Tx_Shooter's Utility Camping trailer

tx_shooter

You ever try to roughie a bear?
Staff member
Figured I would put together a single thread to document progress and ideas. The end goal is a usable utility trailer that can haul two or three motorcycles and the RTT on top of the rack as needed. But I also want to be able to pull the motorcycle wheel chocks and still be able to use 10' of the 12' deck.
 
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tx_shooter

You ever try to roughie a bear?
Staff member
First changes - going from leafs under axle to leafs over axle and adding the ride control devices.

Deck height - before 19.5" after 24"

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tx_shooter

You ever try to roughie a bear?
Staff member
Liking this idea for onboard trailer storage for cargo straps and connection points.

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Simple low tech method to raise the RTT while on the rack.

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tx_shooter

You ever try to roughie a bear?
Staff member
Some considerable progress on the trailer today. The initial R&D is always the hardest. Today I managed to complete two legs and mocking up one side. Once the mock up was in place it did confirm that I need to do a bit more build work on the cross bars. Thankfully I have some spare material from a previous build.

Fully lowered/ collapsed the tent will sit 5' 5" off the ground and right at/under the 4Runner roof line. Once the tent is fully raised the tent will be 7' off the ground.

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The material for the cross piece is going to get upgraded and then reinforced. More to be completed later this week with a hopeful dry run in a few weeks.

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tx_shooter

You ever try to roughie a bear?
Staff member
All four uprights are welded on and getting finish review tomorrow. Then for connecting them with rails and cross bars for mounting the tent. I got a little happy with the welding so I have to either straighten or rebuild one of the upright inside pieces since it warped a touch.

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tx_shooter

You ever try to roughie a bear?
Staff member
Stabilizer jacks for the rear of the trailer should be here tomorrow. They will be the last "big" thing before the Big Bend trip.
 

tx_shooter

You ever try to roughie a bear?
Staff member
Hit a no-joy barrier this afternoon. I finally had enough fabbed up I could test the cross bar design. No matter what I did the bars it still sagged with just my weight. Considering the RTT +2 adults will be going on the bars I am going to stop and rebuild with bigger tubing instead of 1"x1" with 1/4" wall. This will give me a chance to work out a few issues and ideas I came up with during this process also.

So version 1.0 is getting scratched - on to version 2.0 next.
 

tx_shooter

You ever try to roughie a bear?
Staff member
Getting back to this project, the 10 gauge ramps got some paint and roll-on bedliner today. The ramps are 6' long and 1' wide which should be good for most everything I do. They are rated for 2,500 lbs each so way more than I will have on the trailer.

Next up will be resetting the height on the tent rack and working on a tool box and gas can holder for the front 18" to 24" of the trailer.

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tx_shooter

You ever try to roughie a bear?
Staff member
Nice score in the neighborhood; two bedside tool boxes with working locks and a key. Both of them for $50. I will mount one to the front of this trailer and hold the other for another trailer. This trailer will have the tool box mounted center so I can still fit two 5 gallon fuel cans on each side. The setup is coming together nicely and way under estimated budget now.

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tx_shooter

You ever try to roughie a bear?
Staff member
Trailer is back in the garage and getting prepped for work this weekend. If tomorrow goes right it should be close to ready to go by end of the day.

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tx_shooter

You ever try to roughie a bear?
Staff member
Progress today was not everything I was hoping for but I will take it. I ended up spending a decent part of the day helping a young woman with a blown out tire but her dad was out of town.

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tx_shooter

You ever try to roughie a bear?
Staff member
It was a productive weekend with lots of welding and a couple of mock ups. The tallest motorcycle fits without any issues and plenty of clearance. The RTT (in this picture the shiny aluminum bar is filling in for the RTT) is mounted to be 1/3" higher in back than front. This will setup the situation where the trailer is sloped front to back at a little over 1" at the back when the RTT is level for sleeping.

This means the water will run away from the front if it rains when we are using the trailer so we will stay dry under the RTT if needed.

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tx_shooter

You ever try to roughie a bear?
Staff member
Today was just busting off the rust and getting a quick coat of paint on the rusty parts. I do like the spare tire where it is mocked up behind the rear axle. There will be enough additional weight on the tongue that moving the spare back will be a good thing for balance.

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Taco Loco

Tired and Lazy, married to ‘The Laundry Fairy’
Today was just busting off the rust and getting a quick coat of paint on the rusty parts. I do like the spare tire where it is mocked up behind the rear axle. There will be enough additional weight on the tongue that moving the spare back will be a good thing for balance.

View attachment 62812
Nice.

I've been looking at some offroad ebikes. Doubt I'll ever get one, but I feel like I could use one every now and then around the farm. But why not add a bit more fun throughout the day or during deer season.
 

tx_shooter

You ever try to roughie a bear?
Staff member
Nice.

I've been looking at some offroad ebikes. Doubt I'll ever get one, but I feel like I could use one every now and then around the farm. But why not add a bit more fun throughout the day or during deer season.

I really wanted to get a quiet electric vehicle for my deer lease but an electric off road bike might be kind of limiting IMO. There are few things as much fun as a dirt bike though.
 

balakay

BabyMax
My dad bought an electric bike off of FB Marketplace to ride back and forth to his stand since driving the Jeep required opening two gates to get to his stand. The e-bike could fit through the "cattle chute" as we called it between the two pastures. He mounted a rifle rack and basket on the front to carry his gun and backpack. And mounted some green LED pods as well. It was a badass little rig. Worked great. I used it instead of the Jeep anytime I was there solo or he wasn't going out hunting. Biggest problem was flat tires with all the mesquite thorns and stuff until he eventually shelled out a few hundred (almost as much as he paid for the bike) for some super-duper-ultra-puncture-proof-runflat type tires. No issues after that.
 
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