[zukenutter]

Chop wrote:

Did outdoor auto just got these in?

Not sure how long he's been carrying them. Has a few in stock though.

[Chop]

Are these chinese copies or the real deal?

[zukenutter]

Real deal

[Chop]

Sweet

[atari4x4]

rightO trailer crew... am i going to regret not putting in a flip top lid?

i've got it all sussed out & have everything ready to go apart from the over centre catches, i'm just thinking it's a whole lot more shit to stuff up.

i'm thinking about just bolting the lid down, seeing i'm not going to be carrying a great deal apart from a spare tyre.

this is what i got from the wreckers & some brackets i found in the bucket of bracketometry.






i'd like to still be able to use it as a trailer & having all the struts, brackets n shit will make it hard to make it removable, i'm thinking some sort of weather seal & bolting it down.?

[christover1]

Mines just bolted down, with a weather seal.
Though weather still gets in.
But anything that needs to be dry travels in the car.
Mines just 4 bolts and its off.
Use mine as normal trailer a lot.

Spare tyre will fill it anyway.
I don't put anything in trailer thatb I need to use a lot.
And everything goes on a tarp, so I can just slide it out.
You could try a big roll.slide out draw,
that could be removed when camper top not on

[christover1]

[stockman]

I like the idea of removable and the idea of hinged for internal access.
What about bolting the timber down like christover and having a cutout section on hinges for internal access? I guess the tent would have to be erect and it would just be a case of lifting the mattress for access.

[christover1]

stockman wrote:

I like the idea of removable and the idea of hinged for internal access.
What about bolting the timber down like christover and having a cutout section on hinges for internal access? I guess the tent would have to be erect and it would just be a case of lifting the mattress for access.

I was thinking same before I got my tent top.
But I finished up buying one with an insulated floor,
of alloy sandwiched poly styrine.
Insulation and lighter weight being main reasons.
No way of doing that with this type.

[atari4x4]

i'm thinking hinged, with removable hinge pins & a broomstick to hold it , rather than having all the brackets & gas struts permanently fixed to the trailer?

i think that's how Moph has his set up.... Keep It Simple, Stupid.

[Joe]

I vote for the lift up lid, you've done this much work it so what's a little bit more
The one thing that shit me with the blue trailer was getting stuff out from under the tent

[christover1]

The work never stops anyway.

Still doing little things to mine as I live with it.

Getting everything exactly right first go is rare.

More fun modding and working on something when you can use it.

[buzbox]

Put a couple of tec screws to hold the strut bracket down, when you need to take your top off, Its as easy as taking the screws out with a spanner, same as the hinge side.

[Chop]

Or you could just buy struts with ball cup ends. Thats what mine has so the lid comes off easy

[atari4x4]

Joe wrote:

I vote for the lift up lid, you've done this much work it so what's a little bit more
The one thing that shit me with the blue trailer was getting stuff out from under the tent

the thing is i keep finding more shit i could do...

today i was thinking about putting a 12v power to it just using a rechargeable jumpstarter pack, LED strip lighting, the list goes on & on... but again it comes back to more shit that's going to get in the way if i want use it as a trailer & the heavier it gets.

i'm not planning on having to much under the tent apart from a spare tyre & maybe my toolbox, fuel, water when doing the longer trips.

[atari4x4]

buzbox wrote:

Put a couple of tec screws to hold the strut bracket down, when you need to take your top off, Its as easy as taking the screws out with a spanner, same as the hinge side.

it's not a sierra... i was going to use nuts & bolts.

[Polar_Bear]

atari4x4 wrote:

but again it comes back to more shit that's going to get in the way if i want use it as a trailer & the heavier it gets.

if you want to use it as a trailer, what are you going to fit in it anyway?

IMO keep it as a camper and hire a bigger trailer if/when you want a trailer

or just come get one from up the hill

[Moph]

atari4x4 wrote:

i'm thinking hinged, with removable hinge pins & a broomstick to hold it , rather than having all the brackets & gas struts permanently fixed to the trailer?

i think that's how Moph has his set up.... Keep It Simple, Stupid.

Yep that's it ... I have three hinges on one of the long sides, with removable pins. Knock them out and the entire top comes off. I have 3-4mm thick self-adhesive foam seal strip from Clark Rubber around the top which does a pretty good job of keeping dust and rain out when it's closed up too.

Re the other stuff like lighting etc, I once had plans for all that too. Then I realised I'd be better off spending the time it would take me to set all that up actually using the camper instead, and lost all interest

[zukenutter]

If all you're going to put in it is stuff that you won't often want to access I'd just bolt it down.

I keep all of our camping gear in the trailer so I don't have to store it in the house plus we're ready to go pretty quickly. As you know I've got access on all four corners plus the tailgate and still find it impractical to not have a flip up lid.

[atari4x4]

Moph wrote:

atari4x4 wrote:

i'm thinking hinged, with removable hinge pins & a broomstick to hold it , rather than having all the brackets & gas struts permanently fixed to the trailer?

i think that's how Moph has his set up.... Keep It Simple, Stupid.

Yep that's it ... I have three hinges on one of the long sides, with removable pins. Knock them out and the entire top comes off. I have 3-4mm thick self-adhesive foam seal strip from Clark Rubber around the top which does a pretty good job of keeping dust and rain out when it's closed up too.

Re the other stuff like lighting etc, I once had plans for all that too. Then I realised I'd be better off spending the time it would take me to set all that up actually using the camper instead, and lost all interest

what sort of latches have you used to hold it down?

[Moph]

Sorry ... could only find a large pic in Google images. Ones like this with a relatively long shank so that they go through the 19mm ply, then the latch closes across the top and can be padlocked in place. Couldn't use the strap type ones easily with my trailer sides, so went with these. They work well and with sealing foam around them haven't let water into the trailer yet - note that they're located just under the edge of the tent skirt, so protected from direct rainfall anyway.

[Chop]

I have this style on the pod, adjustable and lockable with a padlock. I might have more surface area for that to be fitted to the lid though.



And i have the style above that Moph put up on the tailgate which is also lockable

[atari4x4]

cause of the folded edge of the trailer i don't think i can run that style of over centre latch as the wall of the trailer is about 50mm in from the folded edge.

i think i'll be stealing Moph's idea.

[Polar_Bear]

they are called antiluce fasteners

http://uesint.com/product/fasteners.php

[zukenutter]

I also used the same fasteners for my side access panels but the "weld-in" version.

[christover1]

Thanks Steve for great video.
Out testing in Victorian High Country.
No water got into tent or bedding.
A bit got into trailer tub, though.
Only problem off road was when I'd only locked one hub.
Reversing ain't no fun, but acceptable.

[zukenutter]

Cool. I think that's the first "Trailer in action" vid... or have I missed one?

[christover1]

zukenutter wrote:

Cool. I think that's the first "Trailer in action" vid... or have I missed one?

Good question, must do a search later.
Plenty of stuff on you tube with trailers.

Video makes everything look easier, and less scarey

[atari4x4]

nice work Chris, looks like it works well behind the LWB

pretty sure that's the first AZ trailer vid

[christover1]

atari4x4 wrote:

nice work Chris, looks like it works well behind the LWB

pretty sure that's the first AZ trailer vid

Yours is next then