2A Work Trailer

[Witchdoctor]

Got my hands on a great condition Series 2A 109 tub & roof that I'm going to make into a work trailer.
Im going to remove the bulkhead & position a new one a few 100 forward to maximise the space in the trailer. This will allow me to hing the roof right forward. The trailer will be setup clam shell like that way it will be easy to access & when shut very secure.
Im going to cut the roof down the centre & make the roof the same size as the tub. I will be using Land Rover hubs with disc brakes & the trailer will be set up as 1ton.

Cheers
David

[pop058]

some inspiration :)

[Witchdoctor]

some inspiration :)

Looks great.
Im going to use a boot latch setup to open the lid & lock & no pad locks on the rear to get knocked off

Thanks

[pop058]

A fairly old pic but it belongs to a forum member "fozinoz"

[Witchdoctor]

Making slow progress on my new trailer.

Finally the 109 roof arrived in great condition, its a pity i have to cut it down & widen it.

I need to remove the factory fire wall to maximise the internal size of the trailer, so to do that i would need extra tub capping. I found a bloke in the NT that could supply the required caps as well as a rear Land Rover body badge. I could not do anything on it until the caps arrived, everything is marked out in anticipation but i could not start. I also picked up a sheet of 17mm structural ply for the full length low draw that will house the 10" compound radial arm saw right at the tail gate, the rest of this draw will hold the heavy consumables like nails, bolts & screws & the like in bulk. above the draw will be all the power tools in individual pigeon holes. There is enough room under the roof to house the transformer ladder as well as the compact saw bench.
I have also order some different led tail lights, they should not be far away.
The trailer body will be painted Galway Green to match my 90 with the roof painted Santorini Black

Should make a load of progress next week, i hope!

Cheers
Dave

[LandyAndy]

some inspiration :)

Thats really well done.Does it belong to anybody on here???
Andrew

I saw your post after posting this Pop.

[Witchdoctor]

I have removed the firewall/bulkhead in image 1.
I have also folded up a new bulkhead, i have cut the tub cap as in image 2 & ill fit the new caps & also run it along the top of the new bulkhead. That will also give me somewhere for the bottom of the continuous hinge to be attached to as well as some extra strength.

Cheers

[Witchdoctor]

Did little more on the trailer.

Showing the removed bulkhead & the new bulkhead, i will have to add some extra sheeting in the wheel arches through to the new bulkhead. By doing this it has given me an extra 200mm in the draw as well as the upper section. I will reuse the old bulkhead capping so it all look right as i can make it.
I riveted a brace right near the old bulkhead to keep the body in shape once the old bulkhead is removed.
I also got the new lights in the mail, very happy how they look.

Cheers

[Witchdoctor]

Made some more progress whilst dogging the showers

Fitted the new front bulkhead also cut down the new body caps. Very happy with how its all coming along. Also picked up the single pop out locking T handle & rods. I also picked up the Occo track & rollers for the centre draw, grabbed these from Struts Are Us in Nerang much cheeper that Ovesco, just saying.

Cheers

[pop058]

Looking good. :) Could you post up some pics of the track and rollers.

[Witchdoctor]

Some images of the Occo track & rollers & pop up T handle

Cheers

[Witchdoctor]

Managed to complete the bulkhead & body capping & need to fold up some more alloy sheet for the wheel arches & a piece to extend the floor through to the new bulkhead.
Also fitted the new LED tail lights, may not impress the diehards but i like them & they are different!

Cheers

[Witchdoctor]

Now we are ready to cut the roof up.

Remove the front door upper seals.
Set the door up in a jig so it will not move during all the cutting.
The roof needs 110mm added right down the centre. I need to make a new centre rib that will cover up the widening of the roof.
I have to remove 670mm of the length of the roof.
When that is done i have to fit a new piece to the rear of the roof, this section will be 50mm lower to cover the tail gate when everything is closed up. This prevents the tail gate from been opened without unlocking the roof. I will be keeping the drop pins to assist locating the tail gate when closed.

Cheers

[Witchdoctor]

The tub is now as complete as needed for now until i fit the hinged roof.

Folded up some extra alloy panels, one to extend the floor as well as extending the guards.

Now cutting up the roof!

Cheers

David

[Witchdoctor]

I made a start on cutting the roof up.
Its very hot in the shed today so only cut the length down, will keep the rest for a cooler day.

I have a jig set up to keep the roof in place side to side also have a stop at the front, i will need to put a couple of blocks under the open end to stop the cut roof from falling in until i fit the new section in place.

