't remember what the 2wd s-series wheels had. It might be really close to the white spokes. I might be able to use them as spares on the truck by removing my spacers, but I don't think the spare from the truck would fit as a spare for it.
The wheel adapters and sticking with 4x4 rear spaced wheels probably makes the most sense.

Post by **HenryJ** » Sat May 09, 2009 8:05 pm

Brought it home tonight.
A perfect paint match for your Rubicon Reed.

Not as heavy built as I might have liked but a good start. Longer than I need but the width is not a bad match. Breakover looks good and declination is as good as the truck. The fenders are just too close to the tires and small to add larger tires so the 31x 10.5 tires will stay for now.
Are there any Jeep wheels that make a better match to the ZR5 wheels?

Off to order a tent

F9K9 · Post by **F9K9** » Sat May 09, 2009 8:57 pm

Brule, as mentioned earlier most stock heep wheels are 5.5" BSed. I can post in a few forums if, you'd like. Never mind, I'll toss it out to them anyway.

You are looking for something cheap to match the 5x4.75 pattern?

Post by **HenryJ** » Sat May 09, 2009 8:59 pm

Change of direction. I will be keeping the 4.5" pattern Jeep wheels. Is there a Jeep wheel that looks similar to a ZR5 wheel?
I'd like to ditch the cheap looking white spoke steels for something nicer looking.

F9K9 · Post by **F9K9** » Sat May 09, 2009 9:17 pm

HenryJ wrote:Change of direction. I will be keeping the 4.5" pattern Jeep wheels. Is there a Jeep wheel that looks similar to a ZR5 wheel?
I'd like to ditch the cheap looking white spoke steels for something nicer looking.

Nothing similar, Brule. I just hit submit on my question at ROF. You might get some ideas from them. Heck, just sign up there. Some pretty smart members there and they accept non Rubicon owners all the time.

F9K9 · Post by **F9K9** » Sat May 09, 2009 9:20 pm

HenryJ wrote:Change of direction. I will be keeping the 4.5"..........

Gosh, you are right on that bs. maybe I was thinking newer heeps. Sorry.

Post by **HenryJ** » Sun May 10, 2009 5:57 am

I think I am trying to confuse you. The 4.5" bolt circle. Rear spacing should not be an issue as the fenders are wide and really nothing to interfere either way.

Some five spoke aluminum wheels is what I am thinking. Guess I need to wander the salvage yard.

F9K9 · Post by **F9K9** » Sun May 10, 2009 7:27 am

I stay confused so, no problem.

I do have an excuse this time though. I just completed a nightmare mod on the heep. It's basically an armor install that raised the transfer case 2.5" for better break over clearance. That ended up with the usual headaches of changing pinion angles that required changing control arm lengths that required semi custom drive shafts that required........well, you get the picture, I hope.

The kicker was last night. The skid I purchased was allegedly one of the best. Very beefy 1/4" steel and a well thought out design. Just one minor problem. They have made numerous modifications to them over the years, as well of changing part numbers. They just forgot to change the pdf downloads of the instructions. Many setbacks and I finished up the evening AFTER the year's largest local trail ride. Hosted by a VFD, btw.

Here's the thirteen pages or incorrect instructions

They recommended applying applying anti seize to all countersunk bolts and I was liberal with it.

I took the rig to the car wash upon completion to clean it up and check for the dreaded drive line vibes. No vibes but, I encountered another problem. I expected the skids to suffer much surface damage to the powder coating but, I expected $900 skids to hold up to a car wash.

I choose the skids because they came "finished". Another alleged best skid came in bare metal for much less money but, the weather would have delayed the project from getting done before the trail ride, that I missed anyway.

It appears that the ducks have reappeared and are doing their best imitation of lemmings.

Post by **HenryJ** » Sun May 10, 2009 11:37 am

Looks like they didn't blast the shields before coating. That really needs to be done to get good adhesion.

F9K9 · Post by **F9K9** » Sun May 10, 2009 1:32 pm

I know and I will ask David at Northridge.com tomorrow on how he thinks it should be addressed. He did recommend them to me and when I became more confused than normal, I called David and he caught the confusion and called the manufacturer. The manufacturer acknowledged the outdated instructions. I guess David lined them out and I received a call from their design engineer. He walked me through the differences and all was dandy. The problem is that the other two skids (auto tranny and oil pan) share the same problems.

I know and I apologize.

Besides teaching me how to fish, you have taught me that a product is only as strong as it's weakest link. I think the instructions and finish are a toss up on which is it's weakest link.

