Trailer Build

mikey · **Posted:** Sun Jan 25, 2009 5:04 pm

Hi guys,
Friends of mine have just bought a ute, and are going to give me their old 5X3 trailer.
The thing was built in 89, and has some minor rust, but nothing I cant handle.
What I'm interested in doing is making it a bit more off-road worthy.
I would like to relocate the springs on top of the axle, maybe take a leaf or two out, and mount my old KJ steelies onto it.
Are there any traps or pitfall to look out for?
What do I need to do to mount the kj wheels?
I've towed plenty of trailers, but never owned one, so it's kind of a fun project.
Eventually, I'd like to rattlecan it to match the kj in colour too.
Do you have to get it roadworthy to register?
Any advice, tips, etc would be greatly appreciated.
Cheers,
Mikey.

CD · **Posted:** Sun Jan 25, 2009 5:11 pm

Pics... pics.... pics... pics.... can't picture a 5X3, other than that I've no idea Mikey :lol:

mikey · **Posted:** Sun Jan 25, 2009 5:17 pm

I haven't picked it up yet, the two tyres that are on it are cactus, so i'm going to have to replace those before I can get it home.
But yes, I will post the pics as soon as I get some.
M

Fouros · **Posted:** Sun Jan 25, 2009 6:14 pm

mate

to run the KJ rims you will need to change the hubs from the datto pattern that you probably got now to a Ford stud pattern,

measure the axle you will probably have to get a slightly wider one ( i know i did with mine)

no roadworthy for anything regod to carry under 750kg's

we will talk later

mikey · **Posted:** Sun Jan 25, 2009 6:21 pm

Thanks Fros,
The Ford stud pattern is great news, and cheap I hope.
I was thinking you might have to get either new hubs made or machine the wheel out.
Didn't think about the axle, but that makes sense.
Better get off my bum and grab that trailer then eh.
Chat soon.
M.

stevemcc · **Posted:** Mon Jan 26, 2009 3:14 am

here's photo of my trailer - its a 6x4 ex handy hire. Well built, very solid when compared to some of the newer ones I looked at and cheap off ebay.

I wanted to do the same thing - make it a bit more usable with the KJ for camping and useful for renovating and work and it works reasonably well. During the week I pull it round everyday with the lower section full of tools, etc, t the weekend its either full of junk on the way to the tip or loaded up for a weekend building the new house.

So the good ideas,

the cage - means you can stuff a lot of stuff in there even though its only 6x4.
the orac hitch - cheaper than a treg and fits under the spare on the KJ (the stock hitch would not fit with the 265/75 spare)
the cover - home made from a US surples tarp - took 2 nights in front of the TV, but again, cheap and simple to take off.

The bad idea,

Not checking all the heights before welding everything up :oops:

- I went with a spring over thinking it would match the KJ height - which it did until I put the KJ rims and rubber on - now its that bit too high :roll:

Should have waited for them to machine out the rims first

found alltrailerspares in bris to be great for bits - axle, hubs etc and well priced compared to ebay

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mikey · **Posted:** Mon Jan 26, 2009 4:38 am

G'day Steve,
She's a beaut, you've given me some good ideas there.
Especially with the hitch fitting under the spare.
Many thanks,
M.

cmohr · **Posted:** Mon Jan 26, 2009 8:50 pm

This sounds farmiliar

We'll have to compare notes, seems we are going to build the same size trailers

mikey · **Posted:** Mon Jan 26, 2009 8:53 pm

cmohr wrote:

This sounds farmiliar

We'll have to compare notes, seems we are going to build the same size trailers

You're kidding aren't you!!.....I thought it was such an odd size.
Hopefully going to pick mine up on the weekend.
That's very cool cmohr.
M.

pipeliner · **Posted:** Mon Jan 26, 2009 9:41 pm

Think about shock absorbers (I know Cmohr doesn't believe in them, but). Trailer leaf springs act as a friction damper, but if you want to take your trailer over the really rough stuff then a pair of hydraulics would definitely be a good idea. Size will depend on the load you plan to carry and a company like Pedder should be able to advise you.

Maybe we need to organise a "Trailer Day" at the L.O.S.T Brisbane clubhouse!

mikey · **Posted:** Mon Jan 26, 2009 9:48 pm

pipeliner wrote:

Maybe we need to organise a "Trailer Day" at the L.O.S.T Brisbane clubhouse!

Now you're talking!!

2JeepFamily · **Posted:** Mon Jan 26, 2009 10:05 pm

I agree with Pipeliner, you definately need to consider shock's, particularly if you
intend on taking out leave's. Spring's are designed to hold up weight, not work on
rebound and compression as the shock take's care of that. Alot of trailer's tend to
over spring them ,that is why when unloaded they bounce all over the place. Not
sure if they are still there but W&W shockabsorbers use to be at Geebung/Virgina
maybe ask them about air shock's (like we use to run on HQ's) if they have something
similar (compensate for weight) and look at quality spring if alot of offroad is mind.
My spring choice would be an old set of Suzuki Seira front's using the 2 mains and
shock's. I am going to try this myself when I pick up my rusty trailer I have inherited
from work.

cmohr · **Posted:** Mon Jan 26, 2009 10:19 pm

pipeliner wrote:

(I know Cmohr doesn't believe in them, but).

!

I just wish I could afford some.

Whats wrong with driving a boat on land I say.

Glend · **Posted:** Mon Jan 26, 2009 10:28 pm

I admit I don't have shocks on my present trailer but the next one might. I've even been looking at how I might mount them. I ran across this quote from another site on the subject:

"On a camper trailer with coils - shocks would be mandatory. On a trailer with leaves you could go either way.