Cheers

[pop058]

looking good :)

[komaterpillar]

This is en excellent idea! Definately following with keen interest!

[LandyAndy]

Thats coming along nicely:cool::cool::cool::cool:.
Dont chuck that extra roof section out,somebody may want it to build an extra cab;);););)
ENJOY
Andrew

[Witchdoctor]

Well I have done the deed.

Cut the roof down the centre, allot easier than i thought. Now the real hard part putting it all back together.

Im going to remove the centre top hat & rivet a flat section back join the two parts back together. Fold up a new top hat section riveting it in the centre of the new roof section.
Before i roll the roof over, i will fit the new rear section that way it will stiffen the roof up considerably. Once on its back i will fit another flat section on the underside, i also need to add two stiffening top hats on the underside of the roof (ill show that when its on its back).

Cheers

[Witchdoctor]

I have had multiple ideas on how to reconnect the two sections of the roof but in the end i had to drill out the spot welds & remove the two half's of the centre top hat.
The very first spot weld i drilled i went through both thicknesses of the alloy sheet. From then i just drilled the top thickness only, very easy.

Cheers

[Witchdoctor]

To drill out the spot welds i used an 8mm 0 pitch spot weld drill bit as in the first image. This was so easy to do.
Once all the spot welds were drilled i just rolled the top hat away from the cut sheet & it broke free, no heavy handed needed.

The last image shows the support top hat on the underside of the roof these are there to assist the roof loads. I will be reinstating this top hat.

Cheers
David

[Witchdoctor]

Right,
The roof is back as one. I used 1.6mm alloy sheet as the joining piece & 4.8mm blind alloy rivets at 60mm spacings as per the spot welds, i also used Fixtec 190 FWT to seal the joints. Tomorrow ill start on the rear section of the roof.

Cheers

[Witchdoctor]

Ok
I pulled the roof out of the jig & rolled it on its back ready to fit the new rear panel.
I made the rear panel 40mm higher to close over the tail gate when everything is closed to prevent anyone opening or trying to open the trailer.

I marked out the radius of the roof on the rear panel & allowed 15mm extra material then cut the extra in 12mm sections for fixing tabs, the flat section i had already folded the 15mm edge for fixing along the roof.

On the bottom edge of the rear panel i folded up a little gutter to try & match the rest of the factor roof gutter plus this ads strength to the rear panel.

Cheers

[Witchdoctor]

The rear profile is starting to look like i was thinking it should.

Next throw the roof on the tub & see how it looks.

Cheers

[Witchdoctor]

I riveted an extra rib on the underside of the roof after fitting the rear panel.
Fitted all the lights & positioned the roof on the tub.

Sorry for the dark images.

Im happy with how its all looking.

Cheers

[pop058]

Looking good, but the tail lights still have me thinking :D

[Witchdoctor]

Lets try some better images & a little more info.

The roof sits on the tub with 16mm of clearance due to the continuous plastic seal at the front of the roof & tub. I will be fitting a sticky back D seal to the gutter section of the roof so as it will not get easily damaged.
I have made the roof 36mm wider than the tub to allow the gutter to over hang the tub as it does on the factory body.
The rear hangs below the tailgate to improve security of the trailer, you have to unlock the lid 7 raise it to be able to drop the tailgate.
The LED lights are very different & i will not know if i really keep them until they are powered up & operating.
I fitted a high mount stop light as it was sitting in the shed & i have been hit up the rear before & you will need to be blind to miss the rear of this trailer!
The number plate LED lights are also a little different small alloy studs with chips in them, very compact & discrete.

The spare tyre will be mounted on the front section of the body.

When finished the trailer will sit at the same hight as the tow vehicle & match the colour.

Cheers

[Witchdoctor]

Just had a brain wave.

I did not like the idea of the tailgate dropping down as per factory with the chain to stop it. This would mean every time i wanted my 10" drop saw i would have to reach in past the tailgate (i know i could drop the chain of the pig tail) release the draw slide it out past the tailgate & lift the saw out.

Rather than do that i can hing the tailgate, hing on the right as per the rear door on a wagon & just pick the saw out of its position. Once the roof is shut the bottom left corner is still vulnerable to be bent open. To stop that from happening i will fit a full length spring loaded drop pin through the tailgate so that once the roof is closed the drop pin drops into the steel body mount, the roof keeping it in the locked position. That means there is now 3 points of security to the tailgate. I will also fit a small gas strut to the tailgate/door to assist keeping the tailgate/door open, this will be fitted to the outside of the body.