I heard from a gal that wrenches on her own heep and her long arm lift install directions were outdated, as well. If, I had a melt down on the TC skid (part of the LA lift) I cannot fathom a LA install with bad directions.

Good thing I am not wealthy and decided to do a conversion like this at $8,995 for a kit from the same manufacturer.

F9K9 · Post by **F9K9** » Sun May 10, 2009 2:01 pm

The heepers are still thinking.

Post by **HenryJ** » Sat May 16, 2009 4:12 pm

For quite some time now I have been researching the best way to expand the gear and accommodations for the growing family. I have been watching camp trailers and different methods. I need the room added by a topper to carry gear enough for all of us. This does mean that we pack it all up each morning and carry it all with us when we explore. Not a bad way to go , but I have been watching for better solutions. I would really like to haul some bikes with us and lighten the load on the truck.

I think a good base camp for exploring is what we want. I do not want to be limited on where I can drag it though.

A Roof Top Tent has the attraction of a quick easy set up with out having ground preparations. This also gets us up off the ground away from the rock you missed under the tent and the creepy crawlies visiting during the night. I considered adding one to the back of my truck , but the length is an issue as well as the added weight.

As I posted above, last week I mentioned to a friend that I had been looking for a trailer and he suggested I come up and check out his old "Jeep" trailer. It was built for a person who hauled a Tee Pee. It has some racks on the sides for poles, that may need to be removed eventually. After some consideration I decided it was a good start and I could eventually take it where I wanted to to go. The investment would not be a loss. The thing that got me was that it was painted just slightly darker than my truck. Other than that a pretty good match. I bought it and towed it home.

The bed is made from heavy gauge steel. It looks to be 10 ga, or 1/8". The axle is sprung over and the hitch is set high for a good breakover. There is a nice big box on the front. It is shod with 31x10.5-15 rubber to give it pretty good ground clearance.

There are some things I don't like, but those can be corrected eventually.

It is a little longer than I would have liked. The bed is 7' long. A foot shorter would have been more to my liking. The tongue/drawbar is integrated into the front and the heavy gauge steel of the bed is the rear structure. This does save weight and increases clearance, but I may need to add a rear half frame eventually.

For now I am concentrating getting it functional. First I wired it for my truck and found a hitch to get up up high enough to sit right. Then off to email Fernando and get a tent coming. I ordered the big one from Campinglab.com A pretty good chunk of change for a tent, but I have seen these first hand and they are much more. It arrives day after tomorrow.
I have been working on it pretty steady. The tailgate chains had to go. I installed a buckle latch for the closure and hinged straps to hold it while it is down. The old hook and chain holes are now for padlocks.
The front jack was too low so I added a removable wheel. Now it raises high enough for raising off the hitch and I can roll it around. A grab handle was added to the top of the hitch to help when rolling it around.

Next some conversation with my welder guru and I decided upon a lid made of .100 aluminum. He will form and weld the lid for me as I do not have a brake big enough or a welder set up for aluminum. The lid will be hinged to one side and be 3" thick formed with lips for placing a seal around the top of the trailer. The seal for the lid was ordered from McMaster-Carr and arrived a couple days ago.
I picked up some gas struts and hardware from the salvage yard. These will hold the lid open and allow it to close gently.
I have scoped out some latches at the hardware store that I think will work. I am going to wait for the lid before buying those.

Last night I put together a 2" rear receiver that incorporates twin Highlift jacks to act as stabilizers. That really turned out great. Pull a pin and slide a collar and they are off to be used for other things. They work great for leveling the trailer and really provide a stable platform.
I took most of the day cleaning and re=painting the pair of old High-lifts. They look presentable now. I didn't have handle keepers, so I ordered them this evening.

The receiver can be used as a rear recovery point, or as a way to haul the Yamaha TW200. The hitch carrier does limit the declination angle, but once unloaded the carrier can be moved forward to a vertically mounted receiver on the front of the trailer for transport.

Today I bought a horse trailer mat. It is a heavy rubber mat for the bottom. 4'x7' fit perfectly. A nice tight fit. I like it.

Link to Picasa album (The cat seems to think it needs to watch everything. It's not dead. And that is not the real license plate for it.)

Once the lid is done and the RTT arrives things will start really taking shape.

I really am looking forward to having everything packed and ready to go on a moments notice. This really does expand the room we had and should make a good addition.

F9K9 · Post by **F9K9** » Sat May 16, 2009 8:25 pm

I think that I actually saw this one coming.

Do you think that the finished project would be suitable for the WRT? Thanks for sharing.

