# Firearms and Shooting > Projects and Home Builds >  SHOW US YOUR  OFF ROAD / CAMP TRAILERS  Builds or finished articles

## Happy

Seems there is some interest in this topic, 

  Lets see your builds , finished articles, what you used in construction, tricks ,tips,
 What gear you used and neat stuff plus what failed...

  Here s where I started a year or so ago.. Had bought the frame then lengthened it and changed to 6 stud wheels. Ill flick up 

 pics as I get a quiet moment...

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## 223nut

Brought mine when I was looking at making a ply tear drop... Much easier option. Big issue with mine is condensation.

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## Blisters

It'll keep the zombies out though!

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## Gibo

Anyone ever considered an integrated locking system so you don't have to use a gay wheel clamp when its off ya gig?

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## Mathias

> Anyone ever considered an integrated locking system so you don't have to use a gay wheel clamp when its off ya gig?


That's the makings of a good idea / invention @Gibo. 
Your vision is....?  


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## Gibo

I might shut up there and talk to my engineer mate. Could also be an easy retrofit  :Psmiley:

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## 223nut

> Anyone ever considered an integrated locking system so you don't have to use a gay wheel clamp when its off ya gig?


  @Gibo the horizontal blocking bar for the tow ball on mine has a padlock mounted onto it, really simple idea. Sure someone can take a grinder to it on our driveway but same can be said for wheel locks. Had a wheel lock that rusted up on me... That was fun trying to get apart without a decent selection of tools (from memory a rock off the seashore in bluff and steel cap boots with liberal amounts of cursing layered with crc

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## Mathias

For those considering building a single axle camp trailer, a consideration should be given to your end overall weight and the spring pack you choose.
Most trailer equipment outlets offer leaf springs @ 610mm OAL, these are actually designed to be used as a tandem setup at this length, to keep axles centres close and consequently get used on most single applications too. When your order your springs, get the long series at about 740mm OAL and you will get a much better ride, a more plush feel which is better for all your junk on board. 

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## Gibo

> @Gibo the horizontal blocking bar for the tow ball Attachment 104971on mine has a padlock mounted onto it, really simple idea. Sure someone can take a grinder to it on our driveway but same can be said for wheel locks. Had a wheel lock that rusted up on me... That was fun trying to get apart without a decent selection of tools (from memory a rock off the seashore in bluff and steel cap boots with liberal amounts of cursing layered with crc


Yeah the tow ball locks are ok, I could just boogie a fixture to my car with a strop or rope though, enough to get it to somewhere to work on it anyway. I was more referring to a wheel or hub lock that is part of the trainer itself. Could be super simple to be fair.

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## yerimaginaryM8

This outfit on trademe does some nice looking ones, https://www.trademe.co.nz/motors/car...a4e953e17f1a9a

Yours looks great .223,  surely there must be a way of sorting the ventilation issue?

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## Happy

Next step was the floor. Bit of over kill but it ll never break 



70 Liter tank

[ATTACH]

Walls Framed and widow boxes done.

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## madjon_

@223nut https://www.burnsco.co.nz/shop/rv/rv...saAqF4EALw_wcB

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## 223nut

> @223nut https://www.burnsco.co.nz/shop/rv/rv...saAqF4EALw_wcB


Cheers for that, will be looking into solutions when I have time (upcoming winter) until then I'm just hoping there was nothing important left inside.... (and not in my driveway to check)

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## SiB

@223nut

Do you sleep inside yours or do you simply use it as a gear trailer?

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## 223nut

> @223nut
> 
> Do you sleep inside yours or do you simply use it as a gear trailer?


Have it set up with a single mattress on a layer of banana boxes in it, with room down the side for gear and works well for trips on my own. Have decided not to bolt anything to the inside so I can simply empty it and throw everything in it for travelling

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## Happy

Floor in rubber coated underneath screwed and Siki Flex holding it down

Couple coats of concrete floor paint to seal the top





Will be carpet with underlay


Front lower wall skin in as well 

 

 Aluminium Composite panel. Its easy to work with for sure

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## hillclima

watching this with interest as am designing my own one to build one day

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## Happy

Man that Sika flex sticks like shit to a blanket. Its unremovable

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## sometimes1

my tiny trailer tregg off road hitch eye to eye springs this can go where ever my Suzuki jimny can go 


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## 223nut

@sometimes1 did you find you were popping the standard hitch off or just put that on from the start? Easy enough to diy if you buy the parts?

