Off Road Box Trailer

Hi Stephen,
I had my 7x4 trailer made in Woy Woy a couple of years ago.
You can see a pic of it in my pics. I have also had a boat rack made to fit and recently had a vinyl top made as well for general useage. It also has Cruiser wheels.
I think from memory it cost about $2500 and the company has now closed up.
If I can help any more pls let me know.
Steve

Hi Stephen,

Was looking at campers on Ebay and found this mob,
www.austrackcampers.com
they go into great detail about their trailer specs.
120249105369 is the item number on Ebay, well worth a read.

Dennis

Yeh it's important to get a strong off road trailer if going bush. A standard trailer will break. Have a look at as many different trailers as you can and notice differences. You don't need to know a lot about welding just common sense, after seeing a few it is easy to tell strong ones and weak ones.

Goes all the way through: the draw bars on many trailers are only long enough to end at the start of the tub and are only welded with small spot welds. In proper off road trailers the draw bars continue right through almost to the axles and the welds are continuous (not just in a few little spots).

The stronger the axle the better. Mine is 2 tonne but 1.5 tonne do well. The frame on mine is about 50X50 tubing the whole way arond the trailer. The tub itself bears no structural weight. Many others are spot welded flat plate to plate as structural supports. The tub is actually the strenth of the trailer! No doubt mine is far stronger. Have a look at pics in my rig page where I have placed gas bottles to see what I'm talking about.

Spring hangers (if it has leaf springs) are a weak point and make sure the hangers aren't the slipper type but are the strong and durable shackle type. When fully loaded for a trip the trailer could weigh over 1 tonne so make sure the springs are tough enough. Mine has about 9 springs with rebound brackets.

Don't believe it if someone states a trailer is off road. Have a look for yourself. Basically the bigger steel, more welding and stronger frame the better.

Barnesy

Steve,

You probably know that I have an 8 x 5 off road box trailer.
Can you make it to Innamincka?? Cause then you could check it out in real time and I presume that Willem will have his there as well.
If not let me know and I'll take some more pics as I think there is only 1 in my rig profile and that is the suspension set up.

Cheers Kev

Have a yarn to Glenn at All Terrain Camper Trailers in Seven Hills, both he and wife Tricia have been our guides since we embarked on this wonderful lifestyle. I am like you and know zilch about welding.

We did around 37,000km in our first (AT) trailer which was for light off-road work (that was all we would need) as I wasn't confident Fiona would continue on our camping escapade (I am a photographer). I was wrong, she did and we have had to move on to an off-road trailer, but I would recommend this bloke to anyone.

http://www.allterraincampertrailers.com.au/

Reading this post reminded me of the old Army box trailers that I used many years ago so I checked in Google to see what I could find.

The site below has a few good pictures and a bit of info on them.

The single tubuar draw bar is different but I can't remember ever seeing one break. Apparently they could be filled with water and used as a bath tub. Empty jerry cans tied to the drawbar and a few orrs or an outboard got you across a river. If you happen to take one out to sea then be careful of submarines because it looks one surfaced under an SAS modified trailer off Jervis bay and had to return to port with the thing stuck on top.

They sound like a handy thing to have on a bush trip but be careful on river crossings if the Navy is in the area.

On a more serious note, these trailers have been pounded around the bush for what seems like forever and a day and are still in use. It would be interesting to compare their design to commercially made camper and box trailers.

Brianhttp://www.remlr.com/trailers.html

Glen From AT builds his trailer the way he wants to and he has to warranty the trailer . I have a AT full of road CT and i asked him to do a mod on the tow bar First of all he said he would not do it and i explained that i had a prob with the back door of the vehicle he said he would do it and would not warranty the mod. He does not take your order straight away at shows he will tel you to go away and think about and attend the BBQ at his factory the next week end to make sure that is what you want

Stephen
I was in the trailer industry in NSW and know many of the trailer builders in Sydney, if you wish I will help you when you are ready to do something. MM me and I will arrange something for you if you wish. Its the least I could do for you as I also got one of your Jerry cans that now sits proudly next to another yellow one on my camper.
Colin

Stephen,

If it is a true off-road trailer you should have no trouble in going anywhere with it.

I have a 7x4 off-road trailer which I have taken to the top end and back with a tinnie on top of it and also to Birdsville, Innamincka and environs.
The only problem I have with it is it has been "sand-blasted" and now has surface rust in some spots.
The A-frame on my trailer is made out of U-channel and will outlast me. It is obviously a fairly heavy trailer, but I could still take it anywhere with extreme confidence, although I have now "upgraded" to an off-road camper trailer 'cos I'm getting soft.

Providing the trailer is a "name brand" of considerable standing and reputation you will be fine.

Bill.

Visit us at www.trailertent.com.auto learn about our on and off road camper trailers $3200 (on road) and $4400 (off road).

All out campers have 25 sqm including an annex with some great features. Visit the website for more details.

DAVID
Sales Manager
Camper Trailer Tents Website (Click Here)