Now order a pair of rear hinges & make it happen!

Cheers
David

[Witchdoctor]

I made a start on the draw.

Fitted the Occo track to the body (normally the track is fitted to the draw) before building the draw to get the clearances required for the draw. I have only used 3 of the Occo wheels per side for now, ill just see how that works, they suggested i use 5 per side.
I used 17mm CD ply for the draws as there will be a fair bit of weight in it when fully loaded. I have allowed 10mm clearance on the base to the body, just hope there is no sag in the draw.

Im going to sheet over the factory holes on the inside of the tub.

Cheers

[Witchdoctor]

I fitted the rollers to the draw as well as the in/out stops.
Then i fitted the front continuous plastic hinge. The hinge will be Fixtech sealed to the roof with rivets. The hinge will be nut serted & bolts to the body with a strip of 3mm foam acting as the seal, i will then use 20mm D sticky back seal to seal the roof & the body.
I need to draw up the body with the angle of the roof that i want & the weight of the roof then send it of to the strut company so they can work out what size & pressure strut i need.

Cheers

[Witchdoctor]

Did not get done what i had planed but thats they way it goes sometimes.

Instead of doing the spring loaded pin in the tailgate i decided to use the pin & eye from the right hand side & fit it below the left side. That now gives me 4 points of security on the tailgate.
I got a set of hinges from a guy in NT but they were old & in a bad way, the lower half of the hinge & the brass ball i drilled out to 8mm, the upper section of the hinge i tapped M8 thread. I did this to both hinges & locktite the stainless M8 button head bolt in place. This works great & should last for a very long time.
To hold the door in place i was going to use a gas strut but went to a more simple idea of a rubber commercial door stop & catch, works really well.

Vey happy with the whole setup.

Cheers

[Witchdoctor]

Picked up the struts for the lid, the company that supplied gave me detailed instructions with all the pivot positions which made mounting super easy.
Across the new rear panel i riveted a piece of factory roof gutter, this works 2 ways. Stiffens the new rear panel also allows the seal to run all the way around the lid in one piece.

Cheers

[Witchdoctor]

Still making progress on the trailer.

Computer Mac & iPhone are not talking to each other so i cannot upload images.

I fitted the lifting struts, all was good except the continuous plastic hinge started to deform due to the pressure in the struts. So remove plastic hinge & install S/Steel ball bearing butt hinges x 4, very happy with how they have worked out.
Due to the hinge change the difference between the body & roof could be reduced so the D seal will be even more positive & should never leak.

The 75 x 50 x 3mm chassis is now tacked together & ready for the body to be positioned & work out the correct clearances & hight. Then the chassis can be totally MIGed up. In the mean time i have to remove the wheel studs from the Land Rover trailer hubs, drill out & press fit the M16/1.5 current Defender studs.

Im hoping mid next week we can visit the Transport Dept & get some Rego for this trailer.

As soon as technologies are talking to each other i will post the images!

Cheers

[Witchdoctor]

Just some images of the progress.

As the tail gate is now swinging i had to do some different sealing, some seal on the body & some on the tailgate as there are cute outs for the wheels & stop to move through the opening.
Stop in location, looks like i will be moving the rear stop closer to the tailgate.
Draw works just need to fit a pull handle.

I fitted an extra piece of gal panel to stiffen up the lower hinge.

Cheers

[Witchdoctor]

The chassis is all tacked together & waiting to have the axle fitted to it to ensure that all the clearances work as well as the finished hight, I'm hoping to have the trailer tub cap at the same hight as the cap on the 90.

The plastic continuous hing was not working so i replaced it with s/steel butt hinges. I really like the way the butt hinges worked out.
The spare wheel holder is also in place.

Cheers

[Witchdoctor]

Chassis is now rolling stock on KM2 265/75 R16 second hand, i could not even get new KM2 255/85 R16 that match the 90.
They will stay like that until i need a new set on the truck & i will take 3 & put on the trailer.

Cheers

[The Beast]

great thread, i've been following this since the start. can't wait to see the finished product!

[Witchdoctor]

Have just got back to doing something to the work trailer.

Fitted the correct size tyre that match the tow vehicle 255/85R16 on Boost alloys.
The trailer now sits at the correct hight, the body cap on the trailer matches the truck so I'm happy. Still have to do a few things were the body connects to the chassis. Thats next weekends job.