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## sometimes1

Just put the off road hitch on from the start found it on trade me got it for $75.00 plus freight its was a bargain 


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## Happy

Still progressing nicely. More interior panels glued into place 







Hopefully a week or two and it will be off to the exterior cladding guy 

Lots happening just rebuilt the whole rear end of the beast as well



Lots of nolathane and its a bitch to work on.


Getting full strip out for sound deadning ,new audio, some motor hot up bits ,,,,

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## Happy

@sometimes1  Do those work ok on road at high way speeds ? Whats the advantage ?

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## sometimes1

That sort of hitch is what the Australians have on there off road caravan and camper trailers tow awesome at high way speed they have awesome articulation you can get some interesting angles and you know the trailer is not going to come off 


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## canross

Edit - maybe misread hitch type - if eye to eye is the same as ring/lunette hitches, they're fantastic. Can get a ball/ring hitch combo on a 50mm square tube insert so you can tow either as well.

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## Happy

Interior cladding all done. 


External storage lockers fitted for the last time




Inside of those has stereo speakers plus heap of shelving




Roof has acp then 12 mm Marine ply then will be alli clad. Strong to walk on etc

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## ANTSMAN

wow mate!

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## burtonator

looking good!!

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## Boaraxa

Bugout trailer !! just missing one of those pull out type awnings attached to the side ?

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## trooper90

Great looking unit there@happy

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## Friwi

Hey Happy, did you put insulation between the inside and outside panels? What about ventilation? Because when you are going to sleep with midget in it, you guys are going to produce a lot of condensation ;-)

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## Happy

Cladding going on now along with bars etc.
50mm of wall cavity so 50 mm of polystyrene insulation

It goes quiet as when you shut the doors

Bit to go yet but coming along

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## Happy

Paint completed. Galv roof rack nearly ready to go on
Checker plate box on front getting moded to shape of towbar V

Bit to do yet but getting there





Running boards and mud guards all done ready to be assembled



These were built some time ago. Just to give an idea what it will look like when assembled

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## 40mm

> Seems there is some interest in this topic, 
> 
>   Lets see your builds , finished articles, what you used in construction, tricks ,tips,
>  What gear you used and neat stuff plus what failed...
> 
>   Here s where I started a year or so ago.. Had bought the frame then lengthened it and changed to 6 stud wheels. Ill flick up 
> 
>  pics as I get a quiet moment...
> 
> Attachment 104968


Shit, how much meth did you fit in that big old electric motor in the background?

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## 40mm

> Attachment 104969Attachment 104970
> Brought mine when I was looking at making a ply tear drop... Much easier option. Big issue with mine is condensation.


could line the inside with 10mm foam glued onto the panels? or sound deadening etc. 
pay to experiment though...

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## Happy

Back from being clad. Roof rack galved and fitted

More than strong enough to stand on 

Wiring to go then finish off interior

Fit side running boards  then just little stuff










Font box is still away being cut to follow the tow bar shape (no easy task !!)

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## Happy

Mud guards / Seating All installed

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## Danny

No wonder your a  @Happy prick! Nicely done. 

Do you Airbnb it out??? Thats be nice parked up the Plateau or Matata or Kaimanawas for a night or three

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## bing

Well, this is sort of relevant or at least bits of it may be  :Have A Nice Day:  I built this mobile darkroom for making wet plate images in the back country. It has variable height air bag trailing arm suspension and is light weight and strong. 

A mate donated a 1974 crusader caravan which I had thought would be a good start but once inspected it turned out that only the chassis base was worth while - at least it was square. Re jigged it a little to be narrower (same width as 4x4 ute) and built everything on that back up. The frame work is wood (hardwood marine ply base), insulated with extruded poly and clad inside and out with signboard (alluminium plastic composite 4mm thick). The sign board is glued to the framework with a flexible glue and it's this skin that makes it so resilient to abuse and so strong.

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## Happy

Heres where we re at today.  All externally finished just some interior stuff to complete. 

Did not quite make xmas finish as added twin battery and all the associated bits for solar charging

 Has clever electrics with left and right totally separate.  Flatten 1 still got one. Can run on both or left battery or right. 

1500 Watt invertor for fast charge on devices. 

LEDS all individually switched to service which side you re using.