Post by **HenryJ** » Sat May 16, 2009 8:41 pm

Did you figure it out in Moab? I had been looking into a RTT since before then.
I think it would handle more than the WRT had to offer. A little tough on Hardscrabble probably. It might make it down Lathrop canyon, but it would be a tough pull. No way it would make Fins-n-Things and I have doubts it would make that side trip we took out of Arches.

Hope you get a chance to see it in 2010. There is a big Balloon launch scheduled for Moab April 2010. I am checking to see where. Right now I am thinking Valley of Goblins would be the place to see.

F9K9 · Post by **F9K9** » Sat May 16, 2009 9:47 pm

HenryJ wrote:Did you figure it out in Moab? ..............

Moab merely reinforced my thinking on your direction and that is scary enough to contemplate. You have been on this path for several years.

I am definitely in for '10. I would go this year but, the boss and I settled on the beach for this yr to offset last yrs Moab.

Things have changed though. Suddenly a pool is more important!

My schedule is clear

Post by **HenryJ** » Sun May 17, 2009 5:36 am

A pool?!? Does that mean she gets a pool boy too? Those things are pretty time consuming. Worse than a pet in the care required.

I would have liked a big offroad expedition this year, but it is "her" turn, much the same as yours.

What do you think about a spring trip to Moab next year? Might be fun to see how it looks in full bloom rather than after the summer?

rlrnr53 · Post by **rlrnr53** » Sun May 17, 2009 11:40 am

Hope you post some pictures of the tent. I'm curious to see just how it works out.

Post by **HenryJ** » Sun May 17, 2009 12:31 pm

Oh, I will. After the lid and tent are on I want to get some loaded pictures.

The tent opens to the size of a long king size bed. About a foot longer than a king size bed. I have seen the smaller ones up close. Nathan and his family came through town and showed me theirs. Jack had one in Moab too. Those work well for two, or two and a small one that can sleep cross the head of the bed.
The tent we ordered shows three adults and a child. I hope that the three of us will work out OK. Maybe room for a dog at the foot of the bed too?

Kind of hard to call something over 200# a tent. I think of things like the canvas Yurt from another thread. I am more accustomed to the lighter weight tents that I have owned in recent history. It has been probably twenty years or more since I have had a heavy canvas tent. I don't recall if it had a rain fly? I am anxious to see just what all shows up. Hopefully tomorrow.

F9K9 · Post by **F9K9** » Sun May 17, 2009 12:45 pm

HenryJ wrote:A pool?!? Does that mean she gets a pool boy too? Those things are pretty time consuming. Worse than a pet in the care required.

No pool boy but, I know exactly what you are saying about maintenance. There's no talking her out of it but, there is the understanding that I am not lifting a hand concerning it or using it.

HenryJ wrote:What do you think about a spring trip to Moab next year? Might be fun to see how it looks in full bloom rather than after the summer?

That would be fine but, don't plan it a week before or after Easter. That's the major holiday for heepdom. It's the EJS (Easter Jeep Safari) and most hardcore heepers and vendors attend. Would love to go one year but, I could never afford a tow rig and trailer and superman couldn't drive a lifted heep the distance that I would need to travel.

This was just a small volunteer FD fund raiser. People came from surrounding states. 84 rigs showed up on a day that had a 90% chance of rain. Sunny in the photos but, it did rain (often and hard) later.

We'd never find a room within that time slot but, yeppers, I am open for a Spring meet.

Post by **HenryJ** » Sun May 17, 2009 1:03 pm

Oh, I bet we could find a room. I am not sure we will rely on the motels quite as much this time. Before and after for sure, but a little more laid back and work from a base camp maybe. Less time packing to move and more time exploring or kicking back.
I could see dropping in on EJS and then bugging out to a base camp. I don't mind watching "the jeep thing", even though I may not "understand"

I have a Jeeper friend from here that says he will be coming. He is determined to show you that you can travel and live out of a Jeep.

Don't ever try to tell a die-hard Jeep guy that there are more comfortable ways to travel

jedthrocornpone · Post by **jedthrocornpone** » Sun May 17, 2009 4:46 pm

when we did Moab in 02 we went the week before EJS leaving town on sunday midday ( late enought to stroll the manufacturers midway ) and it wasn't bad the farther we got into the week the crazier the town got so we were more than happy to hit the trail for home.

We pobibly got hosed a bit on our hotel rooms but it was worth it as I've been skeaming my way back ever since and this August I'm going hopefully I'll be in a better place in 2010 and will be able to do the trip again (with time to play)

jedthrocornpone · Post by **jedthrocornpone** » Sun May 17, 2009 5:06 pm

ok so it seems everytime I look at the tents I find a BIG one with a diffrent price I got one for 900, on for 1100 and one for 2100 as well as a trailer w/ tent for 3000.

