The 4x4 Podcast Expedition Trailer Build Journal

jeepin_idaho

jeepin_idaho

Adventurist
I interviewed Scott from Dinoot Trailers on my podcast a long time ago and ever since then, I haven't been able to stop thinking about building a trailer for my adventures. The biggest thing doing me though was the logistics of moving. Let me explain a bit. I drive a 99 Jeep Cherokee. My wife drives a 2007 Yukon XL. Since I'm in the Army, I frequently move across the country. To save money and travel more comfortably as a family with the 3 kids and a dog, we like to all ride in the Yukon and tow the XJ on a car hauler trailer. My 16' car hauler just wasn't big enough to hold the Jeep and an expedition trailer. In June I'll be moving for the 10th time in 10 years. But the difference is that this time we're heading to Alaska! The more important bit here is that the Army is paying to haul one vehicle for me. That means my XJ can take a commercial transport up to Alaska and I can haul an expedition trailer across the country and I'll the Alaskan highway!

I'm so excited that is finally my turn to start building a trailer! The first step was selling my car hauler. So I posted it up on Craigslist for the same price that I paid for it 7 years ago.

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Within 24 hours of listing it, I had $1300 cash in my hands! Now on to the the new project.

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I bought their extreme duty 4x8 trailer frame and some other bits to get started. I'm ordering the Explorer Box plans from Compact Camping Concepts. The finer details of the plan aren't set yet but here's some of the things I'm thinking right now.

- I want to be able to remove the box and use the trailer to haul general cargo occasionally.
- I want to haul a family load of bicycles
- Needs too have a propane tank, fresh water tank, a spot for my chuck box, a cooler, on board battery for 12 volt stuff, and other camping kit of course
- I'm thinking about having the box fully enclosed for security and to keep to things from being abused too much on the gravel roads
- I will likely swap the able to a heavier one and the tires to match the Yukon size/bolt pattern
- I am also planning on adding a stick of 2x2 square running the length of the trailer for added strength

I'm looking forward to working on this and starting to use it. It's going to be a lot of fun and will of course be great content for The 4x4 Podcast.

Cheers!


Dan
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I worked on it for a few hours today.

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My 7yr old photographer caught some of the action.

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Gotta make sure everything is square.

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And now it's a rolling trailer! This week I'll do the wiring and bring home the lumber to start building the box. And of course order some additional bits and components. First thing to order is some different springs and a mount that involves a proper leaf spring setup with a shackle. I also need to replace the axle with a 3500lb one. And source some wheels to match the bolt pattern in my Yukon.

Progress!

Dan
http://the4x4podcast.com
 
So I'm putting together the list of essential components. Here's my list so far but I feel like I'm overlooking some items.

Fresh water storage - 20 gallon minimum
Cooler or fridge
Deep cycle battery with ability to charge from vehicle while towing and shore power
Propane storage
Luggage storage
Chuck box does storage
LED camp lights
Shower/toilet tent
Hot water shower system
Gas can storage
Solar - I'm not sold on this yet because I'll be moving each day, therefore also charging, so is solar necessary? Maybe I can leave that for stage 2 once I get past the initial use expedition.

What am I missing?

Dan
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jeepin_idaho said:
So I'm putting together the list of essential components. Here's my list so far but I feel like I'm overlooking some items.

Fresh water storage - 20 gallon minimum
Cooler or fridge
Deep cycle battery with ability to charge from vehicle while towing and shore power
Propane storage
Luggage storage
Chuck box does storage
LED camp lights
Shower/toilet tent
Hot water shower system
Gas can storage
Solar - I'm not sold on this yet because I'll be moving each day, therefore also charging, so is solar necessary? Maybe I can leave that for stage 2 once I get past the initial use expedition.

What am I missing?

Dan
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Click to expand...

Subscribed as I'm trying to figure out how to charge a battery from the vehicle without burning up the wiring.

  • To date I've learned that the battery in the vehicle and the battery in the trailer should be the same type.
  • I think I have also learned, but don't quite get, that you should have a dedicated wire of an appropriate size to recharge the trailer battery as the trailer battery will most likely require more "juice" (I don't know the right term) after being used for a day or two. The amount of "juice" could fry the standard wire in most 7 pin set ups.
  • After than I get confused. And my apologies if I have hijacked.
 