 Pull out side with 3 meter canopy and built in LEDs. . Storage boxes plus floor on roof so can sit ,shoot or what ever off the roof. 

Front box we cut and re welded to follow tow bar shape. Heaps of storage space within cabinets each side.

70 Liter water tank fitted but not plumbed in as yet





 



 


  If it ever stops blowing a gale here It will get a test soon. 

Sure to need some mods so work in progress as yet but overall pretty sound

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## Tommy

[QUOTE=Happy;938505]Heres where we re at today.  All externally finished just some interior stuff to complete. 

Did not quite make xmas finish as added twin battery and all the associated bits for solar charging

 Has clever electrics with left and right totally separate.  Flatten 1 still got one. Can run on both or left battery or right. 

1500 Watt invertor for fast charge on devices. 

LEDS all individually switched to service which side you re using.

 Pull out side with 3 meter canopy and built in LEDs. . Storage boxes plus floor on roof so can sit ,shoot or what ever off the roof. 

Front box we cut and re welded to follow tow bar shape. Heaps of storage space within cabinets each side.

70 Liter water tank fitted but not plumbed in as yet




I can hear Aqualung already

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## Savage1

Has anybody here ever used those large plastic honeycomb panels like the Europeans use for making caravans? Structural so the chassis doesn't need to be so strong.

I'd like to build a lightweight caravan and those types of panels would save a hell of a lot of mucking around with standard type walls etc and weigh a lot less.

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## Savage1

Finally got mine underway, very much a make it up as I go along build, I know bugger all about caravans apart from watching 'Snatch'.

Jayco Chassis which I've raised a bit to make it a bit better off road.

Making it out of Monopan/Pantech panels, 4.8kg/m2 and seriously strong, I've never worked with anything like it so I'm learning as I go, there doesn't seem to much info on it out there either.

I've got the floor cut out and test fitted, ready for glue and rivets.

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## Savage1

> if you take mower deck off the tow vehicle you will get a bit more ground clearance.


Haha I just use it for manoeuvring the trailer around. Moved it around no problems even with the 400kg of panels on it.

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## Savage1

Still making it up as I go along.

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## XR500

Following with interest. Gotta do similar to a truck chassis for a slightly large house truck setup.

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## Flyblown

@Happy, me and the wife really want to see some photos of the inside please, that trailer looks farkin perfect for a two person bunk.

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## Savage1

Still working away at it, just put on 480w of solar and some Lithium batteries in it to run the fridge that my wife demanded.

Still a lot left to do but will be able to sleep in it for some xmas camping.

It's been quite a learning curve.

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## Spudattack

> Attachment 184452Attachment 184453Attachment 184456
> 
> Still working away at it, just put on 480w of solar and some Lithium batteries in it to run the fridge that my wife demanded.
> 
> Still a lot left to do but will be able to sleep in it for some xmas camping.
> 
> It's been quite a learning curve.


I can see my old house from there!


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## Savage1

> I can see my old house from there!
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


Trees have almost blocked it out, another year or two.

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## Steve123

Looks good but why no windows?

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## Moa Hunter

Gee its flash Savage1, much bigger than I thought from the earlier photos of the chassis. Is the edge trim a freezer panel extrusion or is it a heavier gauge Ali angle iron rolled to fit ? great protection either way

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## Savage1

> Very bloody professional looking, need to do a bit more of a photo essay of the build there.  Did ya get those batteries connected up?  Saw a setup of AGM 12v at supercheap which is designed to lock together and comes with a charge controller and BMS...


I ended up drilling into the terminals and tapping them and putting in a 8mm grub screw, just waiting on a BMS for it now, $250 for a 100a/h LiPO4 battery is a bargin. they're far lighter and have a lot better performance than the gel batteries.

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## Savage1

> Looks good but why no windows?


They will be one of the last things I put in, as I'm making it up as I go along I'm not 100% on what size and placement I want. That's the beauty of these panels, just cut a hole out anywhere.

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## Savage1

> Gee its flash Savage1, much bigger than I thought from the earlier photos of the chassis. Is the edge trim a freezer panel extrusion or is it a heavier gauge Ali angle iron rolled to fit ? great protection either way


It has a 6.8m body, panels only came 6.5m long hence the join near the front.