I fall asleep and dream about biulding a Expo-trailer My dream would be a king sized @ cab hight with the bonus room behind the truck on the ground.

Post by **HenryJ** » Sun May 17, 2009 5:38 pm

An offroad trailer with tent for $3000 is a good buy. I hope to be just under that when I am all done.

I drool over all the "Aussie stuff". Theirs is a different world. We have paved the roads to everywhere here. There is just not as much demand for an offroad "expedition style" trailer here.

For what I wanted the price range really got up there. The Overland Adventure trailersare very nice, but over $10k for one is just not in my budget.

F9K9 · Post by **F9K9** » Sun May 17, 2009 5:46 pm

You both are missing a subtle point on why I do not want to be there during EJS.

Hello, my name is Reed and I became a heepaholic!

Brule, I have a friend on ROF.com who is running an "LJ". That is basically the long wheel base Wrangler. He is older than, us two put together but, he does expedition type wheeling with his wife. His rig reminds me of the buses, in Vietnam! They had all kinds of crap strapped on top. I mean we are talking chicken cages, goat cages, and whatever else.

You asked what kind of heep he had and I asked if, it had leaf springs or coils. You advised that it was leafs. If, he would run WRT with us, then he would either be without tools, spares and we would definitely need to stay upwind.

No disrespect but, he can out wheel us in the S-10s but, he ain't gonna be happy after 3 days on a trail.

Bottom line is that if, I get near EJS, I wanna have my Rubi.

Post by **HenryJ** » Sun May 17, 2009 5:57 pm

f9k9 wrote:Hello, my name is Reed and I became a heepaholic! ... he can out wheel us in the S-10s but, he ain't gonna be happy after 3 days on a trail.

H E L L O Reed.

I believe you, but I am betting he is just stubborn enough to never admit it

I started a Moab 2010 thread so we don't stray too far off and can still find our trip information.

F9K9 · Post by **F9K9** » Sun May 17, 2009 6:14 pm

Will bounce over there then and I apologize.

Post by **HenryJ** » Sun May 17, 2009 6:44 pm

f9k9 wrote:I apologize.

None needed.

Post by **HenryJ** » Wed May 20, 2009 7:17 pm

Yesterday I attached rails , a hinge, mounted the lid to the trailer and then the tent on top of it. Today I mounted the gas charged lift struts, applied the lid seal and attached the ladder.

Boy there is lots of room in that coffin. It could easily sleep two. With a tightly sealed lid, it would be a long nap.
I now wait for my lid latches to arrive.

Reed, your bed rails are still with me and serving me in yet another way I would never have guessed. They make a great handle for the lid.

F9K9 · Post by **F9K9** » Wed May 20, 2009 8:20 pm

HenryJ wrote:......Reed, your bed rails are still with me and serving me in yet another way I would never have guessed. They make a great handle for the lid.

Glad to see that they live on!

Post by **HenryJ** » Fri May 22, 2009 8:05 pm

Installed the lock for the lid today. The latches arrived and were installed yesterday. I still need to urethane the corners of the lid seal, but I have been waiting a little for it to seat before I do that.
I placed an inquiry about a roll hitch. Not sure if that will happen just yet. If it does, I will install it. If not we will use it "as-is" for now. I loaded all our gear this evening. it is ready for some testing soon.
We will not have a chance to try it out over the long weekend as we have previous engagements.

Post by **HenryJ** » Fri May 29, 2009 9:54 pm

My inquiries about a Max coupler were a bust. I am just not willing to pay $200 and he would not come down $20. A long day today, but now I have a nice offroad coupler. Custom built myself. I feel much better and it pulls great. It is adjustable for an additional 10" of tongue length if I want it.

Hopefully tomorrow I will finally urethane the seal corners and remount the front handle.

Still waiting on 4wheel parts to get my jack handle keepers in.

Progress.

F9K9 · Post by **F9K9** » Sat May 30, 2009 12:48 am

I can't wait to see the set up.

Are you waiting on the Daystar jack handle keeper/isolators? 4wheel parts is not known for their swiftness but, I am sure that you have a good rapport with them.

Post by **HenryJ** » Sat May 30, 2009 5:27 am

f9k9 wrote:Are you waiting on the Daystar jack handle keeper/isolators? 4wheel parts is not known for their swiftness but, I am sure that you have a good rapport with them.