That's good info. I was planning on using a yellow or blue top optima battery. And I question the charging ability of that little wire inside the trailer connection bundle. I guess that means that I should just do it the right way at the start so that I can have a good dual battery setup in both adventure rigs.

Dan
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Solar is definitely out for stage one of the project. I've heard that the 7 pin connector is not sufficient to charge the battery if it'd really drained. So I've purchased the T-Max dual battery system. It comes with the isolator, the monitor, and some other bits. It has some intelligence to it so it knows when to charge and when to isolate. It also gives me the option to "self jump" in the event that my starting battery goes flat. That also gives me the flexibility to have a dual battery setup while exploring in my XJ and the trailer.

I also purchased the pieces for the hot water shower. That includes the Triton tankless water heater, a 12 volt pump, and a 20 gallon molded tank.

It was kind of an expensive trip to Amazon.com.

Dan
http://the4x4podcast.com
 
Personally, as someone who wires for a living, if I ever did a trailer, I would do whatever I could to make it charge itself independently from the vehicle.

That means solar, or shore power. I would avoid as much as I could from connecting the two systems.

Because to do it right means running dedicated 2 gauge or 0 gauge +/- wires to the rear bumper, a big ass anderson connector on the bumper (Like the connector AAA uses when they plug in a jumper cable at their bumper), to which you would plug the trailer into. This would be a supplement to the 4-wire trailer lighting system (brakes, running, turn signals).

100 watts of solar (available at about $1.00/Watt at Solarblvd.com) with a 10 or 20 amp charge controller will keep a battery charged and a fridge running without issue.
 
I just checked out that site and it does have some great prices. I need to get more educated on solar power setups. But for now, I actually already ordered 2 spools of 1/0 gauge wire, a 200 amp rated Anderson plug, and of course the dual battery kit. Oh and a fuse just in case the isolator takes a crap.

Eventually I'd like to switch to just solar but I want to do it right. I expect I'll learn a lot about it at the Northwest Overland Rally and Workshop in June.

Dan
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Mitch said:
Personally, as someone who wires for a living, if I ever did a trailer, I would do whatever I could to make it charge itself independently from the vehicle.

That means solar, or shore power. I would avoid as much as I could from connecting the two systems.

Because to do it right means running dedicated 2 gauge or 0 gauge +/- wires to the rear bumper, a big ass anderson connector on the bumper (Like the connector AAA uses when they plug in a jumper cable at their bumper), to which you would plug the trailer into. This would be a supplement to the 4-wire trailer lighting system (brakes, running, turn signals).

100 watts of solar (available at about $1.00/Watt at Solarblvd.com) with a 10 or 20 amp charge controller will keep a battery charged and a fridge running without issue.
Click to expand...

Mitch,

First things first, thank you for commenting. I have seen a number of other posts on the topic, and believe me, the info you are sharing is being listened to. I'm going to start another thread as not to derail this one for this particular topic. My challenge is that I'm on the East Coast and most of the places I camp have heavy foliage.
 
Dan (Cole. 100Acre is also Dan),

Fusing a dual battery system is extremely important, because unlike an accessory, the power wire is HOT from BOTH ends. So in case the cable gets shorted in the middle, you must have a fuse or breaker (I prefer breakers) at BOTH ends, as close to the battery as you can get, and as a rule not farther than 18" away.
 
Thanks for the tip Mitch. I'll add a second fuse and stash a couple spares in my kit. I really want to have solar power but I just don't know enough about it yet. I'll probably learn everything I need to know at the Northwest Overland Rally and Workshop and wish that is fine solar from the start.

Dan
 
There isn't much to know. Panel(s) hooks to the Charge Controller, Charge Controller hooks to the fuse block which should already be hooked up to the battery.
 
Seems easy enough. What battery have you had the best luck with? That's another thing I still need to buy. My priority right now though I'd finding 6 lug 5.5" bolt pattern 17" wheels so that the trailer wheel/tire combo is interchangeable with the Yukon. I've struck out at a bunch of salvage yards and Craigslist so far.

But some parts are arriving from Amazon and the trailer lights all work now.
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Oh and I tried out this cordless soldering iron. Worked great! I totally recommend it when fixing stuff while away from the garage.

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Sears Die Hard Platinum Group 31. It will be a 100 Amp Hour battery. If it were me, I'd do two of them.

I had one of those torches. Pretty nice. Replaced it with a Weller PSI100K after my second one broke.
 
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