It's a 75mm Ali angle extrusion, 50mm on the interior joins too, all glued and riveted. Couldn't get anywhere to roll the curves so I fabricated them, it was a right PITA.

Bostick IMR glue is pretty much all that is holding it together, I think it's the same stuff that holds windscreens in cars.

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## Savage1

Not bad for its size and fully laden apart from empty water tanks. Kitchen, beds, solar, batteries, fridge, cabinetry/cupboards all installed, just needs windows, toilet and shower installing now

Gives it 1800kg to play with before it's over loaded.

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## XR500

> I ended up drilling into the terminals and tapping them and putting in a 8mm grub screw, just waiting on a BMS for it now, $250 for a 100a/h LiPO4 battery is a bargin. they're far lighter and have a lot better performance than the gel batteries.


Thats a steal!
Where abouts did you find them may I ask?

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## Savage1

> For the sake of the knowledge, how deep did you drill into the terminals?  No issues with breaking through to anywhere you shouldn't have?


I think it was about 10mm, not far. About how far the blocks sat above the main casing.

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## Savage1

> Thats a steal!
> Where abouts did you find them may I ask?


They were on TM, the guy had them listed for 200 each then relisted them at $50, he had 20 but I only managed to get 4. He was a commercial guy in Hawkes bay. 

I can find his email if you like.

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## Savage1

> How do you go for balance towing, visually it looks like the axle set is quite far forwards?  Might cause a hang up issue if you have to tow down or up a little rise that crests then drops again?


Yeah it doesnt look as bad in person, its a Jayco chassis. 

The ball weight is only about 80kg so I will load all our stuff at the front of it. 

It tows really nice as is though, no sway at all but might be because of the drawbar angle.

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## hillclima

Finally made a start on my offroad trailer, going to be a tear drop style.

Main thing I'm debating is the cladding, I'm thinking ply internal walls as easier for me to work. 

I was also thinking ply external but am now wondering about Alloy sheet so welcome any advice on the pros and cons

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## hillclima

Photo attached this time

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## 223nut

The metal shell on mines causes a lot of condensation leading to moisture problems if I don't keep drying it out

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## XR500

What about the combination of exterior ply for strength, then overlaid with aluminium composite panel. A bit of insulation effect that may prevent condensation on the interior??

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## Yumastepside

Built this a few of years ago for two day vintage enduro racing....Oztent, SS fold out kitchen, carries two bikes across the front, alloy box on front for battery/compressor/gear, pull out seat/box for food and cooking gear, caravan water tank underneath, 30" muds to match my one tonner.  Lived in it for 3 months when I first moved to Tassie.



Roger

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## hillclima

> What about the combination of exterior ply for strength, then overlaid with aluminium composite panel. A bit of insulation effect that may prevent condensation on the interior??


I'm currently thinking 25mm steel frame with polystyrene insulation, 3mm caravan ply interior and either Aluminium or ply exterior 

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## Bonecrusher

A few pics of my Off road also has a 2.5 x 2.5M awning off the side kitchen in the back, 12V lighting, blue tooth CD player, I have a portable wood fire for heating & cooking a great set up tow"s like a dream :-)

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## hillclima

> A few pics of my Off road also has a 2.5 x 2.5M awning off the side kitchen in the back, 12V lighting, blue tooth CD player, I have a portable wood fire for heating & cooking a great set up tow"s like a dream :-)
> 
> Attachment 194202
> 
> 
> Attachment 194203
> 
> Attachment 194204
> 
> ...


Awesome, very similar to what I want to build, what are the dimensions? What material is outside?

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## Savage1

Slowly making progress, just put in the diesel powered heater, water heater, shower and new toilet. Couple of Maxxair fans and just working on the gas bottle box on the drawbar so I can get the hot water and external gas points hooked up by a Gasfitter. Any Gasfitter’s on here between Whangārei and Hamilton/Napier?

580w of solar and 200a/h of lithium batteries, will probably add on to that eventually. 

Lots of finishing left to do, need to mount an awning and hopefully put some new wheels on it. 

As the body is slightly translucent we haven’t felt the need for windows yet.

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## RUMPY

Very nice @Savage1, have you homebuilt all of this?

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## Savage1

> Very nice @Savage1, have you homebuilt all of this?


Everything except for the chassis, which is a Jayco chassis, been making it up as I go along. 

I wish I did build the chassis, I could’ve saved a bit of weight and changed the style up a bit.

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