I ordered Energy Suspension products version of the handle keepers. Thought they were worth a try , and I wanted something less obvious. These are black to blend better. Not a real fan of 4WP. You are right in that they are slooow. Fortunately I am not in a big hurry. I had them shipped to the local store to save shipping costs. Not a good idea as it added a week to the process.

Post by **HenryJ** » Sat May 30, 2009 5:53 pm

The ES handle keepers arrive middle of last week. I called today to see where they were. Guess they forgot to call me

So I made a dash to pick them up. I made time to urethane the seal corners and other than a couple more water containers, I think it is ready for use.

Here are some pictures of the coupler:

It can rotate on three axis. Vertically it will move just over 180°, horizontally 360° and rotate 270°. The drawbar can be pulled out and pinned for 10 inches of extended length if needed. Bushed with polyurethane and using a teflon disk it is smooth and secure. Rattle free towing thus far. Much better than the ball it had.

Here is one of a latch and the lock:

With the TW loaded and the trailers tanks dry there is barely any tongue weight. It pulls Ok, but I think it would be better with wet tanks.

I do not yet have a picture of the tent deployed. Young son has picked up something and is not feeling well this weekend, so that will have to wait. Hopefully I will get a chance to weigh it this weekend. I am curious as to what it ended up at.

I am sure there will be refinements, but for now it is ready for action.

F9K9 · Post by **F9K9** » Sat May 30, 2009 6:02 pm

Totally high in the "cool" ratings"!

Post by **HenryJ** » Sat May 30, 2009 9:12 pm

Couldn't resist, so I set it up:

Weighed it too. Dry weight 1500#

fallvitals · Post by **fallvitals** » Sat May 30, 2009 10:40 pm

I didn't follow this thread much, but thats badass. Love the tent!

So, I know your sleeping in it tonight like a boy scout, let us know how it is in the morning

F9K9 · Post by **F9K9** » Sat May 30, 2009 11:14 pm

HenryJ wrote:Couldn't resist, so I set it up:.................

I need to buy a lottery ticket. I actually knew that was coming this weekend. Looks sweet!

Post by **HenryJ** » Sun May 31, 2009 6:33 am

fallvitals wrote:I know your sleeping in it tonight like a boy scout, let us know how it is in the morning

Thought about it

Nope it is all packed up and back under cover. Still waiting on that maiden voyage.

fallvitals · Post by **fallvitals** » Sun May 31, 2009 10:19 am

So what are the plans for its maiden voyage?

I really hope you have some kinda mini blow up matress thing in there too. Or sleeping bag pad i think they are called? Makes a heck of differance when your in a tent in the woods. When your doing REAL camping not parking lot camping at the RV camp ground

rlrnr53 · Post by **rlrnr53** » Sun May 31, 2009 10:23 am

Looks good. Let us know how it sleeps when you get a chance, how stable, etc.

border man · Post by **border man** » Sun May 31, 2009 4:37 pm

I couldn't tell from the little picks, but what provides support for the cantilever floor?

Post by **HenryJ** » Sun May 31, 2009 4:49 pm

border man wrote:...what provides support for the cantilever floor?

Are you talking about the floor of the tent that extends out over the side when deployed? I think so

That side is self supporting. The hinge of the tent opens on itself as a part, the ladder offers a little more but the biggest part is the upper structure. It is built like a suspension bridge Three aluminum bows attach to a bracket at the pivot point. Two straps are attached over these bows and have loops to secure them to each bow and back down to the floor. Right now it is new and the floor does not open fully flat so the hinge is not really holding it up at all. It may stretch out eventually

My wife asked about that too

I assured her that it was fine. As long as the lid is latched it should not tip over. Even then the weight would have to be all on that side and the ladder out of the equation. They are really designed to be used on a roof rack , not a hinged lid, but it has been done before and seems to work pretty well. I am sure if something can go wrong, I will find it. Like it or not.

Post by **HenryJ** » Mon Jun 22, 2009 6:07 pm

Good and bad from the shake down run.

We headed out to Twin Springs Creek. The weather was cool and cloudy. Sprinkling rain we still decided to give it a shot.
A brief tour of the Owyhee Dam museum and we were off late in the day. 5:00 pm before we left the pavement for roads unknown.

The climb up was not too bad. Pretty rough from all the rain the area has been getting. Every wash and rut had been cut deep.

The offroad hitch works great. I scrubbed the rear tank shield and hitch pretty hard on that crossing.

Up on top the left front spring mount broke loose. Those mounted Highlifts really came in handy. We jacked it up, pried it forward ,used tie downs and a ratchet strap to pull the axle forward into place.

