[97TJGUZZY]

Had a few people pm me asking about it, so here is what I have...

Started with a free rusty old tub that was beyond repair and planned to reskin it and use the tailgate...



decided we needed a cool way to cap off the front so we figured, why not just cap it with another tub and tailgate, I think I had seen one of these on pirate. Got a few other ideas from forums like this:




So i had been searching since February for a cheap YJ tub to go with the rusty one we had. Finally found one while wandering through a junkyard in rock hill, sc. We got the whole back half of the tub for $50, but I had to strip the entire jeep out of it and get it off the frame by myself... THis is what i came home with

sorry for the dark pic

[97TJGUZZY]

Then we had to cut it in half and basically like a puzzle make two halves that would match up and cover all the gaps that two tubs make when they go together... thats why the front cap is so funny shaped... and why the cut has an angle at the bottom, to fill in the old fender opening...



This is all we salvaged from the rusty tub


I brought this half of the new tub back to the junkyard, because I only bought the back half, but didnt want to cut it up in the junkyard...




this is the rear half before we matched them up


all the jeep tub parts in the shop

[rspar]

Very nice. I'd kill for that much work space.

[97TJGUZZY]

this was the first time we jammed them together...the fit was pretty good for a first cut with no trimming...




sanded it down and getting it trimmed up and tacked together


you can see how the inside of the tubs line up


starting the arduous task of welding sheetmetal together...


ground down the welds and primed it, this part was all done in one weekend, I had to wait till the next weekend to work any more, this is how we left it sunday, no bondo, just primer...and a tire for mockup hehe

[97TJGUZZY]

Dont have many pics of the frame build...but here are a few we did take. we made the body attach with 12 1/2" bolts to the frame....so I dont think its coming off..





mockup with the cooler and possible spare tire mount location


CJ tailgate mockup, its just sitting there




finishing up the body mounts

[MisterO]

wow thats amazing! Awesome work!!

[97TJGUZZY]

Painting the frame with "bedliner"


body work to smooth out the seam


in this pic you can see how the front half of a frame is a different hight than the rear, so there is a gap there, we will cover it with diamond plate later...


first we painted it black...


but we didnt like the murdered out look it had with everything black, so we went off looking for a good color that was neutral, would show stickers well and was classy hehe

1940s Ford Tractor Gray Farm machinery paint...PERFECT






This is where I am now, finished the cooler rack and tie downs, put the diamond plate on, added the front clear camp lights...



still need to spray some raptor liner inside and on the bedrails and we are thinking we need a back bumper of some sort incase it comes down from a ledge...

also we are building a 3axis hitch for it, the 2" ball is temporary so we can tow it around for now.

I'll keep ya updated

[Pmort]

Wow, that looks great! I wish I could do stuff like this lol.

[NaeKid]

I see that you still have the fuel-fill ports on the trailer - any plans on using them for a water-tank fill or a fuel-tank fill? Any plans to seal-up the tub from the top to keep water / dust / etc out of it and your goodies inside without needing to strap everything down?

[crankkase]

I think that is awesome...I have a partially homemade trailer rolling frame with a Dodge Caravan rear axle, springs, shocks and all. Pulls great and true and I think its 5x4.5 bolt pattern. HMMMMMM ...Awesome Idea!!

[97TJGUZZY]

Originally Posted by NaeKid

I see that you still have the fuel-fill ports on the trailer - any plans on using them for a water-tank fill or a fuel-tank fill? Any plans to seal-up the tub from the top to keep water / dust / etc out of it and your goodies inside without needing to strap everything down?

we are trying to decide between a tonnoue cover that snaps/clips on or a tilt up hardtop. The snap/clip canvas top would be easier, but we are wanting to mount a rack to the top, so we can either make the mounts for the rack on the side of the tub, or make them on a hard cap. The plan is to enclose it though, but make the top removable for those trips when it will just be the camping firewood hauler, or when we need to go pickup jeep parts...We plan to put a bottle opener in one of the filler holes, probably the rear one, and the other is going to have some sort of covered switch for the camp lights. The ones in front are wired to their own battery on the trailer as well as an option to plug them into my rock lights on my jeep.

[97TJGUZZY]

got the camera out today, here are some pics that show it a bit clearer since i put in the lights and front diamond plate.

[xantasm]

Thats awesome, looks great man.

[97TJGUZZY]

bought some raptor liner to try on it, should be able to do it in a few weeks.

still trying to figure out what kind of cover, hard or soft we want to do... ideas?

[mg2000xj]

This is by far my favorite offroad trailer I have seen, I might copy your design if you dont mind. Any plans for a rack or cap for the top?