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TJ Trailer Build for my LJ

15K views 23 replies 15 participants last post by  VooDoo2 
#1 ·
Well I have been talking to the wife for a while about wanting to build a trailer to tow behind our LJ. Of course the first thing said was "you already have one of the longest jeeps made, do you really need a trailer?". Need, well no ... want, um yeah! So after a few years of talking about it and a few days of looking, I stumbled across this... um... trailer ish thing. Yesterday after a three hour tow, I got it home. Lets just say I'm glad the first time the wife saw it, it was dark out.







 
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#2 ·
Day 1 of the build:
Tear it apart and see what stays and what goes.
Not a good start, unbolting the tub and broke a bolt.


Tub is off and time to remove the extras that aren't needed. Fuel lines, brake lines, rear bumper, tire carrier and 3rd brake light.







Given where I got it from, a good bit of degreaser and preasure washing was in order.



As the sun set today, I did a quick spray of black rustoleum on the frame. Made it look so much better, but to dark out to take the pic.
 
#3 ·
The past few days have been slow. Work, work, and more work. My days off last weekend were spend pouring a cement pad for my new TuffShed that will be installed next week. I'll finally have a place to keep my spare parts (oh and the wife will have her loft for her x-mass stuff)
I took a few minutes and torched off the hitch, and a few other not needed brackets. Hoping to get the tub cut tomorrow and start fabbing a new front end to close it off.
 
#6 ·
This should turn out bad a$$.
 
#8 ·
I just scored a 3500# trailer axle that is 62" WMS to WMS and it's 5x5.5 with 2.5" tubes. My LJ sits at 63" WMS and is 5x5.5 so it should work out just fine. I also picked up some used 35" procomp xterrains with 75% tread, now just looking for some wheels. I'm trying to decide if I should cut the factory brackets off the D35 and weld them on the trailer axle or use new brackets. I want to keep the 4 link with coils since I already have a parts from a 4.5" short arm kit laying around.

I'm going to reinstall the factory fuel tank/pump with a skid so I'll have spare fuel on the trail without having to carry cans. I have 12" of floorpan at the front of the tub (back seat foot well) that I'm cutting the hump out and making it flat for an 11 gallon fresh water tank. With the fuel at the back and water up front, both sitting low into the frame, I should be balanced pretty well.

I am stuck though on how to close off the front of the tub. I had thought about having some 1/8" sheet bent into a U and then cap the front, but I think it may look tacky when it's all painted. Any ideas??
I'll get some pics up in a few.
 
#9 ·
A few pics from today ...
Got the old tongue cut off to make room for the new 2" receiver tube.



Removed the old mess and cut the line straight.



The trailer tires and another spare, CL score. Just need to find some wheels now.



Center hump cut out, gotta do some grinding then lay the new floor section for the water tank to sit on. The tank is poly, 30.25" x 10" x 9". It'll sit in the footwell and I'll cover it with tin. I will have enough room on the ends for a fill and a pump.


This is the part that stumps me. How to cap the end. I thought about cutting some tin to fit the curve of the door, weld it flush, add a 1" tube frame around the top, then make some caps similar to crusher corners or the diamond plate corners that are sold for the rear. Ideas??



 
#12 ·
This is the part that stumps me. How to cap the end. I thought about cutting some tin to fit the curve of the door, weld it flush, add a 1" tube frame around the top, then make some caps similar to crusher corners or the diamond plate corners that are sold for the rear. Ideas??
Sheet metal cap welded flush and then use bed liner on the outside. It will help protect from road debris and cover any imperfections. Similar to what bricktop did.



His latest incarnation, painted to match his JK

 
#14 ·
So not too much progress today. I picked up the remaining metal needed to cap the front. From the looks of it, I'll be doing it similar to the way Bricktop did.

Got the basic frame built and tacked in. Gotta do the bends to the 1/8" sheet that I got and then this weekend will tack it up and see how it looks. I'm going to try and use one solid piece wrapped 6" over on each side and straight across the front.


Sanded down the sides and tossed a coat of primer just to get an idea of the surface.

Checked with a few paint/body shops today to get quotes on painting the exterior, holy crap they want a lot of money for almost no surface area. Thinking about hitting up the high school and borrow their paint booth with a donation.

Couldn't do any of this without my peanut gallery .. oh I mean assistant.


Next is to order the bed liner. From what I'm hearing, a lot of people are liking the Monstaliner, so I may have to give it a shot. I have court tomorrow (no not for me, testifying for work) so not gonna get much done. The axle should be here Thursday and the water tank on Friday. I have 4 days off starting Sunday, so I'm hoping to get the tub to paint next week and start working on the frame and axle.
 
#18 ·
Well almost 8 months later, its time to revive this thread. The trailer had taken a back seat in my back yard since last year as I prepared for a Hemi swap in my LJ. Well the Hemi is done and now back to the trailer build. So today, I dusted off the axle, the brackets, and some other parts and started work.

I decided to use the brackets from the D-35 for the trailer axle. I couldn't see spending $200ish for brackets that were not really gonna take much load. No torque from a motor, no braking, no steering, just some bouncing and maybe 1,500 lbs.

Now no safety speeches about the shorts!

The old brackets went on fairly well with a bit of grinding due to a poor cut job with the torch when I removed them from the old axle.

Got the tires mounted on some matching wheels to what are on the jeep. I went with 15x8's to tuck them in a bit and to keep them seated, no beadlocks for the trailer.

Well after almost 8 months sitting on the ground, its back on its feet with new shoes.



So now the next step, I'm not sure what springs to run. My jeep sits on RE 5.5"ers and had thought about using the 4.5" ones I have laying around. But after setting it back down today with the tires on it, I'm not sure if I really need that much lift. I figure it's not going to articulate too much and I don't really want that much weight that high. I may try the stockers until I get the tub put back on and see if I run into clearance issues with the tires. Maybe just a 1" body lift would be enough.
 
#20 ·
Well I got a little bit done today, test fit the tub with the 35's and stock suspension. So far I'm not sure I need to lift it at all. Guess I'll know more when I start adding weight.



I then test fit the new front cap and some old BW flairs. I'm thinking its gonna work. Still trying to locate a cheap used pair of rear corner guards and then It'll be time to finish the hitch and look for a front box.


I'm still not too sure how I want to run the fuel line off the pump yet. I'm going to use the factory filler, but where to hide 10' of hose for refueling my ride is another issue. I may end up having to use a quick disconnect and store the hose.
 
#22 ·
Looking really good. I like the idea of the fuel storage. Tractor supply sells a good selection of fuel transfer related items. Maybe a fuel nozzle on a hose reel? They also have the quick disconnects I think.


Edit: I forgot to ask why you needed 10' of hose for the fuel transfer? You can jackknife the trailer to close the distance to a few feet. This will save some money (and space in storage) on the hose.
 
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