Planning to build an Offroad camper trailer

Just talking to a mate on ICQ, he hired a few trailers, Took them home, measured them up, then took them out for the night, used them with the family, then picked the good parts out of them and making his own, 1 for his boss and one for boss' brother now!!

Good luck.. $1400 gets you a southern cross tent and annex!

If you want a good boat rack which allows you to tilt the boat up and lock into place while still being able to deploy the tent, talk to Clarkes Campers in Medowie near Newcastle. He built one for me for $600 a couple if yrars ago.

Don't forget to keep everything simple.

Hi Rod
been here in the last couple of years.
I ended up getting a second hand 4x4 trailer out of the trading post for $900.00. Closest I could get making it myself was $2500.00 plus depending on what I put on it ie. electric brakes, water tanks ect. ect. ect.
Good luck with it if you want any info on it I have quite a bit of material and there is quite a lot on the subject on the forum

Foxer

Hi Rokkit,
I do not mean to put you down,but you say you are a novice! is that all the way round?can you weld,I don't mean pidgeon poop.if you want your trailer to be structually sound which it will need to be, you need to be able to weld at the least resonalby well,if not get help from a friend who can.I would be talking to everyone who has a camper find out their likes and dislikes about there trailer,ask questions about everything about what sort of steel is used what grade find out the best electrode grade to used,I take it for granted that you have a stick welder, me I would use ferrocraft 21 a bit harder to run but strong as buggery and flexable which you will need for the HWY and the dirt.You can get the standards for trailers from the RTA their usually helpful.I would be looking with my camera in hand and tape write down everything you like the rest is up to you not meaning to blastheme but you are the creator you can make this poject as simple as you want to,or as complicated .be a perfectionist you will feel better and drive more relaxed knowing that everything is spot on.A good souce of tech info is at your local Tech College in the welding fabrication section theres usally a keen teacher to be found my experience you generally dont save that much on one offs but you can usally make the best most expensive for the cost of a standard one.Hope this does help you in the long run.
All The Best In Health And Wealth
Jeff

Rokkitt I have just finished about a month ago send me your e-mail address and I'll send you some photo's and info.

Regards Geoff

Rod
The price to build the trailer was for the trailer only, 7x4 on 6 stud rims with eye to eye supension, electic brakes. We would have done the extras ie jerry can holders water tank front tool box ect. ect.
Found the 4x4 trailer in the trading post all set up ready to put a tent on. Depends how long youve got to look around, what extras you want ect
The factory campers are really nice but boy you sure pay!! We will finish ours at a fraction of the price and I will set it up just as I want it, if we have to cut and shut it a few times it wont really matter.
Foxer

Hi Rod,
Just a quick annswer to the ques you put to me stick verses mig. Stick generally if it looks good it usally is whereas mig can look beutiful but be a poor weld. Stick on the the other hand is more ductile,,,it will flex more and resist breaking better...Mig is a strong weld but more prone to crack..both have thier merits and uses ,operator experience usually dictates which one to use, and how long the weld lasts. Hope this helps.
All The Best In Health And Wealth
Jeff

Keep in contact as I interested in how you go,goodluck

G'day Rod ,
i reckon the layout of your bed in a camper trailer is important . Mine and most you see have the canvas coming off the side of the trailer . One i saw in Perth had the canvas coming off the back of the trailer and the foot of the bed was facing that same end , so if nature calls in the 'wee" hours of the morning you are not climbing over your partner to get out.
Happy travels ,
Brian

Hi Rokkitt,

If you're able to find a good second hand one, it can be well worth the time spent in the searching process as we just helped Jim [Diamond, Jemima Puddleduck etc etc etc..lol] find a great one. As we have just rebuilt/restored a caravan all the little things can add up to be very expensive and blow the project cost out if you try and do it in a very short period of time.

Mig Welding will be fine and is a lot easier to use than ARC [stick] welding, but with all welds a visual inspection every once and a while wouldn't hurt.

AL-KO have a nice indpendent offroad axel on the market that would be quite easy to put onto any trailer. The Caravan & Motorhome Magazine is a good source of info not directly related to campers but gives you a lot of retailers and Camec have everything that you would need, and catalogues are available at any caravan spare parts place.

Agree with Truckster that hiring a couple of campers to get size and likes and dislikes before you start the building process is a good idea.

If you need any further advice...you can contact us via email...click on our pic and you'll find the addy..

cheers

AlLife - Live it , Love it !

Hi Rokkit,
Just found a camper trailer for 650 dollars hd canvas sets up to the rear of the camper about 20foot been susin out all the cost to get it to 4WD drive quality and I guestamate with reseach that it should hit the dirt between 1200 to 1500 dollars I will keep you posted and I will send you pictures if you want..by the way thats with all the bells and whistles.
All The Best In Health And Wealth
Jeff