Cheers

[Witchdoctor]

Installed the locking pins in the body using a 16 x 75 Gal bolt. The locking rods will run through these bolts to lock to roof down once the handle is key locked. The rods also run in a channel so they cannot get jammed & locking & unlocking will never be compromised. The lock/handle is now in place, very slim fitting, just press were the key goes & the handle pops out. This is a quarter turn handle.

There is 16mm between the roof & body, the D seal that goes on the roof is 20mm so there should be a great seal between the two.

Cheers

[Witchdoctor]

Got to fit the tyre carrier on the nose of the trailer. All works well, the rear door on the truck clears by 100mm, but I'm going to lengthen the draw bar as there is no room for the jockey wheel to fold up to.
Last images shows the seal in place between the roof & body.

Cheers

[67hardtop]

Why dont u fit the jockey wheel to the outside of the draw bar? Then it will have plenty room to fold up.

Cheers Rod

Sent from my GT-I9507 using AULRO mobile app

[pop058]

Thought about putting flairs on the trailer to match the 90 ??

[numpty]

Nice work. Swing tailgate is how I did mine also.

[Witchdoctor]

Hi 67hardtop,
I like to have the jockey wheel secure inside the A frame. Nice idea though.

Hi pop058,
Been looking for a pair of rears since i got the tub. very expensive, looking at getting a pair out of the UK.

Cheers

[Witchdoctor]

These just arrived on the door step.

More work required to get these to fit on the 109 body.

I have finished of a number of little things on the trailer, just awaiting on a slot in the fab shop so i can make a few changes to the chassis then the trailer is complete except for painting the tub & roof.

I have designed a new roof rack for this trailer.

More images soon

Cheers

[Witchdoctor]

The flares look great & puts the finishing touch to the old 109 body.

Taking the trailer to my mates fab shop in the morning to extend the drawbar, make up the front & rear connection plates that will finish the body to chassis off.

Sunday, fit the flared guards to the body, then i can look at painting the trailer.


Cheers

[pop058]

The flares look great & puts the finishing touch to the old 109 body.

Taking the trailer to my mates fab shop in the morning to extend the drawbar, make up the front & rear connection plates that will finish the body to chassis off.

Sunday, fit the flared guards to the body, then i can look at painting the trailer.


Cheers

maybe a little camel cut ??

[Witchdoctor]

I have been very busy helping a mate build a flip top camper/canopy & have not had much time to work on the work trailer.
But i did manage to fit the flared guards to the body & install the seal to the roof section.
Still have a few things to have it ready for painting.
This should be back on track once the canopy is out of my shed.

David

[Witchdoctor]

For anyone that is interested
This is the flip top canopy/camper I've been working on.
This is a personal design, it goes for canvas next week.

Its not on a Land Rover but from this one i have designed a hard roof top tent for my 90, coming soon!

David

[67hardtop]

You do good work there.

Cheers Rod

Sent from my GT-I9507 using AULRO mobile app

[OneOff]

HA..!

I read through this thread on Monday; thought it was very interesting... read every step, opened every picture; very good build I said...

Well bugger me... going down the M1 yesterday afternoon I was overtaken by this...

https://photos.smugmug.com/Land-Rover/i-HXb7QJD/0/O/Trailer.jpg (https://oneoff.smugmug.com/Land-Rover/i-HXb7QJD/A)

Disclaimer: that was not me taking photos one-handed on the motorway; I had a navigator ... :)


Good job by the way.

Pete.

[67hardtop]

Jeeze coulda painted it first😉😉😉😉😆😆

Cheers Rod

Sent from my GT-I9507 using AULRO mobile app

[Witchdoctor]

The inside of the work trailer is finished.
I have posted images of the full length draw that holds the 10" compound drop saw as well as heavy consumables.
The upper section houses the corded/cordless tools also easy access to nail bag & hand tools either side of the drop saw. Down the left side is sledge hammer, 2m level, brooms & bolt cutters.

Now the roof rack for it.

Very happy with how it is all working.

Cheers

[Witchdoctor]

Roof rack for the work trailer almost done.

I have used 3mm alloy sheet for the sides, the deck of the rack are 100x25x3mm radius the cross bars are 25x25x3mm radius with 50x25x3mm radius on the ends to complete the ends of the deck section.

To complete the rack i have to finish the gutter mounts all made from s/steel, should get that done through the week.

Cheers

[Witchdoctor]

Made a little more progress on the roof rack for the work trailer

A little bling

Cheers

David