That got us further. Rain and dark setting in we decided to make camp near an old windmill damaged and abandoned , with a dry stock water tank made from a large equipment tire. This is Cleaver's as I was later told. They now fill it using a gas powered pump. No cattle out here until much later in the year.

The night was good. Dogs and chili for dinner. Cold drinks, and hot chocolate. A nice campfire that held all night. The rain let up just in time for dinner prep.
The RTT works great.

Hazel nut chocolate creme crepes with homemade strawberry syrup. Ziploc baggie omelets, hash brown and patty sausages for breakfast. About four miles short of our goal we decided that it was best to head back the way we came.
Morning brought clear skies and warmer weather. Roads drying.

On the way out we got a little winching practice. A large boulder in the middle of the road.
The line is synthetic so the spectators were allowed to be closer than otherwise would have been safe.

We set up two pulls using two straps and a snatch block.

Resetting the straps several times, We moved it to a position where two of us were able to tip it off the road down hill.

Not far after this the right front spring hanger also broke. One ratchet strap and one tie down left we did the same trail fix to the other side.
That was enough to get us home.

The Good: The trailer is a nice size. RTT rocks! I like it. Hitch works without a "hitch". Highlift jacks mounted like that are REALLY good both as stabilizers and for lifting a wheel. We took a fairly technical trail , fairly close to home base and within range of help if needed.

The Bad: I knew the lack of frame might be an issue. It was! Boy it was! I probably should have inspected it closer as it looked to have been cracked around the mounts before we got it. I am currently considering the direction that I want to go to fix this right.
The jacks were handy, but they get too easily coated with mud and effectively disabled. I really need to add a boot to protect them. The right side faces rear and was not as bad when covered with mud, but the left side was a real pain.

Over all it was a good learning experience. I have plans for some reorganization in the trailer. I will not leave home with out my good heavy ratchet straps again. Now I need to make time to tear the trailer down and revise the suspension mounting system.

F9K9 · Post by **F9K9** » Mon Jun 22, 2009 10:24 pm

Awesome write up and photos on the outing.! Thanks for sharing, Brule. I am getting envious of the trailer and the thumper.

I parted with one in the 80s but, I may have to reexamine that mode of transportation again. Nah, who am I kidding? My plate is full.

Post by **HenryJ** » Fri Jul 03, 2009 6:49 am

I installed a skeletal frame on the interior of the trailer. Crossmembers and mounts are bolted in place with grade 8 half inch bolts now. The front mounts are welded to a crossmember as well as being bolted.
I reinforced the spare tire mount with a couple upper straps.
I found out the spare was mounted with a different size lug nut. That would have been an unpleasant surprise with one size lug wrench in the front box

, so I changed out all to match.

We use the Coleman Extreme cooler. They hold ice a very long time. Now that I am packing two coolers I had a very good comparison with our old cooler. After five days I still had good ice in the Extreme and luke warm water in the old cooler. I added another Extreme cooler to our trailer and the old cooler is back in the garage.

It should be ready for another test soon. We are going to wait until after the "holiday crazies" are headed home. Boating season is upon us too. We will be rationing time between the two I guess.

Post by **HenryJ** » Sun Jul 05, 2009 4:54 pm

Ordered a pair of neoprene jack covers for the trailer today. http://www.sierraexpeditions.com/ had the best price.
They are good people from what I can tell. They are members on Expedition Portal and have some reasonable prices. The service is outstanding. I have made several purchases from them. IIRC , my synthetic winchline was purchased from them too.

The jack covers should solve the whole "mud in the works" problems I had with the jacks. After the axle mount problems, I will not be adding mud flaps. I like how the wheel fit the fender and did not damage when things went bad. The fender rubbed and acted like a brake. Adding screws to attach mud flaps would change that. not what I want to do.

fallvitals · Post by **fallvitals** » Sun Jul 05, 2009 7:01 pm

Apperantly I missed your shake down run post. Looks like a good time was had.

Glad you got the frame issue fixed, can't wait to hear about your next run.

Post by **HenryJ** » Sun Jul 05, 2009 7:34 pm

I know I sneared at the suggestion I would try it in the driveway, but we camped out in the driveway last night.
A late night of fireworks and mother nature showing off with her own show, we slept outside last night.

The maiden voyage was "out there". Last night was just for fun...and it was!