Simple reason being that leaves are self dampening due to the friction between the spring leaves themselves coils don't have this friction (which incidently makes them a better spring design as they react faster.

I'm guessing if you are going to build/buy a trailer, get it with shocks - i'm guessing the cost is pretty insignificant in the scheme of things and then you have the advantage of dampers. If its a retro fit thing - ask yourself if you need them. Shocks will not make the trailer ride smoother (as in iron out the bumps any more) - all they will do is stop it rebounding on bumps."

Here is the Overlander link to the discussion: http://forums.overlander.com.au/viewtop ... 84a6b31b62

Here is a link to some trailer shocks that I found: http://cgi.ebay.com.au/XTRAIL-shock-abs ... m153.l1262

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mikey · **Posted:** Mon Jan 26, 2009 10:32 pm

Thanks for the info GlenD.
That all makes perfect sense.
I don't think I'll be building a corecrew trailer just yet, I'll see how the leaf springs go first, then think about the shocks.
I think I'd rather buy an offroad hitch like a Hyland first, then see how it goes.
But I'm basically building it for some light home duties, and a bit of beach camping.
Once again, thanks for all the info.
Cheers,
M.

pipeliner · **Posted:** Tue Jan 27, 2009 12:05 am

Taking what 2Jeep said and casting my memory back to my college days (which is a h*ll of a long cast!)....

A spring is a device which provides a reaction force proportional to displacement i.e. the more you squash it the greater the reaction force (well, we all knew that).

A hydraulic shock absorber (or damper) provides a reaction force proportional to the rate of change of displacement i.e. the faster you try to move it the greater the reaction force.

So a spring/damper combination will only be optimised at one specific frequency - which is why we usually find that there is one speed at which corrugations don't seem too bad, and both faster and slower seem more uncomfortable.

I guess what I'm getting at is that every setup is a compromise of one sort or another, and for some trailers the friction damping caused by the leaves rubbing over each other will be quite sufficient - which is why it is a good idea to talk over what you want to do with someone who knows a darn sight more about it than I do!

mikey · **Posted:** Sat Jan 31, 2009 1:57 am

Well, here she is.......
Picked her up from Ipswich this morning, first job was to get a new tyre put on as one of them was kaputnik.
I'd picked up a second hand spare a couple of days ago for $25, I knew I only had to do 30K's on it.
Tyres & More in Booval did it for NIX, thanks guys.

Bolted that back on, pumped up the other side, hooked it up, took the dust cap off and packed it with grease (thanks Fros) and drove away.
First stop was at a parts place to pick up a Flat to round trailer plug converter.
Halfway home, pulled over to feel the bearing temp, as the thing hadn't moved in 12 months, bearings were nice and cool, phew!!
Pulled into work at West End, where the trailer will be living while I work on it, and began cleaning.

It was used as a gardeners trailer, had a small rack for a whipper-snipper, toolbox(missing) and broom holders.
Shoveled out the debris, hosed it out, then began grinding away the layers of paint and rust.
In the end, nowhere near as bad as I thought, the odd hole here and there, but nothing a bit of sikaflex can't fix.

Then fishoiled the bejesus out of it.

So looks like I'm going to need a wider axle to run the jeep wheels, and extra 30-40mm of clearance either side should do it.

The height of the mud guard will be close too, once the new wheels go in. I wonder if I go for a bigger diameter axle (currently a 39mm one) and maybe a 10mm packer on top of the axle to gain the clearance, but that's all just speculation, I won't really know what I'm up against till I get them in there.

The coupling is another area that needs attention, won't allow me to open the rear door, so I will seriously be looking at a Hyland, Orac, Treg type.

There was a bracket for a toolbox to sit on the drawbar, But I think fitting that would also not allow me to open the rear door, so thinking thats where the spare will go, stood up, hard against the front side of the trailer.

Once the new axle wheel setup goes in, I'll hit the whole underside and drawbar with black killrust, as well as the trailer inner tub, and the outside trailer panels will be a hammer finish blue that is close to the KJ's colour.

Internal dimensions are 3.5 feet wide, 5 feet long.

So now chasing 2, 235/70/16 tyres......or 245's but that extra bit of height might cause me extra problems.

Pics below......

M.
Picking her up this morning

Arrived safely at work

The mess in the back

A bit of grinding

The current axle setup, 5 stud, but won't take the jeep wheel (maybe Holden hubs???)...anyway, they're gone.

Glend · **Posted:** Sat Jan 31, 2009 2:11 am

Gee Mikey you've taken on a bit of work there. Can't see a good option for that floor pan. I'd be tempted to cut that floor out and drop a new sheet of checker plate in there. Good luck with it and we will get the progress photos?

mikey · **Posted:** Sat Jan 31, 2009 2:21 am

Floor isn't as bad as it looks, once I grinded it back, reckon there's a few years in that floor yet...
Honestly, this aint no round Australia trailer, it's my Lil' HEEP, small loads, and a bit of beach work.
But that chequer plate would be sweet.
Yes...progress pics will come
M.

2JeepFamily · **Posted:** Sat Jan 31, 2009 2:51 am

Looks the good's Mikey, the floor look's fine good to see no bad rust around the
edge's of the floor. Hope you didn't throw out those old wheel's. They are early holden stud
pattern look's like Torana wheel's (getting hard to find). Should look good with some paint.
Fairly solid looking spring's too. I wouldn't do a spring over as it look's like it might make to high
as well and just leave the spring's how they are. With the bigger wheel's you should be about
level. If you want to modify the guard's to easily accept the bigger tyre's I will be down in a few
week's and could help you cut and reweld them higher.

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