Custom built trailer

We have had a couple of disasters with “custom” built trailers. Make sure you can see what the company has built before and talk to current owners of their products. Your allocation of water is woefully inadequate.
Cheers Lyndon

Hi Rick

I would recommend you (and everybody else) have a look at this month's 4WD Action magazine (#142). It has a great feature on p111 talking GVM, GCM, Kerb Weight, etc.

Even though I thought I knew it all, this article was a still great read.

Have a look at myswag.org for the owner camper buildups.

Malcolm

Hi Rick

Have sent you an email regarding a rugged bush trailer :-)


Cheers

Rick,

I am going to Fraser in Feb and I am hiring a trailer for the trip. I am taking a Lifestyle trailer and after inspecting the trailer over the weekend I was very impressed with the workmanship. I don't know to much about trailers yet but plan to buy my own down the track...but I think what I will do is hire 3-5 different brands that has made my short list and try them out in the real world for a weekend.

I figured spending $200 on something for a weekend is a good investment and will save me dramas and troubles down the track. I don't don't to find out a week into a trip that the camper is not really what I want.

My 2 cents

Rick,

A few thoughts - Your vehicle will be full of people. They might start out as friends, but after 2 weeks of being crammed together that might well change. I'd be inclined to try for a second vehicle to provide more passenger space, more carrying capacity for gear, and importantly if you are going remote, some backup transport and some extra grunt that can save lots of personal effort when things don't happen as planned.

By all means pull a trailer too, but if you have that second vehicle the trailer probably needn't be so big so won't be such a serious handicap to a heavily loaded vehicle.

Electricity - if you are going to run a big fridge, suggest you need more than 100 Ah of battery capacity, plus good technology to charge the batteries. Again, a second vehicle would allow 2 smaller fridges, 2 batteries, twice the generating capacity....... The fridge/s will be by far the biggest electricity consumers - see the load analysis in our blog Electricity for Camping.

Water - I'd carry much more than you propose. In addition to bulk water, we carry 10 or 12 of 3 litre bottles for day to day use. These can be refilled with whatever water is available, good, bad, awful, without polluting your bulk supply. If you're going seriously remote any water is good water - don't forget the vehicle may need some too. A burst hose could really spoil your day if you don't have water to spare!

Speaking of burst hoses - if you're planning on being away from support services for up to 2 weeks, you should carry spare hoses and belts. I always carry spare fuel and air filters too. A second spare wheel (more weight) can be a comfort and defer tyre repairs until the cool of the evening.

HTH

John

Rick
I went down a similar path a couple of years ago. I eventually got the trailer custom built by Jason at Future Metal Fabrication & Auto at Lewiston (near Gawler). A good friend of mine, Rob Christie at SA Trailer & Chassis, supplied all the chassis gear, coupling, water tank, led lighting etc. and Universal Canvas (now closed because the owner, Ernie, has retired) supplied the tent section and stone guard. Jason also custom built a toolbox for the 'A" frame.
I now have a very robust trailer with offroad suspension, parallel bearings, matching wheels and a tent section that I can remove quite easily so the trailer can be used for every day use.
It is an absolute dream to tow and with the track the same as the Landcruiser it is great in sand hills when we go fishing on Eyre Peninsula.
Chris W

Check out O'Briens trailers, they make what you appear to be looking for..I've had one in the past and would recommend.

O'Briens

OT

Rick,

If you want to do it your way I would talk to the following links, they build the structural stuff for the Supreme Getaway Caravan (or at least they did when I bought mine 10 yrs ago) and believe me these vans cope with plenty of abuse, but it is all in the chassis and suspension if you ask me.

Chassis maker: G & S

Spring maker: Aurora Springs . These guys are probably a good spot to start seems they are in your neck of the woods??????

Or pay someone like O'Briens (Vic based I think??) to build what you want, I have seen their trailers and think they would stand up to a bit of punishment too.

Hope these guys can help, but have plans and weights at the ready before you call so they can point you in the right direction.

Cheers, Trevor.

We have an "off road" Treg that has done many serious trecks over the last 20 years..
2.5T axle and bearings.
Well built.
I modified the draw bar by extending it 1m and it really needs longer springs plus shockabsorbers and better hanger pins and bushes, but it has never let me down. It runs OKA wheels at the mo....

Cheers,
Peter
OKA196 Motorhome

Thanks to all for the input.

The Industrial Springs site to which someone referred me to was interesting.

Many of you confirmed the need to know the manufacturer's product well before committing.

I have been through my weights etc, and the major reason for needing > 1500 kg rating is that I have factored 750 kg as the trailer weight. It is quite hard to get an accurate figure on trailer weights. It appears this 750 kg may be a little too much, but better safe than sorry, eh?

I will stick with 8' x 5' dimensions as the extra room over 7' x 4' is very useful. And I will go with a hard canopy.

Many manufacturers do not build this size. At the moment, Miegel Bros in Murray Bridge look like they will do the job for me. They have a good reputation & I have spent an hour in the factory looking at their construction & methodology.

When it is built (~ Feb 2010), I will post some pics.

Cheers