I keep tweaking the little stuff. The boots should solve the muddy jack thing. Now I have a few ideas to improve the awning situation. It is fun to see lots of tent trailers traveling. None quite like this around here though. Hopefully we will drag it out into the hills again soon. As hot as it has been I think we will wander north into the trees next.

fallvitals · Post by **fallvitals** » Sun Jul 05, 2009 7:56 pm

lol, well atleast the maiden voayge was "out there". Then the drive way is fine, lol.

Nothing wrong with it, fine times, great memories!

The boots sounds like a great fix. I was thinking of something like that when I was reading about your first trip. I don't think I have ever seen a tent trailer around my way?

Post by **HenryJ** » Mon Sep 07, 2009 7:19 pm

450 miles on it this time with no problems.

Not really rough roads this time, but quite a few miles. We went canoeing on Wallowa lake and then camping on hurricane creek.

One long hard pull in 90+ degree weather had me pushing 220 degrees engine temperature. Once I backed off it cooled right down. Overall it was not bad. I have not checked mileage yet, but it looks to have been acceptable.
We forgot several items. Those were stocked up this evening. Getting closer to having it all figured out.

F9K9 · Post by **F9K9** » Mon Sep 07, 2009 8:00 pm

Glad that the fine tuning is working out on the trailer. Looks like Tach enjoyed himself and he has certainly grown in 11 months.

Anything had to be better than my holiday weekend!

I merely spent 3 days trying to remove 8 duck designed torx bolts!

f9k9 wrote:A solid 8 hrs today for 3 stinkin' bolts. A trip to Sears, no T40 in stock, a trip to Auto Zone, 2 trips to NAPA, 2 broken drill bits, another T40 destroyed and the Craftsman broken T40 tip is still in the bolt! It never did release it's death grip on the bolt. I used Dave S.'s hammer and punch on that one. I owe you big time Dave! Tstorms keep popping up here or else I'd finish the Savvy aluminum corners this evening.

Oh yeah, no loctite were on the bolts but, you can bet that I will hit Fastenal in the AM for stainless allen head bolts and I will be cleaning up excess anti-seize for weeks. :

border man · Post by **border man** » Tue Sep 08, 2009 3:44 am

The craftsman torx bits SUCK!!! I've gone through three T-27 bits changing things out on my Harley. Sears never has them in stock and always has to order me a replacement.

Post by **HenryJ** » Sat Sep 12, 2009 4:50 pm

HenryJ wrote:450 miles on it this time with no problems.

Mileage averaged 15.2 mpg
Not too bad considering. I can live with it.

fallvitals · Post by **fallvitals** » Sat Sep 12, 2009 5:25 pm

lol, Reed. I finally get internet in my new house, and you till have all those ducks! Maybe even more!

I think id give up working on vehicles and take up crocheting if I was you

Post by **HenryJ** » Fri Oct 16, 2009 5:49 pm

The trailer got matching wheels today. 2" thick 4.5" to 4.75" wheel adapters made that possible. The Adventure caps finally all showed up, so everything has matching caps and wheels now.
I added 6 oz. of Airsoft pellets to each tire as balancing media. It pulls smooth

I also added a pair of Lev-o-gauges. That will be nice for set up.
Now I wait for the new BLT Offroad decals to arrive and I'll wash the mud off for some photos.

F9K9 · Post by **F9K9** » Fri Oct 16, 2009 7:15 pm

Looking forward to seeing the photos.

Post by **HenryJ** » Sat Oct 31, 2009 1:18 pm

Finally had a minute to empty the water tanks for winter and take a picture of the new decals.

The two small ones on the box are brushed aluminum. They turned out pretty good. The Lev-o-gauge is also visible on the front. In the side shot above the shovel you can see the other one for leveling fore and aft.
If you look you can barely see the LED light bar under the tailgate on the back. That turned out really nice.

Matching wheels and hub caps now too. 2" AIM wheel adapters on all three including the spare.

Next up will be adding a battery and charging system for the refrigerator. I found a decent buy on a fridge, so that was sort of an unexpected addition this early.

Looking more and more like it belongs.

14x4 · Post by **14x4** » Sat Oct 31, 2009 1:21 pm

Very cool.

F9K9 · Post by **F9K9** » Sat Oct 31, 2009 2:27 pm

Drooling!

border man · Post by **border man** » Sat Oct 31, 2009 4:25 pm

Those tires look a little tight in them fender wells. Will the trailer axle articulate any??

Post by **HenryJ** » Sat Oct 31, 2009 4:33 pm

border man wrote:Those tires look a little tight in them fender wells. Will the trailer axle articulate any??

Quite a bit, but trailers articulate at the hitch not the suspension.
The load and road determine how much the springs will flex. They have about 2" at the front and 3-4" at the back. As the weight is added the axle moves back since that is where the shackle is. I feel comfortable with lees space at the front since the rotation of the tire will not hook the fender. At the back extra room is needed as that is where the mud hangs.
I don't have room for tire chains, but I don't plan to need them.
Right now the trailer is pretty light. No bike, water ice, food etc. It will look slightly better centered with the load on. Still a little forward though.

Post by **HenryJ** » Tue Jan 19, 2010 5:55 am

I have heard good things about the Sears Diehard Platinum battery (rebadged Odyssey) Group 78 dual post. So this will go into the truck as my primary and the Deka Intimidaor will get moved to the trailer.
I ordered a nice big battery box that has a spacer for the 78 battery. That will leave room for power ports, switches and fuses. The power ports will offer a place to attach a solar panel if one is in my future.
This battery will power the Edgestar 43qt refrigerator and a LED light strip in the RTT.
For now charging will be through a cable plugged into the trucks rear power quick connector. This same connector plugs into the winch, booster cables and the generator. Lots of ways to connect different combinations. The parallel connection to the vehicle battery should offer a boost if needed. Both batteries, although not the same brand, are very similar. Both AGM group 78 compact plate design batteries. Hopefully they will play well together and charge up while traveling.
The manual quick connector is part of the KISS. Easy to connect and disconnect. The parts all interchange and can be swapped in a pinch. I don't think I would have problems if I forget to disconnect, unless is sits for a very long time. A good battery can run the fridge for three days on its own.

The power system is complete. Lighting done.

The led light strip attaches with zip-ties to the top bow. The little black box on the right is the switch to shut them off at night. I stitched the power cord to the flap around the outside of the tent. The connector plugs in to the top of the power box.

This port has a switch on the box to turn it off too. That way we can switch the lights on from outside before we crawl in for the night.

I struggled with what to do for a weather tight access port for the fridge cord. It took my nine year old son a little while to get his idea through to me, but he was right on the money. A simple outlet cover.

The cover can be pinned closed. I filed a notch at the bottom for the 12 volt power cord to fit. It should work great. Listen to those little helpers. I was trying to make things way too complicated.

The mounting strap for the power box was installed and the two supports for the shelf bolted in place. Next I decided it needed a cover , so I made one from some marine vinyl.

I installed a couple grommets and put the power studs through it. This bolts the cover to the box and allows me an easy way to attach a charger.

All ready for a test run!

border man · Post by **border man** » Tue Jan 19, 2010 5:00 pm

"The power ports will offer a place to attach a solar panel if one is in my future."

I come across solar panels all the time. I just busted one up last week. I found it along with 4 scouts on the top of a hill in our patrol area. I was on a dirtbike, so I had no way to carry it out and ended up smashing it with some big rocks. I have two others sitting in my shed.

Post by **HenryJ** » Tue Jan 19, 2010 6:12 pm

border man wrote:I come across solar panels all the time...I have two others sitting in my shed.

Keep me in mind if you come across some extras you can part with. I have several projects that I would like to set up. The trailer comes first. I need to get in the 60w-100w range to maintain it with the sun available here.

rlrnr53 · Post by **rlrnr53** » Wed Jan 20, 2010 2:29 pm

Brule, I had a slide in camper on a K1500 a few years ago that had its own batter, and I can tell you from experience that a 12 volt refigerator can and will run both batteries down. I found out the hard way when I started to work one morning and both batteries were dead. after that, I installed a battery isolator, but that was about 20 odd years ago. You may have a solution that I wasn't aware of back then.

Post by **HenryJ** » Wed Jan 20, 2010 2:41 pm

Thanks for the heads up. My isolator is mechanical right now. I pull the plug when I park. I run my winch on this line, so I would probably add an isolator to the trailer eventually. Not top of the critical list just yet. I will know more after the Moab trip for sure.

I would dearly love to have a solar panel to try for that too, but right now the rear axle repairs take priority.

Post by **HenryJ** » Sun Jan 31, 2010 10:38 am

I finally had time to build a "stow" for my chock blocks. I found that not only were they taking up space in the box, but they were not getting deployed. Out of sight out of mind , I guess.

This will make them easy to deploy and a good reminder that they need to be placed. Opening the lid lifts the angle that retains them. Pretty simple.

F9K9 · Post by **F9K9** » Tue Feb 02, 2010 7:17 pm

I definitely need approx 4 hours or uninterrupted "brew drinking time" with you this trip. I think we both have some serious "issues" that we need to discuss.

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